PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Philadelphia Board of Ethics is dropping its appeal in its case against the political action committee that supported Jeff Brown for mayor in the May primary election.
Philadelphia puts strict limits on campaign contributions to candidates, but PACs are not bound by those rules. The Board of Ethics tries to prevent PACs from getting around contribution limits by barring them from coordinating with candidates. Board rules state a PAC cannot consult with a candidate for a year before he or she declares for office.
Last April, it sued the PAC, called For a Better Philadelphia, because, it charged, the PAC had planned fundraisers with Jeff Brown’s help just months before he announced his candidacy for mayor.
Judge Joshua Roberts ruled the board had misinterpreted its own regulations in bringing the suit. The board appealed, but Executive Director Shane Creamer said it’s dropping the appeal because a decision could take years. He said its goal is to be sure PACs don’t circumvent campaign finance laws, so it will instead fine-tune its rules.
“We want to clarify the coordination rules, including how and when they apply before fundraising activity picks up for the next municipal election, which is less than 18 months away,” he said.
Neither Brown nor the PAC responded to KYW Newsradio’s requests for comment.