Stoddard County political group files new disclosure reports

The Stoddard County Republican Central Committee filed new disclosure reports this week detailing transactions that earlier reports claimed never occurred.

The two reports, originally due April 15 and July 15, reported a total of $8,095 in fund-raising and $8,032 in spending since the beginning of the year. Those totals include $6,000 received from a Dexter, Mo.-based political action committee that was moved to Gov. Matt Blunt's campaign fund.

That political action committee, Bootheel Leadership, also filed an amended report that deleted a statement that the purpose of the donation to the Stoddard GOP was "Governor Blunt."

When the Stoddard GOP filed quarterly reports with the Missouri Ethics Commission earlier this year, it filed two "committee statement of limited activity" reports. A limited activity statement is a claim that the committee did not have more than $500 in contributions or spending in a three-month period.

One of the amended reports reveal that in February, the committee held a fund-raiser that brought in $1,795. The event cost was reported as $1,732.

The other report shows that Bootheel Leadership gave $6,000 in June and the campaign committee of Rep. Billy Pat Wright gave $300. All of those funds were sent on to Blunt's re-election committee.

Joe Carroll, head of the reporting division at the ethics commission, declined to comment on the new reports filed by the two committees.

In an interview July 27, Stoddard County GOP treasurer Etheleen Montgomery said she was told that the $6,000 from Bootheel Leadership was intended for Blunt's campaign. She said she was told that it had to be moved to the governor's account via the county GOP treasury.

"I don't even ask any questions anymore," Montgomery said at the time. "I just say, 'OK, whatever you say.'"

When reached Friday, Montgomery refused to discuss the discrepencies between the new reports and those filed previously. "I filed what I have, and that is the way it is and I have no more to say."

Bootheel Leadership, a political action committee formed last summer by Dexter insurance agent Jason Comfort, altered its report by substituting one form for another to report is donations.

The original form was designed for itemized expenses, and Comfort said he include the words "Governor Blunt" after learning where the Stoddard GOP sent his money. He did so, he said on July 28, in order to be "as honest as possible."

He filed again, he said Friday, because he believes he made an error in filing the information in the original form. "I just moved them to where they were supposed to have been."

When Bootheel Leadership contributed $6,000 to Blunt via the Stoddard County GOP committee, it had already given the legal maximum of $1,200 that it could provide directly to the governor's re-election effort.

A new law taking effect Jan. 1 bars local political party committees from giving large sums to political candidates. The same law removes the cap on donations from other sources.

Current law, left untouched by lawmakers when they revised campaign finance rules this year, bars anyone from making donations with the intent of disguising the actual source of the money.

Comfort declined to talk about other activities of his committee, which raises money locally in Stoddard County and receives donations from lobbyists and interest groups with business before state government.

"I was hoping this would run and be done and I am done talking about it," Comfort said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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