SEYMOUR — A Seymour Republican who is challenging incumbent Rep. Jim Lucas in the May 7 GOP primary has filed a complaint against his opponent, asking state election officials to investigate the lawmaker’s campaign finance reports.
The complaint, filed Wednesday by Brownstown Central High School teacher and former West Virginia lawmaker Brian Savilla with the Indiana Election Commission, alleges that Lucas’ campaign finance reports do not specify how he paid for producing and mailing out “thousands” of direct mailers that indicate they were paid for by Lucas’ campaign committee.
The complaint also raises questions about multiple rounds of polling that Savilla alleges were either initiated by Lucas or the Indiana House Republican Campaign Committee “to which there is no financial record.”
Savilla is challenging Lucas for the Republican nomination for state House District 69, which includes the central and eastern half of Jackson County and parts of Bartholomew, Jennings, Scott and Washington counties.
“It is clear to see that Mr. Lucas has not specified how he paid for, how much he paid for, nor to whom he paid for various political resources,” the complaint states. “Mr. Lucas has sent out thousands of direct mailers to constituents on numerous occasions this year (numerous per day in the past several weeks), and there is not one mention of any production or mailing costs, neither from his campaign committee (Friends of Jim Lucas) or the (House Republican Campaign Committee).”
Savilla said in a Facebook post on Thursday “in no way is (the complaint) an attack against” Lucas.
“Before this goes in a hundred different directions, I want to publicly say why I filed this complaint,” Savilla said in the post. “In no way is this an attack against Jim, but rather a direct violation of the law by him.”
Savilla
Lucas, for his part, responded the complaint in a Facebook post on Friday, saying, “Is it sad or funny watching a narcissist come unhinged?” The post also included two emojis, one of a sad face and another of a laughing face.
Lucas
Currently, it is unclear if the Indiana Election Commission will investigate the allegations, according to Matthew R. Kochevar, co-general counsel at the Indiana Election Division.
“The matter is before the Indiana Election Commission,” Kochevar told The Republic on Friday. “It will be up to the chair of the commission to place the complaint on the agenda for a future commission meeting for consideration.”
In the Facebook post, Savilla included an image of one of Lucas’ mailers that states it was paid for by Friends of Jim Lucas, the state lawmaker’s campaign committee, and that postage was paid by Midwest Communications.
Savilla alleges in the complaint that the expenditures Lucas listed in his campaign finance reports would not be enough to cover the costs of the mailers and do not appear to be for the purposes of producing or sending out mailers.
Lucas’ campaign committee, Friends of Jim Lucas, reported paying $750 to Midwest Communications Group LLC for website design, according to campaign finance records that were current as of April 12. His committee also reported paying $248.55 to Lucas’ company, The Awning Guy Inc., for “palm cards,” the records show.
Friends of Jim Lucas also reported receiving $444.22 from the House Republican Campaign Committee, or HRCC, fo yard sign texting.
“Mr. Lucas has several Facebook posts showing his signs (with frames) coming hot off the presses at his personal business (TAG Graphics & The Awning Guy Inc.) and again there is no sign of an expenditure, other than $248.55 for palm cards from his company and $444.22 from the HRCC for yards signs and texting (not enough to pay for a fraction of either),” the complaint states.
Campaign finance disclosure show that Friends of Jim Lucas, reported $11,599 in contributions and spending around $6,597 from Jan. 1 to April 12, according to public campaign finance records.
This year, the committee also reported a $2,500 from Indiana Merit Construction PAC of ABC, $2,500 from Hoosiers for Quality Education Inc. PAC, $500 from Mark King, $248.55 from The Awning Guy Inc., $5,000 from Anthony Rust, $100 from Stripe and $300 Indiana BANKPAC – State Fund.
However, Friends of Jim Lucas also received in influx in cash from the HRCC last week. On April 17, he received a $50,000 contribution from HRCC, followed by a $3,161 in-kind contribution from HRCC two days later.
Over the same period, Friends of Jim Lucas reported paying a company named Arena $5,000 for Facebook ads, $750 to Midwest Communications Group LLC for website design, $248.55 to his company — The Awning Guy Inc. — for palm cards, $150 to Angela Jackson Photography and $5.20 to Stripe for an specified fee.
Lucas’s campaign committee also reported toward the end of last year paying The Awning Guy Inc. $1,222.68 for a “campaign vehicle wrap.”
The committee also reported spending $332 with the U.S. Postal Service for “operations.” The explanation of the expense was labelled as “PO Box 1149.”
Despite Lucas’ legal troubles last year involving driving while under the influence, the alcoholic beverage industry continued to contribute to his campaign. After his guilty plea, Lucas received $1,000 from the Beer Industry Political Action Committee, $500 from Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Indiana PAC and $300 from Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits LLC.
In June, Lucas pleaded guilty to to two misdemeanor criminal charges including operating a vehicle while intoxicated after state police said he crashed his vehicle through an interstate guardrail and then drove away with “major front-end damage” and “blown/missing tires.”
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Lucas received a 60-day suspended jail sentence and one year of probation for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, as well as a 180-day suspended jail sentence and one year of probation for leaving the scene of an accident.
In December, a Jackson County judge agreed to cut Lucas’ probation short, finding that the state lawmaker “performed very well on probation with no violations” and that “all fees and financial obligations have been satisfied.”
