Two Barbe High School teachers who tried unsuccessfully to recall Gov. Bobby Jindal and House Speaker Chuck Kleckley face
fines because they did not file campaign finance reports on time.
Angie Bonvillain and Brenda Romero each face $1,000 fines because they did not file a report within the required 45 days after
the recall efforts started. The Ethics Board is expected to consider the issue Friday.
Bonvillain told the American Press in an email Wednesday that the teachers did not know about the filing deadline, but that she is “willing to pay” the penalty.
“We are not professional politicians,”
she said. “We are teachers who were trying to educate the public about
laws that are
not good for education. If I have to pay a fine for speaking out
against laws I think are not right, I can live with that.”
Kleckley, R-Lake Charles, sent a letter
to the Board of Ethics on Wednesday asking them to consider waiving the
fines. In
an emailed statement, he said, “Deadlines and other campaign
ethics requirements can be unclear to individuals not familiar
with the political process.
“We are fortunate here in America to be able to voice our disagreements, and I strongly believe in protecting those rights,”
Kleckley said.
The recall efforts were organized
because of public education reform efforts backed by Jindal and Kleckley
during this year’s
legislative session. Bonvillain said Jindal and Kleckley “have
shown their true colors; Jindal a bully and Kleckley a puppet.”
“Politicians need to be reminded they have to answer to the people that are affected by the laws they make,” she said.
The Advocate in Baton Rouge reported that the campaign finance reports “were filed 56 days late.” The Jindal recall campaign
showed $525 in receipts and no disbursements, and the Kleckley effort showed $1,600 in receipts and no disbursements.
Both efforts required signatures from
at least one-third of the registered voters within an election district
over a six-month
period. More than 960,000 signatures were required to recall
Jindal, and about 9,000 signatures were needed to recall Kleckley.