Delegate Solicits Money During Session; Blames Mass Email on Technology 'Glitch'

Del. Kirill Reznik of Germantown said the company he contracts to handle mass emails mistakenly sent a message yesterday to thousands of people soliciting donations for a future campaign. Maryland lawmakers are forbidden to solicit campaign contributions during the 90-day legislative session, which ends April 11. In a follow-up email to the "Friends of Kirill Reznik" email list, Reznik apologized, calling it an "electronic error" and a "glitch" and urged recipients to ignore the message, which was originally intended to be sent nine months ago, he said.

Reznik (D-Dist. 39) wrote, "Please disregard this e-mail and DO NOT send any campaign contributions as it is ILLEGAL for me to solicit campaign contributions during the legislative session." In a phone interview with Patch, Reznik said he immediately contacted William Somerville, the General Assembly's ethics adviser, to alert him of the mistake made by Washington-based Salsa Labs, the company that manages and organizes the delegate's email lists. SOURCE: Gaithersburg Patch