The D.C. Board of Elections upheld a ruling Friday by the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance ordering D.C. Council member Elissa Silverman to repay more than $6,000.
The ruling stated that Silverman, an at-large council member, violated campaign finance laws by using taxpayer-funded calling funds to conduct a poll about the Ward 3 Democratic primary.
Silverman had appealed the Office of Campaign Finance's ruling on due process concerns. But the D.C. Board of Elections upheld the ruling Friday, saying it was fair.
"I look forward to the Board scheduling a full hearing on my appeal of the OCF ruling, which will be the first opportunity we will have to address the substantive merits — whether the expenditure for Ward 3 polling was outside Fair Elections regulations," Silverman said in a statement Friday.
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In a statement last week, Silverman insisted she did nothing wrong, writing in part, "I believe that the polling for a citywide candidate was within the Fair Elections regulations, and I’ll be asking for a full hearing with the board on the matter."
Silverman went on to call the allegations against her baseless.
She is seeking her third term as an independent at-large council member.
