The first salvo over campaign improprieties has been fired in the race for county assessor.

On Sept. 28, the Committee to Elect Dave Mattens filed the first formal “voter concern form” for any county election race with the Secretary of State. The committee is asking the Public Disclosure Commission to investigate alleged omissions of campaign expenses by Republican Don Mason. The Public Disclosure Commission is the state agency that serves as a watchdog on campaign finances.

In the Sept. 19 primary, Mason beat Daniel Jones and will faces Mattens, a Democrat, in the general election on Nov. 7.

Authored by campaign manager Doug McKee, the complaint states that expenditures listed in Mason’s PDC filing “appear discrepant when compared to the newspaper ads and color brochure mailings paid by Mason’s campaign.”

McKee discovered two areas of concern:

• Through the latest PDC filing deadline as of Sept. 11, Mason’s total expense claimed for newspaper ads in The South Whidbey Record and Whidbey News-Times was $2,123.

“Costs for these ads would certainly total in excess of $4,500,” McKee said.

• The Mason campaign sent a color glossy brochure to registered voters in Island County, but there is no expense reported for postage or printing costs listed in Mason’s campaign forms on file with the PDC.

“Mason’s slogan is ‘Let’s Get it Right,’” McKee said. “The voters need to know if his failure to get information to the PDC correctly is an example of his management style.”

Mattens is aware of the filing by his campaign committee. “We know what my own expenses are,” Mattens said.

“My treasurer, Sharon Emerson, keeps my feet to the fire regarding contributor deposits, receipts — everything. There are specific rules that must be followed and not registering expenses with the PDC raises some real concerns,” he said.

Mary Jane Aurdal, Mason’s campaign manager, said she was unaware of the charges and vehemently denied any reporting problems.

“Somebody in the Mattens’ campaign didn’t do their homework,” she said.

She and campaign treasurer Jeanne Hunsinger responded quickly to Mattens’ two allegations:

• The Mason campaign wasn’t billed for newspaper ads until after the reports were due with the PDC.

• The PDC has records regarding the brochure mailing. It clearly shows the Mason campaign reported $6,382 for postage and $4,694 for printing and envelopes on Sept. 7.

“We received an invoice from The South Whidbey Record on Sept. 14, two days past the PDC’s deadline,” Hunsinger said. “It was paid and will show up on the next listing, all within PDC guidelines,” she said.

“Obviously, this is a politically motivated move by Dave Mattens and his people; their imagination has run away with them,” Aurdal added. “Jeanne and I have always worked closely with the PDC to make sure everything is done correctly.”

As of Tuesday morning, Tony Perkins, a compliance officer with the PDC, said that the complaint apparently was sent to the wrong office.

Perkins said he expects to receive it soon.

“We’ll review it to see if it merits an investigation or whether it should be dismissed,” Perkins said.

Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-5300 or jvanderford@southwhidbeyrecord.com.