D.A. contender defends payments to wife

Seth Williams, a Democratic candidate for Philadelphia district attorney, says the fact that his campaign paid nearly $10,000 to his wife last year for unspecified reimbursements is not what it might at first appear to be.

The payments were not for expenses incurred by his wife, Sonita, he said, but for outlays he has made in his bid to succeed retiring District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham.

Williams said his campaign paid the money to his wife for convenience because she manages their joint checking account. He also said he hoped to avoid the impression that he was paying himself out of the campaign treasury.

"I thought it would look funny signing the checks to myself," he said.

Williams' actions have attracted attention in the May 19 Democratic primary, a wide-open race that marks the first time since 1985 that no incumbent is on the ballot.

"It clearly raises a lot of questions, and Seth Williams has to answer those questions, and hopefully he answers them truthfully," said Josh Morrow, campaign manager for candidate Dan McCaffery.

Campaign finance has become a contentious issue. Candidate Michael L. Turner has challenged other contenders to follow his lead and spurn donations from political action committees. His challenge is aimed primarily at McCaffery, who has accepted $100,000 from PACs, mostly representing labor unions.

In the case of Williams, who is making his second run for the post, his expenses rather than his donors are attracting attention.

"This is not how I would do campaign accounting," Morrow said.

Williams, the top spender among the five candidates who have campaign committees, disclosed the spending in year-end reports filed this week. He reported $61,158 in expenses last year, including 22 payments to Sonita Williams that totaled $9,762.

Williams said he began paying campaign expenses in his wife's name in 2005, when he ran against Abraham in the Democratic primary.

"Nobody ever said it was wrong then," he said.

State law restricts campaign expenses to outlays meant to influence the outcome of an election. Officials occasionally force candidates to repay expenses that they determine were personal, but they audit campaigns only in response to complaints, said Leslie Amorós, spokeswoman for the secretary of state.

Philadelphia campaign laws set limits on donations but say little about expenses, said J. Shane Creamer Jr., executive director of the Philadelphia Board of Ethics.

"The question is, what is she being reimbursed for?" Creamer said. "I don't see an issue under our law."

The reimbursements to Williams' wife raised eyebrows because the underlying expenses were not specified.

The campaign's 2005 payments of $12,707 to Sonita Williams were made while she was having serious financial problems. She declared bankruptcy in August 2005, claiming $71,000 in credit-card debt.

Dan Fee, Williams' spokesman, said Sonita Williams' financial problems were not campaign-related.

Fee said he realized when he joined the campaign last month that the candidate's method of reporting expenses would come under attack and had asked for tighter accounting.

Yesterday, he let a reporter review the Williamses' joint bank records, including debit-card payments that the candidate says were campaign-related.

About half the expenses were for restaurants such as Twenty-21 and McCormick & Schmick's, where Williams said he dined with potential donors. They also included $393.50 in parking tickets.

"It's not like they're lingerie stores," Fee said.

A reimbursement to Sonita Williams in July included a $1,500 payment to Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 for a plaque commemorating a fallen officer. A $2,000 reimbursement in August covered her husband's airfare, hotel and rental car at the Democratic National Convention.

Williams' expenses over four years show inconsistency in precision.

In addition to the payments to Sonita Williams last year, the campaign paid $561.38 to American Express as an unspecified reimbursement. It also reported petty cash payments of about $1,900.

Yet the reports list such details as $1.03 to PayPal for processing fees, $2.67 to Philly CarShare for a rental, and 42 cents for copies.