DPVA Calls Out GOP Ticket for Benefitting from Broken Campaign Finance System

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Democratic Party of Virginia today held a press conference at which Delegate Marcus Simon and Kelly Fowler, Democratic nominee in the 21st House District, called out Ed Gillespie, Jill Vogel, and Ron Villanueva for their respective roles in exploiting our broken campaign finance system at the expense of hardworking Virginians.

“Jill Vogel calls herself an ethics attorney, but as she herself openly admits, she’s the person her dark money clients come to when they want to avoid getting in trouble,” said Delegate Simon. “Of particular note is that her firm represented American Crossroads, the dark money group that Ed Gillespie helped Karl Rove conceive of. We need more transparency in politics, and that should start with the top of the ticket with Ed Gillespie. We renew our call for him to disclose all of his consulting clients from the last five years, not just the ones he wants the public to know about.”

In her remarks, Fowler pledged to join Delegate Simon in co-sponsoring legislation that bans the personal use of campaign funds. Villanueva last year alone spent more than $14,000 in campaign funds in meals and travel. He also previously used more than $9,000 in campaign funds to pay rent for his company that was allegedly controlled by another company for the purposes of illegal bid-rigging. The latter company just settled a $16 million lawsuit with the federal government.

Fowler said, “The people of Hampton Roads know where I stand. I will stand up for transparency and accountability in Virginia politics. Keeping campaign finance in the shadows only hurts hardworking Virginians. This proposed legislation that Delegate Simon and I will introduce will be a solid first step in ensuring campaign funds aren’t wasted and candidates aren’t profiting off their campaigns for office.”

The press conference was held at the Democratic Party of Virginia’s coordinated campaign office in Virginia Beach.