10/11/02

Columbus- The Ohio Elections Commission dismissed a complaint yesterday by a former lawmaker who accused the Hamilton County Republican Party of illegally funneling contributions to the campaign of Treasurer Joseph Deters.

The commission deadlocked 3-3 on conflicting motions to dismiss the case and refer it for further investigation.

That allowed Vice Chairman William West, a Republican, to dismiss it. Democratic Chairwoman Judy Sheerer was absent.

West, however, would allow the complaint to be refiled should sufficient new evidence be brought forward.

Former State Rep. David Hartley, a Springfield Democrat, filed the complaint in September.

He alleged that Deters' chief fund-raiser, Eric Sagun, had asked contributors to Deters' short-lived 2001 campaign for attorney general to give money to the party with the expectation that it would go to Deters.

The contributions to the county party's state candidate fund would then go to Deters' campaign, effectively giving him two campaign committees, Hartley said.

Ohio law limits each candidate to one committee. Hartley said the county party had given more than $300,000 to Deters' campaign.

"The idea here is to have one committee and have everything on that one [campaign finance] report," Don McTigue, a lawyer representing Hartley, told the commission.

"Mr. Deters functionally used the state candidate fund of the Hamilton County Republican Party as a second campaign committee."

John Zeiger, a lawyer representing Deters, said his client, Sagun and the party broke no laws.