RS campaign finance allegations investigated

The Sweetwater County Attorney’s Office recently completed an investigation into a violation of state campaign finance law in Rock Springs, stemming from a paid letter of support posted on the SweetwaterNOW website.

According to a media release from the county attorney’s office, no charges were filed against the letter’s authors or employees at SweetwaterNOW.

“I felt that it was clear that no one intended to violate campaign finance laws. Had the parties been aware of the specific law, or not been charged a fee, then a violation would not have occurred,” Erramouspe said.

According to the release, former Sweetwater County Clerk Dale Davis received a complaint Nov. 8, 2018, regarding concerns that a paid opinion letter published on the website. The complaint, authored by Rock Springs City Council representatives Rob Zotti, Rose Moseby and Gennise Wendorf, alleged the letter violated Wyoming election laws.

The letter was a response to a previous opinion Bruce Pivic had published on his Wyo4News website critical of Rock Springs mayoral candidate Tim Kaumo.

The complaint alleged the letter should have listed the authors’ names or a registered political action committee, but instead contained the line “Paid for by a group of employees of the city of Rock Springs.”

During the investigation, the county attorney’s office determined SweetwaterNOW established a campaign policy of deeming every article an advertisement and charged a fee to publish, regardless of if the item was an opinion piece, endorsement letter or cycled advertisement.

“This policy was distinct to SweetwaterNOW as other media outlets did not follow the same guideline,” the media release states.

When the letter in support of Kaumo was published, the “employees of the city of Rock Springs” paid SweetwaterNOW and contributed anonymously to Kaumo’s campaign. The county attorney’s media release states this act was a violation of campaign finance law.

Working with SweetwaterNOW, one of the letter’s authors was contacted by the county attorney’s office and interviewed. Through the interview, investigators learned the employees involved with the letter were unaware their actions violated Wyoming statute.

The group intended to write an opinion piece and were unaware that paying for its publication was considered contributing to Kaumo’s campaign. They admitted the group was not a PAC nor did they publish their respective names.