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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Abercrombie not allowed to transfer $900,000 to gubernatorial campaign


By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Campaign Spending Commission today voted 4-0 to bar Congressman Neil Abercrombie from transferring approximately $900,000 from his federal campaign war chest to his gubernatorial campaign.

The commission, which accepted commission executive director Barbara Wong’s recommendation with some changes, said state law does not permit a Hawai‘i candidate committee to accept funds transferred from the same person’s federal campaign committee except for $6,000 from the federal committee itself.
Abercrombie’s federal campaign committee can refund contributions to those making them and contributions may be solicited from those persons for his gubernatorial bid, the advisory opinion said.
Arguing against allowing Abercrombie to transfer the money to his state campaign were attorneys for Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann and the Republican Party of Hawai‘i.
Abercrombie campaign staff said the gubernatorial war chest has about $390,000 of cash on hand.
Hannemann, meanwhile, has transferred $659,000 left over from his mayoral campaign last year to his governor’s account, which is permitted under state law. He has also raised about $583,000 in June for a combined total of $1.2 million.
Abercrombie attorney Karl Sandstrom has the option of appealing the decision and said the campaign was only seeking equal footing with other candidates seeking to use excess funds from previous campaigns.