Finances criticized in House race

Martin Kuz

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 1998 | 11:50 a.m.

As the fight for Nevada's 1st Congressional District seat approaches the final bell, Democrat Shelley Berkley and Republican Don Chairez continue to trade verbal jabs.

The latest round of sparring began after the Berkley camp sent out a news release earlier this week accusing Chairez of "campaign finance irregularities." Among the charges are that Chairez violated Federal Election Commission regulations by accepting donations designated for the primary election after Nevada's Sept. 1 primaries, and that several Chairez donors have exceeded contribution limits for the general-election cycle.

The allegations require an understanding of the FEC's somewhat abstruse guidelines. According to the commission, candidates can accept contributions for their primary bids up until the day of the primary election. If candidates receive donations earmarked for the primary after that date, the money can only be used to retire a campaign's debt from the primary election.

The FEC restricts contributions by individuals to $1,000 and political action committees to $5,000 for the primary election, and imposes the same ceiling for the general election.

Copies of FEC reports provided by the Berkley campaign show that Chairez received roughly $20,000 in primary donations after Sept. 1.

But Chairez campaign manager Bob Spretnak said the Republican emerged from the primary $36,000 in the hole, and that the $20,000 has been used to cover the debt. The campaign is about $2,000 shy of paying off the debt entirely, he added.

Spretnak also said that no individuals or PACs exceeded the general-election contribution limit because they designated a portion of the money sent after Sept. 1 for the primary election.

In dismissing the Berkley camp's charges as "nitpicky," Spretnak said the Democrat wants to steer voters away from comments she made last year suggesting that money buys political favors. Chairez has cited those remarks throughout his campaign in questioning Berkley's character.

"Her strategy has been to try to show that every candidate is as ethically-challenged as she is. She's trying to divert attention from her own ethical problems," Spretnak said.

Berkley spokesman Richard Urey portrayed the FEC reports as another example of Chairez's lax bookkeeping, noting Chairez's failure to pay $2,000 in taxes on time in the mid-1980s. Urey pointed out that the FEC sent four letters to the Chairez campaign from August to October requesting amendments to his contribution and expenditure reports.

"If you can't take care of the business of basic campaign finance forms, it's fair to conclude you can't take care of the more complex business of federal legislation," he said.

Spretnak said Chairez has since complied with the FEC's requests. The filing of amended forms has become virtually routine in political campaigns, FEC spokesman Ian Stirton said.

"It's not unusual for a campaign to get a request for additional information. That's how this process works," he said.