Baton Rouge Reporter

Eric McVicker, a GOP strategist and community advocate, said that Louisiana Public Service Commission candidate Julie Quinn's history of campaign finance violations showed a "clear disregard" for rules that ensure transparency in the electoral process. 

"Quinn's repeated campaign finance violations show a clear disregard for the rules that ensure transparency in our electoral process," McVicker told Baton Rouge Reporter. "If someone can't follow basic ethical guidelines, how can they be trusted to hold an office as crucial as the Public Service Commission, especially at a time when our rate-payers are facing record-high energy bills? Louisiana deserves better."

According to a prior report from the Baton Rouge Reporter, Quinn was charged by the Louisiana Board of Ethics for failing to file accurate campaign finance reports during three campaign cycles, including two of her Senate races. 

Despite Quinn's claims that the issue would be resolved in her favor, Quinn was found to have violated violated Section 1505.1C of the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act. Quinn agreed to enter a consent opinion and paid a $5,000 fine for the violations.

The panel of judges that reviewed the case found hundreds of thousands of dollars of discrepancies between the original reports filed by Quinn's campaign and amended reports Quinn filed in 2009.

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. 

Eric McVicker is a seasoned GOP Strategist, political consultant, and community advocate with over 15 years of experience in political campaigns, nonprofit, and governmental affairs work. He has served as a key strategist for more than 100 political campaigns. A graduate of LSU and Loyola University’s Institute of Politics, McVicker has also served on multiple nonprofit boards.