Democratic assessor of property candidate Mark Siedlecki filed an amended financial disclosure form on Friday afternoon after county Republicans said he accepted far above the legal limit from a corporation he heads.
The new disclosure said he made personal loans totaling $38,288 to the campaign.
It does not include any in-kind contributions. The earlier forms listed Novare Digital making an in-kind contribution valued at $18,000 for the March primary election and another $34,000 for the Aug. 4 general election. Mr. Siedlecki heads the digital firm.
Mr. Siedlecki met Thursday with Election Administrator Kerry Steelman and said the amended form would be in sometime Friday.
Chris Anderson of the Siedlecki campaign said, "The items in question should have been listed as obligations and listed Novare as a vendor instead of in-kind donations. Those have now been corrected and filed with the Election Commission as promised. We are told by both state and local officials that this is the appropriate change and the correct categorization. We take this matter very seriously, which is why we moved immediately to make it right even without receiving notice from any government entity that there was a problem."
The Siedlecki totals include several staff payments, including $1,500 to City Councilman Anderson.
Marty Haynes, the Republican nominee, said, “My opponent now claims he made a simple mistake in following the established Tennessee law regarding campaign contributions. Considering he accepted $34,000 from a corporation over the course of two reporting periods, it was no small mistake. Citizens entrust their most valuable investment, their home, to the Assessor and expect the Assessor to follow the state laws governing this constitutional office. Mr. Siedlecki’s approach to Tennessee law throughout this campaign has caused voters to question his ability to lead the assessor’s office.
“Not only has Mr. Siedlecki ignored campaign finance laws, our current Assessor of Property Bill Bennett and the Hamilton County Trustee Bill Hullander have spoken publicly that the assessor’s office has no role or jurisdiction in freezing senior tax rates. It is outside the legal purview of this office. In other words, it’d be illegal if the assessor takes this action. Yet, this Democrat opponent has tried to confuse and scare seniors on this issue in hopes of gaining votes.
“This time, my opponent attempts to minimize his illegal activity by attributing it to his 'first race’ but fails to note his campaign manager is City Councilman Chris Anderson, who also currently serves as an elected member of the Tennessee Democratic Executive Committee. The Siedlecki campaign has been steered by long-time political operatives whose knowledge of campaign finance guidelines is far from novice.
“The work of the assessor of property must meet the strict compliance standards of state law for the protection of all property owners. It is clear that Mark Siedlecki’s approach to this office is purely political. I remain steadfast in my commitment to each citizen in this county to operate this critical office according to state law, not a political agenda.“