State Representative Greg Davids has been cleared of all allegations in a complaint filed in June accusing him of taking $7,000 from his campaign and failing to properly classify it.
The state Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board Wednesday dismissed the complaint alleging the Preston Republican had failed to provide enough information in his 2005 finance report for out-of-district travel and postage expenses.
"My favorite word for the day is 'dismissed,"' Davids said. "Everything they came at us with was dismissed."
The board agreed that Davids had not provided enough information for the reimbursements, but ruled in his favor after Davids provided detailed receipts.
The board concluded that Davids did not personally benefit from improper reimbursements and hasn't systematically misused "non-campaign disbursements" -- expenses that don't count toward candidates' spending limits -- to evade the limit.
The complaint was filed by Frank Wright, Peggy Hanson and Harlin Taylor. Hanson ran unsuccessfully against Davids in 2004, with Wright serving as her campaign manager and Taylor as treasurer of her campaign.
During its investigation, the board found non-campaign disbursements that it ruled were improperly classified, including $315 in meal costs for Davids and others and $200 for a golf tournament. Davids agreed to repay the amounts to his campaign committee. He also reclassified $281 in postage when the board asked him to submit receipts.
Hanson, Wright and Taylor filed a similar complaint against Davids in 2004, resulting in a $6,100 fine from the finance board.
Davids is seeking re-election this year to his ninth term, running against DFL-endorsed Ken Tschumper, a La Crescent dairy farmer.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
