Jefferson City Ward 3 councilman fined for ethics violation

Scott Spencer
Scott Spencer

A Ward 3 councilman has paid a fine to the Missouri Ethics Commission (MEC) for a campaign- finance reporting violation from the April 2021 municipal election.

Candidate Scott Spencer spent more than $1,000 without forming an election committee or filing expense reports with MEC, according to a joint agreement filed last week.

A municipal election candidate can spend up to $1,000 - in money or in-kind services - without forming a committee or filing with MEC.

According to the agreement, Spencer used $991.80 of his own money for the campaign and received at least $200 for in-kind contributions, which would put contributions to his campaign to more than $1,000.

The violation, Spencer said, comes from his misunderstanding of what makes up an in-kind contribution.

Spencer's wife, who co-owns Firehouse Design Studio Inc. with him, helped design a website for his campaign.

"My understanding was that being a part owner of the business that wouldn't have counted against me," he said.

Spencer said the example of an in-kind contribution he saw was of an accountant friend helping organize a candidate's finances, which would be counted at the person's going rate.

Because they're married and co-business owners working off company time, Spencer said, he didn't think that would count as an in-kind contribution.

"I did this all myself, and even in a little city council election, there are rules that you have to follow," Spencer said. "I'm not skirting that responsibility in any way, shape or form. It was just a misunderstanding of what I interpreted the in-kind contribution to be."

"I want people to understand, I didn't raise money; I didn't take donations. I spent my own money. Being that there's a $1,000 cap and not understanding the entire contribution precedent or law, that was where I went over my $1,000," he said.

MEC fined Spencer $1,000, but the agreement states MEC will waive the rest of the fee if he pays $100 by Dec. 5 and doesn't have any additional violations during the next two years.

Spencer said he's already paid the $100.

He was also accused of collusion, but that accusation didn't stick. It was based on the idea firefighters and police officers helped him make T-shirts.

"I printed those myself on my little Cricut machine," Spencer said. "I did that myself. I made all those T-shirts, and I didn't make a lot, but I made those in my home."

While he wishes the situation didn't happen, Spencer said, he's able to learn from it and not repeat the mistake when he's up for re-election in 2023.

"The Missouri Ethics Commission is an organization that's there to help candidates," he said. "My experience with that organization has been nothing but professional. They were courteous. They were always more than willing to help, and I think the community should feel comfort that no matter the size or scope of an election or political race, they take complaints seriously. That's what they did."