Campaign flyers, signs prompt complaints from Centre County Democratic Committee
The Centre County Democratic Committee filed a complaint Tuesday with the Board of Elections after discovering campaign flyers distributed in Ferguson Township — with the name of a local candidate who did not know she’d be included — did not have a “paid for by” disclaimer.
The flyers about Ferguson Township’s Board of Supervisors races urge voters to support Republicans Patti Higgins and Robert Whitaker and Democrat Lisa Strickland.
Political signs for local races in the upcoming municipal election have been seen throughout the county and state. But campaign material, such as yard signs and direct mailers, needs to include a disclaimer that states who paid for the item, as per the state elections code.
Gregory Stewart, chair of the Centre County Democratic Committee, told the Centre Daily Times he filed the complaint on behalf of the Centre County Democratic Committee.
“Our main concern and why we filed a complaint is over the lack of the ‘paid for by,’ not necessarily the content of what candidates or a group said,” Stewart wrote in an email. “While we disagree with the content of the flyer, candidates are free to say what they want as long as they disclose who paid for their materials. The public has a right to know who is funding campaigns.”
Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna confirmed a complaint was filed with the Board of Elections but didn’t comment on the specifics.
The flyer is similar to the full page ad the Centre County Republican Committee placed in the Centre County Gazette on Oct. 14, referencing Ferguson Township’s stormwater fee. The controversial fee will go into effect January 2022 and is an annual fee that “is assessed to property owners to fund stormwater management services,” according to the township’s website.
The ad included three Republican candidates for the Ferguson Township Supervisors, but the flyer has one Republican — Jeremie Thompson, who spoke out against the “negative campaigning” in a Centre Daily Times letter to the editor — replaced by Strickland.
Strickland, who’s running for Ferguson Township Supervisor at-large, said she had no prior knowledge of the flyer and had she known, she wouldn’t have given permission.
“I did not give my permission to have my name on that material. They didn’t consult with me and I would not have approved it had they asked,” Strickland said Thursday.
“I wouldn’t know who paid for these materials since there’s no attribution printed on them,” Strickland said Friday.
Kris Eng, chair of the Centre County Republican Committee, did not return a request for comment.
Stewart said while filing the complaint, he included that Strickland had no knowledge of it, and she also sent a letter to Cantorna to the same effect.
Stewart filed a separate complaint about yard signs in Ferguson Township for Republican candidates that did not originally include the “paid for by” information. Stickers that state the Centre County Republican Committee paid for it have since been put on many of the signs.
By doing so, the yard signs are in compliance, Cantorna said.
This story was originally published October 29, 2021 at 3:02 PM.
