Lora Hubbel for Governor files report, noting $55 in contributions. And no Lora, an independent communication expenditure is not an expenditure by an independent candidate.

There’s a candidate for governor who has some explaining to do.

No, not the Democrat candidate for Governor. They don’t have one.  Independent Candidate for Governor Lora Hubbel. Because she seems to have omitted a lot of information from her campaign finance report:

Lora Hubbel Campaign Finance Disclosure by Pat Powers on Scribd

Not surprisingly, Hubbel reported raising a whopping $55 in her race. She should never be elected to anything, so being unable to raise a tank of gas is not a stretch. But then there’s the rest of it. Hubbel claims she donated $1000 to her campaign out of her own pocket. And then has this expenditure..

What’s the story with this?  Well, according to the FCC’s federal file..

Lora Hubbel for Governor Advertising Agreement Sept 7 2021 20210907 155025224 PDF by Pat Powers on Scribd

Lora Hubbel for Governor Advertising Agreement 11-22-11 28 Nov 16 2021 20211116 192232905 PDF by Pat Powers on Scribd

Lora signed agreements for radio advertising in September and November on behalf of Lora for Governor. And according to the same file, it was cash up front for her first ad, totaling $580 on 9/7.

Kelo Am Lora Hubbel for Governor Invoice 498375 1 20210913 161140985 PDF by Pat Powers on Scribd

And she pre-paid $1000 on November 16..

kelo-am-lora-hubbel-for-gov… by Pat Powers

Aside from the fact that Lora skipped over reporting her September advertising buy completely, there’s that portion of the campaign finance report that she seems to have ignored right over the part where she reported spending $1000:

SDCL 12-27-1 (11) – “Independent communication expenditure,” an expenditure, including the payment of money or exchange of other valuable consideration or promise, made by a person, entity, or political committee for a communication concerning a candidate or a ballot question which is not made to, controlled by, coordinated with, requested by, or made upon consultation with that candidate, political committee, or agent of a candidate or political committee.

They even underlined “which is not” on the form right above the part where she reported spending the money. Despite the fact that Lora requested the advertising on behalf of the committee, and signed the form herself.

I hate to break it to Lora, but an independent communication expenditure is not an expenditure by an independent candidate.

When a candidate running for the same office for the third time is challenged by just following the instructions in front of her nose, this might be a good sign that at this point she should probably just hang it up.