{"id":13679,"date":"2018-11-02T03:09:57","date_gmt":"2018-11-02T07:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/?p=13679"},"modified":"2018-11-02T03:52:39","modified_gmt":"2018-11-02T07:52:39","slug":"brick-school-board-president-shuts-down-super-pac-feds-probed-consulting-fees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/2018\/11\/brick-school-board-president-shuts-down-super-pac-feds-probed-consulting-fees\/","title":{"rendered":"Brick School Board President Shuts Down Super PAC; Feds Probed &#8216;Consulting Fees&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_13220\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/wohlrab.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-0\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13220\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13220\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/wohlrab-1024x811.jpg\" alt=\"Stephanie Wohlrab (Photo: Daniel Nee)\" width=\"640\" height=\"507\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/wohlrab-1024x811.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/wohlrab-400x317.jpg 400w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/wohlrab-768x608.jpg 768w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/wohlrab-531x420.jpg 531w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/wohlrab-640x507.jpg 640w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/wohlrab-681x539.jpg 681w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/wohlrab.jpg 1857w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-13220\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stephanie Wohlrab (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The president of the Brick Township Board of Education, who is seeking re-election next week, shut down a controversial Super PAC she ran less than three weeks after the Federal Election Commission sent her a letter asking for additional information on \u201cconsulting fees\u201d she paid to herself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis notice requests information essential to full public disclosure of your federal election campaign finances,\u201d wrote Michael Adamsky, a campaign finance analyst for the FEC, in the letter to Stephanie Wohlrab. The letter ordered Wohlrab to respond by Nov. 1 or face penalties. Specifically, the FEC requested \u201ca brief statement or description of why each disbursement was made.\u201d<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"scribd_iframe_embed\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/embeds\/392186412\/content?start_page=1&view_mode&access_key=key-pfwqUb14R2MFEhVx5Qy0\"  data-auto-height=\"true\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"scribd_392186412\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\t\t<div style=\"font-size:10px;text-align:center;width:100%\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/doc\/392186412\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">View this document on Scribd<\/a><\/div>\n<p>The letter from the FEC was sent Sept. 27. On Oct. 17, Wohlrab filed paperwork with the FEC to shut down the Super PAC, called \u201cAmerica\u2019s Urban Future.\u201d The same day the Super PAC was shut down, Wohlrab filed amendments to previous disclosure forms she filed with the federal agency. The FEC formally accepted the termination of the PAC on Thursday, Nov. 1.<\/p>\n<p>The existence of America\u2019s Urban Future came to light following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/2018\/08\/brick-boe-presidents-super-pac-got-donations-from-district-insurance-broker\/\">an investigation conducted by Shorebeat in August<\/a>. Federal, state and local documentation showed the primary contributor to the Super PAC was Fairview Associates, the Brick Township school district\u2019s insurance broker. Wohlrab voted to award a contract to Fairview at a school board meeting in February.<\/p>\n<p>Wohlrab did not respond to a request for comment for this story. Shorebeat sought a copy of her response to the FEC\u2019s request and a description of her consulting work and why she decided to shut down the Super PAC.<\/p>\n<p>Experts said it is not uncommon for the treasurers or founders of Super PACs to pay themselves a salary, however the fact that an elected official was in charge of America\u2019s Urban Future muddies the waters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not necessarily untoward if the treasurer of the PAC receives some type of compensation,\u201d said Andrew Mayersohn, a committee researcher for the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, D.C. \u201cWhat\u2019s unique is that she\u2019s a sitting elected official. We couldn\u2019t come up with another sitting elected official who was running a PAC and paying themselves consulting fees.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On the same day America\u2019s Urban Future was shut down, Oct. 17, Wohlrab amended the Super PAC\u2019s year-end 2017 report, which was the subject of the FEC probe. There was only one change between the two forms. In the original version, filed June 6, Wohlrab reported earning $12,000 as a \u201cconsulting fee\u201d listed as the purpose of the expenditure. In the second version, filed Oct. 17, the \u201cconsulting fee\u201d text is replaced by \u201cfundraising\/accounting consultant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>ORIGINAL YEAR-END REPORT, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"scribd_iframe_embed\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/embeds\/392186526\/content?start_page=1&view_mode&access_key=key-QBUdh1PxfbVInOu54QmE\"  