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How Long Can Campaign Accounts Exist Once Lawmakers No Longer Hold Office?

Nick Ares

A USA Today analysis found at least 140 former members of Congress still have campaign accounts with nearly 50 million dollars in them. Nearly a third of those former lawmakers have been out of office at least five years. For example, the Federal Election Commission says former U.S. Representative Mark Foley of Palm Beach County who resigned in 2006 during a scandal, has more than a million dollars in his campaign account. Former Fort Myers Republican Congressman Trey Radel still has about 165,000 in his campaign account despite leaving Washington after pleading guilty to misdemeanor cocaine possession. We’ll talk about campaign finance laws today and how active campaign committees exist even though many politicians have not shown any plans to run for office again.

Guests:

Larry Noble, Senior Counsel at the Campaign Legal Center and former General Counsel of the Federal Election Commission.

Betty Parker, freelance politics writer. “Parker on Politics” appears in the Saturday editions of the News-Press. 

Copyright 2015 WGCU

Amy Tardif is WGCU’s FM Station Manager and News Director. She oversees a staff of 10 full and part-time people and interns in news, production and the radio reading service. Her program Lucia's Letter on human trafficking received a coveted Peabody Award, an Edward R. Murrow Award, a gold medal from the New York Festivals and 1st place for Best Documentary from the Public Radio News Directors Inc. She was the first woman in radio to Chair RTDNA, having previously served as Chair-Elect and the Region 13 representative on its Board of Directors for which she helped write an e-book on plagiarism and fabrication. She also serves on the FPBS Board of Directors and served on the PRNDI Board of Directors from 2007 -2012. Tardif has been selected twice to serve as a managing editor for NPR's Next Generation Radio Project. She served on the Editorial Integrity for Public Media Project helping to write the section on employee's activities beyond their public media work. She was the producer and host ofGulf Coast Live Arts Editionfor 8 years and spent 14 years asWGCU’slocal host of NPR's Morning Edition. Amy spent five years as producer and managing editor ofWGCU-TV’sformer monthly environmental documentary programsIn Focus on the Environment and Earth Edition.Prior to joiningWGCUPublic Media in 1993, she was the spokesperson for the Fort Myers Police Department, spent 6 years reporting and anchoring for television stations in Fort Myers and Austin, Minnesota and reported forWUSFPublic Radio in Tampa. Amy has two sons in college and loves fencing, performing in local theater and horseback riding.