The Arkansas Ethics Commission is investigating a complaint alleging that state Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle, violated state law by filing campaign-finance reports late several times and failing to file two other campaign-finance reports.
Lindsay Brown of North Little Rock, a painter, on Thursday released a copy of a letter dated Aug. 29 from Ethics Commission Director Graham Sloan in which Sloan said the commission has started investigating Brown's complaint.
Sloan said the commission is investigating allegations of whether Lowery filed seven campaign-finance reports late by periods ranging from six days to 97 days, and whether he failed to file a final campaign-finance report for the primary election and a campaign-finance report for the third quarter of 2015.
"It is ridiculous that a two-term state representative would neglect to file his required financial reports for months and didn't even bother to file others," Brown said in a written statement.
In response, Lowery said in a letter to the commission that "first and foremost, I want to state that there has been no intent or attempt to conceal the sources and amounts of contributions or the expenses paid by the campaign.
"The late filings are simply errors of which I wish I could turn back the clock and correct. Unfortunately the 'cure period' to correct reports does not afford me the opportunity to correct the report submittal dates," Lowery said in his letter.
"The most significant of the untimely filings were due to my misunderstanding of the requirements to file during a primary election period in which I did not have an opponent. I was mistaken in believing that an end of campaign filing was all that was required in an unopposed election cycle," Lowery said.
"As for any other untimely submittals referenced in the complaint I will just have to accept blame for a lack of attention to detail," he wrote in his letter to the commission.
In the Nov. 8 general election, Morgan Democrat Bill Rahn is challenging Lowery in House District 39.
Rahn, owner of Snap Fitness Gym in Little Rock and an attorney, said Thursday he had nothing to do with Brown's complaint against Lowery.
"I don't know that man," Rahn said, referring to Brown.
Metro on 09/16/2016