JOINT STATEMENT

*Please click here to be directed to folder containing documents of formal requests and FEC complaint*

Today we are formally requesting Pennsylvania’s Attorney General and the Allegheny District Attorney launch a formal investigation into State Treasurer candidate Erin McClelland’s reported financial impropriety.  We do not take any joy in making this request, but we believe it is the right thing to do, and necessary to achieve more transparency and accountability.

We are also filing an official complaint against Ms. McClelland with the Federal Elections Commission for longstanding and publicly documented campaign finance disclosure violations dating back several years.

In 2023, Ms. McClelland first started raising and spending money for a state treasurer campaign without opening a state campaign committee and without disclosing to the state her donors or her disbursements. Only after an investigate news report uncovered this illegal activity did Ms. McClelland publicly acknowledge that she had broken campaign finance law.

New serious questions have since been raised following the initial news reports of Ms. McClelland’s financial impropriety.  These questions deserve to be answered with transparency. Only an independent investigation can achieve the transparency and answers that Pennsylvanians deserve.

All candidates for public office, regardless of partisanship, must adhere to campaign finance laws and be transparent with voters. Flagrantly ignoring campaign finance law only undermines election integrity and voter trust.  Ms. McClelland must be held accountable for her actions and the entirety of her improper actions must be investigated and disclosed.

We are also sharing this matter with the Department of State. We believe that the Department of State can and should investigate Ms. McClelland’s alleged campaign finance violations, but its enforcement authority is limited.  The Pennsylvania Election Code places real enforcement authority over campaign finance violations in the Attorney General and District Attorneys.

Sincerely,

James F. Heckman
PA Democratic State Committee, McKean County

Lori McFarland
Chair, Lehigh County Democrats

Lindsey Scott
Chair, Crawford County Democratic Committee