A canceled campaign contribution from Idaho's most generous lobbying group is prompting calls to toughen the state bribery law.
A $500 contribution was promised in October to House Republican candidate Joan Cloonan of Garden City. But it was withdrawn hours later after Cloonan, who sits on the Department of Environmental Quality board, voted for a rule on septic systems that was opposed by the Idaho Association of Realtors.
Cloonan is a Ph.D. chemist, lawyer and former environmental officer at J.R. Simplot Co. During a break in the board's Oct. 8 meeting, Realtors lobbyist John Eaton told Cloonan he would give her a check at a fund-raiser later that day hosted by Gov. Butch Otter.
Eaton then testified against the septic rule, saying it would make it more expensive and in some cases impossible to build on some already platted lots. But Cloonan voted for the rule, which passed 6-1. The Realtors are now leading the effort at the Legislature to have the rule overturned on grounds that it is scientifically unfounded and a threat to property rights.
On Election Day, Eaton told Cloonan that her vote was a factor in withholding the $500. She responded in a Nov. 14 letter, writing that she was "disappointed and insulted" by his statement. She also complained to the secretary of state, attorney general and some legislators.
Eaton said he regrets the way he handled the incident but said he never tried trading money for a vote. The Realtors PAC gave more than $490,000 to candidates in 2008, about three times the total contributed by the next largest group.
Eaton is government affairs director for the 9,000-member association. A veteran lobbyist, he represents the Realtors exclusively. Earlier in his career, he lobbied for the Idaho Building Contractors Association. His testimony two weeks ago was part of the record that prompted lawmakers to cut Otter's revenue projection by $101 million last week.
Both the secretary of state and attorney general investigated Cloonan's account but found no legal recourse. "It's a very serious thing because we don't like people trying to buy votes," said Chief Deputy Secretary of State Tim Hurst.
"We regarded it as serious, and we examined the statutes," said Bill von Tagen, who heads the attorney general's intergovernmental law division. "We didn't find an unlawful act."
One of the legislators Cloonan spoke with, Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Eagle, wants to change that. He's drafting a bill to expand the bribery statute that makes it a felony to offer a public official a benefit in exchange for an official action.
"I don't see any difference between offering a benefit in exchange for a vote and withdrawing a benefit if you don't get the vote," said Labrador, who commends Cloonan for coming forward. "We have great public officials in the state of Idaho, and I don't think that one person should taint everybody else. I think that's evidenced by the way Joan reacted. She's a person of integrity."
Senate Assistant Minority Leader Kate Kelly, D-Boise, who advocates optional public financing of state campaigns, called Idaho's bribery law "pretty toothless."
Kelly said the Realtors' legislative strategy is typical of groups across the spectrum in a system where lawmakers rely heavily on PAC contributions to fund their campaigns. Trade associations, unions and other interest groups fund candidates that are friendly to their aims and attempt to unseat those who generally don't agree.
"It's ugly, but that's the way our law works," Kelly said. "In my experience, you vote for the Realtors' bill, they give money to your campaign. You vote against the Realtors' bill, they give your opponent money."
What's unusual about the Realtors dealings with Cloonan is that the group directly tied a vote to a contribution at the peak of an election campaign.
In Cloonan's case, the Realtors had already contributed $1,000 for the May primary. She still had the group's endorsement in the November general election but went without the additional $500 in her race against Democrat Grant Burgoyne, which she lost, 56 percent to 44 percent.
Cloonan said she became concerned she was being punished for her vote when she attended the fundraiser at Leku Ona, a Basque restaurant in Boise, after the DEQ board meeting on the evening of Oct. 8. Both Cloonan and Eaton were there, but they didn't speak, and she didn't get a check.
Eaton, however, did report a $500 contribution to Cloonan to the secretary of state, along with 39 other checks to legislative candidates dated Oct. 8. He now calls that a "regrettable accounting oversight on my part." He corrected the error after Cloonan pointed it out.
Eaton said he was not attempting to buy Cloonan's vote. He expected to lose at the DEQ board, but to win in the Legislature, where he has twice helped overturn rules requiring more space for septic drain fields.
On Election Night, as she watched returns at the GOP party at the DoubleTree Riverside, Cloonan confronted Eaton about the missing contribution.
"He says, 'Well, you didn't vote for me,'" Cloonan told the Idaho Statesman. "I didn't vote for him - that's the bottom line. I think it was a little test."
In the Nov. 14 letter to Eaton, Cloonan wrote: "The juxtaposition of the comment that there was a check for me with the vote and the subsequent failure to produce the check and then your barefaced statement that the vote was the reason for withholding the check is disturbing. It suggests there was a quid pro quo expectation tied to contributions. ... If not illegal, that is unethical and contributes to the low reputation of lobbyists in general."
Eaton responded to questions from the Statesman by e-mail. He wrote that he remembers "mentioning the septic issue as a concern" on Election Night. But he added that "there was never any expectation on my part of any kind of quid quo pro ... we do not tie campaign contributions to votes. Obviously, I wish I would have handled this better, and certainly I could have, but I have made every attempt to discuss the issue with Joan, and I have not been afforded that opportunity."
Cloonan said she called Eaton before the election to ask about the missing $500, which she reported as "pledged" on her finance report. Cloonan said Eaton did not reply to her message; Eaton says he didn't get it.
After Cloonan's Nov. 14 letter, she and Eaton corresponded by e-mail. But she refused Eaton's invitation to meet, writing, "Not sure what there is to talk about. I'm not running for office. I'm not looking for contributions. I'm not looking for explanations."
The Statesman contacted the president, past president and legislative committee chairman of the Realtors for comment. Eaton wrote that all three asked him to speak on the association's behalf.
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