THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 23, 1994 TAG: 9410230060
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBERT LITTLE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
After just six months of campaigning, rookie congressional candidate George Sweet seems to have hit his stride as a politician.
But he still has a bit to learn about the paperwork.
The Republican challenger has raised almost as many eyebrows as dollars, collecting more than $300,000 in his bid to unseat Rep. Norman Sisisky.
But Sweet has skipped some of the details in reporting it to the Federal Election Commission.
Nearly two-thirds of the 150 benefactors on Sweet's most recent campaign finance report were listed by name and address only - without their occupation and employer. Each blank line could be ruled a violation of federal law, punishable by as much as $5,000 in fines each time.
Sweet plans this week to file an amended return, which should keep him out of trouble with the feds. But not so with his political opponents.
``The only reasonable explanation for that report is that he's trying to hide who's contributing to his campaign,'' said Tim Shock, campaign manager for Sisisky, whose 4th District seat includes Portsmouth, Chesapeake and western Hampton Roads.
Sweet's aides say the report just shows that their accountant is as new to politics as their candidate.
Federal law gives candidates some leeway when filing finance reports that don't include all the personal information about their contributors. Many candidates get all the information anyway, but reports with a few blank lines are not uncommon. Sisisky, for instance, had one.
But candidates also must be able to show they made their ``best effort'' to find out where contributors work and what they do - usually by sending a letter to the person requesting the information.
``It's a very important part of the law,'' said Ian Stirton, a spokesman for the Federal Election Commission in Washington. ``The idea is for anyone who wants to look at a candidate's report to be able to see where their money is coming from.''
Bill Samson, spokesman for Sweet's campaign, said he has the letters to show Sweet made an effort to find the information. Still, many of Sweet's jobless contributors are well-known area businesspeople or even personal friends of the candidate. One was state Sen. Mark Earley, who gave Sweet $250. Another was Virginia Beach attorney Joel Bieber, who contributed $1,000.
A few included ministers and others with connections to religious conservatives, prompting the charge from Sweet's opponent that he is trying to hide the source of his campaign war chest.
``Why else would he file a report like that?'' asked Shock.
Sweet's spokesman said the whole mess underscores the negative turn that the race has taken the last few weeks.
``We're talking about his votes in Congress, he's talking about our paperwork,'' Samson said.
Don't think that Chuck and Ollie have a monopoly on this fall's political nasties.
Concerned that Sweet has been distorting his record, Sisisky began airing a radio ad last week that, well, seems to distort Sweet's record.
The ad claims that Sweet wants to eliminate federal funding for Medicare, Medicaid and veterans hospitals. ``George Sweet is hoping you won't find out about his extreme positions,'' the ad says.
But the claim is based on one answer on a national questionnaire, in which Sweet says he inadvertently circled a number indicating he wants to eliminate federal health care programs. He thought the question was about the Clinton health care plan, he said. And in the same questionnaire, Sweet indicated he supports AIDS research.
The commercial seemed out of character for an incumbent congressman who scored 24 points ahead of his opponent in a districtwide poll last week. But Sisisky has been hammered on the airwaves for weeks, and the Democrat's aides say they've decided to stop turning the other cheek.
Sweet, meanwhile, is planning a television commercial that will attack Sisisky's commercial. ``Norman Sisisky is lying about George Sweet,'' it begins. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Republican George Sweet will amend his report to give occupations
and employers of some of his campaign contributors.
KEYWORDS: HOUSE OF DELEGATES RACE 4TH DISTRICT CANDIDATES
CAMPAIGN FINANCING by CNB