Anthony Hardy Williams misses deadline for campaign finance report

With the help of several mega-donors, State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams blew past every other candidate for Pennsylvania governor in fund-raising during the final weeks of the primary campaign.

But Pennsylvanians will have to wait a little longer to learn exactly how much Williams raised and spent in his unsuccessful race.

The Democrat from West Philadelphia, who saturated local TV with his 30-second ads before the May 18 vote, missed a deadline Thursday requiring all primary candidates to file finance reports with the Pennsylvania Department of State.

Though the penalties are small - no more than $250 in fines - statewide candidates rarely miss such deadlines. Williams was alone among six primary contenders - four Democrats and two Republicans - to do so. He cited simple delay in compiling documents as the reason.

A final report filed by state Attorney General Tom Corbett, who won the Republican nomination for governor, showed that he spent $8.5 million during the course of the campaign. The figure includes a 21/2-week wrap-up period after the primary.

Corbett starts his fall contest against Democratic nominee Dan Onorato with $3.36 million in his campaign bank account.

Onorato, the Allegheny County executive, spent $7.5 million on the primary, starting at the beginning of last year.

He heads into the general election with less than one-third of the money that Corbett has - a little more than $1 million.

But Onorato, who had a tougher primary fight than Corbett, should be able to catch up, said political analyst Jack Treadway.

Onorato already has started to reload. His campaign said Thursday he has raised $1 million since the primary.

"Onorato is coming off a campaign in which he had to spend more money than Corbett did," said Treadway, retired chairman of the political science department at Kutztown University. "The Democratic money was more divided than the Republican money."

Treadway said Onorato will benefit from the fund-raising help of Gov. Rendell, who was on the sidelines in the primary.

The primary candidates of both parties raised at least $25 million - including an incomplete total for Williams. That ranks second in Pennsylvania primary history.

Rendell and Bob Casey Jr., now a U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, raised a record $33.6 million in their battle for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2002.

Among other candidates in this year's primary for governor, state Auditor General Jack Wagner raised $1.2 million en route to finishing second on the Democratic side.

Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel finished last among Democrats and also took in the least amount from his party - $966,000.

State Rep. Sam Rohrer, Corbett's lone opponent in the GOP voting, raised $662,000.

Williams, who got into the race months later than any other candidate, shocked political insiders by topping every other candidate in money-raising down the stretch.

During a 21/2-month period, he collected $4.28 million - the vast majority from three Bala Cynwyd businessmen who supported his ideas for "school choice," including public vouchers for private education.

Williams met deadlines on April 6 and May 7 to report early fund-raising. Thereafter, as required, he filed partial reports revealing donations of $515,000 and $1,600,000 from the same big donors, who funneled much of their help through a political action committee called Students First.

Previous Williams reports showed he raised at least $6.4 million. The final number won't be known until he submits his final report to Harrisburg.

Mark Nevins, acting as a spokesman for the Williams campaign, said Thursday that the senator simply couldn't get all of his records together in time to meet the deadline.

He said there was nothing Williams didn't want the public to know.

"We're putting the finishing touches on the report," Nevins said. "It's not ready to be filed. It will be filed as soon as it's complete and we're confident it's 100 percent accurate."