Complaints against York councilwoman sent to D.A.
Daily Record/Sunday News
Several ethics complaints filed against York City Councilwoman Toni Smith have been referred to the county district attorney's office, York County Solicitor Mike Flannelly said Wednesday.
The complaints, filed by city resident and former York City Council and mayoral candidate, Gerry L. Turner, suggested that Smith violated several sections of campaign finance rules when she contributed to a political action committee that printed materials condemning her primary opponent Michael Helfrich.
All ethics complaints filed with the York County Department of Elections and Voter Registration are forwarded to the county solicitor for review, director Nikki Suchanic said. The solicitor can choose whether to pass the complaint to the district attorney.
Flannelly would not disclose why he forwarded the complaint, but said he reviews all such cases to determine if a violation of election law has taken place and issues an opinion. If there is a factual issue with the case, the district attorney can make a further determination, he said.
York County District Attorney Tom Kearney said it was his office's policy to neither confirm nor deny whether an investigation is pending. He would not comment further.
At issue in the complaints were some fliers distributed by a group, known as the Committee for York's Future, shortly before the primary. The mailers addressed Helfrich's criminal record, featuring a pair of dice and asking voters if they wanted to gamble on him. Helfrich pleaded guilty to two felony drug charges in 1991.
Campaign finance records filed with York County show Smith and her re-election committee contributed all of the money used by the Committee for York's Future. She later defeated Helfrich by fewer than 100 votes.
In the four complaints filed against Smith, Turner alleges that she violated campaign finance law by exceeding established contribution limits, negating rules that required the committee's treasurer to make financial transactions, failing to conspicuously state the name of the person that financed the mailers and not listing outstanding debts on campaign finance documents.
Included with the complaints was a notarized statement from committee chairwoman of the Committee for York's Future, Jerri Zimmerman. She states she was led to believe by Smith that the committee would promote anti-bullying efforts when she decided to sign on as chairwoman.
Smith said previously that she would be willing to talk to Flannelly and Kearney about the complaints. She could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
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