About 15 billboards supporting Jackie Biskupski's mayoral campaign dot the streets of Salt Lake City, Utah, and though she says she has nothing to do with them, her opponent questioned whether they were a breach of campaign finance laws. Then, a week later, he again claimed she was violating regulations by coordinating with a PAC on polling.
The billboards were put up by a PAC created by Reagan Outdoor Advertising, according to The Deseret News. The PAC and Bisupski, a former state legislator, assert that they operate independently of each other. A PAC in Salt Lake City can raise unlimited amounts of money in supporting or opposing a candidate, as long as it does so without associating directly with any one individual in the race. However, Ralph Becker, the current mayor of the city, doesn't believe that the PAC acted independently of Biskupski's campaign.
If the PAC actually is coordinating with the former state legislator on the signage then its donations are limited to in-kind contributions of $7,500 under Salt Lake City ordinances. The PAC, called Utahns for Independent Government, lead by Dewey and Bill Reagan, made a $7,475 in-kind donation to Biskupski in February, in addition to the billboards it put up.
"Thus far, no proof has been found connecting the PAC to Biskupski."
Biskupski asserts she is not coordinating with billboard PAC
Thus far, no proof has been found connecting the PAC to Biskupski, who asserts that she has nothing to do with Reagan Outdoor Advertising's committee.
"I was as surprised to see the billboards as everyone else," she said, according to the news outlet, in explaining that it is the PAC's free speech right to put the billboards up. "I wasn't involved in putting the billboards up and I'm not about to get involved now. This is between the mayor and this PAC."
She also stated that she hasn't always supported Reagan Outdoor Advertising's lobbying efforts and that the last time she contacted the company was in February, when it put up its first billboard supporting her candidacy. Salt Lake City Recorder Cindi Mansell told The Deseret News that this is a strange situation at the local level, and that thus far, there is no evidence tying Bisupski directly to Utahns for Independent Government.
"If it really is independent, I don't know that any violation has occurred," Mansell told the news outlet. "I won't know until this group turns in a financial declaration telling me what they've spent, for who and if they are independent or coordinated."
Becker accuses Biskupski of coordinating with PAC on polling
That wasn't the only accusation regarding campaign finance laws that Becker had in store for Bisupski. He also alleged that the campaign's coordination with a PAC called Alliance for Better Leaders was a violation of campaign finance regulations, according to The Salt Lake City Tribune. Becker and his campaign manager, Matt Lyon, each have stated that they believe she is determining how the PAC – called Alliance for Better Leaders – is spending its money.
Becker noted that Bisupski's campaign has conducted polling through AFBL. She had also used the PAC for polling prior to officially entering the mayoral race and Lyon believes that the Biskupski's campaign's recent polling could not have possibly fallen within that $7,500 limit.
"When a candidate is raising money for a PAC and then determining how it is spent, that is skirting campaign-finance law," Lyon told The Salt Lake Tribune. "It is a serious and dangerous concern. Elected officials have to uphold the public trust."
"Biskupski said Becker should clarify campaign finance ordinances."
Lyon has also stated that the PAC did not register with the city recorder's office in time. Mansell confirmed to the news source that the PAC did, in fact, register late.
The nonpartisan PAC, founded by Robert Bergman, was created several years ago to support upcoming political candidates and is made up of business owners and residents. AFBL's year-end disclosure for 2014 stated that it spent $27,000 on polling for candidates whose names were not given, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. This year it has raised $20,550, with contributions from philanthropist Marcia Price and business mogul Don Skaggs of $12,000 and $7,000, respectively.
Biskupski has stated that instead of accusing her of breaching regulations, that Becker should instead focus his energies on clarifying city ordinances controlling local campaign finance. She believes that rather than speaking on the issues, he is instead attempting to run a negative campaign.
"We're playing by Ralph's rules and now he's saying we're breaking the law?" she said, "with a note of irony," according to The Salt Lake City Tribune. "As mayor, the first thing I would do is clarify those ordinances."