Kelly Casaday just wants to be paid for work rendered to former U.S. Rep. Chris Cannon's campaign.
But the president of Salt Lake City-based advertising company Letter 23 hasn't gotten anywhere with face-to-face talks with former campaign staffers, so instead he has sued the campaign and Cannon personally for upward of $85,000.
Casaday's problem may be that history shows the candidate is not the campaign and is rarely liable for debts owed. It is also difficult for a campaign of a defeated candidate to find resources to pay off those who are owed.
According to the April filing, Cannon for Congress is more than $330,000 in debt, including a $137,000 loan from Cannon himself. The 12-year incumbent from Utah's 3rd House District was beaten by Jason Chaffetz in the 2008 Republican primary.
"Generally, the campaign is responsible for the debt, and it's not the candidate that's on the hook for the debt," said Tara Mallory, an attorney with the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, D.C.
The final determination lies with state law, Mallory said. That could be tested in court, though Cannon doesn't think the claim will hold water.
"I can't imagine a claim against me personally," said Cannon, who considers the bill for $85,000 too high but does acknowledge money is owed.
There are several ways to retire a campaign's debt. Campaign assets can be sold, more fundraising can take place and the candidate can personally give the campaign money that would be used to pay off debts.
Raising money just to retire debt for a candidate who is no longer in office is nearly impossible, Cannon said.
Personally paying off the debt is an option, but 12 years in office has drained off his cash.
"That has sopped up my liquidity. It costs a lot of money to be in Congress," he said.
OpenSecrets.org, which tracks politics and money, lists Cannon's net worth in 2007 between $1.8 million and $7.3 million.
"Liquidity is money laying around. Net worth is fiction," contends Cannon, who added "I mean, I am not pleading poverty with you here."
Casaday, on the other hand, is fighting to keep Letter 23 afloat. Tough economic times have meant hard decisions.
"I've had to borrow, beg from friends and neighbors, maxing out credit cards, that sort of thing," he said. He's also moved the business to a lower-rent area of the city.
He's been asking for his money since last year, he said, but gets back requests for a few more weeks to deal with things. Now, he's out of patience.
"Even though we're filing a lawsuit against him, I still like Chris. ... But I would like to get paid."
Posted in Local on Saturday, July 11, 2009 12:10 am Updated: 9:35 am. | Tags: Chris Cannon
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