DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

MATTHEW P. DENN
ATIORNEY GENERAL

KENT COUNTY
102 WEST WATER STREET
DOVER, DELAWARE 19904

CIVIL DIVISION (302) 739-7641

FAX (302) 739-7652
CRIMINAL DIVISION (302) 739-4211
FAX (302) 739-6727

July 20, 2015

Jennifer Cinelli-Miller

Re: Complaint regarding Buccaneer Tomorrow

Dear Ms_ Cinelli-Miller:

The Office of Civil Rights and Pu blic Trust ("OCRPT") received your formal complaint
regarding certain activities by the organization Buccaneer Tomorrow and the Milford School
District taken related to the recent referendum , held May 5th, and the school board elections held
on May 12. Specifically, you raised a concern that Buccaneer Tomorrow endorsed and
potentially gave financial support to a candidate for the school board , and that the district
improperly allowed a candidate for the school board to use her work with the PAC in the
referendum campaign to advance her efforts to be elected to the school board . Investigators with
the OCRPT reviewed your claims, interviewed district officials and obtained financial records of
Buccaneer Tomorrow. Based on our review of these materials , the OCRPT has concluded that
none of the actions of Buccaneer Tomorrow or the Milford School District violate any provisions
of the election laws.
Your complaint raises two separate issues. The first is whether it is proper for a Political
Action Committee ("PAC') formed to support a referendum election to later take a position on a
school board election. The second issue is whether the Milford School District acted improperly
in supporting the PAC either when the PAC worked to pass the referendum or when it endorsed a
candidate for the school board . We address these issues in order.
As an initial matter it should be noted that the campaign finance laws are written in a way
that fail to encompass organizations formed to support referendum elections. Throughout the
code "candidate committees ,"1 "political action committees "2 and "political committees,"3 are
I

15 Del. C. 8002(2).
1 5 Del. C. 8002( 12).
3
15 Del. C. 8002( 13).
2

defined only in terms of organizations formed to elect candidates to political office. An

organization formed to support a referendum election does not meet any of these definitions .
Our investigation has made it clear that the Milford School District and the individuals who
organized Buccaneer Tomorrow acted as though the organization was controlled by the
campaign finance laws. As a result, Buccaneer Tomorrow filed organizational documents with
the Department of Elections . When the organizational documents were filed, the address of the
Buccaneer Tomorrow was listed as 906 Lakewood Avenue, the address of the district office. In
these documents the purpose of the organization is listed as a "parent support group for Milford
School District." Most of the efforts and all of the expenditures made by Buccaneer Tomorrow
were made to support the tax referendum. The only support Buccaneer Tomorrow gave to the
candidate for school board, who did not become a candidate until after the tax referendum , was a
verbal endorsement. In light of the broad purpose stated in the organizing documents it was not
a violation of any election law for Buccaneer Tomorrow to endorse a candidate for school board
in addition to working to pass the referendum.
The appropriateness of any actions taken by the Milford School District and Buccaneer
Tomorrow depends upon whether Buccaneer Tomorrow was supporting a referendum election or
a candidate for school board. As long as Buccaneer Tomorrow was only supporting the
referendum, there was nothing improper about including representatives of that organization in
district-supported events related to the referendum or in including the Buccaneer Tomorrow logo
on referendum related promotional material. The OCRPT has determined the joint efforts of the
district and Buccaneer Tomorrow to pass the referendum election did not violate the law.
It is the case though, that a local government cannot spend public money or utilize its
resources to support a partisan political candidate. When Buccaneer Tomorrow went from
supporting a referendum to supporting a partisan political candidate, it endorsed a candidate for
the school board and became subject to the reporting requirements of the campaign finance laws.
You noted in your complaint that the physical address of the PAC listed in the documents
originally filed with the Department of Elections was 906 Lakewood Avenue, the address of the
district office. Our investigation revealed that this was the only connection between the PAC
and the school district, and that connection was eliminated when Buccaneer Tomorrow elected
its officers. After the election of officers, the physical address for Buccaneer Tomorrow listed
with the Department of Elections became that of Buccaneer Tomorrow 's Treasurer effective
March 23, 2015. This occurred before Buccaneer Tomorrow endorsed a candidate in the
election. By the time Buccaneer Tomorrow publicly supported a partisan political candidate
after the May 5, 2015 referendum any connection between the school district and the now
officially formed PAC Buccaneer Tomorrow had been terminated.
If the district knew that a member of Buccaneer Tomorrow intended to run for school
board and they were using the referendum election to further that effort, allowing them to
participate in district-sponsored events might constitute misconduct on the part of the district,
particularly if other candidates for school board were denied equal access. Nothing found in our
investigation revealed knowledge by the district that anyone associated with Buccaneer
Tomorrow was planning a campaign for school board. 4 If a candidate had in fact formed an
intent to run but concealed that intent from the district, that may be a fact of interest to the
4

Ms. Dennehy , the candidate in question , did not respond to our request for an interview.

district or the voters of Milford, but it would not constitute a violation of any election law. As a
result , the OCRPT has determined that neither the acts of the Milford School District in
connection with the tax referendum nor its relationship with Buccaneer Tomorrow support any
charge of misconduct.
The issue of local government agencies supporting individual candidates in partisan
elections is a serious one, both for the public at large and the agency itself. Consequently , we
have copied Phyllis Kohel, superintendent of the district, on this letter and encourage the district
to continue to closely monitor PACs' and candidates ' political activity in the district.
Thank you for brining your concerns to our attention and giving us the opportunity to
review.

Deputy Attorney General

cc: Phyllis Kohel, Superintendent, Milford School District

Allison E. Reardon, Deputy Attorney, General, OCRPT Director