Election finance complaints against Steve Henry campaign go to prosecutor

FRANKFORT — The Kentucky Registry of Election Finance upheld several complaints Wednesday against former Lt. Gov. Steve Henry's unsuccessful 2007 campaign for governor and forwarded them to a prosecutor.

The agency that oversees campaign finances did dismiss some allegations against Henry and all against Henry's running mate, former Fayette County Property Valuation Administrator Renee True.

It said True played "no role" in the management of the campaign's fund and did not violate any campaign finance law.

Henry said last night in a telephone interview that his campaign made some errors, but not intentionally.

"I have no complaints with the issues the registry has raised. I just wished I had had more time as a candidate to watch the campaign funds — but I didn't," he said. "I was not satisfied, but I have to accept it as leader of the campaign."

The registry accepted recommendations on the Henry-True case from its general counsel, Emily Dennis.

Henry confirmed last month that he received a complaint from the registry outlining campaign violations stemming from his 2007 bid for governor.

He said the complaint raised questions about $15,000. His slate spent more than $1.7 million on its way to finishing third in the Democratic primary with 17.5 percent of the vote.

The registry on Wednesday dismissed allegations that the Henry-True campaign knowingly accepted corporate contributions.

But the registry said the campaign did accept contributions from six people who were "straw contributors" — people who actually don't contribute to a campaign but whose names are used as contributors by someone else.

Henry said last night that the charge is "ridiculous." "How was I to know anything about that?" he asked. "I think that has happened to many candidates."

The panel also said the campaign inaccurately reported the rental value of three computers as Henry's in-kind contribution to the slate when he did not personally own them; provided incomplete descriptions of contributors; and spent campaign funds that were not first deposited in the campaign's primary depository.

Henry said there were "mistakes" in the campaign accounts because the campaign had to open a second account at a bank. He said that his wife bought the computers with a credit card and that he helped pay for them.

The registry referred the violations to Dennis and its executive director to decide appropriate fines.

It also forwarded its findings to the special prosecutor who is conducting a criminal investigation of Henry's alleged 2007 campaign finance violations.

This story was originally published June 4, 2009 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Election finance complaints against Steve Henry campaign go to prosecutor."