Former State Senator and Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) candidate Julie Quinn was reportedly investigated and fined for eight campaign finance violations related to filing reports from past political campaigns.
Quinn is attempting to re-enter public service this fall and is currently seeking the District 2 seat on the LPSC on November 5th.
According to a report from KTBS, while serving in the State Senate in 2010, Quinn was charged by the Louisiana Board of Ethics for failing to file accurate reports of her campaign finances during three different campaign cycles, including two of her Senate races.
Quinn, at the time, reportedly claimed that the complaints were filed by her ex-husband, hotelier Patrick Quinn, to “embarrass and harass her” and said “I am confident that the issue will be resolved in my favor.”
According to a report on NOLA.com the board filed the charges against Quinn on the same day that 10 of its 11 members resigned in protest of a law that took authority away from the board to rule on charges brought against public officials, moving that authority instead to a panel of administrative judges. Quinn voted in favor of that law as a State Senator.
The panel found that Quinn had violated Section 1505.1C of the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act and agreed to enter a consent opinion and paid a $5,000 fine. The panel noted hundreds of thousands of dollars of discrepancies between the original reports filed by Quinn’s campaign and amended reports Quinn filed in 2009. Quinn blamed these discrepancies
Quinn, a Republican, will face Republican Senator Jean-Paul Coussan of Lafayette and Democrat Nick Laborde for the District 2 seat on the Louisiana Public Service Commission during the November general election. If no candidate reaches the 50 percent threshold, the top two vote receivers will advance to a runoff.
