Berkley-Porter battle over numbers

Greg Tuttle

Friday, Oct. 20, 2000 | 10:20 a.m.

An accounting book battle has erupted between the campaign managers for Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley and her challenger in the 1st Congressional District, Republican state Sen. Jon Porter, in which both sides claim the other is violating federal election law.

The issue surfaced earlier this week on the heels of the latest Federal Election Commission campaign finance reports. The detailed reports of a candidate's receipts and expenditures are filed quarterly and required by federal law.

Both campaign managers for Berkley and Porter agree the other side filed the last financial disclosure report before the Nov. 7 general election within the Oct. 15 deadline. But the agreement ends there.

The first volley between the two political camps was fired Wednesday following a story in the Sun which reported Porter had raised $100,000 more than Berkley between July and October.

Berkley's campaign manager, Peggy Egan, disputes the report, pointing out the candidate's financial disclosures cover a different period. Berkley's financial report covers from Aug. 17 to Sept. 30, while Porter's is for the period between July 1 and Sept. 30.

The six-week difference resulted when the candidates received conflicting instructions from the FEC, according to Egan and Porter's campaign manager, Josh Griffin.

According to a letter dated July 31 from the FEC to Berkley's campaign, candidates are required to file a "pre-primary" report for the period between July 1 and Aug. 16. The quarterly report is to cover from Aug. 17 to Sept. 30.

But an FEC letter dated Sept. 21 and received by the Porter campaign specifies the quarterly report should cover July 1 to Sept. 30.

Egan said the claim that Porter is ahead of Berkley in the race for contributions is false.

"For him to say he outraised Shelley and he's matching us dollar for dollar is just simply wrong," she said.

Griffin admits the financial reports give a skewed account because of the different reporting periods. But if compared since mid-August, Griffin said Porter has raised about $1,500 more than Berkley.

"It is fair for us to say since Aug. 17 we have outraised her," he said Thursday.

Egan also takes issue with several apparent mistakes in Porter's campaign finance report, pointing out numerous instances in which money was marked as a donation for the primary election but dated after the Sept. 5 vote.

Porter has received several letters from the FEC asking for clarifications and corrections on previous financial disclosure reports, Egan said, but continues to make the same mistakes.

"He's violated federal election law and used it for political and financial gain, and he's not being held accountable," Egan said.

Griffin fires back that Berkley's financial reports from her 1998 campaign also came under criticism from the FEC. Berkley has received 11 FEC letters regarding her disclosure reports, including three this year.

"If she's going to level that complaint against us, she's made FEC violations and she's not being held accountable," Griffin said.

Both sides agreed it could take months for the FEC to determine whether any violations were made, and it is unlikely the issue will be resolved prior to the general election.