Monthly Archives: June 2020

Who Paid Alderwoman Davis’s Ethics Fines, How Much, When?

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St. Louis City 19th Ward Alderwoman Marlene Davis doesn’t like Missouri’s Ethics law, hasn’t for a long time. There’s somewhere around $8,230 in fines from 2018 to present that she should have paid MEC but not reflected in her campaign reports.

I have made a Sunshine request to the Missouri Ethics Commission for records on payment of the many fines assessed by the MEC against Davis and her Citizens for Davis candidate committee.

Davis, at this time, has failed to file any campaign reports for 2020 and still owes a report for 2019. She has filed late reports for which fines were due. MEC requires payment of a fine in advance of filing a report. But there is no mention of her campaign committee paying these fines.

Her last MEC reported fine(s) were paid in February 2018: $919.35. At that time, she had a balance of $9,186.17 in the account. Since then, she has filed only Limited Activity Reports or failed to file reports.

Davis electronically filed a Limited Activity Report for July 15, 2918 on September 19, 2018, 66 days late. At $10 per day fine, a $660 fine.

Davis electronically filed a Limited Activity Report for October 15, 2018 on November 26, 2018, 42 days late. At $10 per day fine, a $420 fine.

Davis electronically filed a Limited Activity Report for April 15, 2019 on September 23, 2019, 161 days late. At $10 per day fine, a $1,610 fine.

Davis electronically filed a Limited Activity Report for July 15, 2019 on September 23, 2019, 70 days late. At $10 per day fine, a $700 fine.

As of June 25, 2020, Davis is…

253 days late on filing her October 15, 2019 report, a $2,530 fine;

161 days late on filing her January 15, 2020 report, a $1,610 fine;

70 days late on filing her April 15, 2020 report, a $700 fine.

Davis chairs the Board of Aldermen’s Transportation and Commerce Committee. She has a cozy relationship with Rex Sinquefield’s Airport Privatization consultants and made sure legislation for a public vote to ratify any lease/sale of St. Louis Lambert Airport didn’t happen.

Until recently, she controlled efforts at the BOA to privatize St. Louis Lambert International Airport. Board President Lewis Reed now is in charge of privatization efforts at BOA.

Davis also serves on the City’s Port Authority Commission and is helping shepherd legislation to expand the Port Authority’s boundaries and, therefore, expanding its taxing, eminent domain, and corporate welfare powers. It was her decision to prohibit public testimony on the proposal.

Davis often mentions her expertise in finances at public hearings. And, yet, she cannot manage to file her campaign reports (she serves as her own treasurer) in anything resembling a timely manner.

It appears that Davis had money in the candidate account to pay fines, but that required disclosure on reports, which she did not. So it looks like Davis, or someone else, paid the fines and it was also not reported. I am not sure what the law is on that. If a candidate pays their Ethics fine or if someone else does it, is it an in-kind contribution?

But if hasn’t been reported on a campaign report, the fine and payment is still a public record, or should be. We shall find out, hopefully.

 
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