Complaint filed in Lake County race
A complaint has been filed against Lake County Sheriff candidate Jay Doyle for naming his potential undersheriff on advertisements in advance of the November election.
Doyle, who currently serves as undersheriff to Sheriff Lucky Larson, names Karey Reynolds as his undersheriff on his website, www.jaydoyleforlcsheriff.com.
Reynolds previously worked for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. According to the complaint, Reynolds is currently unemployed. Doyle’s website says Reynolds had to close his equipment rental business in July “because of economic factors beyond our control.”
The complaint was filed Sept. 20 by Kenneth Scott of St. Ignatius.
It cites Chapter 13 of the Montana Code, Section 35-215, on illegal influences of voters. The law states “a person may not ... in order to induce any elector to vote or refrain from voting or to vote for or against any particular candidate, political party ticket, or ballot issue ... promise to appoint another person ... in order to aid or promote the candidate’s nomination or election, except that the candidate may publicly announce or define the candidate’s choice or purpose in relation to an election in which the candidate may be called to take part if elected.”
Commissioner of Political Practices Dennis Unsworth said Wednesday that the state law cited in the complaint is ambiguous, adding that it was reviewed a couple of times in the 1990s.
“It’s not an open-and-shut case,” he said, noting the state agency is backlogged with complaints. “The facts are unlike the facts in previous cases.
“This law needs work,” Unsworth said.
In one of the 1990 cases, Parrent versus Ames, the office found that violation of the law in question is a misdemeanor. The finding said a “threshold requirement” was needed to establish “some indication that Ames acted with the purpose of inducing electors to vote for him.” Ames had answered a question from a newspaper about who he would appoint as his undersheriff. Ames said he would appoint the current sheriff as his undersheriff so that he could gain his retirement after 24 years with the county. Ames said this statement probably cost him some votes. The office found that Ames didn’t violate the law.
Currently the state agency has 50 complaints on its docket. Unsworth said he doesn’t know when the Lake County complaint will be handled, but hopes it is prior to Election Day.
Doyle, a Republican, did not return a phone call for this story. The other candidates in the race include independent Steve Kendley and Democrat Dan Yonkin.
Prior to the primary, Doyle announced in a campaign flyer that Lake County Sheriff’s Lt. Mike Sargeant would be his undersheriff. On Wednesday, Sargeant said he recently had surgery and “withdrew for health reasons.”
The Commissioner of Political Practices also is investigating another complaint tied to the Lake County Sheriff’s race. In that complaint, Lanny Vanmeter, the Doyle campaign’s secretary-treasurer, alleged that Concerned Citizens of Lake County violated state law by not registering as a campaign committee and not filing required financial reports.
Terry Leonard, who was fired from his job as a deputy with Lake County Sheriff’s Office, said he is solely responsible for the Concerned Citizens of Lake County website, www.asksheriffluckylarson.com. According to an Associated Press story, Leonard said the website is “not politically motivated.”
If more than one person is involved with the committee and the committee has conducted campaign activity, the committee is required to disclose information, Unsworth said. Campaign activity consists of direct promotion or opposition to a candidate, he said.
Reporter Caleb Soptelean may be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at csoptelean@dailyinterlake.com