A month after the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance authorized its executive director to negotiate a payment plan with Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron on a $135,000 civil penalty for campaign finance violations, the director is raising doubts about whether such a move would have been legal.
“I think that’s a very close question at the end of the day,” Bill Young, executive director of the Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance, said last week.
The question could be moot, at least for now, after Ketron’s attorney, Trey Harwell, told Young this month the mayor is withdrawing his request to set up a payment plan and will pay the entire $135,000 in a lump sum. Such a move would eliminate potential challenges to whether Ketron would be eligible to qualify for re-election in spring of 2022.
The Registry board voted in April to levy a $135,000 civil penalty against the former state senator and current mayor for 474 findings affecting about $300,000 in his Senate, Quest PAC and mayoral campaign accounts. The board also dropped $80,000 in previously ordered civil penalties for late filings and other violations and directed Young to negotiate a payment plan with Ketron after his attorney told the board the mayor faced financial difficulties.
Young said this week he still needs approval from the board to accept Ketron’s proposal. It will be placed on the July agenda for consideration so the Registry can send out an order for the civil penalty.