Janitors union seeks lawyer’s OK on filing finance report

LYNN – The 10-day window for AFSCME Local 1736, the Lynn custodians union, to file a campaign finance report has come and gone as the group continues to speak with a lawyer regarding whether or not they are legally exempt from revealing their expenditures from the recent election.Under the name Lynn School Employees Voter Empowerment Committee, the union sent out mailers and purchased advertisements supporting candidates in the weeks leading up to November’s City Council and School Committee elections.In most cases, groups who support, donate or raise funds for candidates must file a campaign finance report with the city explaining exactly how much money was spent, and what it was spent on.But union officials believe they do not have to take this step because they did not donate any money on record to any candidates, and they did not hold a fundraiser. The only participation the union had was in supporting their preferred candidates through advertising and mock-ballot mailings.After reviewing the mailer, City Clerk Mary Audley disagreed with the union, and sent a letter dated Nov. 21 stating the union has 10 days to file the finance reports or face fines from the state.Now, 16 days after the letter was sent, the Election Office says they have still heard no response from the union.”We did send the letter, but we have not seen a note back saying that they received it,” said Clerk of Elections Karen Richard. “Once we get the card saying they received the letter, we will contact the Office of Political Finance.”Union President Mark Raftery said Thursday that the union did receive Audley’s letter, but he wants more information on the situation.At the present time, Local 1736 is meeting with the union legal team to review the circumstances surrounding the letter, and decide what its next move will be. Either way, Raftery said Audley can expect communication from the group soon.”They should be getting a letter from us very shortly. We are asking for more information on it to see who filed a complaint and what the circumstance is,” he said. “Right now we are talking to our lawyers and waiting for answers from them.”No official complaint was filed against the union with the office of the City Clerk, rather, it was determined by city officials that the union was not exempt from filing the report, resulting in the letter.Raftery has referenced the “10/15 exemption” as the official law protecting them from the filing requirement, but the City Elections Office, after checking with Lynn’s legal team, determined that the “10/15 exemption” did not apply to the union.The exemption states that groups who do not engage in political fundraising are not required to file a report if they spend under 10 percent of their gross revenue or less than $15,000 during a campaign.But because the union supported some candidates in the election mailer, they are still in violation of the exemption, which states that the group must file if their contributions go toward “aiding, promoting or preventing the election of any person to public office.”Because the mailers and advertisements singled out specific candidates, this portion of the law would seemingly apply to the union’s actions.The attorney for Local 1736, Joseph DeLorey, did not return phone calls seeking clarification of the union’s concerns Thursday.