[List of expenditures]

By Corinne Eidson

Delegate William Robinson of Norfolk lost his race for re-election in November, but that didn’t stop him from spending political donations: Just weeks before leaving office, he used campaign funds to buy a $1,650 chair and $4,633 worth of computers.

Sen. Russell Potts Jr. of Winchester last fall spent $8,180 of his campaign funds to buy office equipment from his own company -- Russ Potts Production Inc.

In January 2001, Delegate John Welch of Virginia Beach used $40 in political contributions to renew his legislative license plates and his driver’s license with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

Those campaign expenditures might raise questions: Politicians aren’t supposed to benefit personally from their political spending. By law, legislators and candidates must restrict their campaign funds to political purposes.

The law is largely an honor system, with little oversight because legislators have consistently refused to audit their political spending. As a result, campaign finance reform activists say the system is open to abuse -- and mistakes.

For example, consider the $40 in DMV fees that came out of Welch’s campaign account.

Robert Rummells, Welch’s legislative aide and campaign treasurer, said it was his mistake -- not the Republican lawmaker’s. When he paid the DMV fees, he only had the campaign checkbook on him, Rummells said.

Some errors, however, are larger.

Delegate James Dillard, R-Fairfax, once bought a $12,000 sailboat from his campaign account. It was an accident that Dillard later corrected, he recounted during a meeting of the House Privileges and Elections Committee on Jan. 25.

The committee recently considered a bill to audit the campaign expenditures of a random sample of 10 percent of General Assembly candidates. The panel amended the bill to audit all lawmakers and candidates by a 10-9 vote. Because of the cost involved, the amendment killed the bill for this year.

Politicians must detail how they spend their campaign funds in reports filed with the State Board of Elections, though these numbers do not undergo audits.

The reports indicate that Potts, a Republican, bought "furniture and equipment" from Russ Potts Production Inc. with campaign money last year in three payments: $2,746 on Oct. 4, $2,927 on Nov. 2 and $2,507 on Dec. 2.

Potts did not return three phone calls and an e-mail request for comment.

Robinson, a Democrat from Norfolk, did not respond to questions about his expenditures, either.

Robinson served 20 years in the House before losing his seat in the Nov. 6 election to Winsome Sears, a Republican.

On Dec. 8, Robinson bought a $1,481 laptop computer with his campaign funds from Dell Computers. On Dec. 21, he wrote Dell a check for $3,152 to pay off the balance on his office computers. And on Dec. 30, Robinson used political donations to purchase a $1,650 chair from Chasen’s Business Interiors, records show.

Robinson’s expenditures seemed questionable, other lawmakers said.

"There’s a reason he lost with that kind of spending," said Delegate Albert Pollard, D-Lancaster.

"A lot of delegates look at these (campaign accounts) as their personal bank accounts. Clearly, it’s an indication that we need tighter control. Our laws are weak," Pollard said.

Delegate Phillip Hamilton, R-Newport News, said Robinson’s expenditures appeared to be for personal use. He said such spending is inappropriate "if I know I’m not going to be in office. I think that violates the spirit of what it’s supposed to be used (for)."

Often, legislators say there are logical reasons for campaign expenditures that may appear unusual.

For instance, Delegate James O’Brien, R-Fairfax, paid a Costco Wholesale Club store in Northern Virginia $3,566 from his campaign account last year -- including almost $1,000 in November alone.

Nearly all of O’Brien’s Costco purchases involved office supplies. O’Brien, who sells office supplies for a living, spent $3,722 from his campaign account on office supplies in 2001, second only to Delegate Melanie Rapp, R-York.

"I do get software and computer stuff there, and obviously computer stuff is a big expense," O’Brien said. "I believe if you average it up, it’s less than $300 a month."

Margaret Sacks, O’Brien’s legislative aide, said, "He uses the office supplies for his busy legislative office and campaign office."

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