Rep. John Garden, a Watertown Democrat who co-chairs the Legislature’s Health Care Financing Committee, was penalized by marketing campaign finance regulators final month for “inadequate” report holding, submitting finance experiences late, and a number of cases of receiving extra contributions.
The lawmaker purged $14,000 in donations, appointed a brand new marketing campaign treasurer, and personally paid $500 to the state for the price of reviewing his data to resolve the violations of state legislation, based on the Workplace of Marketing campaign and Political Finance.
In a letter to Garden, OCPF Director William Campbell stated marketing campaign finance regulators “determined that no further action” was warranted as a result of “appropriate remedial actions have taken place.”
“However, further instances of noncompliance with the campaign finance law may result in referral to the attorney general in accordance with Section 3 of the campaign finance law or legal proceedings that could prevent your name from appearing on a state or local ballot in Massachusetts,” Campbell stated.
Garden, who gained reelection in November after working unopposed and is the one state lawmaker to be cited by marketing campaign finance regulators thus far this yr, stated he’s “grateful” to marketing campaign finance regulators for “bringing these matters to my attention.”
“Once I was made aware, I immediately took the necessary steps to rectify them, including hiring a professional campaign treasurer. Ultimately, it is my responsibility to ensure accurate and final reports to OCPF. Going forward, given the steps we have taken, I am confident the campaign committee will not face any of these issues in the future,” Garden stated in a press release to the Herald.
The marketing campaign finance legislation requires politicians’ marketing campaign committees to file finance experiences that precisely replicate contributions and expenditures on time. The experiences should embrace details about who donated to a candidate or elected official and when the cash was acquired.
Within the March 25 missive to Garden, Campbell stated contributor data for roughly $104,500 that the Watertown Democrat acquired between January 2023 and August 2024 was “not timely filed.”
“In addition to the committee’s inadequate record keeping procedures, the late filing of reports exacerbated the issue of receiving excess contributions,” Campbell stated in a letter. “Had reports been prepared and filed in a timely manner, the aggregate limits would have been clearer to the committee and the excess contributions could have been avoided.”
Garden introduced in extra contributions in 2022, 2023, and 2024, together with from political motion committees, lobbyists, and particular person donors.
Marketing campaign finance regulators stated Garden acquired contributions from political motion committees that exceeded the state-mandated yearly restrict in December 2022 by $1,750, in 2023 by $6,950, and in 2024 by $2,600.
“To resolve these matters, the committee purged the sum of $11,300 to the commonwealth,” Campbell stated within the letter.
Garden acquired $1,200 in extra contributions from 5 lobbyists, based on regulators. State legislation limits the quantity a single lobbyist can contribute to a candidate or elected official to $200 in a calendar yr. Garden gave the state $1,200 to resolve the matter.
State regulators additionally stated that Garden acquired and deposited a $500 financial institution test despite the fact that his marketing campaign committee “was not able to determine the source of this contribution and incorrectly attributed the receipt to a PAC.”
“The campaign finance law requires committees to keep accounts, including the full name and address of all contributors to a committee regardless of the amount,” Campbell stated in his letter to Garden. “Anonymous contributions may not be accepted … To resolve this matter, the committee purged the sum of $500 to the commonwealth.”
Garden’s marketing campaign committee was dinged for submitting late experiences clarifying $57,500 in spending, paperwork detailing sub-vendors, and failure to “keep and preserve detailed accounts, vouchers, and receipts for all contributions received, expenditures made, and any other campaign finance activity.”
“The delay in filing required reports frustrated the public’s interest in accurate and timely disclosure of campaign finance activity during the relevant periods,” Campbell wrote within the letter.
