( - promoted by chetly)
In our routine reviews of new campaign filings, we bumped across a fascinating paper trail with guess who's fingerprints on it? Jon Stryker. We'll call this the first Styker sighting of the year - although it may be the last of 2006. It's hard to tell, but the web of paperwork weaves a remarkable story. The first strike of Stryker in 2008 begins on 9/27/07, when this committee was formed. The name - Communities Voting Together (both a sound-alike to America Coming Together, and a national PAC with the same name and operators). The first odd thing is the number of Statement of Organization amendments. Therefore, we begin with the original, here. It is allegedly filed by a Richard Leal, likely the Richard Leal that is a board member of ACORN. However, no address for Leal is provided, no Treasurer signature is provided, and only a "record-keeper" signature that appears later as the Treasurer from Louisanna. The document was faxed from a Louisiana phone number. Without address or signature, it is an incomplete filing. On October 8, we have the first SoS amendment, this time making Donna Pharr of New Orleans the main "Attention to:" address and giving Richard Leal the same address as her, in New Orleans. Now this isn't where Leal resides, we're guessing, because its the same address as Donna Pharr's. An out-of-state Treasurer's must sign a check-box statement of irrevocable acceptance that service by mail to their address is legal service, and that they consent to the laws of Michigan. This didn't occur here though, nor do we yet have a signature from the Treasurer himself. We see the final Statement of Organization (SoS) amendment on October 11, bearing Leal's signature but not the out-of-state check box. OutsideLansing.com, through its author, therefore is filing a complaint with the Secretary of State on this and other notes. But crossing that tee is not where it gets exciting. On 10/30 we see the October Triannual filings. It is filed, then refiled with an amendment, and refiled again, all on the same day. The original lists Community Voting Together (CVT) donating $60,054.23 in two donations ($50K and $10 and change), and spending roughly $18K all on itself, mostly for accounting fees. Group gives money to itself which it bills as accounting. That's odd. And the numbers are odd. Hours or minutes later, the contributions are amended to be disaggregated from CVT. This time, Richard Leal, with a different address in Washington DC, gives the $50K, and Patricia Bauman gives the $10K plus change. She's heir to the Lionel Bauman fortune and director of the Bauman Family Foundation, and wired up on the left in more ways than we need to list here. All the payments for accounting are switched from CVT to an accounting firm called CCI, of the same address as Treasurer Donna Pharr. Then, hours or minutes later again, we have another set of changes. This time Patricia Bauman is noted as giving the $50K, and ... drumroll please ... Jon Stryker, misspelled as John, gives the $10K and change. The address is Kalamazoo and PO Box (a no-no for that amount, though that's trivial), and neither have occupations listed (another trivial point but they're piling up now). Is the misspelling an intentional deflection, a typo, or a lack of knowledge by the record-keeper on who Stryker is? MORE |
The shell game is what is interesting here, along with that fact that $60,000 has come into political existence with $18K being immediately spent on accounting. That's amazing - and it suggests that the accounting might be to "clean up" other misaccountings from the last election cycle, or an odd way to reimburse Pharr and CCI for future work that will probably be spread out over who knows where. And who is Donna Pharr? She's tied to ACORN, and should know a bit about campaign finance law as she has filed reports in Minnesota (different law, but she's not a neophyte). Pharr is clearly in the business of moving money leftward. And the national 527 group CVT is run by probably the same Richard Leal, with the DC address. It's mission: To educate and mobilize low income voters in key communities in key battleground states in the run-up to the 2004 presidential elections, focusing on Latino and African-American neighborhoods. To work in conjunction with existing community organizations in the targeted communities to deliver an issue-based message on the importance of voter participation. So what we have in the Michigan PAC CVT group is either Jon Stryker and company pre-paying for accounting for next year, or paying for "clean-up" accounting done for campaign finance reporting from last year. It's a bit late to be paying for things happening last year - and why form new committees to do that. But when you have a group that pays almost 1/3rd of its initial contribution - and that is more than a couple thousand dollars - to cover accounting costs, you have to wonder what someone's planning ... or who's moving money where. We have donations of 10K and 50K that magically transform themselves from three different entities in a period of hours. I mean - you're a campaign finance filer and you have two checks in front of you? I could see how you might accidentally reverse them. But three different entities for each? Is there anything significantly illegal here? Hard to be sure - but enough I think to raise questions. Know this too - whatever CVT reports say, this is the tip of the Stryker iceberg. |
