While political commentators speculate that Sidran timed his announcement to capitalize on the fear and hysteria following the Mardi Gras riots, the fact is, he had to declare so he would stay out of trouble with the ethics commission.
Here's why: Sidran had been using money from a fundraising committee--the Sidran for City Attorney Committee--to pay for campaigning that could be construed as benefiting his mayoral bid. This ain't kosher without written permission from donors. Among other things, Sidran spent $100 on a Planned Parenthood lunch, $125 on a Pike Place Market Foundation dinner auction, and $100 on a Starlight Children's Foundation lunch without making it clear whether he's running for city attorney or for mayor. And it's no wonder: Sidran's city attorney war chest was up to $48,000, while his mayoral committee has only raised $657.
Sidran's spending habits caused Ethics and Elections Commission Executive Director Carol Van Noy to demand that he say by March 31 which office he was running for. "You can't spend money out of one fund for another," says Van Noy. "We were concerned about the idea that he may be spending money out of the city attorney fund that would benefit his mayoral campaign. The law is not intended to permit people to double dip as far as contributions or expenditures are concerned. It would present problems if he dragged this out and didn't make a decision."
There's no hard evidence that Sidran violated ethics laws. Because he didn't set up his mayoral fundraising committee until March 1, the elections commission can only view the dinners with Planned Parenthood and the like, which took place in February, as expenditures related to a city attorney bid. However, it's been public knowledge for months that Sidran is eyeing the mayor's office. In fact, he formed a mayoral exploratory committee in early February. Interestingly, his city attorney campaign spending in February was a whopping 82 percent higher than it was in January.
Though Sidran's assistant Ruth LaRocque says Sidran didn't spend money inappropriately, his next expenditure report to the commission, due April 10, will tell for sure.
