Philly councilwoman fined for campaign finance violations

A Philadelphia councilwoman and her campaign are being fined nearly $10,000 after violating the city ethics code.

Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown’s campaign has been fined $8,000, while she must pay $1,500 personally, for setting up a second bank account for campaign contributions.  

Shane Creamer, executive director of the Philadelphia Board of Ethics, said the campaign admitted violating campaign finance rules.

“The Friends of Blondell Reynolds Brown approached enforcement staff and told them they had set up a separate savings account into which they had deposited about $25,000,” Creamer said.

Reynolds Brown said she took “full responsibility for the material omissions and mistakes made by the Friends of Blondell Reynolds Brown 2015 campaign committee.

“My campaign and I self-reported to the ethics board, and I immediately retained a new compliance professional to conduct a full review of its finances,” she said in a statement. “Since that time, our consultant has worked closely with ethics board enforcement staff to prepare and file amended campaign finance reports.”

Creamer said it is not the first time Reynolds Brown has run afoul of campaign finance regulations, referring to settlements in September of 2011 and January 2013.

During 2015, the ethics board has negotiated 45 settlement agreements, but Creamer said candidates comply with the rules more than 95 percent of the time.

“It is now time to focus forward on the important and pressing issues facing City Council and the new mayoral administration,” Reynolds Brown said in the statement.