Thurman Adams’ Campaign Funds

Readers should consult the News Journal's story "Money matters in quick election: 19th district candidates pleased with fundraising." The story concerns the financial status of the four candidates now running in the special election for the former state Senator Thurman Adams' seat.

What interests me are the closing paragraphs of the story:

One campaign account that will mostly sit dormant this year is [Thurman] Adams' own political fund, which reported a balance of just under $40,000 in December.

Even though Mervine served as her father's campaign treasurer the last time he ran, in 2006, the most she could transfer to her own campaign is $600, said state Commissioner of Elections Elaine Manlove.

The remaining money can be donated to other candidates or the state party, which is regulated under donation limits, or to charities to close out the account, Manlove said.

Mervine said no final decision has been made about Adams' account. "That will be a family decision," she said. (emphasis mine)

Polly Adams Mervine is running for her deceased father's seat and she is also campaign treasurer of his now defunct campaign account.

Two things strike me as odd about this arrangement. Ms. Mervine is running for office and she has at her disposal $40,000 to dispense with as she mostly wishes—giving the money to candidates, the state party and charities—and yet this doesn't constitute a conflict of interest in Delaware? Isn't there the possibility of (or at least the perception of) Ms. Mervine giving candidates money from her father's account that will in return give money to her campaign? The same could occur with charities: Ms. Mervine could give money to a charity and an individual associated with that charity could in turn give money to her campaign. I'm not saying that Ms. Mervine would engage in this kind of activity, but my question is why is such an apparent conflict of interest allowed to exist?

Second, what is this business about Thurman Adam's family deciding how his campaign funds will be dispensed? It's not the family's money; it wasn't part of an inheritance. This is money donated by individuals and, possibly, by lobbyists and PACs to be used for a specific political purpose. Shouldn't the money be offered back to the donors first and what is left over be dispensed by some agent within the Democratic Party that is not a family member?