Scot Crockett, Davison's campaign manager, said the campaign was in full compliance with state election laws, but decided to return the money. The refunded money amounts to 3.6 percent of the $259,327 total that Davison has raised as of Dec. 31.
"And while we have not knowingly received any inappropriate contributions, we are refunding 26 contributors totaling $9,460 in order to avoid any appearance that this campaign is not fully committed to complete compliance with both the letter and the spirit of state campaign finance laws."
Dave Lewis, running mate of Bob Brown, one of Davison's Republican opponents, had suggested Davison was skirting campaign finance limits by encouraging donors to give through their children as well.
At issue were some donations from students, mostly from Billings. At least some of the students are minors and few of the students were registered to vote. Most were listed as living in Billings at the same address of their parents, most of whom also donated to Davison, a Billings business consultant. A number of the donations from the students were the maximum allowed of $400 apiece before Oct. 1 and $500 each after Oct. 1 under state law.
Davison's campaign actually encouraged the practice of giving through children.
A donation card that accompanied a Sept. 18 fund-raising solicitation signed by Davison said: "Contribution limits: Individuals can contribute up to $400 (per person or $800 per couple). If one check is written for two people, you must indicate in the 'memo section' on the check the name and amount for each person. Children and friends can contribute up to $400 each. List all names in the 'memo section.' "
Last week, Lewis said he doubted whether students would contribute to any political campaign. Although he has eight grandchildren, Lewis said he had "not been able to squeeze a dime out of the little nippers yet."
Under the Davison campaign's original interpretation, a husband and wife who wanted to donate to Davison could give a maximum of $500 each or $1,000 as a couple and $500 in the names of each of their children. So a family of four could donate a maximum of $2,000 instead of just $1,000 from the two adults under that theory.
State Political Practices Commissioner Linda Vaughey said no state law or regulation addresses donations to political campaigns by minors.
But she cited this state law, 13-37-217, Montana Code Annotated, 2003, that addresses donating in another person's name:
"No person may make a contribution of his own money or of another person's money to any other person in connection with any election in any other name than that of the person who in truth supplies such money. No person may knowingly receive such a contribution or enter or cause the same to be entered in his accounts or records in another name than that of the person to whom it was actually furnished."
Vaughey said she would investigate the issue if a formal complaint is filed.
Earlier this week, the Missoulian State Bureau asked the Davison campaign to provide copies of the checks from which the student donations came. Crockett said Friday the campaign hadn't been able to do that completely, but had decided to refund the money in question.
The Davison campaign letter accompanying the refunds, written by campaign treasurer Mike Duffield, a Missoula certified public accountant, also quoted the state law.
"The law relates to your contribution because a portion of your contribution was allocated to a family member for which this campaign cannot verify that the individual actually supplied the funds for the contribution," Duffield wrote. "Therefore, while this campaign did not knowingly receive any inappropriate contributions, we are refunding this allocated portion of your contributions to avoid any appearance of a lack of compliance with state laws."
In response, Lewis said: "We all have to be very careful to follow the law, and I'm pleased that they finally agreed that that was the case."
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