Householder-backed candidate in SW Ohio fined $50K for not reporting campaign help
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The Ohio Elections Commission fined Republican Allen Freeman $50,000 on Thursday, saying he never reported or paid for the "campaign in a box" bestowed on him as a candidate backed by then-House Speaker Larry Householder.
Freeman's House campaign did not pay a $290,000 invoice for television ads, which he appeared in, and other campaign expenses. Instead, a firm run by Householder's political strategist Jeff Longstreth did.
Freeman's excuse for not paying: He never got the bill. (Freeman was copied on an email containing the invoice and his treasurer initially found the sum alarming.)
But members of the Ohio Elections Commission said that's not good enough.
“You have a responsibility as a candidate to know who is contributing to your campaign," commission member Charleta Tavares said.
Freeman was the benefactor of Householder's campaign machine, which federal investigators say was fueled by Akron-based FirstEnergy to elect GOP candidates who would back the Perry County Republican and his agenda. Freeman ran unsuccessfully for the 66th House District, which includes Brown County and a portion of Clermont County.
"We should take swift and strong action to send a message that this is not something that should be happening in the state of Ohio,” Ohio Elections Commission member Dennis Brommer said.
To that end, Freeman's campaign was fined the maximum – $100 per day – for failing to file a proper campaign finance report. Freeman's attorney Don Brey said the decision would be appealed.
"The commission clearly lost its way," Brey said.
Householder candidate's campaign in a box
Freeman's finances underscored how dependent Householder-endorsed candidates were on his political operation to get them elected. Or as vice-chairman Otto Beatty put it: “This is kind of like campaign in a box.”
For all intents and purposes, Freeman's 2020 campaign was run by Longstreth's JPL & Associates, according to those who testified before the Ohio Elections Commission. Longstreth has since pleaded guilty to his role in the FirstEnergy-fueled bribery scheme.
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GOP consultant Stephen Caraway, who ran Churn Creek Strategies, oversaw 10 to 12 Householder-backed candidates in southern Ohio, including Freeman and Clermont County Rep. Jean Schmidt. Freeman's campaign manager was a recent college graduate tasked with organizing volunteers to knock on doors.
Caraway contracted with JPL and invoiced JPL's Constant Content instead of Freeman's campaign directly for expenses. Mailers that Caraway purchased for Freeman's campaign were never reported by the campaign, even as in-kind donations.
In the midst of the primary extended by COVID-19, Freeman's treasurer Susan Jones received an alarmingly high bill: More than $290,000 for television ads and other expenses were billed to Constant Content from Strategic Media Placement. Freeman was copied on the email.
Shocked by the price, Jones asked Householder's finance director Anna Lippincott what to do. Lippincott told Jones not to worry about it, and Jones dismissed it.
In addition to the ads for House Republicans, Strategic Media Placement also placed ads for Householder's super PAC, which spent $580,000 on television, radio and digital advertisements in five House primaries, including Freeman's.
'Usually a campaign's running on fumes'
Freeman ultimately lost a three-way GOP primary to Rep. Adam Bird, R-New Richmond. The race was defined by an exorbitant amount of money spent – both on campaign advertisements and dark money-funded attacks.
Despite this, Freeman reported spending a meager $17,100 on his campaign. His cash on hand balance at the end of the race was $96,700 – an unusually high sum for an extremely competitive race.
"Usually a campaign's running on fumes," Caraway said of the typical primary. "They don't even have enough money to buy hors d'oeuvres at the party on election night."
Concerned about a pricey looming bill, Freeman sought Caraway's advice on what to do next. Caraway advised Freeman to call Householder's operation in Columbus. Caraway also asked Lippincott about the bill, and she told him that the plan was to raise money to pay off Freeman’s debt.
Then, attention shifted to candidates who had won their races. And in July 2020, Longstreth was arrested along with Householder and three others in connection with a nearly $61 million bribery scheme to pass a $1.3 billion nuclear bailout.
Clermont County Republican Chris Hicks later filed a complaint against Freeman over misreported campaign finance documents and other violations with the Ohio Elections Commission.
Through that probe, the Freeman campaign learned about a $137,981 bill from Strategic Media Placement to Constant Content for Freeman's campaign. The campaign reported that expense to the Ohio Secretary of State's office in an April 2021 letter.
"We do not know who, if anyone, paid Constant Content, a for-profit corporation owned by Jeff Longstreth," according to the letter.
Freeman's attorney maintained that Freeman and his campaign were not required to report expenses they didn't know existed. Brey said his client was a victim of anti-Householder sentiment and Hicks' persistence.
"(The commission members) were upset with Larry Householder’s folks. There’s a lot of that going around," Brey said.
In the end, the Ohio Elections Commission disagreed.
“The commission members are not persuaded that Mr. Freeman or the treasurer for the Committee to Elect Allen Freeman took sufficient action to properly investigate and identify outstanding amounts owed by the campaign committee and properly list them within a campaign finance report,” the commission wrote in its final finding.
Householder-backed candidate fined $50K by Jessie Balmert on Scribd
Reporter Anna Staver contributed.
Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Akron Beacon Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Householder-backed candidate fined $50K for not reporting campaign help
