Williams faces Clean Elections complaint from Kotterman supporter

Democrat Jason Williams is facing a complaint alleging that his campaign for state schools chief has committed a number of Clean Elections violations.

The complaint, filed by a supporter of Penny Kotterman, Williams’ rival for the Democratic nomination, alleges that Williams’ campaign spent more money and accepted more in contributions than allowed under Clean Elections rules, and that he did not propertly report all campaign contributions. Clean Elections candidates for superintendent are allowed to raise $29,911 in seed money.

Williams spokesman Sam Holdren said the campaign had not been notified of the complaint and would not comment on the specific charges, but said nothing was improperly filed in Williams’ campaign finance reports. Williams received $91,645 in Clean Elections money for his campaign on June 29.

“It’s our understanding that all of the legal requirements have been met. All of our financial reports have been filed accurately by the campaign,” Holdren said.

The complaint, which was filed with the Citizens Clean Elections Commission on July 1, includes four charges. The first alleges that Williams’ campaign received $1,541 in personal and family contributions – the amount listed on his Jan. 31 report – and later refunded everything over the limit only after he raised enough seed money. His June 30 report lists $1,267 in contributions from himself and family members.

Other complaints include allegations that Williams paid campaign staffers through his consulting firm, Blue Dynamic, and with other unreported money, and that he did not report six months’ worth of payments to the Arizona Democratic Party for use of its voter registration files. The allegation also claims that Blue Dynamic created Williams’ campaign website and provided other in-kind contributions that the campaign did not report.

In his June 30 campaign finance report, Williams reported raising $29,611 in seed money.

Clean Elections Executive Director Todd Lang said disciplinary actions for Clean Elections violations could include fines or, for more serious infractions, the refunding of campaign funding. But he would not comment on what actions the commission could take against Williams if it determines that the allegations are true.

The complaint was filed by Janice Robillard, a teacher at Xavier College Preparatory whom Kotterman lists as a supporter on her website. Kotterman said she supports the complaint and her campaign provided “technical advice and support” to Robillard. But she said Robillard acted on her own, not at the instigation of her campaign, when she filed the complaint.

“I believe there are some fairly serious discrepancies and I hope the Clean Elections Commission will take it very seriously,” said Kotterman, a former president of the Arizona Education Association.

The complaint alleges that Williams must have exceeded his seed money limit because he did not report six months’ worth of access to the Democratic Party’s voter file, for which the party charges $500 a month, Robillard said.

Democratic Party spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson said there is a sliding pricing scale for the list that changes depending on the level of access, but would not say what Williams was charged for use of the list.