At-Large DC Councilmember Elissa Silverman declined calls for her resignation following accusations of misusing public campaign funds.
“I will not step down. This is an issue over whether an expenditure was appropriate under fair elections or not. It’s not a criminal case in any way,” Silverman said in a statement.
On Thursday, October 27, the DC Office of Campaign Finance ordered Silverman to pay $6,277 to reimburse the Fair Elections Fund due to violation of the Campaign Finance Act.
She has also been ordered to refund the city other costs associated with the Amplify and Target Smart-Polls that she commissioned and financed in connection with the Ward 3 Council primary election.
Earlier today I filed an appeal to the D.C. Board of Elections, asking them for a hearing & to reverse a campaign finance ruling that found my Ward 3 polling expenses outside Fair Elections regulations. My full statement & a copy of the appeal is here: https://t.co/8XMT4zfqaV pic.twitter.com/0613sjBaAy
— Elissa Silverman (@tweetelissa) November 2, 2022
According to the Office of Campaign Finance, Silverman improperly used the money collected for her own election campaign to fund two polls in the Ward 3 Council primary race, where she was not a candidate, on June 21, 2022.
The councilmember announced in a press release on Wednesday that she has appealed the ruling.
“While the Office of Campaign Finance (OCF) determined in their ruling that there was no improper coordination between me and any other campaign, which was the basis of the complaint, they believed the polling expense fell outside of the scope of the Fair Elections regulations,” Silverman stated. “I disagree with this interpretation of the law and today my attorneys filed an appeal.”