Update: The Alaska Public Offices Commission confirmed Wednesday that it received the complaint against Mao Tosi on Tuesday afternoon. APOC is currently reviewing the complaint and will consider it for expedited review. The complaint is posted on the APOC website.
Original story: Mao Tosi -- a 37-year old former NFL player and community activist who is running for a seat on the Anchorage Assembly -- said he has been served a 15-count elections complaint. Tosi said he received the complaint on Monday. The complaint asks the Alaska Public Offices Commission to expedite its review of alleged elections and campaign violations against Tosi.
Tosi is running for the East Anchorage Assembly post currently held by Assembly member Adam Trombley. Former state Rep. Pete Petersen, a Democrat, is also running for the seat. Tosi said he is still looking over the complaint and wants to clear up what he said are honest mistakes in his filing and his fledgling campaign.
The complaint was filed by John E. Lewis, of Anchorage. Among other charges, the complaint alleges Tosi failed to properly disclose his annual income, used his position at the Northway Mall -- which Tosi manages -- to benefit his campaign, and that Tosi took illegal in-kind donations for that campaign.
On Feb. 15, Tosi's campaign held a campaign meet-up event at the mall. One of the complaint allegations is over Tosi's use of tee-shirts designed and made by a mall vendor, Saffi Designs. The complaint claims Tosi did not pay for the shirts, as is required by state elections law. It also charges Tosi with not paying fair market value for the use of Northway Mall space at the event. Tosi claimed he paid for the tee-shirts out of his own pocket and that he was unaware that he must pay the mall for use of the space.
"I knew we had the space," Tosi said. "It was not being used that day, so I thought I didn't have to pay for it."
But the complaint also alleges that in his campaign filing paperwork, Tosi under-reported his income, including money he received from a local nonprofit he founded that helps local teens -- Mao Tosi's AK Pride. On his candidacy paperwork, Tosi indicated that he makes $50,000-$100,000 per year as manager of the Northway Mall and executive director of AK Pride. According to federal tax filings from the years 2008-2010, Tosi was the sole recipient of the group's income of $143,415. There are no records the group filed its nonprofit tax return -- Form 990 -- for 2011, 2012, or 2013. Tosi admitted Tuesday morning that he has not filed the returns for the years 2011 to 2013. Tosi said a former administrative aide left him in a lurch and he was unable to keep up with the group's paperwork.
Tosi said he only received $20,000-$30,000 for the year's 2011-2013 and claimed all of it went to pay for AK Pride expenses.
"I've spent far more than I ever got for AK Pride," Tosi said.
Tosi said he is struggling to keep the organization running, both financially and organizationally.
The complaint also alleges that Tosi did not report income from his wife and five dependents Permanent Fund Dividends that totaled $6,300 for 2013 on his campaign finance form. Tosi said he was unaware he was required to report that income.
Tosi said most of the items mentioned in the complaint are a result of his inexperience as a politician and a campaigner. Tosi denied another complaint claim that he began soliciting and collecting campaign donations before he filed paperwork with APOC that would allow legally allow him to do so. But Tosi admitted to a majority of the potential violations in the complaint, including using the Northway Mall for a campaign event without paying for it, and using the AK Pride post office box and the Northway Mall office phone number on his campaign forms. Tosi said that the campaign problems and the missing AK Pride financial information are a result of his being stretched too thin and a lack of experience as he struggled to quickly start his first-ever campaign.
"I am looking at it to see where I can do better, and make sure it doesn't happen again," Tosi said. "I am not a perfect person, but I am just trying to do the best I can. People should make up their own minds about me."
Early Tuesday morning APOC said it had not yet received the complaint. APOC Executive Director Paul Dauphinais said the office was closed on Monday because of the Presidents' Day holiday. Dauphinais said a candidate must receive a copy of the complaint before it is submitted to APOC. Tosi gave the Alaska Dispatch a copy of the 22-page complaint early Tuesday morning. It is listed as an expedited complaint. Dauphinais said when his office receives it, the complaint will be reviewed to make sure it meets the requirements of the law before being sent to the full commission for review, a process that varies in length, but can take as little as a few days. Tosi said he plans to respond to the complaint as soon as it is officially filed with APOC.
If it is accepted and investigated by the agency, Tosi will have 15 days to respond to the complaint. Normally, complaints are scheduled for a hearing within 45 days of their receipt, but because the Anchorage municipal elections are six weeks away, on April 1, Lewis has asked APOC to speed up the process. Lewis did not respond to an inquiry from Alaska Dispatch.
This is a developing story. Please check back for further details.