Former District 17 House candidate Trevor Clevenger will repay $15,000 of the more than $31,000 in public campaign funds he received, under a tentative settlement reached with the Citizens Clean Elections Commission.

The five-member commission, the state agency that administers public campaign funds, must approve the proposal on a majority vote for the settlement to become final. The commission is scheduled to meet at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 21 in the first-floor boardroom at 1616 W. Adams St.

Mr. Clevenger is one of three Libertarian candidates for the Legislature from District 17 whom the Clean Elections Commission decided had failed to properly document their campaign expenditures for the 2002 election as required under the state Clean Elections Act and rules of the commission.

The commission originally ordered the three candidates to repay all of the more than $104,000 in public campaign funds they received. The commission has since reached a settlement with former House candidate Paul DeDonati to pay back $15,000 of the $31,416.93 in public campaign funding he received.

Installment Plan

Colleen Connor, executive director of the commission, said Oct. 2 that Mr. Clevenger will pay the $15,000 penalty in installments of $208.33 over 72 months. The installment agreement was made based on Mr. Clevenger’s income and other financial obligations, Ms. Connor said.

In return for the reduction in the fine, which originally was set at the entire $31,664.72 in public funding Mr. Clevenger received, the candidate will acknowledge that he failed to properly account for his campaign expenditures.

The Clean Elections Commission has had no settlement talks with the third District 17 Libertarian, Senate candidate Yuri Downing, who was found to have failed to properly document his expenses.

Mr. Downing has appealed the commission’s decision to demand a return of the $41,155.53 in public campaign funds he received. The hearing was continuing on Oct. 2.

Mr. Downing maintains that although he and the other Libertarians ran an unorthodox campaign to register and attract voters at bars and restaurants in the East Valley, the tabs from those events were legitimate campaign expenses.

Although Mr. Clevenger as of Oct. 2 was not scheduled to be a witness in the Downing hearing, he could end up being called to testify, Ms. Connor said. Mr. Downing served as treasurer not only for his own run for office but for the campaigns of Mr. DeDonati and Mr. Clevenger as well. —