Smiley’s Firm Responsible for Million Dollar Reporting Error
Monday, July 21, 2014
Democratic candidate for Mayor of Providence Brett Smiley's consulting firm, The CFO Consulting Group, was responsible for failing to report $1 million in spending during a Congressional campaign -- and pundits and opponents are questioning whether the transgression will play a role, or not, during the 2014 election season.
Smiley's Campaign Finance Officers had a $30,000 contract to compile and file reports for the re-election campaign of U.S. Representative Heath Shuler in 2010 -- but failed to report $1 million in advertising spending in the final weeks of the campaign, according to AP reports in 2011.
"Forgetting to report $1 million in spending is considered a major error. The FEC documents aren't entirely clear about how the error was discovered. Smiley didn't personally commit the error, but he is ultimately responsible for it," said Jennifer Duffy with The Cook Political Report.
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According to reporting of the 2010 filing oversight, Shuler's campaign first reported the error in a January 2011 letter to the Federal Election Commission, and also filed amended reports covering spending from July 1 through Nov. 22. The person responsible for the error was fired, Smiley told the Asheville Citizen-Times.
"One negligent employee made a mistake that resulted in a reporting error, and under Brett's leadership our firm handled the situation with poise and professionalism. We self-reported the error to the client and to the FEC. We immediately proceeded to correct the public record, relieved the employee of their position at CFO, and paid the fine for the committee. We did not lose the contract -- to the contrary, Rep. Shuler's team appreciated how we dealt with the situation and remained a client until he retired from Congress," said Nick Daggers, Vice President of CFO.
Daggers continued, "CFO handles approximately 20 clients around the country at any given time, and while we regret that a mistake was made in this case, what's important is that it was dealt with immediately and proactively."
A current CFO, LLC website currently lists 15 clients among its selected client work, which lists Daggers as its Vice-President. A former CFO website, which doesn't include Daggers, lists over 40 clients, including Shuler.
Role in Campaign?
Whether the 2010 oversight plays a role in the 2014 campaign will yet to be seen.
"It is hard to see how someone could miss filing of $1 million in campaign spending. That is real money even by today's campaign spending. We can expect Smiley's opponents to be all over this issue and to call for a more detailed explanation," said Darrell West, Vice President at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.
Duffy added, "[Smiley's] opponents could use it to raise questions of competence and whether he is ready to manage the city. Will they use it? I have no idea."
Primary opponent Jorge Elorza issued a statement on the issue.
"$1 million is a lot of money to misreport. Voters deserve an explanation as this reflects on Mr. Smiley's ability to manage money and staff in City Hall," said Elorza. "That being said, I'll let him explain, and I'll reserve judgment until all the facts are known."
Democratic challenger and City Council President Michael Solomon did not respond to request for comment.
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