Harvell fined for late campaign disclosure

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Senate candidate
By Stan Welch

The Senate Ethics Committee has fined Steven Riley Harvell for failing to comply with reporting requirements in connection with his primary run for the District Four S.C. Senate seat this June.

Harvell, son of Anderson County Republican Party chairman Dan Harvell, ran against Senate veteran Senator Billy O’Dell, who defeated the newcomer handily.

A letter sent to Harvell over the signature of Senate Ethics Commission Chair Robert W. Hayes, Jr. informed Harvell that his final campaign disclosure report was filed ten days later than the July 15 deadline. The failure to meet the deadline incurred a fine of two hundred dollars.

In addition, Harvell’s report, once filed, revealed the purchase of a laptop computer and a cell phone charger for the campaign. The total cost of the items was $474.42, but, the letter continued “the final disposition of these assets was not reported” on the final disclosure report.

The letter informed Harvell that such assets “cannot be converted to personal use and must be properly disposed of” pursuant to state law. That requires the donation of the assets to a 501(c)(3) organization or political party.

Harvell’s final report also revealed that the total of contributions to his campaign totaled a little over ten thousand dollars, with just under seven thousand of that amount coming from contributors outside Senate District Four.

Harvell’s campaign spent $8934.73 on the race. Senator O’Dell faces no opposition in November.