Monday, October 26, 2009
A private flight to College Station this summer put Waco small-business man and Republican U.S. House candidate Rob Curnock in violation of a federal law regulating campaign travel, according to a nonpartisan Washington organization that tracks campaign rules.
Curnock, who is squaring off with five GOP primary opponents and hopes to take on incumbent Democrat Chet Edwards, initially questioned whether the flight put him on the wrong side of the Federal Election Campaign Act. But Friday, calling the rules highly confusing, Curnock campaign manager Wynne Loveless said she will file an amended report with the Federal Elections Commission flagging what she said was an unintentional mistake.
Curnock had flown in the single-engine plane belonging to his campaign finance chairman on one occasion during the summer. But Wynne said that would be his only flight as a candidate on a private aircraft.
“The only way he can legally fly on a noncommercial aircraft for campaign purposes is if the plane’s owned by the federal government, the state,” or if he owns the plane, said Paul Ryan, an election-law expert at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center.
“The main reason Congress passed this law is there was a concern that those in our society who could afford private jets would have disproportionate access to public officials,” Ryan said.
Under the previous campaign finance rules, which were amended by the 2007 law, federal candidates flying from Point A to Point B had to pay plane owners the cost of a first-class ticket between the two locations. But Ryan said Congress updated the law to rein in wealthy donors doling out plane rides to get hours of face time with House candidates. A different set of rules was created for U.S. Senate and presidential candidates, who still may accept a ride on a private plane but must reimburse the plane’s owner the amount that it would cost to charter the same trip.
In an interview Thursday, Curnock said the plane he flew on belongs not to an influence peddler but to his campaign finance chairman, Bob Newton, of Granbury. According to Curnock, Newton has a hangar attached to an office at his home and travels in his single-engine plane like most people do in their cars.
“We knew we had the plane available to us if we needed it, which we considered a good thing in such a big district,” Curnock said.
The district stretches from the southwest corner of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex through Waco and down to the Bryan-College Station area. Driving from Navasota in the southernmost part of the district to Burleson in the north takes about three hours and 45 minutes, assuming traffic is light.
But despite the length of the district, Curnock said it actually has proved simpler for him to drive to all campaign events but one.
“One time I flew down with (Newton) to go to College Station and visit with some people,” he said.
Curnock said the campaign was planning either to reimburse Newton for fuel or to treat the cost of the flight as an “in-kind” gift — essentially a contribution of a service, in lieu of cash, to the campaign.
In a statement, Loveless wrote that her contacts at the FEC “have advised me to file an amended report showing this one flight as an in-kind contribution. We are in the process of filing that report.”
Though the FEC hasn’t finalized the regulations interpreting various parts of the 2007 law, Ryan said the portion dealing with House candidates was clear. Shortly after the law’s passage, the FEC met and interpreted the question facing Curnock — whether the law allows House candidates to fly on private aircraft so long as they reimburse the plane’s owner. The commission stated at the time that counting the cost of private air travel as an in-kind contribution is prohibited.
FEC spokeswoman Julia Queen said Friday that as the agency is finalizing its regulations, candidates must operate “under a reasonable interpretation of the statute.” But she added that because there isn’t a final set of regulations, federal enforcement of the 2007 law falls into a “gray area.”
mshapiro@wacotrib.com
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Comments
By Mike Hoover
Oct 29, 2009 10:40 AM | Link to this
The time is now, Rob, to leave!!!
By granbury goose
Oct 29, 2009 8:54 AM | Link to this
You Rob supporters need to quit drinking the cool aid. Rob did not own up to anything - he broke the rules then lied when he got caught. I may not like the rules either, but they are set for a reason. He is not supposed to fly private planes for any reason - period. This bs he did it once will come out. I live here at Pecan and I have seen Bob fly him out several times. I am not the only one who has seen this and many of the others are Chet supporters. Red was a loser before this and needs to be honorable for once and get out and save himself an embarrassing 4 time defeat when McIntyre wipes the mat with him.
By Amber from Woodway
Oct 27, 2009 9:37 PM | Link to this
Curnock had to turn to his past employer KWTX and not give the opportunity to other media to question him. Curnock was to afraid to speak with real reports. This joker needs to drop out!!!!!!!!!! No one is going to give you a dime or support your Rob.
By King of the World
Oct 27, 2009 1:02 PM | Link to this
Wow, someone's building a football stadium here, there's so much astroturf. It's amazing how much of this is one guy having a conversation with himself. So much "I have heard" this and "I have heard" that. And I'm clearly right, because my name is King of the World.
Don't believe everything you read in these comments, and don't believe that every comment is from a different person. This is the easiest thing in the world to fake. Get a free email address, get a new IP address at Starbucks, and change your words just a bit, and you can make it look like lots of people agree with you.
Besides, this story is old news now, and this whole thing has been debunked as a non-issue. KWTX has the most updated coverage from late last night (go read it if you like); the Trib story was written last week.
By Face the facts
Oct 27, 2009 8:06 AM | Link to this
Face the facts, Rob Curnock will not be the republican candidate against Congressman Chet Edwards, Rob is a 4 time looser, can't raise any money, lack of government knowledge, can't follow the law along with a failing business. All he talks about in all his long winded speakers is, "how close we came last time" and calling Chet, Mr Pelosi. Get over it Rob, you are not the person for the job.
By Susan
Oct 27, 2009 7:54 AM | Link to this
Curnock knew he was doing wrong, just tried to see if he would not get caught. I have heard this was not the first time he did this from friends that life my that area. Curnock, do us a favor and the embarrassment and drop out. You will not be the candidate running against Chet because people to not trust you anymore.
By aline
Oct 27, 2009 1:15 AM | Link to this
At least they didn't try to deny or hide it. I'd rather someone admitted their mistake & owned up to it, learned from it and went on. I believe the responsibility falls on the campaign mgr's shoulders for this mix-up. Honest (though dumb) mistake v. question of integrity. Rob has shown his integrity for over
20 yrs in his involvement in the community, and his open and honest handling of this situation just reinforces the fact that he's an honorable small businessman willing to take the hits for the rest of us to get conservative representation.
By looker
Oct 26, 2009 11:06 PM | Link to this
What a bunch of crooked republicans all making excuses cause one of their own crooked candidates got caught again. Ain't no bigger crook that an elected republican and those that haven't been elected just weren't good enough at stealing votes yet. Go Obama!
By JimBo
Oct 26, 2009 9:30 PM | Link to this
In all fairness being a conservative, I've personally seen Chet at a local barbershop for a haircut. Working the fligh line at the Waco airport, I've also seen him piloting his own aircraft. So, you can fly your own aircraft and be OK, but don't ride on anyone alse's, or your in violation? Once again, a bunch of rules written by a bunch of idiots who have been in DC too dadgum long! He had a problem jumping on the healthcare bill, but had no compuntion about the tax and cap law on energy? Makes my stomach turn!
Go ROB!!!
By JimBo
Oct 26, 2009 9:28 PM | Link to this
In all fairness being a conservative, I've personally seen Chet at a local barbershop for a haircut. Working the fligh line at the Waco airport, I've also seen him piloting his own aircraft. So, you can fly your own aircraft and be OK, but don't ride on anyone alse's, or your in violation? Once again, a bunch of rules written by a bunch of idiots who have been in DC too dadgum long! He had no problem jumping on the healthcare bill, but had no compuntion about the tax and trade law on energy? Makes my stomach turn!
Go ROB!!!
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