Projo Politics Blog

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The state Board of Elections will hold a hearing Thursday on a campaign finance complaint filed by the state Republican party against Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch.

The 9 a.m. hearing will be open to the public because Lynch agreed to waive his right to a closed proceeding.

The elections board will assess whether Lynch violated the state's campaign-finance laws by listing thousands of dollars in campaign travel funds as petty cash expenditures.

In its complaint, the Rhode Island GOP accuses Lynch of 31 alleged violations of the law and seeks $3,100 in fines. The complaint alleges that the attorney general appeared to have spent more than $9,000 in campaign funds over the last year, including a trip to Kentucky, without explaining the spending.

Lynch campaign coordinator Adam Roach confirmed that Lynch had waived confidentiality but did not elaborate.

When the Republicans filed the complaint in July, Roach denounced it as "a blatant and petty effort to smear Attorney General Lynch's record of transparency and openness in his campaign-finance reporting..."

Robert Kando, executive director of the Board of Elections, said it will be up to the board to decide whether to rule on the complaint immediately after the hearing or to deliberate and issue a ruling later.

The complaint against the Lynch came after a recent Journal news story about his frequent travels. While Lynch's office provided records of his state-paid trips, he would not provide any information about his campaign-funded travels beyond what was listed in his campaign-finance reports. At the time, Roach said Lynch had "disclosed every detail about his travel and related expenses that Rhode Island Law requires."

The GOP sees it otherwise, citing a section of the state campaign finance manual that limits petty cash expenditures to "$25 per transaction" and says the balance in a petty cash fund may "never exceed $100."

Thursday's hearing will be held in the elections board office at 50 Branch Ave., Providence.

 Tags  Attorney General Patrick Lynch carcieri providence ri

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