Nearly all A.C. Council candidates fail to file election formsThursday, October 29, 2015By John V. Santore

ATLANTIC CITY — Eight of the 10 City Council candidates failed to follow state campaign finance disclosure rules, a review by The Press of Atlantic City of New Jersey’s Election Law Enforcement Commission database has shown.

The candidates were required to file campaign finance reports 29 days before June 2, the date of this year’s primary election, as well as the first of three general election reports by Oct. 5.

Candidates are required to file primary and general-election reports with ELEC even if they anticipate spending no money during those election periods.

As of Thursday, ELEC had not received primary or general-election filings from 1st Ward Councilman Aaron Randolph and 2nd Ward Councilman Marty Small.

Randolph said Thursday that he had been unaware of any filing errors and that his treasurer had mailed primary and general election reports to ELEC on Wednesday.

Small did not return multiple requests for comment.

Additionally, as of Thursday, ELEC had not received general election reports from 1st Ward Republican Ron Brown, 1st Ward independent Tom Forkin, 3rd Ward Democrat Kaleem Shabazz, 5th Ward Republican Sharon Zappia and 5th Ward Democrat Chuen “Jimmy” Cheng.

ELEC had also not received a primary election report from 6th Ward Democrat David Lee.

Candidates must report if they expect their primary or general-election campaign to cost more, or less, than $4,500.

They must also identify all funding sources contributing a cumulative total of more than $300, as well the source of all cash contributions received.

ELEC spokesman Joseph Donohue said the agency sends all candidates information detailing their filing requirements, as well as notifications if they miss a filing deadline.

Fines can reach up to $7,600 for each campaign violation, Donohue said, though such penalties are typically reserved for candidates who don’t try to correct past filing errors.

This week, Cheng said he was unaware he had violated the general-election filing requirement and that he would file a report with ELEC. His primary filing showed he had spent $1,000 of his own money on his campaign.

Zappia said she was serving as her own campaign treasurer and was running behind in her filings. She said she would file a report with ELEC within 10 days. Her primary campaign filing showed she had received $1,000 from a committee named Voters United based in Somers Point.

Brown’s primary filing did not indicate any expenditures or fundraising. He said he had believed that no further filings were needed but would file a general-election report. He said he has not raised any money for, or spent any money on, his campaign.

Lee said he didn’t raise or spend any money during his primary campaign and that he didn’t know he had to file a primary campaign report, though he said he would now do so. His general-election report indicated he would spend less than $4,500.

Shabazz said he was unaware of any filing problems with his campaign and that he would file any forms needed to comply with regulations. His primary filings showed he had raised more than $13,000 by the end of June.

Forkin said he thought his treasurer had submitted all disclosure forms in a timely fashion but would check with ELEC to make sure. He offered to share his campaign’s latest financial information and estimated his campaign budget at $2,000. He also said he had not received any contributions totaling more than about $150.