Loretta Coltrane

Gallagher Township

A review of Clinton County Treasurer candidate Michelle “Mick” Kunes’ two 2025 Primary Campaign Finance Reports filed with the Clinton County Voter Registration Office revealed that Kunes had not reported all of her expenses as required by law.

Kunes did not include expenses for many campaign advertisements, both print and online, that had been purchased and placed in The Record and The Express. She also had not reported campaign expenses for an ad in the Clinton County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner Program or for her sponsorship of a candidate’s table at that dinner.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Campaign Finance Reporting Law Manual for Candidates and Political Committees, Section 1626, Reporting by Candidate and Political Committees and Other Persons (b) stipulates that “Each report shall include the following information, to include… (4) Each and every expenditure, the date made, the full name and address of the person to whom made and the purpose for which such expenditure was made.”

Clearly candidate Kunes failed to meet the Pennsylvania Campaign Finance Report legal requirement that every political expenditure made during her 2025 Primary Campaign be accounted for AND reported.

I wrote a letter to inform the Clinton County Voter Registration and Elections Office about the omissions and other errors in Kunes’ Campaign Finance Reports and requested an audit be conducted and Kunes be required to promptly provide the Voter Registration Office with copies of receipts, invoices and documentation for all actual expenditures she had made during the 2025 Primary Election.

Candidate Kunes submitted Amended Campaign Finance Reports, dated 15 September 2025, with a letter to Maria Boileau, Director, Voter Registration & Elections. In her letter, Kunes claimed that she did not incur the expense for her sale of six tickets to her friends and supporters who sat with her and her husband at a table clearly identified as a Table Sponsorship for Candidate Kunes at the GOP Lincoln Day Dinner. Kunes explained that she “did not incur this expense (for six tickets) or seek to sponsor a table.” She admitted to selling the tickets and then writing “a single check for the entire balance of tickets and program ad for the ease of making the payment.”

Campaign Finance Report Law, Section 1621 Definitions (b) states, “The word “contribution” shall mean any payment, gift, subscription, assessment, contract, payment for services, dues, loan, forbearance, advance or deposit of money or any valuable thing, to a candidate or political committee made for the purpose of influencing any election in this Commonwealth or for paying debts incurred by or for a candidate or committee before or after any election. “Contribution” shall also include the purchase of tickets for events such as dinners, luncheons, rallies and all other fund raising events…,” the definition adds.

Kunes, who claimed “EXPERIENCE” in her campaign ads and has previously conducted three election campaigns, clearly did not correctly identify the ticket sales as a political contribution to help influence an election on behalf of her candidacy. Her omission in not reporting the sale of tickets did not comply with PA Campaign Finance Report Law Section 1621 regarding contributions to political candidates.

Kunes’ lack of compliance with PA Campaign Finance Reporting Law to honestly report all expenditures as required by law, and her incorrect interpretation about the accurate reporting of all political contributions, including ticket sales, raises concern about how Kunes completes legal documents, handles finances and conducts business as County Treasurer.

It’s time for a new competent, honest County Treasurer who will follow the law, pay attention to details and correctly and accurately complete paperwork. Please vote for Leslie D. Clukey on Tuesday, Nov. 4.