data-auto-height=\"true\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"scribd_392186526\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\t\t<div style=\"font-size:10px;text-align:center;width:100%\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/doc\/392186526\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">View this document on Scribd<\/a><\/div>\n<p><strong>REVISED YEAR-END REPORT, 2017 (SUBMITTED OCT. 2018)<\/strong><\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"scribd_iframe_embed\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/embeds\/392186543\/content?start_page=1&view_mode&access_key=key-gfvX7MaJD5iutk10kKBU\"  data-auto-height=\"true\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"scribd_392186543\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\t\t<div style=\"font-size:10px;text-align:center;width:100%\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/doc\/392186543\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">View this document on Scribd<\/a><\/div>\n<p>There was no statement or description of the expenditure, as requested by the FEC, beyond the three-word description.<\/p>\n<p>In the Super PAC\u2019s termination report, filed Oct. 17, Wohlrab listed $31,173.95 in receipts for 2018. The PAC was closed with a zero balance. The final expenditure was a donation of $2.928.95 to New Jersey Camp for the Blind in Rockaway Township. In the prior quarter, Wohlrab paid herself $6,000 for \u201cconsulting fees\u201d on May 11 and June 11, 2018. Another $16,000 was paid to Arkady Inc., a political consulting firm in North Jersey that has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/states\/new-jersey\/story\/2017\/01\/nj-super-pac-brazenly-hid-its-donations-109111\">generated its own controversy over monetary disclosures<\/a>.<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"scribd_iframe_embed\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/embeds\/392186578\/content?start_page=1&view_mode&access_key=key-WBach1cIVcW2T86uzKDB\"  data-auto-height=\"true\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"scribd_392186578\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\t\t<div style=\"font-size:10px;text-align:center;width:100%\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/doc\/392186578\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">View this document on Scribd<\/a><\/div>\n<p>Wohlrab, in addition to her role as an elected member of the Board of Education, is a professional campaign fundraiser for Democrats statewide, having served as finance director for the campaigns of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka as well as finance chair of the Democratic State Committee and Senate Majority Office. In Aug. 2017, while a member of the board, Wohlrab registered America\u2019s Urban Future.<\/p>\n<p>Since proliferating following the 2010\u00a0<em>SpeechNow v. FEC<\/em>\u00a0ruling by the U.S Court\u00a0of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Super PACs were legally authorized to raise and disburse unlimited funds as long as they do not coordinate directly with political campaigns.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout its tenure, America\u2019s Urban Future has appeared to disburse funds it raised from political contributors only to Wohlrab herself, Arkady, a firm named Alfonso and Alfonso (for a rent payment) and the donation to the camp for blind children.<\/p>\n<p>PACs often spring up and shut down without warning, experts say.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not uncommon for PACs to be formed and shut down in the same [election] cycle,\u201d said Mayersohn.<\/p>\n<p>Wohlrab is a member of a three-person ticket aligned with the Democratic party running for seats on the Brick Township Board of Education next Tuesday. Wohlrab and Victoria Pakala are incumbents while the third member of the ticket, Nicole Siebert, is a newcomer.<\/p>\n<p>The ticket is being opposed by a Republican-backed ticket of Robert Canfield and Edward X. Young. Young, an actor, was also the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/2018\/10\/actor-running-for-brick-school-board-faces-backlash-over-risque-horror-flick\/\">subject of a controversy<\/a> this week regarding his acting roles.<\/p>\n<p>An additional candidate, Joseph Aulisi, announced this week that he was running a last-minute write-in campaign.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fcbkbttn_buttons_block\" id=\"fcbkbttn_left\"><div class=\"fb-share-button fcbkbttn_large_button \" data-href=\"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/2018\/11\/brick-school-board-president-shuts-down-super-pac-feds-probed-consulting-fees\/\" data-type=\"button_count\" data-size=\"large\"><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The president of the Brick Township Board of Education, who is seeking re-election next week, shut down a controversial Super PAC she ran less than three weeks after the Federal Election Commission sent her a letter asking for additional information on \u201cconsulting fees\u201d she paid to herself. \u201cThis notice requests information essential to full public [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[15,13],"tags":[3417,24,3516,3515,1734,3514],"class_list":["post-13679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brick-elections","category-brick-schools","tag-americas-urban-future","tag-brick-nj-news","tag-fec","tag-federal-election-commission","tag-stephanie-a-wohlrab","tag-super-pac"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/wohlrab.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgt2Ft-3yD","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13679\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}