Missouri lobbyist’s donation to Lee’s Summit school board candidate was illegal
Lee’s Summit lobbyist William Brown may want to brush up on the rules governing his industry. And the Missouri Ethics Commission may want to ask the Lee’s Summit businessman a few questions.
In Missouri, registered lobbyists are prohibited from transferring funds from a political action committee under their control to a candidate for public office.
Simple, right? Why would buying influence outright be legal?
The measure is on the books to prevent corruption, said Chuck Hatfield, a Jefferson City-based attorney focused on campaign finance law.
But Brown, president of Lee’s Summit lobbying firm Spectrum Strategies, either doesn’t understand state statutes, or thinks he is above the law.
Brown is treasurer of the Forward Lee’s Summit political action committee, which has since 2017 contributed thousands of dollars in campaign donations to local candidates running for office.
It wasn’t until I reached out to one of the main beneficiaries of Brown’s generosity that he acknowledged that he was running afoul of ethics rules.
Christine Bushyhead is an attorney seeking a three-year term on the Lee’s Summit School District Board of Education in the general election on April 6.
Forward Lee’s Summit gave Bushyhead $1,250 last year during a failed run for the school board, according to campaign disclosure forms. She has received $300 this year, a report filed last month with the Missouri Ethics Commission shows.
Bushyhead is one of five candidates that filed to run for two open seats on the Lee’s Summit School Board. The others were Michele Surber, Rodrick Sparks, Monte Helm and Ryan Murdock, the current board president.
Bushyhead told me that she was not aware lobbyists were banned from donating to candidates for public office. She promised to return the money.
Lobbyists are required to file a yearly fee to maintain their status, which Brown did. He has not lobbied in two years, disclosure forms show. But he did contribute to political campaigns while acting as a lobbyist in previous years, according to online campaign records.
Brown is a former regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Urban Housing and Development. He said the donation to Bushyhead was an oversight he wants to quickly rectify.
“I am terminating my lobbying registration effective today,” Brown wrote in an email. “Christine will be returning the Forward LS contribution and I will be replacing it with one for the same amount from my personal funds.”
Liz Ziegler, executive director of the Missouri Ethics Commission, is not allowed to comment on potential investigations. But in an advisory opinion issued in January, Zeigler reminded the treasurer of an unrelated PAC about the state law that prohibits political contributions from lobbyists.
The treasurer of a PAC is in control of the committee and therefore is ultimately responsible for following the law. While the statute does not prohibit a lobbyist from serving as treasurer for a political action committee, the statute does prohibit the lobbyist — or treasurer — from making contributions from the PAC to candidate committees and to committees controlled by public officials, the ethics commission concluded.
“No contributions (from lobbyists) can be made to any candidate committees,” Zeigler wrote.
Brown is the project coordinator for Paragon Star, a multimillion-dollar youth sports and entertainment complex under construction near Interstate 470 and View High Drive in Lee’s Summit.
The project will cost Lee’s Summit taxpayers millions in incentives. He recently shared on his personal Facebook page a racially-insensitive meme that called into question his role on the district’s influential Business Roundtable group.
The ethics commission might want to follow through with Brown, just to make sure he doesn’t forget again what the rules are.
This story was originally published March 13, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
