Del. Dana Jones (D-Anne Arundel) was able to provide proof she had paid for a 2023 fundraiser that did not initially appear in a campaign finance report last year, but in doing so she revealed that she was signing campaign funds — which is prohobited for candidates under state campaign finance law. (File photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)
A state delegate may have inadvertently run afoul of state campaign finance law as she sought to address questions recently about a missing 2023 payment to rent a venue for a campaign event.
Del. Dana Jones (D-Anne Arundel) faced questions about the Oct. 5, 2023, event during an Anne Arundel County Democratic Central Committee meeting earlier this month, where she was one of three candidates to fill a vacancy in the Maryland Senate. A central committee member at the Jan. 4 meeting alleged that Jones failed to report a payment or in-kind contribution for event venue, after sponsoring a $150,000 bond request for the organization a year earlier.
Jones strenuously rejected the assertion at the meeting that she failed to disclose a “gift” or was involved in a “pay to play” scheme, telling the committee she won’t let anyone “even buy me a cup of coffee or even a sandwich” to avoid appearances of impropriety. In a later exchange with Maryland Matters, Jones produced canceled checks that show her campaign committee paid the Annapolis Maritime Museum $850 for use of the venue on Oct. 5.
But the checks also showed something else: Jones’s signature at the bottom of the payments.
Allen Norfleet, director of candidacy and campaign finance for the Maryland State Board of Elections, said state law bars a candidate from having access to campaign funds or disbursing funds, which includes signing checks. That job is supposed to be the purview of a campaign treasurer.
“The law is there as a check on embezzlement or misappropriation of campaign funds,” Norfleet said.
The dangers of that were on flagrant display last year, when state prosecutors charged then-Prince George’s County Councilmember Jamel “Mel” Franklin with two dozen counts of theft, embezzlement and perjury for allegedly using $124,000 to pay for travel, loans, credit card debt and cosmetic surgery, among other expenses. The Democrat pleaded guilty in a plea agreement in November.
Jones is not accused of a crime and there are no allegations she misused campaign money or intentionally filed inaccurate reports with the Maryland State Board of Elections.
Norfleet, in an interview with Maryland Matters, spoke only about state law and not specifically about Jones and her campaign finance records. But he said it’s not uncommon for candidates to disburse campaign funds, even though it’s not allowed under state law.
“It’s way more than I like,” Norfleet said. “A lot of campaigns have treasurers in name only. It’s a busy, time-consuming position and a lot of treasurers don’t take it seriously, but it’s important because the treasurer is legally responsible” for campaign reports.
He said the state board typically refers cases involving a candidate disbursing campaign funds to the Office of the State Prosecutor “because they have more tools and staff to investigate.” One of those tools is the ability to subpoena records.
Norfleet said the department handles each incident on a case-by-case basis. Not every incident results in a criminal investigation or charges, he said.
Jones, who provided the checks in response to the questions raised at the central committee meeting, was not immediately available for a full interview when the issue of her signature was raised. She did not respond to subsequent requests.
At the central committee hearing, Jones was one of three candidates vying to fill a Senate vacancy created when Sarah Elfreth was elected to the U.S. House, along with Del. Shaneka Henson (D), who ran into ethics problems of her own last year. When asked, Jones flatly rejected the questions about her fundraising event.
“I do not have any undisclosed gifts,” Jones said at the Jan. 4 meeting. “I do not take coffee. I don’t take lunch. I don’t take anything. In fact the state also offers a $750 gas fee so you can go around your district and make sure to cover that. For years I also sent that back to the state treasury.
“I did not receive a gift. I paid for the venue. I also paid for the food, which was a separate caterer. I have the receipts for everything and I paid for all of it myself down to a cup of coffee,” she said.
“I would not allow anyone to even buy me a cup of coffee or even a sandwich,. because then I don’t ever have to worry or think back: Did I claim it? If you pay for it yourself and it comes right out of your pocket then there is no problem,” she said.
“So no, I would say there is not a problem with my campaign finance report. I paid for that myself just as I paid for every other fundraiser I have ever held,” Jones said.
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A review of her finance report for 2023, filed last January, did not show a payment to the museum, but did list an Oct. 5 payment of $2,920 for catering service related to the event. An amended report for 2023, filed with the state last week, shows Jones’ campaign making an $850 payment to the museum that had mistakenly been shown on the original as a payment to a campaign worker who also serves as Jones’ legislative assistant.
Jones provided images of two cancelled checks related to the event. One was made out to the museum in the amount of $850 on July 18, 2023; the back of the check shows the museum deposited the check three days later. The second check showed a $2,920 payment to the caterer, Ken’s Creative Kitchen, on Oct. 5, 2023. That check was deposited a day later, according to the copies provided by Jones.
The sequence numbers on the checks and the dates cashed are consistent.
Henson had her own set of ethics problems in 2023 that resulted in her removal from a House committee and a formal rebuke by a legislative ethics panel. That committee recommended Henson never be allowed to serve on the House Appropriations Committee again for her failure to disclose her relationship to a church seeking state bond money.
The committee noted Henson — a member of the church — also acted as its lawyer under her maiden name and that she failed to disclose these facts to her committee or lawmakers who sponsored the requests. The panel’s report also noted that Henson participated in meetings in which the requests were discussed and, in addition to failing to disclose her relationship, she did not recuse herself.
The committee further noted that Henson lied to House Speaker Adrienne Jones when questioned about the issue and a $10,000 payment she received to represent the church.
Henson was ultimately selected to fill Elfreth’s seat in the Senate.
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