Republican Candidates Say New Party Chairman's Fundraising Offer Was Inappropriate

Part of Tony Campbell's job as chairman of the county Republican Central Committee is to increase the number of his fellow party members in elected office.

But some, including a former Republican councilman and several candidates, said they were taken aback when Campbell offered to help them raise money between the primary and general elections in return for a cut of the proceeds.

"Quite honestly, it was inappropriate," said Republican former Councilman Wayne Skinner.

At the time, Skinner was chairman of a campaign finance account, called Reform Baltimore County, that was raising money for a slate of Republican candidates, including county executive candidate Ken Holt, and council candidates Todd Huff, David Marks and Steve Whisler.

Campbell, in an interview, said there was nothing improper about the request and that it was part of a suggestion made by a Republican candidate whose campaign would have benefited from the fundraising efforts.

The proposal came to light after a party insider anonymously released to Patch.com  an e-mail between Campbell and Skinner in which the party chairman-elect offered to help raise money for the slate in return for a commission.

"I would like to talk with you regarding the event," Campbell wrote in the Sept. 24 e-mail. "I am going to be putting this together and it will be a full-time undertaking to pull this off.  I would like to be compensated for my work putting this event together.

"My suggestion is that I will receive a percentage of the amount raised for the event.  The standard rate is 15 percent," Campbell wrote.

Both Campbell and Skinner confirmed the authenticity of the message.

The biggest issue was that Campbell was effectively the head of the party and helping get Republicans elected was supposed to be part of the new chairman's mission, Skinner said.

"In everyone's mind he was the chairman," Skinner said. "He is a recognized figure in the Republican party.

"We were going back and forth on his offer but once he mentioned a fee, the door was shut," Skinner said. "We couldn't support it. You just can't."

Marks, who will be sworn in as the 5th District councilman on Dec. 6, said Campbell's request for payment concerned him and other members of the slate.

"It's not something that the Republican party chairman should be doing," Marks said. "(Campbell) should not be working for candidates for personal gain. That sent up a red flag for us."

In the end, Marks said he "never responded to the e-mail and it never went anywhere."

Campbell, in an interview, said he offered to set up a fundraising event for the slate after Steve Whisler, a candidate for the 1st District Council seat, suggested the the idea.

"I was approached by the slate because they knew I was a fundraiser," Campbell said.

Campbell said at least one other central committee member, Al Mendelsohn, has made money because of his connections to the party. Mendelsohn, who is now first-vice chairman of the committee, is a printer who has done printing work for the central committee through a process Campbell said required no other bids.

Campbell said that it was not inappropriate to ask to be paid for his work since he had not yet been sworn in as chairman of the party.

"(Mendelsohn) was a member of the central committee, I wasn't," Campbell said.

Whisler, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for the 1st District council seat, said he suggested Campbell get involved as a way to immediately involve him in the general election campaign.

"We were trying to facilitate a way for him to get involved and show his good will — show that he wants to help Republican candidates," Whisler said, adding that he never suggested Campbell be paid for his efforts.

"When I heard he wanted a commission I said 'Forget it, we're not paying him a damn thing,'" Whisler said. "The role and function of a central committee is to help raise money and help candidates get elected."

Mendelsohn, for his part, said he supports Campbell's proposal to solicit bids for services such as printing.

"I'm a believer in oversight," said Mendelsohn, who added that he is concerned about the possibility that Campbell sought to personally gain from the fundraising proposal.

"I do think it would be inappropriate to be trading on an office for personal gains," Mendelsohn said.

"Anyone who feels the need to say they need to be compensated for their work is trading on their office because it's understood," Mendelsohn said.

Mendelsohn said Campbell would not have been trading on his party office had he been a professional fundraiser prior to becoming party chairman — but fundraiser was not  a job Campbell presented on his resume to the central committee.

Campbell disagrees, saying that he worked for one or two years as director of development or the Baltimore Christian School where his primary responsibilities were fundraising, grant writing and public relations.

While some find Campbell's request questionable it's unclear if any rules were violated.

Rules for the state party prohibit officers of the state party from being paid to work on a candidate's campaign.

Chris Cavey, who Campbell defeated in the primary, gave up his position as first vice chairman of the state party in order to take a paid staff position with former Gov. Robert Ehrlich's campaign. Cavey, however, remained in his position as chairman of the county central committee until Campbell was sworn in last week.

Bylaws governing the county central committee are silent on the issue of being paid to work for candidates.

A spokesman at the Maryland Republican Party said it was not immediately clear if state rules applied to party officers in the local jurisdictions.