Tanonaka, who has denied the accusation, is running for Congress against incumbent U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i.

"The voters deserve answers to this serious matter," said Brickwood Galuteria, chairman of the Hawai'i Democratic Party.

Bob Watada, the commission's executive director, said the commission would decide in the next day or so whether to hold an emergency meeting on the complaint or wait until a meeting scheduled for Oct. 13. Watada said it was unlikely the complaint would be resolved in the five weeks before the election.

Tanonaka, a former TV and newspaper journalist, questioned the timing of the complaint, claiming Abercrombie was involved. But Tanonaka did not provide any evidence that his former campaign manager, Ed Nishioka, was acting on behalf of the Democrat.

Tanonaka called the complaint a "smear tactic" and characterized Nishioka as a "disgruntled former campaign staff worker with an ax to grind."

Nishioka, who has a pending lawsuit against Tanonaka over payment for his campaign work, has not returned telephone calls from The Advertiser.

Abercrombie spokeswoman Cindy Quinn said the congressman had nothing to do with Nishioka's complaint.

The complaint alleges that Tanonaka made a $48,000 bank deposit in June 2002, the same day he lent $45,000 to his campaign. He later wrote two checks totaling $25,000 to a friend, Carol Tsai, describing one of the checks as a loan repayment.

The complaint alleges Tanonaka disguised the loan activity to get around state campaign spending laws, which bar candidates from accepting personal loans to their campaigns in excess of $10,000.

Tanonaka has not disclosed the exact sources for the June 2002 deposit but said he had refinanced his home and taken out credit lines. He insists that the money he received from Tsai was for personal expenses not linked to his 2002 campaign.

"I borrowed money from a good friend to pay bills," he said.

Yesterday, Tanonaka provided information to the Campaign Spending Commission that appeared to counter a separate claim in the complaint that the campaign failed to report $9,000 in payments in April 2003 to Nishioka's business, Professional Results Inc. A supplemental campaign finance report covering the first six months of 2003 appears to show the payments.

Tanonaka yesterday also called for a debate with Abercrombie. Quinn said Abercrombie would be willing to debate Tanonaka once Congress breaks in October.