Ethics watchdog penalizes mayor of Kansas City suburb for campaign finance violations
The Missouri Ethics Commission (MEC) found that Parkville Mayor Nan Johnston’s campaign reports contained inaccuracies and belatedly disclosed expenditures and contributions, including a $5,000 check from a developer.
The violations were enough for the MEC to issue Johnston and her campaign committee a $5,242 fee as a sanction. But it is allowing her to pay $524 within the next 45 days to avoid paying the full amount.
The penalty stems from a complaint filed by activist Jason Maki, who has alleged that Parkville city government lacks transparency and fairness in dealing with the public.
“You shouldn’t be able to cheat your way through an election and say, oops, a $500 fine, I’ll pay it,” Maki said.
In a statement, Johnston said she hired and relied upon Mike Reid, a former director of compliance with the MEC, to file her campaign’s finance reports starting in the middle of March 2019.
Johnston’s campaign finance reports do not reflect any payment to Reid for those services. In a follow up phone call, Johnston said she never received an invoice from Reid and would check with the MEC about whether any services he provided should be reported as an in-kind contribution.
“While I relied on Mr. Reid’s expertise to file reports on the campaign’s behalf, I accept responsibility for not reviewing them more closely,” Johnston said in a statement.
Reid, now a lobbyist for the Missouri School Board Association, did not return a message seeking comment.
“The MEC did not discover any willful disregard of campaign finance law by me or my campaign,” Johnston said in a statement. “They did find that some contributions were reported late and some others that were reported incorrectly. I have reviewed and agree with their findings.”
The MEC found that Johnston’s campaign received a $5,000 contribution from residential developer Donald Julian shortly after the April 2 election but did not report it until July 15. The contribution should have been reported on Johnston’s campaign finance report that was due in May 2019.
Johnston’s campaign first received a $5,000 contribution from Don Julian Builders, Inc., in late March, during the run-up to the April 2 election. But the contribution was returned because political campaigns in Missouri can no longer take money directly from corporations. Julian sent Johnston’s campaign a $5,000 contribution in his own name on April 4, two days after Johnston won a third term leading the suburban city in Platte County.
Julian is a prominent homebuilder whose projects include portions of Riss Lake in Platte County; Johnston said he’s a “top-notch” developer and a personal friend.
Johnston’s campaign also incorrectly reported the source of three contributions and failed to report nearly $900 in campaign expenditures on time. It also did not file a full campaign finance report after the election to reflect more than $7,000 in expenditures.
This story was originally published March 3, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
