By Judy Clabes
NKyTribune editor
Where is Matt Teaford, Republican candidate for Kentucky’s 67th District House of Representatives? Where does he live and why hasn’t he filed any required fundraising reports with the State Board of Elections?
Those are the questions behind a suit filed in Campbell Circuit Court by attorneys Anna Stewart Whites of Frankfort and Paul L. Whalen of Fort Thomas on behalf of Newport resident Sam A. Gassert against Teaford, the Campbell County Board of Elections, the Secretary of State, and the State Board of Elections.
Teaford, 24, is challenging incumbent Dennis Keene for the 67th district seat.
When contacted by the NKyTribune, Teaford, 24, called the “allegations and accusations” all “falsehoods.” He insists that he is living in Northern Kentucky and has a drivers license (with his address on it) to prove that. He says he is keeping his campaign promises to keep money out of politics.
Matt Teaford
The suit says that Teaford should be disqualified as a candidate based on his residency, that he resides in Ohio and not at the address on the papers he filed to be certified as a candidate for the office.
The suit also says Teaford has not taken the “required steps necessary to maintain his candidacy,” including filing reports required by the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.
The Registry of Election Finance issued a notification on September 12 that the case will be heard on Thursday, September 29, its next regular meeting.
See the Registry’s notification here.
Teaford says he will be there. He says he will fight to keep money out of politics.
The Registry’s response noted that some notices to the candidate have been returned “unclaimed,” and that the Registry has received no reports on or behalf of Teaford for the primary election cycle.
The Registry reported that their records reflect that Teaford was contacted by telephone in April and that he told the Registry he would file delinquent reports but that he did not.
Subsequent mail notifications were also sent, the Registry says, and efforts to reach Teaford by phone to two different phone numbers listed on his paperwork received “not accepting calls” responses.
The NKyTribune’s attempts to call the numbers of record also resulted in the same responses: “The caller is not not accepting calls at this time.” The NKyTribune subsequently reached him via email.
The Registry says no reports or responses have been received to date and that Teaford “appears to be evading the Registry’s attempts to service notice” in this case.
Teaford said he has communicated with the Registry by email and “clearly communicated” that he hasn’t raised any money.
He also said his home address has not changed and “has no idea where the confusion lies.”
“I haven’t raised a single dollar for my campaign since day one — further following up on my promise to keep money out of politics,” he says. “I considered asking a few people but I have not taken donations and don’t plan on doing so. I assure to keep this promise.
“People are blowing this out of proportion.”
The Registry’s General Counsel Emily Dennis writes in the notification that “if the Registry concludes there is probable cause to believe that the campaign finance law has been violated knowingly, it shall refer the violation to the Attorney General” for further investigation and potential prosecution.
“I haven’t campaigned at all since earlier this year,” Teaford said. “But I have raised no money and am not at fault nor hiding anything.”
The last post to Teaford’s candidate Facebook page was April 27. His personal Facebook page has a group photo published on Sept 15 and says he is start-up co-founder of City Nova and that he lives in Highland Heights.
“With the influence of outside money into campaigns, it is more important than ever to achieve transparency in campaign finance reporting,” said Keene, who is running for re-election to the 67th District seat. “As candidates, we are required by law to accurately file and provide the required information on donations and expenditures for each and every reporting period.”
He’s got “tea” in his name with an “R” behind it. That’s enough for him to get a lot of votes.