Freedom Inc. walks tightrope because of fines
Lewis DiuguidFreedom Inc. has landed on a political tightrope because of violations in campaign finance reporting over the last four years.
The Missouri Ethics Commission has hit the 50-year-old black political club with $175,000 in fines, the largest penalties it has ever levied, The Kansas City Star reports. Freedom Inc., which is under new management, admitted to dozens of campaign finance reporting violations and has promised not to do it again.
Freedom Inc. has paid $9,500 in fines. The rest will be in abeyance as long as the organization follows the law over the next two years.
The charges included Freedom’s improper use of undisclosed accounts for campaign cash, allowing unauthorized persons to sign committee checks and failure to properly report 47 contributions totaling almost $54,000.
Freedom will be under a lot of scrutiny now to ensure that it remains above board in the steamy, baudy world of politics. But no one should make the mistake, which often has been made in Freedom’s history, by saying the organization is dead or dying.
There is a great need for black political strength, and Freedom will always remain alive to provide.
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