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Washington elections board unanimously tosses $16,000 fine against Lewis George's mayoral campaign
The D.C. Board of Elections voted unanimously on Oct. 7 to toss out $16,000 in fines levied by the Office of Campaign Finance against mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George's campaign, finding no evidence of illegal coordination with local unions. Lewis George defeated Kenyan McDuffie in the June primary and is expected to win the November general election.
Why it matters
The fines were unveiled just four days before the June primary, roiling the race. The board's unanimous reversal clears the mayoral frontrunner's campaign and puts the campaign-finance regulator OCF's investigative tactics under fresh scrutiny — a council member has already asked the D.C. inspector general to investigate.
Full report
The D.C. Board of Elections voted on Wednesday, Oct. 7, to unanimously toss out $16,000 in fines that the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance (OCF) had levied against Janeese Lewis George's mayoral campaign, rejecting claims that she had illegally coordinated with local unions ahead of the June primary she went on to win.
The OCF investigation had claimed that the close relationship between Lewis George's campaign and local unions — so close that union staff took leave from their jobs to work on her campaign — amounted to illegal coordination, notably involving a union-backed committee that raised more than $1.5 million to run ads supporting her candidacy. Her campaign argued there was no actual evidence of illicit coordination and that a firewall existed between campaign staff and their union jobs. After hours of discussion on Wednesday, the board's three members unanimously agreed. 'You have no evidence to show there was impropriety,' board Chair Greg McCarthy told OCF officials.
In a statement, Lewis George welcomed the ruling and said the investigation was mishandled: 'OCF's order violated D.C. procedural requirements, included multiple false statements about its own investigation, misrepresented the campaign's statements and positions, offered no evidence in support of their conclusions, and was simply wrong on the law.' She noted a similar 2022 episode, when OCF accused council member Elissa Silverman of misspending public campaign funds days before an election — findings the board tossed out months later.
Ward 1 council member Brianne Nadeau welcomed the board's decision while reiterating that she has asked the D.C. Inspector General to look into how OCF handled the investigation. She said she was glad the board concluded there was no wrongdoing by the Lewis George campaign, but that how 'findings rooted in no evidence came to be issued in the 11th hour of a campaign' still needs answers. Despite the saga, Lewis George handily defeated challenger Kenyan McDuffie in the June primary and is expected to win the November general election.
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