The Republican incumbent from Maumelle who payed fines for ethics violations in 2013 and 2016 is in trouble again for the exact same infraction. Mark Lowery has yet again failed to report campaign donations and expenditures as required by Arkansas law.
This time, Rep. Mark Lowery neglected to file any campaign finance paperwork for the entirety of the 2020 election cycle. The Arkansas Ethics Commission jumped in, and on Sept. 15, 2020, Lowery agreed to pay a $200 fine for his failure to file the required campaign reports from October 2019 through July 2020.
Lowery told reporter Mike Wickline at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that poor eyesight was to blame. “I have been having eyesight issues and it’s been very difficult to use the online system,” he said.
It’s a different excuse than the one he used in 2016, when he was fined $150 for the same reason. During that election cycle he routinely missed filing deadlines for his finance reports by up to 97 days.
Instead of poor eyesight, that time Lowery blamed “administrative error” for the 2016 missed deadlines. He also claimed that ethics complaints against him were nothing but political attacks.
But what about 2013, the first time the Arkansas Ethics Commission fined him for breaking campaign reporting laws? That year the Ethics Commission cited Lowery for failing to file campaign reports in a timely manner during his 2012 campaign for the House seat he continues to hold. It’s not clear what his excuse was that time.
Republican Lowery faces Democrat Kayla Applegate for the District 39 seat on Nov. 3.
