DC Lobbyist Denise Gitsham is under fire for skirting her obligation to be transparent to voters for the third time. Gitsham is not only leaving voters in the dark about potential conflicts of interests, she unapologetically admitted her negligence was due to the fact she was ‘too busy campaigning.’ Gitsham is clearly not ready for prime time.
“DC lobbyist Denise Gitsham thinks the rules don’t apply to her,” said Barb Solish of the DCCC. “The only thing transparent about Denise Gitsham is her lack of respect for voters.”
ICYMI
Gitsham’s ethics report problems continue
San Diego Union-Tribune
By Joshua Stewart
June 29, 2016
Nothing has been fixed more than a month after campaign said she would promptly amend mistakes
…More than a month after saying she would quickly fix errors and an omission in her political ethics reports, congressional candidate Denise Gitsham continues to have problems with two financial documents.
…Her campaign was aware of multiple mistakes in her financial disclosure statements at least 12 days before polls opened and promised to get them fixed promptly, but did not rectify any of the problems before the June 7 primary and continues to have numerous issues with the legally-required paperwork.
…The delay left voters without the chance to fully vet Gitsham’s financial status and potential conflicts of interests as they could her opponents.
…A Gitsham aide said the candidate couldn’t correct the various problems in her paperwork because she was busy campaigning.
…“The first couple of weeks in June were focused on the primary election and the post-primary wrap up including restructuring within the campaign, all of which has caused the delay in amending the disclosures,” said Brooke Borcherding, Gitsham’s deputy campaign manager. “I have personally been in contact with the House Ethics Committee at various times throughout the month, and the amendments are being finalized as we speak.”
…The campaign sent the committee a follow-up email on June 27 asking if amendments had been made, the same day the Union-Tribune asked why inaccuracies had not been fixed.
…The delay is the latest in a series of ongoing problems with Gitsham’s financial disclosures, including reports that were months late, mistakes and an omission.
…The first problem occurred before Gitsham publicly announced her plan to run for office. Candidates are supposed to file a report after their campaigns raised or spent more than $5,000, a threshold she crossed on Oct. 26, 10 days before a campaign kick-off ceremony at a shared office space in Little Italy.
…She filed an incomplete report and paid a $200 late fee on March 24, a day after the Union-Tribune asked why she had not submitted the document to the House earlier. Extensions are available from the Ethics Committee but Gitsham did not request additional time.
…That March report, it was discovered in late May, had inaccurate information about student loans and her mortgage.
…“She will amend with the assistance of House Ethics Committee Counsel promptly,” Borcherding wrote in the May 26 email.
…Gitsham filed her second report on May 16 but omitted her student loan debt, a lapse that the campaign also said would be amended promptly with help from committee lawyers.
…Financial disclosure statements provide general detail about a candidate’s or incumbent’s income, debts, assets and other aspects of their financial lives. Besides giving a glimpse at personal financial health and wealth, disclosures also makes it possible to see if a politician would have conflicts of interest while in office.