WASHINGTON - Six years after his last election, supporters of Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne are still raising money to pay off debts from his final bid for Idaho governor.
Kempthorne's gubernatorial campaign committee will hold a "debt retirement reception" in Idaho next week to pay off obligations from his 2002 campaign. Kempthorne himself won't attend the cocktails-and-h'ors d'ouevres event, said Graham Paterson, a fundraising consultant who has been raising money to pay off the remaining debt from the old campaign.
It is "better we maintain an arm's length relationship between the secretary and the campaign," Paterson said. "His name doesn't appear on the invitation."
The invitation does include the last name Kempthorne eight times, including in such phrases as "Kempthorne for Governor Debt Retirement" and "Make Checks Payable to: Kempthorne for Governor - Debt Retirement."
Paterson said that paying off Kempthorne's old campaign debt became a challenge after the then-governor was nominated by President Bush to serve as secretary of the Interior Department.
Kempthorne had just more than $250,000 in debt remaining after his 2002 campaign. Ninety percent of that money was paid off while he was still Idaho governor and before he was nominated in 2006 by President Bush to serve as secretary of the interior, Paterson said.
But after Kempthorne's nomination to the Bush Cabinet, the campaign had to stop raising money to pay off $26,000 remaining on the debt at that time. They needed to find a way to comply with the stricter federal rules that administration appointees must follow, Paterson said, and that took some time.
Kempthorne's lawyers met with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which protects government whistleblowers and investigates possible violations of the Hatch Act, a law that restricts political activity and interference by federal employees.
The Office of Special Counsel "provided guidance on how to collect for debt retirement, without violating the Hatch Act," said James Mitchell, its spokesman.
"If they are following that guidance, there should not be a problem," Mitchell said. "There is nothing in the invitation for this event that indicates that they are not following the guidance."
Initially, Kempthorne's campaign sent the Interior Department's ethics office a list of all the people to whom they were sending fundraising letters or invitations. They also put a disclaimer on their invitations warning supporters that they can't give money if they have business before any branch of the Interior Department.
But the vetting process was a "Herculean task that became a bugaboo," Paterson said. Now, the campaign submits a list of contributors to the ethics office, which checks to see whether they have a potential conflict. If they do, the campaign refunds their contribution.
For the May 22 fundraiser, they warn in the invitation that the committee "cannot accept contributions from sources or organizations that are regulated, presently seeking action or conducting business, or those who have interests affected by the discharge of official duties before the Department of Interior or its agencies."
Although campaign disclosure forms filed at the end of last year show that the interior secretary owed $24,000 from his last gubernatorial campaign, Paterson said that this year they knocked that debt down to about $15,000. So far, they've had two fundraising mailings and one other event. They expect to have the remaining money paid off by June 30.
Paterson notes that the remaining money is owed to a Virginia company, MPGC, for what's known as a "win bonus" they earned after their successful media strategy won Kempthorne another term as governor in 2002. It is a bonus and not for unpaid goods or services, Paterson said.
Next week's fundraiser features Kempthorne's wife, Patricia, and is chaired by all four members of the Idaho congressional delegation, including Rep. Bill Sali, who has held debt retirement fundraisers of his own this year to chip away at the $134,673 he still owed from his 2006 House race, according the last campaign finance report.
The event will be at the home of Norm Semanko, an Eagle city councilman and a former staffer for U.S. Sen. Larry Craig who ran unsuccessfully against Sali in 2006. Semanko also is a board member of the National Water Resources Association and the executive director of the Idaho Water Users Association. The Idaho group represents irrigation water users, municipalities, hydropower, aquaculture and agribusinesses.
It is not clear whether Semanko's interests, which could come in front of the Bureau of Reclamation within the Interior Department, allow him to donate money or even host the event. He was out of town and didn't return a voicemail left at his office or on his cell phone.
Paterson expects about 50 guests to drop by the Semanko home. The fundraiser asks guests to pay $100 per couple.
Even though Kempthorne is not running for office, it hasn't been difficult to find people to give money, Paterson said.
"Dirk and Patricia's supporters have been very gracious in helping shoulder this burden," Paterson said. "They have a deep wellspring of gratitude for their public service."
Earlier this year, Milford Terrell, the president of Boise's DeBest plumbing, sent out a fundraising letter on Kempthorne's behalf. The campaign has "made sure that we have all the I's dotted and T's crossed in retiring the debt," Terrell wrote, but still needed some additional help.
"I have one last request of you and those who have been there to shoulder the critically important load of financing the campaign activities necessary to get the message out and voters to the polls," he wrote.
As governor, Kempthorne came under fire for his use of campaign money, before Idaho lawmakers closed a legal loophole that allowed officeholders to use campaign money to cover what were deemed "ordinary and necessary" expenses of running an office. Until the loophole was closed, Kempthorne used his campaign funds on more than $70,000 in meals, gifts and sundries - including expenses related to his time as head of the National Governors Association.
Erika Bolstad: 202-383-6104
