Ethics committee issues fine, caution letter to action group

A sign for the Arkansas Ethics Commission is shown in this 2000 file photo.
A sign for the Arkansas Ethics Commission is shown in this 2000 file photo.

The Right Now political action committee based in Springdale paid a $100 fine and received a public letter of caution in a settlement of a complaint with the Arkansas Ethics Commission, according to commission records.

Commission Director Graham Sloan said in a letter dated Sept. 14 to the Right Now PAC's resident agent, former state Rep. Eric Harris, R-Springdale, that Harris signed a settlement offer in which he agreed with the commission finding that the PAC violated state law by failing to timely file a PAC registration form for calendar year 2021 and by failing to timely file reports for the fourth quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021, Sloan said.

"It is noted that you filed the PAC registration form for calendar year 2021 on August 16, 2021 and the PAC reports for the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021 on August 20, 2021," Sloan said in his letter to Harris.

The PAC reported making one contribution last year and this year -- $2,000 to Springdale City Council member Rick Evans on Oct. 26, 2020 -- according to its reports filed with the secretary of state's office. That contribution was disclosed in the PAC's report for the fourth quarter of 2020 filed on Aug. 20, 2021.

In the November 2020 general election, Evans lost his city council post to attorney Kevin Flores.

"Honestly, it was an oversight on my part," Harris said. "It won't happen again."

He added, "There was no intent to withhold anything."

Evans issued an apology in July 2020 after being heard in a City Council livestream referring to Flores as "some little Mexican lawyer."

On Oct. 29, 2020, Irvin Camacho, a social activist, filed a lawsuit against Evans and claimed Evans' campaign material made xenophobic, false and defamatory comments about Camacho, three candidates for the Springdale City Council and one for Washington County Quorum Court. Evans called the lawsuit a "political stunt." The lawsuit was dismissed on Nov. 10 at the request of Camacho.

Information for this article was provided by the staff of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

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