RICHMOND, Va. — The president of the Richmond Board of Elections has called on the city’s top election official to address campaign finance reporting concerns surrounding District 6 City Council candidate Tavares Floyd.

Starlet Stevens heads the three-member body that oversees Richmond Clerk-General Keith Balmer and the city’s election activities.

On Friday, she sent an email to Balmer, copying a representative of the state Department of Elections, asking him to contact Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin.

“As for Tavares Floyd, it looks like this situation is gaining ‘legs,'” she wrote to Balmer. “I would strongly suggest that you call Ms. McEachin or someone in her office to make sure we are doing the right thing in this situation.”

Stevens said he emailed himself after watching a CBS 6 news report Thursday night.

“I think we have to dot all our I’s and cross all our T’s. No matter how small the situation seems, we have to deal with it,” Stevens said.

McEachin confirmed he had spoken to Mr Balmer and released the following statement on Friday evening.

“The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office is aware of the recent media coverage of the campaign finance filings filed by Mr. Tavares Floyd, a candidate for District 6 City Council,” McEachin said. “My office communicated with a number of state and local law enforcement and election entities to determine the most timely and productive means to address the allegations. My office does not comment publicly on the existence of any investigation, and we will continue to maintain that policy. .”

Watch: Lack of investigation into Richmond campaign finance reporting raises concern

The lack of investigations into Richmond’s campaign finance reporting raises concerns

As CBS 6 previously reportedFloyd’s campaign claimed to have raised just over $140,000 in total contributions, according to campaign filings.

That’s far more than his opponents and a CBS 6 political analyst, Dr. Bob Holsworth, called “rare” for a city council race.

But some people Floyd’s campaign said were donors said they had never contributed and didn’t know who Floyd was.

That includes a reported $20,000 donation from a Chicago businessman, $5,000 from a Tennessee lawyer and $5,000 from a funeral home owner. All have denied making the reported donations.

Stevens said he already had a conversation with Balmer about the situation earlier in the week.

“I just brought it up with him one-on-one and said, ‘I’m a little concerned about this.’ what are you doing He said, ‘you know, there’s nothing I can do,'” Stevens recalled.

Balmer previously told CBS 6 that he does not have the authority to investigate and is only responsible for making sure financial reports are filed on time and complete.

But the Virginia Department of Elections insisted that Balmer would be the right official to take action.

Department spokeswoman Andrea Gaines said: “It was advised to review all of Mr. Floyd’s reports and send the candidate a ‘Notice of Incomplete Report’ alerting the candidate to the irregularities in his report.”

CBS 6 asked Balmer if he is taking the suggested action and is still waiting to hear back.

Lack of investigation and confusion about who is responsible for resolving concerns they raised questions about Virginia’s current campaign finance reporting laws and whether they are clear or strong enough.

“I would lean heavily on the state in this case,” Stevens said. “I got in touch with someone there and he said, ‘Yeah, it’s the city’s responsibility.’

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