Maxfield files complaint against commission foe

Kirsten Searer

Thursday, July 8, 2004 | 9:23 a.m.

County Commission Chairman Chip Maxfield has filed a complaint against Democratic opponent Jerry Tao, saying Tao's father broke state law by loaning too much money to his son's campaign.

Tao disputed the claim and said that finance reports he filed in January and February incorrectly listed both his name and his father's on loans that came only from him.

His latest report, filed about a month ago, noted two loans that he gave himself, one for $120,000 and one for $30,000, Tao said.

The money came from a $250,000 second mortgage he took out on two rental properties, one in Manhattan Beach, Calif., and one in Virginia, Tao said.

Tao attributed the two incorrect finance reports to a volunteer who didn't understand how he made the loans.

"This is what happens when you ask volunteers to do things for you sometimes," he said.

Under state law, candidates can loan themselves as much money as they want. But other people cannot loan more than $10,000 to a campaign.

Tao's initial campaign finance report, filed Jan. 15, included a $150,000 loan from him and his father, Louis Tao, on Nov. 10, 2003.

His amended report, filed Feb. 6, states that Jerry and Louis Tao gave the Tao campaign a $30,000 loan on Jan. 2 and that Jerry Tao loaned his campaign $120,000 on Nov. 10.

Tao said he filed his latest report last month showing that the $150,000 loan came from him and not his father.

Tao said the volunteer might have been confused because the Manhattan Beach home is jointly owned with his father. Tao said his father co-signed on the home because he bought it in his early 20s and needed help qualifying for a loan.

Since then, Tao said, he has paid for the Manhattan Beach home.

Tao said the second mortgage was on both homes, and the money went only to him. He loaned $150,000 to the campaign and kept the rest for himself to landscape his backyard and for other expenses, he said.

"It's just a second mortgage, like any other second mortgage," he said.

Maxfield, who took over the helm of the county commission in November after federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment against former chairwoman Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, said the letter was a formal request for the Secretary of State's office to look into the issue.

"We think there is enough there that there should be a review," he said. "We think the public should know how and who is funding the campaign."

Tao has no challenger in the Democratic primary. Sun City-Summerlin resident Bill Krane will face Maxfield in the Republican primary.

The Secretary of State's office will review the complaint and decide whether to ask Tao for a response, said spokesman Steve George. If found to have violated campaign finance rules, Tao could face a fine of up to $5,000 for each campaign offense.

Sun reporter

Launce Rake contributed to this report.