With payment of a fine, Pittman cleared to take leadership of state Democrats

State election officials have levied a fine of $700 against Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, who subsequently closed his campaign account, clearing the way for him to take over as chair of the Maryland Democratic Party.

The campaign account could not be closed until Pittman cleared up discrepancies in his books, but as long as he had an account open, he could not fully assume the duties of party leadership that he won by acclamation almost 10 days ago at a party meeting.

Pittman’s campaign underreported $2,799.00 in contributions and $4,205.74 in expenditures, according to a June 26 letter from Allen Norfleet, director of candidacy and campaign finance for the Maryland State Board of Elections.

As a result, Norfleet imposed a civil penalty of $150 for each of the two infractions. Officials also imposed an additional $400 in penalties on the campaign: $200 each for failing to maintain both proper contribution and expenditure records.

By law, the civil penalty must come from the campaign account. If there is not enough money in the account, the chair and treasurer of the campaign committee are jointly responsible.

A spokesperson for the state party did not respond to a request for comment.

Norfleet confirmed that the account paid the fine the same day the fines were issued. The account was then closed, he said.

The remaining balance of nearly $41,000 was transferred from Pittman’s account to the state party — a move allowed by law.

The closure of the account clears the way for Pittman to fully step into the role of chair of the Maryland Democratic Party after being elected on June 21.

Gov. Wes Moore (D) tapped Pittman in May to head the party after then-Chair Ken Ulman announced he would resign by mid-June.

Pittman, who is in his second term as county executive, cannot seek a third term. But the term-limited Democrat still maintained a campaign finance account.

State law bars candidates from having their own campaign account while also serving as an officer on another account. The law is meant to prevent candidates from sidestepping campaign finance laws and donation limits.

And even though Pittman was term limited, state elections officials, and later Pittman himself, confirmed the prohibition applied.

The discrepancies in Pittman’s account, between his reported bank balance and the amount of cash his campaign claimed to have on hand, had been present in each of the Pittman campaign’s last two filings.

In an interview with Maryland Matters, Pittman vowed to “not even be quoted as party chair” until the issue was resolved.

Charlene Dukes, first vice chair of the party, has served as acting chair since Ulman’s resignation was official on June 13. The move allowed the party to continue raising and spending money.

Pittman is expected to step into that role once he assumes the chair position. As of Monday, Dukes was still listed as the chair of the party’s state campaign account, according to online records.