Montana's political cop has found three former Kalispell School Board candidates violated campaign laws by failing to submit registration paperwork on time before the May 4 election.

Commissioner of Political Practices Jeff Mangan determined Heather Asher, Patricia Pandina and Tina Tobiason failed to submit C-1A "statement of candidate" forms to his office within five days of becoming candidates for the school board, as required by state law. Asher unseated incumbent Amy Waller in the election and now serves as a trustee; Pandina and Tobiason ran unsuccessfully.

The C-1A form asks for information including candidates' full names, addresses and the offices they are seeking; it also requires candidates to list the names of their campaign treasurers, campaign account information and whether they intend to raise or spend more than $500. The complaints against the candidates were filed by Kalispell resident Courtney Rappleye.

"The failure to fully and timely report and disclose cannot generally be excused by oversight or ignorance," Mangan wrote in decisions issued April 27. "Excusable neglect cannot be applied to oversight or ignorance of the law as it relates to failures to file and report."

Mangan referred his findings to the Lewis and Clark County Attorney's Office, which decided not to prosecute. Mangan's office said it was working with the candidates to reach financial settlements and resolve the matter. Such settlements are typically in the hundreds of dollars.

"In campaign finance cases, the commissioner does not issue fines," his office said in an email last week. "The COPP attempts to reach a financial settlement with the candidate and that process is currently ongoing."

According to the decisions from Mangan's office, Pandina submitted "declaration of intent" and "oath of candidacy" forms to Kalispell Public Schools on Feb. 23, while Tobiason did so on Feb. 25 and Asher did so on March 5, signaling their intent to run for office. They all submitted their C-1A forms to the COPP office in mid-March — well past the five-day window required by law.

Mangan previously found nine of the eleven sitting Kalispell School Board trustees in violation of the same campaign finance law for failing to register with his office on time for the May election. The trustees included Sue Corrigan, Jack Fallon, Will Hiatt, Lance Isaak, Mark Kornick, Amy Waller, Scott Warnell, Ursula Wilde and Kim Wilson. Those complaints were filed by Lakeside resident Lloyd Bondy.

And in March, Mangan dismissed a complaint by Kalispell resident Sara Busse about Pandina's campaign signs, which initially didn't include disclosures indicating who paid for them. Mangan said the matter was resolved through "prompt remedial action."

Corrigan and Isaak retained their seats in this election, while Asher unseated Waller.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 406-758-4431 or [email protected].