U.S. Rep. Bob Good is becoming a familiar sight at the Goochland County Circuit Court.
The leader of the House Freedom Caucus filed a motion on Aug. 22 alleging that several counties in Virginia’s 5th District improperly billed his campaign for expenses related to the recount he requested in this year’s Republican primary.
That recount, which was finalized earlier this month, confirmed that Good had lost to state Sen. John McGuire (R–Goochland), who will face Democrat Gloria Witt for the seat in November.
The motion objects to a wide range of costs assessed to his campaign by localities in the 5th District, from office supplies to employee salaries.
It contends, for example, that the counties in the district charged his campaign for mileage related to workplace commutes, despite state law only allowing an election officer to be reimbursed “each time [he] delivers pollbooks and ballots to the polling place and each time he delivers returns and ballots to the appropriate official after the polls close.”
The campaign estimates it was billed for $3,684.16 in improper mileage expenses.
Good also contends that his campaign was charged more than $5,000 for fully catered meals provided to observers employed by both candidates, as well as media members. When the court ordered the recount, the filing alleges, it merely allowed for coffee and snacks.
The campaign said several localities also charged fees to cover portions of the salaries of officials who worked on the recount, including the Albemarle County circuit court clerk, the Lunenburg county attorney and sheriff’s deputies in multiple counties.
The parties will be back in court Wednesday for a hearing on the recount.
“Apparently there have been some discrepancies in the reporting of outcomes in five localities, and the judges are going to review those situations,” said Brad Marrs, Good’s lawyer, in an email to VPM News. The court will also review the expenses that Good is objecting to.
The Virginia Mercury reported Monday that Amherst, Cumberland, Halifax and Mecklenburg counties and the city of Danville were the localities with discrepancies — which are not expected to be large enough to change the result of the recount.
McGuire’s attorney, Phil Gordon, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
