Beaufort County school board member fined over campaign finance violations
Beaufort County Board of Education member John Dowling was fined by the South Carolina State Ethics Commission last month after admitting to two campaign finance violations.
Dowling, who was elected to the school board in October 2017, was fined $500 for failing to open a campaign bank account and failing to report any contributions or expenditures on his pre-election campaign disclosure form, as required by state law, according to the commission’s consent order.
Buffy Snider, a Bluffton parent who is affiliated with the student advocacy organization STAND, filed an ethics complaint against Dowling in early April.
Snider’s complaint accused Dowling of harassing her for speaking out against him in a board meeting and for lying on his campaign finance forms.
The ethics commission found probable cause to fine Dowling for his campaign finance violations but the other allegations fell outside of the commission’s jurisdiction, according to the consent order.
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Dowling told the commission that he misinterpreted certain regulations and thought he was only required to report contributions more than $500, the consent order states.
After speaking with the commission, Dowling “took immediate corrected action and provided commission staff with all relevant information,” the order states.
Dowling amended his 2017 form to include his annual income on April 22 — 13 days after Snider filed her complaint against the board member. He also added three contributions, including $192.90 of his own money and $30 from a donor.
Although Dowling declined to comment Thursday, he previously told an Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette reporter that “this is something I take seriously.”
Dowling is not the only school board member not to file his financial disclosure forms accurately with the ethics commission.
Most candidates who ran for the board in the November 2018 election did not submit required financial disclosure forms, including elected incoming board members Rachel Wisnefski and Melvin Campbell — making them subject to fines as well.
This story was originally published December 13, 2018 at 11:31 AM.
