NEWS
Clerk under fire fails to respond
Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.
Also by Courtney Johnson:
- Construction pops up on State Street this spring (November 6, 2007)
- Woods ahead in fundraising race (March 28, 2007)
- E-mail sparks privacy concern (October 9, 2007)
- Big Ten Network reaches deal with UW housing (August 31, 2007)
- City agency to run Halloween entertainment (May 10, 2007)
Related Stories:
- Board tosses out mayoral ad gripe (May 3, 2007)
- Alder alleges finance report forging (April 13, 2007)
- Thiel leads fundraising (March 29, 2007)
- Verveer declares voting success (April 10, 2007)
- Absentee ballots spike in Madison (March 22, 2007)
Share This:
by Courtney Johnson
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
A former limited-term City Clerk's Office employee accused of forging campaign finance documents during the spring election failed to turn in his written response to the allegations to the City Attorney's office by the Monday deadline.
The complaint, filed by Ald. Zach Brandon, District 7, claims Michael Quieto certified and falsely signed campaign finance reports for the Teaching Assistants' Association Political Action Committee.
The March 26 documents were supposed to be signed and certified by committee treasurer Ryan Lipscomb, but on the line where Lipscomb was asked to print his name, someone wrote "Micha" before crossing it out and printing and signing "Ryan Lipscomb."
Additionally, Lipscomb's signature on the March 26 filings appears substantially different from the signature on a State Elections Board campaign registration statement from July 12, 2006.
Brandon's complaint also alleges Quieto was the chair of the TAAPAC, which Brandon said is a possible conflict of interest. Brandon said he hopes an investigation could help him pass an ordinance this year that would prohibit election employees from being professional public figures.
City Attorney Michael May said Quieto's attorney contacted him and asked for a continuance in filing the response, which May granted.
However, despite the continuance, it is unlikely the City of Madison Ethics Board will receive the written response in time for its Wednesday hearing.
If the ethics board does not receive the response by Wednesday, Quieto can attend the board meeting and testify in person.
May said the biggest effect of Quieto's late filing is that the ethics board may only have one side of the argument heading into Wednesday's hearing.
"[A written response] helps the ethics board figure out what the facts of what people's positions are," May said. "The ethics board is going to get a package with all this stuff in it, and his isn't going to be in there."
May is expected to be present at Wednesday's meeting to answer the board's legal questions. Since this is the first time the ethics board is hearing Brandon's case, the board will just look at the evidence and decide whether it has jurisdiction to hear the case.
Brandon said he has been working with May to create a comprehensive law that would ensure this kind of incident does not happen again.
"This is a pretty serious situation," Brandon said. "I think the public is owed an explanation."
Anonymous (April 25, 2007 @ 4:21am):
"Are you, or have you ever been..."
Anonymous (April 25, 2007 @ 8:05am):
a criminal?
Anonymous (April 25, 2007 @ 5:45pm):
Zach is off his meds.
Anonymous (February 13, 2008 @ 2:28am):
Web search leader Google Inc is planning to boost its presence in China by tying up with a Chinese on...
Add a comment
We welcome your thoughts, but please keep your feedback thoughtful, on-topic and respectful. Offensive language, personal attacks, or irrelevant comments may be deleted.
Login...
Not registered? Sign up now.
It's quick, free, and the email address you provide will not be sold or solicited.
