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Judicial Candidate Calls Loan 'Honest Mistake'

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 8, 2008

TAMPA - Accused of campaign finance violation, a candidate for judge said Thursday that she had made an honest mistake and fixed the problem after being contacted by a reporter.

The complaint was leveled against Catherine M. Catlin in one of the most expensive of the five contested judicial races for Hillsborough County Circuit Court judge.

Catlin is accused of illegally contributing $37,000 to her election campaign, including contributions listed as loans from her law office. She is running against Judge Kevin Carey in an unusually contentious campaign in which she is questioning his efficiency as a judge.

According to state elections records, Catlin has raised more than $79,000, including the loans to herself. Carey has raised more than $90,000, without any loans.

Catlin said that if there was anything wrong with the loans from her law office, it was an "honest mistake" on her part. She said it's legal for her to lend money to her campaign. The checks from her law firm, she said, were her income. Perhaps, she said, she should have deposited the checks into her personal checking account and then written checks to her campaign.

Catlin Refunds Loan, Reroutes Money

After being provided a copy of the complaint by a reporter, Catlin later called back to say she had her treasurer contact the state Division of Elections. Consequently, based on the advice given by the state, Catlin said her campaign refunded the money to her law office. The law office then deposited the money in her personal account, and she wrote the check back to her campaign.

"I went down to the Bank of America and did all the transactions," Catlin said.

"Honest or dishonest, she broke the law," said lawyer Thomas Scarritt, Carey's campaign coordinator, who gave the complaint to The Tampa Tribune. "She's hoping to be a judge, and you would expect more from somebody that was asking the voters to make her a judge."

Catlin said she makes mistakes, as does Carey. She noted the Carey campaign had to return two $500 checks to law firms that donated above the legal limit. "To me, that's just an example that mistakes happen," Catlin said.

The Carey campaign treasurer, Brent Diehl, said the two checks were returned, as allowed by state law, within 24 hours of them being received by the campaign.

Terry Kemple Raised Issue

The complaint was lodged with the Florida Elections Commission by Terry Kemple, who is president of Community Issues Council, Christian Citizenship in Action. Kemple says the complaint has nothing to do with his group.

"I just think that a person who wants to be a judge, who wants to be able to basically rule on what the law is, ought to be very careful about following the law," Kemple said. Kemple said he wanted the voters to know about Catlin's actions and contacted the Carey campaign.

Scarritt said he has been contacted by people, other than Kemple, pointing out the problem with Catlin's campaign contributions. He said he advised them to file complaints.

Catlin's campaign manager, Ana Cruz, said Catlin was preparing complaints against Carey.

Catlin wouldn't discuss the complaint, saying it's supposed to be confidential. "If I file anything, and that's a big if, I certainly wouldn't do that to Judge Carey," she said. "I wouldn't disclose it."

Although complaints are marked "confidential," Scarritt said it is perfectly legal for the complainant to disclose them. It is only illegal for the elections commission to release them until it rules on probable cause.

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837 or

esilvestrini@tampatrib.com.

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