Last February, I posted a series of articles about three campaign finance complaints that had been filed with both the SOS’s and AG’s offices in relation to three members of the NH House. My efforts included a countdown clock to see when those so accused would respond. Interestingly, no other media outlet chose to cover the story, and the only response I received was misdirection. All told, the plan was to ignore it and hope it went away.
One complaint alleged that a Deputy of the Majority Office, Joe Sweeney, failed to report his “Granite State Solutions” LLC expenditures for attack ads in a Republican primary. Another complaint alleged that Majority Leader Osborne failed to file any campaign reports for the last two election cycles. And the third violation accused the Committee to Elect House Republicans PAC (CTEHR) of failing to account for $170,000 in expenses. That PAC’s Chairman is Jason Osborne, the Vice Chairman is Ross Berry, and its Treasurer at the time was Speaker of the House Sherm Packard.
Recently, I’ve learned Jim Kofalt replaced Packard as Treasurer. I hope Jim realizes what he has stepped into.
Two Down
Months ago, Rep. Sweeny “corrected” the violation he was accused of.
A couple of weeks back,Majority Leader Jason Osborne filed his campaign finance papers going back to November of 2021, nearly four years ago. No hooplah or fanfare. And this is the guy who reportedly urged his House members to submit their filings on time, but failed to do so himself.
Was he too busy, lazy, or did he think himself “above the law” or the process, with a side of “do you know who I am”? Or were we muddying up the donor waters? If you don’t file the quid pro quo (if alleged), no one can see it to find it, and time moves on.
From casinos to zoning, there’s always room for speculation. Various lobbies, industries, and associations donate to candidates who appear interested or able to support their interests. It’s not illegal, at least if you report it. Eventually.
There were several thousand from the Builders of NH PAC? And several thousand from casino operators (also here)? Coincidentally, leadership is alleged to have helped quietly nix a casino bill that had passed the House and Senate in the final days of the 2024 session.
Speaker Packard, perhaps coincidentally, filed a $15,000 donation received in the Fall of 2024 back into his 2022 campaign filings paperwork.
Reporting
The RSAs require that a member of the legislature who fails to file SHALL be subject to a $5 daily fine for each weekday of the delinquency. Will our AG’s office enforce the RSA as written or simply give this higher-level politico a soft slap on the wrist with a “don’t do that again” whisper?
664:21
III. Any person who fails to file any report or statement on the date on which the report or statement is due under this chapter shall be subject to a daily fine of $25 for every weekday for which the report or statement is late and until the report or statement is actually filed, except that candidates for the general court shall be subject to a daily fine of $5 under this paragraph.
One To Go…
With two of the three no longer just “alleged” violations addressed, the biggest one remains. Committee to Elect House Republicans PAC still hasn’t addressed its discrepancies. I’ll send an email to Jim Kofalt, who has inherited the mess they left him, to see if he is aware of the problems and what, if any, plan there may be to correct the record. [Related: House Leadership Needs To Explain Where The Money Went]
If it has been corrected, I’ll update this post to reflect that. If not, well, stay tuned.
