Editor:

Allow me the opportunity to correct the information published in Friday’s edition of The Daily Utah Chronicle, (“Parties punished for flawed financial disclosures,” March 6). It seems to me that Michael McFall was not attending the same hearing that I was, considering the information that he presented in his article. The simple truth is the errors in the GO Party’s budget cannot be attributed solely to our campaign accountant, Luiza Franca.

Putting together the primary disclosure binder was a process that involved individuals from the top of the ticket to candidates for the Assembly. The miscommunication about which I spoke at the grievance hearing8212;and that McFall cited in his article8212;was completely my fault, not Franca’s. The misallocations were very common errors that manifest themselves in parties’ budgets each year8212;they were minor and have since been corrected in our books.

Additionally, the GO Party leaders did, in fact, check the books before they were delivered to ASUU8212;these small mistakes were missed by everyone, including me. Regardless, to point the finger at Franca is disingenuous and our party certainly did not do that in the grievance hearing. Instead, I accept the responsibility for the budget mistakes because I am the campaign manager8212;to place the blame solely on Franca is a misrepresentation of reality.

I was contacted by McFall only once to simply clarify who ordered the extra T-shirts. Never was I asked about Franca’s performance as campaign accountant. If I had been, I’d have said exactly what I say now: Franca is incredibly competent, does not deserve the blame assigned to her by this newspaper and remains a very valued member of the GO Party team.

Cameron Beech,
GO Party Campaign Manager