Blake Forfeits Money to State After Holding Illegal Fundraiser
Candidate for Gardner MA Mayor Kimberly Blake was asked by the state to forfeit $210 to the State of Massachusetts from her campaign account after the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance ruled a Bingo fundraiser she held on September 10th was illegal. A copy of the check with the bank account information redacted is included here.
Prior to the fundraiser, members of various Gardner Facebook Groups advised her that it would be illegal as a campaign event. Some objected that she was teaching young kids to gamble and faulted her on moral grounds. Others pointed out regulations regarding Charity Bingo. However, Kimberly Blake chose to proceed anyway. We haven’t seen a letter from OCPF as to why exactly the event was illegal, but it was as it evidenced by the forfeiture check. According to the campaign, the state of Massachusetts OCPF contacted the Blake Campaign when the State noticed there was $210 extra in the campaign account. OCPF required an immediate forfeiture to the state of the funds.
Gardner Magazine had contacted the OCPF as to whether an official letter would be issued to the campaign and received this response from Director Jason Tait, “If a letter is issued, it becomes public and is listed here, usually under public resolution letters: https://www.ocpf.us/Legal/AgencyActions ….For background, and in general, OCPF does not confirm the existence of a legal review. So even if we were looking into an individual from Gardner, it would not be public until the case is resolved and a letter is issued. ” As of the date of this article on October 21, 2023, there is no letter regarding Kimberly Blake at that link.