DAN ALLIE
WESTFIELD – The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has strict guidelines regarding the use of campaign funds raised by candidates for public office.
Earlier this month, a report surfaced documenting six visits by Dan Allie, an At-large City Councilor and Republican candidate for State Representative, to city chiropractor Kevin Pighetti of New England Chiropractic Care on North Elm Street, using campaign funds.
These six checks, totaling $210, have raised questions about the legality of Allie’s use of campaign finances.
A Ludlow man, who asked for anonymity, filed a complaint about Allie’s use of campaign funds with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) and provided The Westfield News with a printed copy of an email correspondence he’d had with Sarah Hartry, deputy general counsel for the OPCF late last month.
Jason Tait, director of communication and public education for the OCPF, said that his office can neither confirm nor deny whether an investigation has been undertaken.
Tait said that state law allows for expenditures “to enhance a candidate’s political future, so long as the expenditures aren’t primarily for the candidate’s personal use.”
“That would include personal medical expenditures,” said Tait, who also added that he couldn’t comment on just how many complaints of this nature get filed with the OCPF in a year.
“Individuals and groups are always welcome to file a complaint,” he said.
Allie maintains that he visited Pighetti after slipping on an icy brick driveway while campaigning in early January. He said that he has since reimbursed his campaign for the expenditures and that it was merely entered improperly.
“It was a campaign-related injury,” he said. “That first week of January there had been a hard rain and a freeze. A lot of people were busted up. I was lucky I didn’t break anything.”
Allie said that he sustained injuries to his ribs and needed medication to help him sleep, and that he started treatment soon after the accident, including therapy, yoga, exercise and visits to Pighetti.
“I used the wrong checkbook,” he said of the spending error, adding that his personal checkbook looks similar to his campaign checkbook. “It was my own fault,” he said.
Allie stated that his initial spending report came out on February 14, and that the OCPF has since amended its own report, but that at the time of his injury, it seemed as though his campaign may have been in jeopardy.
“I almost pulled out (of the race). This wasn’t looking good in January,” he said, elaborating that his rib injuries made even the most menial of tasks painful. “I tore the sole off my right shoe. I hurt my knee, landed on my back.”
