Campbell County clerk files complaint regarding PAC

GILLETTE — The top elections official in Campbell County has filed a complaint with the state and federal governments regarding a local political action committee.

Campbell County Clerk Susan Saunders filed a complaint with the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office and the Federal Election Commission about the Coal Country Conservatives Political Action Committee.

The PAC, which distributed political materials ahead of the primary election in August, did not file reports about where it was getting its money from or how it spent its money.

Candidates and political action committees are required to file expense reports and contribution reports. This PAC did neither, Saunders said.

She has worked in elections since 1980, and she’s been county clerk since 1995. This is the first official complaint she’s filed.

“Everyone who’s ever done anything political has always contacted the secretary of state or our office, getting directions on what to do,” she said. “It’s something we never thought we’d have to do.”

The PAC’s materials were the topic of a lot of conversation, Saunders said. A card titled “2022 Campbell County Conservative Voter Guide” was mailed out to voters. An ad was placed in Anybody’s Autos, a local magazine.

And materials associated with the PAC also were distributed on the steps of the courthouse at least one day during the early voting period.

Wyoming law prohibits campaign materials within 100 yards of the public entrance of a building that contains a public polling place.

An elections worker also said they were told by a voter that the material was distributed at a local church.

“We just kept getting requests on, ‘Who is this, where did they file, who contributed, where did they spend their money?’ And we have none of that information,” Saunders said.

The campaign material included names of candidates, such as Harriet Hageman for U.S. House of Representatives, Brent Bien for governor and Chuck Gray for secretary of state.

It told voters to support Abby Angelos for House District 3, Reuben Tarver for House District 52, Timothy Hallinan for House District 53 and Roger Connett for Senate District 1. It also supported Patricia Junek’s write-in campaign for Senate District 23.

Noticeably absent from the materials were Bill Fortner and Jacob Dalby, two of the most conservative candidates in the election.

Saunders said she can’t say whether the mailer affected the outcomes of the local races, but she noted that many of the names on the cards ended up winning.

The two candidates it endorsed for commissioner — Butch Knutson and Kelley McCreery — were elected, along with four of five candidates in the county elected races. The only candidate who was unsuccessful was Janaia Hyland, who lost in the race for sheriff.

The PAC has been around for less than half a year.

On May 18, the Wyoming secretary of state approved the incorporation of the Coal Country Conservatives PAC. That same day, a PAC with the same name filed with the Federal Election Committee.

Both entities list Laura Cox as the registered agent and Colleen McCabe as the treasurer.

According to the FEC filing for Coal Country Conservatives, this PAC is not connected with the PAC of the same name that filed with Wyoming.

“This seems dubious as the officers for both are identical,” Saunders wrote.

In her complaint, Saunders wrote that based on her experience, “the organization of these entities and their subsequent activities can, at best, be described as a scheme to thwart transparency in a way that is deceptive to the public and may be illegal.”

Saunders asked that the state and FEC conduct “a swift and robust investigation.”

“The citizens’ trust in elections, and those wishing to properly influence them, is tarnished when actors like Coal Country Conservatives Political Action Committee fail to comply with reasonable requirements that ensure accountability and transparency,” she wrote.

Commissioner Rusty Bell, who ran for House District 3, said he saw a lot of the cards stuck in people’s doors when he was out campaigning.

In early summer, Bell was sent a survey from Cox and the PAC. He wasn’t familiar with the group, and the survey didn’t explain what the PAC was. He thought the questions in the survey were leading.

He ended up not returning the survey after he saw a sign for his opponent in Cox’s yard.

“There’s obviously some shenanigans going on with this group, in my opinion,” Bell said. “If you’re going to file a PAC you need to follow the rules, tell us where you’re raising your money and spending your money.”

“It’s hard,” Saunders said. “People are saying we’re not conducting a correct election, then when we have people not following the rules. It makes things more challenging.”

She said she hopes this issue is addressed soon “so people know what the rules are, and if they have to abide by them.”

Election Day is Nov. 8, but early voting starts on Sept. 23.