The Missouri Ethics Commission, which serves in a nonpartisan manner to review complaints and conduct audits and investigations to ensure that lobbyists, committees, and public officials are properly filing reports, recently posted consent orders made after violations of campaign finance law were found to have been made by two Ferguson residents working in support of Ella M. Jones’ mayoral campaign.
Both Laverne Mitchom and Adrian Shropshire were found to have distributed flyers in support of the election of Ella M. Jones for mayor in the April 4, 2023, election which failed to contain “the clear and conspicuous statement: ‘Paid for by Adrian Shropshire and Laverne Mitchom’ along with their respective mailing addresses.” It should be clearly noted that the investigation, findings, and consent agreement did not involve the campaign committee Friends of Ella M. Jones, nor Jones herself in any form, but was the result of campaigning privately undertaken by Shropshire and Mitchom.
Both Shropshire and Mitchom signed the consent orders agreeing to comply with Missouri state law and to pay a fee of $100.
Prior to the mayoral election, Shropshire posted on Facebook in the I Care About Ferguson group asking about a postcard he received for the ballot initiated recall election that had no identification of the sender and complained “DIRTY POLITICS. JUST MY HUMBLE OPINION” several months before passing out the flyers for which he was cited for illegally distributing.