Nobody's Talking After Creve Coeur Campaign Finance Ethics Complaint

The major players involved in are staying quiet so far.

On Friday, Patch reported that City Councilwoman Jeanne Rhoades filed the Missouri Ethics Commission complaint against Glantz,

Rhoades has been one of Bryant's most ardent supporters. She did not return several messages seeking comment late Friday afternoon. Bryant has also not returned a message seeking comment.

In a letter to the Ethics Commission, Rhoades said the effort was not meant as a "political stunt" to influence the outcome of the race.

Mayor Glantz first learned of the charges when Patch requested comment on the matter Friday. Glantz said he was out of town for his son's graduation from the University of Missouri and needed more time to review the complaint.

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In the complaint, Rhoades accuses Glantz of "misrepresenting the primary affiliation (employer) of his single largest contributor." In campaign finance documents, Glantz reported receiving $ 2,000 from Garrick R. Hamilton, identified with 3 G's Yogurt with a City Place Address in early March. The address matches the corporate address for the .

Rhoades' complaint alleges that another donation came from Hamilton, also identified with 3 G's Yogurt later in the election cycle with a similar CityPlace address that also matches the Koman Group's corporate home. Hamilton is employed by the Koman Group as the real estate firm's General Counsel.

Rhoades told the Commission that it was Bryant who discovered the issue, and suggested that it could have been grounds for a complaint once it was discovered in Glantz's final pre-election campaign finance report. However, a Patch review of "Frequently Asked Questions" on the MEC website shows the agency will not accept complaints within 15 days of a general election.

Hamilton has not returned a weekend email seeking comment. Attempts to locate a home phone number have not been successful.

MYSTERY MAILER

In the final days of the campaign, residents received a mailer from a woman identified as Donna Dill which was critical of Bryant. The material claimed to have been done independent of the Glantz campaign, an assertion Glantz reiterated prior to the election and on election night. But Rhoades' complaint points at incomplete information in Dill's campaign finance disclosures and also takes issue with Dill's claim to be a Creve Coeur resident made in the mailer.

The postal permit on the mailer matched the one found on a mass mailer put out by Glantz earlier in the campaign, tracking back to Mark's Quick Printing.. But a spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service told Patch earlier this spring that a printing firm paying for postage could use the same permit on any number of mailers.

When asked about the complaint by phone Friday night, Dill declined comment saying she was at dinner. When Patch offered the opportunity to discuss the matter at a more convenient time, the phone line went dead.

WHAT'S NEXT?

By law, the Missouri Ethics Commission cannot discuss pending complaints or specific investigation. Once the agency decides to conduct an investigation, it has 5 days to notify the subject via registered mail.

The agency has not yet made public any action taken with respect to a

Monday, City Council members will have a first read of an ordinance Rhoades first suggested in April, to encourage candidates for city office to file their campaign finance reports electronically to allow easier public access.

Failure to comply with the ordinance would not disqualify a candidate from the ballot.