Brian Lederer, Esq.
Law Offices of Brian Lederer
October 22, 2010
Cecily E. Collier-Montgomery
Director,
Office of Campaign Finance
Government of the District of Columbia
Frank D. Reeves Municipal Center
Re: Request that you demand that Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, as a
qualifying candidate under DC Campaign Finance Laws in the November
general election for re-election as Mayor, either comply with the law
and provide the required campaign filings for this candidacy or provide
in writing a cease and desist notification to the Save DC Now committee
to immediately stop the use of his name and campaign activity in his
behalf.
Dear Director Collier-Montgomery:
Please accept this letter as my request for action by you regarding the
candidacy of Mayor Adrian Fenty in the upcoming general election as it is
manifested in the Save DC Now Write-In campaign. This committee is an
actively working to reelect Mayor Adrian M. Fenty through its write-in
vote campaign.
I request that you demand that Mayor Fenty either comply with the law
and provide the required campaign filings under this candidacy or that he
provide in writing a cease and desist notification to the Save DC Now
committee to stop immediately the use of his name and its campaign
activity in his behalf.
The law of the District of Columbia makes Mayor Fenty a candidate for
election in the general election due to the campaign activities of Save DC
Now Pac, Inc., his write-in campaign committee. D. C. Code 1-1011.1(2), D.
C. Official Code 2001, defines a candidate as follows:
The term "candidate" means an individual who seeks
nomination for election, or election, to office, whether or not such
individual is nominated or elected, and, for purposes of this paragraph,
an individual shall be deemed to seek nomination for election, or
election, if he or she has: (A) obtained or authorized any other person
to obtain nominating petitions to qualify himself or herself for
nomination for election, or election, to office; (B) received
contributions or made expenditures, or has given his or her consent for
any other person to receive contributions or make expenditures, with a
view to bringing about his or her nomination for election, or election,
to office; or (C) reason to know, or knows, that any other person has
received contributions or made expenditures for that purpose, and
has not notified that person in writing to cease receiving contributions
or making expenditures for that purpose; provided, that an
individual shall not be deemed a candidate if he notifies each person
who has received contributions or made expenditures that such individual
is only testing the waters, has not yet made any decision whether to
seek nomination or election to public office, and is not a candidate. A
person who is deemed to be a candidate for the purposes of this
subchapter shall not be deemed, solely by reason of that status, to be a
candidate for the purposes of any other federal law.
The term “office” is defined in DC Code 1-1011.1(3), D.C. Official
Code 2001, to be:
The office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, Chairman or member
of the Council of the District of Columbia, member of the Board.
Similarly, Mayor Fenty is a candidate as that term is defined in the
municipal regulations. 3 DCMR 3002 entitled “CANDIDATE
STATUS” declares a candidate to be one as follows:
An individual shall be considered a candidate when the individual
performs any of the following acts:
(a) Receives a campaign contribution;
(b) Makes a campaign expenditure;
(c) Obtains nominating petitions;
(d) Authorizes any person to perform any of the above acts; or
(e) Fails to disavow in writing to the Director any of the above acts
by any other person within ten (10) days after written notification by
the Director. 3 DCMR 3002,1
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty knows or has reason to know of that the Save DC
Now Committee are doing several of these acts, including receiving
campaign contributions and making campaign expenditures: using Fenty
Re-elect 2010 materials from the September 14, 010 primary election,
engaging persons from his Fenty 2010 primary campaign to work in the
write-in campaign; and raising and spending money on Adrian Fenty’s
behalf to re-elect him Mayor as a write-in candidate in the November
general election. Even though Mayor Fenty has stated that he is not a
candidate in the November general election, he has only made oral
statements, but has not, in fact, “notified person [or persons] in writing to cease receiving contributions or making expenditures for
that purpose [a write-in campaign to re-elect him as Mayor in the November
2, 2010 general election having failed to win the Democratic primary
election in September 2010}.
The campaign is visible and obvious. It formed a DC corporation on
September 28, 2010, entitled Save DC Now PAC, Inc (file No. 299257). It is
operating through an organization called WriteFentyin with a website at www.writefentyin.com.
The website states it is paid for by Save DC Now PAC, Inc. Even though the
website alleges it is “not affiliated or endorsed by Adrian Fenty,” it
is manifestly a campaign tool, open to everyone, advertised in public
literature and sending emails to people, posted on Facebook and Twitter.
The website has a photograph of Mayor Fenty, Fenty campaign signs, and
links to facilitate the following: volunteering, contributing funds, and
participating in the campaign to write-in Mayor Adrian M. Fenty for
re-election in this coming November 2, 2010, general election.
Save DC Now PAC, Inc, registered as a Political Action Committee, on
September 27, 2010, with the same persons and addresses of the persons
forming the corporation. Please note these persons are also persons who
were active in the Re-elect Fenty 2010 campaign for nomination as the
Democratic candidate for Mayor in the Democratic primary held on September
14, 2010.
On October 10, 2010, this committee filed a Report of Receipts and
Expenditures, OCF Identification No. . The Committee raised $4,588
as of that date. Further, the Committee has received substantial in-kind
contributions from the primary campaign Committee to Re-elect Mayor Fenty,
including campaign stickers and posters being posted on the early voting
site at One Judiciary Square.
At the early voting site, the write-in campaign is actively asking
voters to write-in Adrian M. Fenty for Mayor on the general election
ballot. The committee is offering the use of a rubber stamp with the name
on the stamp of: “Adrian M. Fenty.” The committee has posted “Fenty”
campaign signs, in support of the write-in, that states “Paid for by
Fenty Re-elect 2010, Ben Soto Treasurer, Report Filed with the Director of
Campaign Finance.”
The use of the “Fenty” signs is a continual violation of DC law by
the Save DC Now campaign committee. D.C. Official Code § 1-1102.10,
requires that campaign literature must be identified by the words “paid
for by” followed by the name and address of the payer or the committee
or other person and its treasurer on whose behalf the materials appear.
Enclosed for your review are copies of pictures of the signs presently on
display. Four Photographs are attaching showing pictures of these posters
and this general election activity on behalf of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, at
the early voting site, One Judiciary Square, to write him in on the
general election ballot for Mayor.
Mayor Fenty has reason to know of the existence and operation of this
Write-In campaign. There has been an abundance of news reports made on the
activities the campaign. There have been reports of the campaign
activities in the Washington Post, the radio and neighborhood news papers.
Additionally, many of the Individuals in the campaign were previously
paid workers of the Fenty Re-elect Campaign. These people are appearing at
events asking voters to write-in Mayor Fenty.
In addition to my request for you to demand Mayor Fenty to comply with
the law of candidacy, if Mayor Fenty is not a candidate, then I ask that
you further demand Mayor Fenty file the required “Statement of Candidate
Withdrawal” form. 3 DCMR 3002.6 requires upon the termination of
candidacy the individual shall immediately file this required form.
Sincerely
/s/ Brian Lederer
Brian Lederer
CC: Board of Elections and Ethics