Anthony Brown’s Campaign Debts

Most of you may know that in 2014, Anthony Brown took out a $500,000 loan (legal under Maryland law) from the Laborers union in the waning days of the ill-fated gubernatorial campaign. He personally guaranteed that loan, and now, while he’s running for Congress, he’s also trying to pay off that loan. That’s not a good combination, as the Sun reports today.

Former Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, who borrowed $500,000 from a union during the waning weeks of his unsuccessful 2014 run for governor, has begun to chip away at that debt.

Brown, who is now running for Congress, repaid $40,000 to the Laborers Political Education Fund in $10,000 increments between March and December, according to a campaign finance report he filed this week.

The money to repay that loan and other debts came largely from loans to the campaign fund made by Brown and his wife, Karmen. Together they lent $98,584 — money that could be difficult to ever recover.

Brown is now running for the Democratic nomination in Maryland’s hotly contested 4th Congressional District. Incumbent Rep. Donna Edwards is giving up the seat to run for the Senate seat left vacant by the impending retirement of longtime Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski.

Even if he’s elected to Congress, paying this money back is going to be almost impossible. He can’t use federal money to pay off state campaign debt, and a “fundraiser” to pay off the state debt - which is also a personal liability - will look as sleazy as it could possibly be, regardless of its legality. And if he doesn’t win, that liability will follow him for the rest of his life, with interest.

A bad, bad situation for all concerned.

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