Freedom Foundation calls Lisa Sánchez’s campaign spending ‘suspicious.’ What Sánchez says

Late last month, the Idaho Freedom Foundation filed a campaign spending complaint against former Boise City Council member Lisa Sánchez, alleging improper spending of funds.

Sánchez spent over $14,600 on campaign funds in 2022, a year after winning election to a second term. She outspent her colleagues on the council by wide margins, and she used political funds for dozens of charges to restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries and supermarkets, according to campaign records.

In a text message to the Idaho Statesman, Sánchez said that the expenditures complied with Idaho law.

Last month, Sánchez lost her seat on the City Council when she inadvertently moved out of her district.

A spokesperson for the Ada County Clerk’s office, Nicole Camarda, told the Statesman that her office is reviewing Sánchez’s campaign filings and plans to reach out to her.

Violators of the campaign finance law can be liable for a $250 fine. If a person “knowingly and willfully” violates the requirements, the person can be found guilty of a misdemeanor.

Freedom Foundation calls spending ‘suspicious’

On Jan. 25, the Ada County Clerk’s office received a complaint from the Idaho Freedom Foundation, a think tank with a powerful voice in the Legislature that says it fights “socialistic” policies.

The foundation, whose president is Wayne Hoffman, pointed out that other Boise council members spent much less than Sánchez did in 2022.

Council Member Jimmy Hallyburton spent $18 in 2022 on campaign funds, according to records. Members Patrick Bageant and Elaine Clegg filed no expenditure reports. Council President Holli Woodings spent close to $3,000, mostly on donations to the Democratic Party and on Mailchimp, the platform that hosts her campaign website. Luci Willits spent about $3,300 on a political consulting firm, Griffin Marketing, and on donations to Scott Bedke’s campaign for lieutenant governor.

“It’s not just the difference in aggregate spending that makes me wonder if there’s not something going on here,” the complaint said. “It’s the things she bought with that money that seem, shall we say, suspicious.”

Hoffman blogged about Sánchez’s spending two days before the complaint was filed. News of Sánchez’s 2022 expenses was first reported by KTVB.

Money spent at restaurants, a bar, a candle store

On Dec. 30, Sánchez spent about $32 on Jimmy John’s, a sandwich chain.

She spent $700 in “in-kind” funds, which are non-monetary, at a restaurant in Caldwell called Amano. In 2020, she twice spent $500, also in-kind, at the same restaurant.

In text messages, Sánchez said she hosts tamale-making events as political fundraisers, and Amano donated prepared corn dough for the event in 2022.

Also in December, she spent about $189 at Wild Roots Cafe, $11 at the coffee shop Java in downtown Boise, and close to $85 at the Modern Bar, on West Grove Street. In January 2022, she spent close to $500 at Chandler’s restaurant. She had spent $207 there in May.

Campaign records show funds in 2022 were spent frequently, with most months showing expenditures every few days, and sometimes multiple charges per day.

More than $100 were spent at a North End candle store in September. Twelve dollars were spent at a cocktail bar in June. About $16 at Pizza Hut in May.

Money spent on campaign and ‘my work as a council member’

Sánchez also spent funds on ActBlue, a Democratic donations platform; on SquareSpace, the website designer that hosts her campaign website; and other expenses.

In June, she sent $4,000 to Emily Walton, a co-founder of the Idaho 97 Project, an organization founded to combat extremism in state politics.

In text messages, Sánchez told the Statesman that Walton worked for her as a paid consultant, and that money raised in 2020 and 2021 has been “used to fund my campaign and my work as a council member.”

In 2021, after BoiseDev contacted Sánchez with questions about campaign expenses, she repaid over $200, saying they had been a mistake. At the time, then-Clerk Phil McGrane said that small expenses charged to restaurants had stood out to him as odd.

Idaho prohibits personal use of campaign funds

Idaho campaign finance law prohibits using campaign funds for personal use, which is defined as fulfilling “any commitment, obligation or expense of a person that would exist irrespective of the candidate’s election campaign or the individual’s duties as a holder of public office.”

The statute lists clothing purchases that aren’t for campaign merchandise, vacations, entertainment, meals and groceries not related to “campaign activity” or duties in public office as examples of prohibited uses.

“The expenditures made in 2022 were in compliance with these guidelines,” Sánchez told the Statesman, referring to Idaho law. She pointed to a place in the law that allows funds to be used for “ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in connection with duties of the individual as a holder of public office.”

“As the only renter serving on the Boise City Council, I am beyond grateful to my campaign donors for ensuring that I have the necessary resources to be an effective public servant,” she said. “I am far from wealthy. My contributors know this and have supported my ability to produce results as a council member.”

In January, Mayor Lauren McLean began accepting applications for residents looking to fill Sánchez’s seat for the remainder of the year. In November, all council seats will be up for election by geographical district for the first time.

Sánchez could apply to be re-appointed to her seat — a possibility McLean indicated she would “take very seriously.” Sánchez has also indicated she plans to run again in November.