Candidate Gregoire Owes Fines, According to Fiscal Watchdogs

Danielle Gregoire, a Democrat who is running against incumbent Steven Levy for state represenative for the 4th Middlesex district, is late with fines to the state, according to Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance.

MA Fiscal Alliance, a watchdog group that "advocates for right of center economic, fiscal and good government issues," sent a letter last week to Gregoire that states she refused to make payments in the amount of $200, $25 and $25 to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance after being contacted 13 times.

"As a result, OCPF was forced to send Ms. Gregoire's debt to a third party vendor for collections," said Paul Craney, executive director for MA Fiscal Alliance. "We are calling on Ms. Gregoire to immediately repay the Commonwealth the debt she owes and we sent her a letter with a pre-stamped return envelope. We strongly believe, candidates running for public office should not owe a financial debt to the state they seeking to serve."

In the letter sent to Gregoire, the MA Fiscal Alliance writes, "Upon viewing your 2011 Statement of Financial Interests filed with the State Ethics Commission,
on page seven, Section 28, you stated 'not applicable' to the question of 'debt, loan or other liability' owed by you as of December 31, 2011. Voters in the 4th Middlesex district deserve to know if their candidates for public office owe a financial debt to the state they are seeking to serve and it’s unfortunate your Statement of Financial Interest form did not include this debt."

The Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance sent an assessment of civil penalty final notice dated Jan. 23, 2012, to Gregoire, demanding payment.

"I think it’s important that voters know if their candidates for public office owe outstanding debt to the state they are seeking to serve before the November election," added Craney.

Gregoire, on Sunday, responded to Patch: "I did not know my campaign committee owed these fees. The matter was resolved immediately upon it being brought to my attention."