Councilman returns Unique Tin donation
Tuesday, October 2, 2007 7:05 AM PDT
By Amy M. E. Fischer
Printable version
E-mail this articleAlthough he doesn't think he did anything wrong, Longview City Councilman Don Jensen said for the sake of appearances he will refund a $1,000 campaign contribution from Unique Tin car club.
"I just don't want to have anybody think that there's anything in the least bit wrong with my campaign. So I'm gonna give the money back ... and wash my hands of it," Jensen said Monday.
Jensen, who is up for re-election this fall, accepted the donation in August. He is past president and an 18-year member of Unique Tin, and he also is chairman of the city committee that allocated $2,100 in tourism-promotion money to the club to help fund its annual car show.
A story about the donation appeared in Sunday's Daily News.
"I laid awake the whole ... night last night trying to figure this thing out," said Jensen, a 65-year-old retired firefighter who has been on the City Council since 1999. "All I could figure out was, give the money back so no one would have anything to complain about."
He notified Unique Tin's car show director, Everett Timmreck, and treasurer Phil Williams of his decision on Monday.
"They feel it's all legal and above board and that I should use it for the campaign," Jensen said.
The state Public Disclosure Commission, which oversees political campaign finances, said there was nothing illegal about Unique Tin's donation to Jensen, or Jensen's acceptance of it.
But the transaction raised ethical questions among his peers on the council, even though they said Jensen would never do anything deliberately improper.
He should have recused himself from discussions and votes regarding Unique Tin, some said last week. Others said he shouldn't have taken the donation because it "didn't look good," and suggested he ought to return it.
Jensen said last week that it hadn't occurred to him how the public might perceive his acceptance of Unique Tin's donation. He had asked the club in June if it would be interested in supporting his campaign, and the majority of club members at that meeting voted yes.
Jensen's opponent in November's election, 30-year-old Burgerville manager Benjamin Harrison, said Friday he didn't see a problem with Jensen's campaign contribution.
As chairman of the city's Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, Jensen did not vote on Unique Tin's funding because the other four committee members unanimously approved the club's request, the city's finance director said last week. The committee forwarded its recommendation to the City Council for final approval.
The council approved all funding requests from outside agencies as a block when it adopted the city's budget in November 2006, according to City Manager Bob Gregory.
Lodging taxes must be used on advertising to promote tourism. Groups receiving the tourism funds must submit invoices for advertising expenses to their local government for reimbursement. Unique Tin has submitted $1,268 in receipts so far, city officials say.
Unique Tin donates much of the money it makes at its August car show to various community groups, such as hospice and youth sports leagues.
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