McKay has not yet submitted final campaign finance report

Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006

The $10-a-day penalty will accrue until McKay files his financial report with the state elections board. An elections official confirmed Tuesday that McKay had not yet posted the report, which can be done electronically. The fine is assessed each business day, so the penalty was $50 as of Tuesday.

The maximum fine is $250, after which a show-cause notice is sent to the candidate or campaign, notifying them of the reporting failure. If no corrective action is taken, the case is then referred to the state prosecutor, said Jared DeMarinis, director of the state board’s candidacy and campaign finance division.

Through the last financial report posted at the end of October, McKay raised more than $200,000, mostly in 2005 and the first half of 2006. Neither he nor incumbent Sen. Roy Dyson (D-St. Mary’s, Calvert, Charles) faced primary opposition, enabling both men to pad their treasuries.

Dyson, whose final campaign finance report has been posted, raised nearly $100,000, but the biggest chunk — $38,565 — came this September and October.

Despite more than doubling Dyson’s financial intake, McKay received only 36 percent of votes in District 29 and got 185 fewer tallies in St. Mary’s County than GOP commissioner president nominee Joseph B. Bush, who spent little money and had a loosely organized campaign operation.

Even without the most recent filings, McKay spent an average of $10.92 per vote, compared to 14 cents per vote for Bush (R), who raised less than $1,500. By comparison, Dyson (D-St. Mary's, Calvert, Charles) spent an average of $3.46 per vote.

‘‘Money can only buy so much. And in this case, there were perceptions and realities in the voters’ minds out there that no amount of money [could] change,” said Zach P. Messitte, a St. Mary’s College of Maryland political science professor.

McKay did not return calls Tuesday seeking comment.

Dyson also boosted his campaign treasury for a potential reelection run in four years. He began the recently completed cycle with about $3,000 and finished it with $13,589 in the bank.

The county’s most prolific fundraiser is Del. John F. Wood Jr. (D-St. Mary's, Charles), who rakes in most of his campaign cash through his annual golf tournament and bull roast. The longtime lawmaker raised more than $190,000 since 2003 and spent most of it, routing his competition in both the primary and general elections. About $50,000 of his contributions came from political action committees.

Republican Joe DiMarco, the first-time candidate who challenged Wood, raised only $1,600, according to his campaign finance report. He still managed to receive almost more than 4,600 votes, or nearly 35 percent of the electorate.

The other two incumbents enjoyed similar financial advantages over their respective first-time political foes. John Bohanan (D-St. Mary’s) raised almost $120,000, nearly 10 times that of his GOP opponent, Noel Temple ‘‘Tim” Wood. Bohanan dished out thousands to Democratic colleagues, including House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel), Del. Norman H. Conway (D-Lower Shore), who chairs the Appropriations Committee that Bohanan sits on and Del. Sue Kullen (D-Calvert).

Tim Wood has about $2,000 left in his campaign account, but has a $4,000 loan obligation to repay. Bohanan received 64 percent of the vote in defeating Wood.

House Minority Whip Anthony J. O’Donnell also showed his fund-raising prowess, pulling in almost $175,000 in the last cycle, nearly 20 times that of his Democratic opponent, Norma Powers of Dowell. Like Bohanan, O’Donnell (R-Calvert, St. Mary’s) received substantial PAC donations and dispersed thousands of dollars to other GOP accounts and individual candidates. Almost two-thirds of Powers’ $9,263 intake came from PACs, according to available campaign finance figures. O’Donnell received more than 60 percent of the vote in winning a fourth term in office.

E-mail Alan Brody at abrody@somdnews.com.