From Deseret News archives:
Campaign funds for clothes, nannies?
Several other legislators who left office last year followed suit pocketing thousands of dollars of leftover campaign money. Other lawmakers do not wait to retire to convert campaign money to personal uses that benefit themselves, family or friends.
Disclosure forms show such spending ranges from paying apartment rent to buying suits and shirts, freeway HOV-lane passes, baby-sitting, dry cleaning and personal passports.
That is legal in Utah but may be questionable because recent analyses show that up to 95 percent of campaign funds come from special interests with business before the Legislature. By contrast, federal law bans members of Congress from spending their campaign money for personal use.
Meanwhile, a computer-assisted review by the Deseret Morning News shows that of the $3.8 million that current legislators spent in their last campaigns, about $1 of every $5 went for items that personally benefited themselves, family or friends.
Some of that would be allowed even under stricter federal rules. Allowable would be at least $550,000 the legislators made in donations to fellow politicians and parties, $37,000 paid for mobile phones, $94,000 in donations to charities (such as their churches or Boy Scouts), $26,750 to pay relatives for campaign work and $108,500 for travel (including trips to China, Vietnam and Germany).
More questionable would be at least $41,750 that they spent on clearly personal items and services, along with $33,000 on gifts and $22,000 on digital cameras, TVs and computers for campaigns that could easily be converted to personal use afterward.
Reducing sacrifices
Some of Utah's 104 part-time lawmakers say such use of campaign funds helps reduce the sacrifices they make to serve, or that it helps them serve better.
Comments
- Take time to visit, thank veterans 5:41 p.m.
- Mega wind project goes online 5:38 p.m.
- Mental evaluation in Emery case 5:35 p.m.
- TRAX construction open house 5:20 p.m.
- Fired trooper sues safety dept. 5:12 p.m.
- Uranium storage policy questioned 4:58 p.m.
- Women recognized as biz leaders 4:57 p.m.
- Huntsman Sr. speaks at Y. devotional 4:35 p.m.
- Utah gas up an average of 2 cents 4:31 p.m.
- Study: Mentoring makes difference 4:26 p.m.
- Utah group finds homes for orphans
- Pratt pleads not guilty to sex charges
- Jazz blow big lead, hang on
- Y. tight ends talented tandem
- Utes get extra motivation
- Senators want food tax restored
- Alta's Ohai is Ms. Soccer 2009
- BYU soccer incident still popular
- Lobo land like home for BYU lineman
- U. hopes to keep clicking
- House passes health care bill
259 - TCU showdown has big implications
187 - Lobo suspended
184 - Cougars crush hapless Cowboys
155 - Senators want food tax restored
143 - Utah Jazz fall apart against Kings
131 - TCU 4th in AP poll; U. 16th, Y. 22nd
119 - No 'backlash' for pioneers, gays analogy
104 - RSL rallies to advance
103 - S.L. vote pending on gay protections
91
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar restaurants nationwide will honor...
Meghan McCain, the daughter of former presidential candidate John...
I am surprised that a program like this exists: where kids from Ukarine are...
I was way impressed with that Figgins girl. I thought she did an amazing job...
The comments on this topic, prove our wonderful country is divided, to the...
real quick: BYU and every women's soccer team has their thug players; if they...
"But Bronco's goal for the year is to win the MWC..." Hugh? Bronco's goal...
Practice saying the following: We let TCU humiliate us so TCU could...
The earth's climate has changed throughout history. Climate change,...
Redshirt, that section you cite has nothing to do with funding research. It...
Uranium to come here, then put nuclear power plants all over Utah, this is...




You can be the first to comment on this story.