Ethics committee waives late-filing fines for Cynthia Ford after she details military service

Cynthia Ford had two late campaign-filing penalties waived by the ethics committee after she told members that active-duty military service and hurricane-response duties contributed to the delays.

Ford appeared before the committee to appeal a $100 fine for a pre-election report filed about 18 hours late and a substantially larger fine tied to a third-quarter 2024 disclosure she filed on Jan. 15 after an Oct. 15 deadline. The committee’s chair said the $100 fine is “routinely waived” when delays are minimal and noted the committee would consider Ford’s submitted materials and testimony.

Representative Guest moved to waive the $100 fine and to waive the larger fine in light of Ford’s active-duty service, saying, “At this time I would make the motion that we waive the $100 based upon what you stated that she was only 18 hours late. As far as the other one, based upon her active duty, I would ask that we waive that entire fine also and thank her for her service.” The motion was seconded and the chair ordered a roll call; multiple members responded “aye” on the record. The chair later said the committee had granted Ford’s appeal.

Ford told the panel she had been deployed to help after a hurricane and that rotations and duties contributed to the missed filing deadlines; she also stated she had been discharged in November 2025. Counsel administered the oath before Ford’s testimony.

The committee did not specify individual vote attributions in the publicly available transcript; the record shows a roll-call sequence during which members voiced “aye” responses but does not clearly map each vote to a named member. The committee’s action was limited to granting the appeal; no additional penalties or conditions were recorded in the transcript.

The committee then moved on to the next agenda item.