Richmond board of elections chief calls for action on campaign finance reporting

RICHMOND, Va. — The Richmond Board of Elections Chairman called on the city’s top election official to address campaign finance reporting concerns regarding District 6 City Council candidate Tavares Floyd.

Starlet Stevens leads Richmond’s Managing Registrar Keith Balmer and the three-member body that oversees election activities in the city.

On Friday, he sent Balmer an email with a copy from a representative from the state elections department, asking her to contact Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin.

“Regarding Tavares Floyd, this situation appears to be gaining ‘leg’,” he wrote to Balmer. “I strongly recommend you call Ms. McEachin or someone in her office to make sure we are proceeding in the right way in this situation.”

Stevens said he sent his email after watching the CBS 6 news Thursday night.

“I think we need to dot all our I’s and cross all our T’s. No matter how minor the situation seems, we have to address it,” Stevens said.

McEachin confirmed he had spoken to Mr Balmer and released the following statement late on Friday.

“The Commonwealth Attorney’s Office is aware of recent media coverage of campaign finance filings submitted by Mr. Tavares Floyd, a candidate for the District 6 City Council seat,” McEachin said. “My office has communicated with a number of local and state law enforcement and election agencies to determine the most timely and efficient ways to address the allegations. My office does not comment publicly on the existence of any investigation, and we will continue to uphold this policy.”

WATCH: Lack of investigation into Richmond campaign finance reports raises concern

Lack of investigation into Richmond campaign financial reporting raises concern

As CBS 6 previously reportedFloyd’s campaign allegedly raised a total of just over $140,000, according to campaign filings.

That’s what his opponents and CBS 6 political analyst Dr. That’s well above what Bob Holsworth called a “rare” number for a city council race.

However, some people listed as donors in the Floyd campaign said they never donated and did not know who Floyd was.

This includes a reported $20,000 donation from a Chicago businessman, $5,000 from a Tennessee lawyer and $5,000 from a funeral home owner. All refused to make the reported donations.

Stevens said he had already had a conversation with Balmer about the situation earlier in the week.

I discussed the issue with him one-on-one and said, ‘I’m a little worried about this.’ What are you doing?’ “You know, it’s not something I can do,” Stevens said.

Balmer previously told CBS 6 he had no authority to investigate and was only responsible for ensuring financial reports were submitted in a timely and complete manner.

But the Virginia Department of Elections insisted Balmer would be the appropriate official to take action.

“He was advised to review all of Mr. Floyd’s reports and send an ‘incomplete report notification’ that would alert the candidate to irregularities in his report,” department spokeswoman Andrea Gaines said. he said.

CBS 6 asked Balmer if he took the recommended action and if he was still waiting to hear back.

Lack of investigation and confusion about who is responsible for addressing concerns raised questions About Virginia’s current campaign finance reporting laws and whether they are clear or strong enough.

“I will rely heavily on the state in this case,” Stevens said. “I reached out to someone there and they said, ‘Yes, that’s the city’s responsibility.'”

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