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Democratic congressional candidate George Fearing came within a day of facing potential civil penalties from the Federal Election Commission by being a week late in filing his most recent campaign finance report.
Fearing's campaign treasurer, Dante Lee Montoya of Kennewick, said the required report covering contributions received from Oct. 1-15 was mistakenly overlooked and not provided to the FEC until Oct. 29. The deadline was Oct. 23.
The Washington State Republican Party noticed the delay, saying it appears as though Fearing was "hiding something" from voters in the Fourth Congressional District.
"This is a critical time with (campaign finance report) deadlines coming much faster. So it is a big deal that they could hide this," said Luke Esser, chairman of the Washington State Republican Party from his office in Bellevue.
"We were well within the four-day grace period," said Cindi Laws, Fearing's campaign manager.
Esser said Fearing and Montoya should have been aware of the deadlines because Fearing is a lawyer and Montoya is a certified public accountant.
Montoya, who is a Democratic candidate for state representative in the 16th District, takes full responsibility.
"I have to make a living, and I was on the road to Salt Lake City, working on an audit for a client. I just didn't notice that the report hadn't been received by the FEC," Montoya said.
Fearing's campaign received a letter from the FEC last week that extended the filing deadline to Oct. 30, after which there could be civil penalties, including fines.
Fearing's report shows $13,503 received the first two weeks of October, bringing his net total for the campaign to $269,188, with $206,411 of it from individuals.
Rep. Doc Hastings, the Republican incumbent, filed a report that shows $10,277 received for the first half of October, bringing his total donations to $595,390, of which $308,347 is from individuals.
The reports show Fearing with just over $50,000 cash available to complete the campaign, while Hastings has more than $200,000.
