Photo by michael starghill

On June 10, Councilmember Michael A. Brown (I-At Large) reported having just over $115,000 in the bank for his re-election campaign. That put him in a good place in the fight against four scrappy challengers—David Grosso, Mary Brooks Beatty, Leon Swain, and Ann Wilcox—none of whom could match his bankroll.

But only days later Brown reported that thousands had been stolen from his campaign account by a former staffer. Yesterday his campaign filed a delayed August 10 campaign finance report, and in an accompanying letter put a value to the amount that went missing: $113,950. Now, Brown only has about $18,000 left to work with, less than Grosso ($55,000 as of August 10) and Beatty ($22,000).

The money was allegedly taken by Hakim Sutton, Brown’s former campaign treasurer, who withdrew thousands of dollars from the campaign account of 34 different occasions. In late June police searched Sutton’s home, and according to Brown’s letter to the Office of Campaign Finance, prosecutors will likely press charges soon.

“I have been assured by the MPD and United States Attorney’s Office that they believe they have a strong case against the perpetrator of the theft and that they are actively pursuing it. Some type of law enforcement action is expected in the coming weeks against the individual responsible for the theft. Further, as the case proceeds, I have every expectation that money will be recovered.”

If he does get that money back—and despite his citywide name recognition, it would help remind voters that he’s running again—it will be a nice change of pace for a campaign that has been beset by challenges in recent weeks. While the D.C. Board of Elections ruled yesterday that Brown will appear on the November ballot, his campaign was still forced to defend itself against allegations levied by Grosso and activist Dorothy Brizill that it improperly collected signatures on nominating petitions. Brown fervently denied it, and after yesterday’s decision said that Grosso “intentionally wasted the time and resources of District taxpayers to advance his political ambitions.”

“This gamesmanship and shameless attempt to disenfranchise voters represents the most unethical kind of dirty politics,” said Brown in a statement. During a hearing yesterday, though, Grosso said he was merely trying to make sure that everything is done by the book. “Upholding the integrity of our electoral process is something I take very seriously,” he said.

Brown will speak to the press outside the Wilson Building this afternoon on the state of his campaign; we’ll be there to report on it. And though he will likely say that he’s the victim in this situation, his opponents may still try to use the incident against him. One already has, in fact. “How can [a councilmember] help manage the city’s funds if he can’t manage his own campaign fund[?]” tweeted Beatty this morning.