The Democratic primary challenger to Jackson County Prosecutor Jim Kanatzar acknowledges being late in filing a campaign finance report. But she also took a shot at Kanatzar for paying a man to switch yard signs, which the Kanatzar camp denied.
Rachel Townsend failed to file a campaign finance report required by July 15.
Townsend said today she mistakenly thought the report was due Monday, eight days before the election. But she took contributions beginning May 15 and should have filed a report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on July 15, according to state law.
“It’s just sloppiness on my part, no excuses,” said Townsend, the Lee’s Summit prosecutor since 1999. She uses her married name, Rachel Brown, as city prosecutor but said her legal last name is Townsend.
Townsend raised $10,977 from May 15 through July 26, according to the report she filed on Monday. Under state law, any donations before July 1 should have been disclosed July 15.
Townsend said she is retroactively filling the report and will pay a $10 per day late fee.
Townsend also planned to file her committee organizational report this week. She said she filed the report with the Ethics Commission in April but a commission official said they did not get it.
The Kanatzar campaign filed a complaint with the ethics commission about Townsend's filing oversights.
Meanwhile, a campaign volunteer for Townsend filed a complaint with the ethics panel this week alleging that Kanatzar campaign paid an eastern Jackson County man $100 to remove Townsend’s signs and put up Kanatzar’s.
The complaint said the $100 should have been disclosed. It is, however, included Kanatzar’s campaign report filed Monday.
There is no law against paying someone to display campaign signs, according to the Missouri secretary of state’s office, but Townsend sees it as buying support.
“It’s not illegal but it is unethical,” Townsend said.
Pat O’Neill, manager of Kanatzar’s campaign, said there were no Townsend signs on the property when the property owner agreed to put up Kanatzar’s signs.
"Our opponent's complaint are completely unfounded," O'Neill said in a press release. "We simply don't and won't engage in silly yard sign games."
Submitted by Kevin Murphy
Worried about campaign signs?
Rachel Rachel Rachel, my dear lady, please FOCUS!
A county with high drug use, child abuse and out of control drive-by shootings and you need to talk about signs? Have you heard of the murder trials held at the courthouses in KC and Independence? And you try to 'smoke and mirror' your way out of your lax campaign finance reporting? Own your mismanagement. Sure, you sort of do, but you just had to throw crap at your opponent.
You lost this household votes. (6 of us will be going with Kanatzar)