INDIANAPOLIS – Democratic state auditor candidate Sam Locke this week accused Republican State Auditor Tim Berry of campaign finance irregularities related to travel expenses.

“What he doesn’t understand is when I’m on official state business, I think he thinks that’s political,” Berry responded Thursday.

Locke sent out a statement Wednesday saying Berry’s campaign website lists many events and visits, but his campaign finance reports don’t account for any of the expenses.

He said that means Berry is either using state resources, such as a car or mileage reimbursement, or not adequately reporting travel on his campaign financial statement.

Berry’s campaign website does include a running list of events, and it doesn’t differentiate between campaign events and those involving official state business.

For instance, it said Wednesday he would be speaking to the South Bend Rotary Club and then going to the LaPorte County Fair.

When asked, Berry clarified that the Rotary Club speech was official state business – an update on the state’s finances as the fiscal year ended – and he drove a state car for the day.

But Locke disagreed.

“I understand that there are certain official duties that come with the office, and people have a right to know how the state’s finances look. Kudos to that,” Locke said.

“Had he just talked about finances, that’s one thing, but he went out of his way to talk to reporters and criticize me. That makes it a political event.”

Berry noted that a South Bend Tribune reporter approached him after the speech with a questions about the election. And the story from the event notes that Berry is “running for re-election this year to another four-year term as auditor, but he did not mention his campaign to the Rotary Club audience Wednesday.”

After the speech and a meeting with the LaPorte County auditor later in the day, Berry stopped at the county fair on his way out of town.

He acknowledged “it’s a very gray line” when there are both official events and campaign events in a single day. But he said it made no sense to reimburse the state for the half-mile trip into the fair parking lot.

And Berry noted he uses his own car to attend campaign events unrelated to work, such as Saturday events and holiday parades.

Locke contends Berry must document those car and mileage expenses on his report as in-kind contributions to himself , as Locke did on his own campaign finance report.

But The Journal Gazette couldn’t find any such requirement on the state’s campaign finance website.

And Brad King, Republican co-director of the Indiana Election Division, said the division has never given guidance on the issue.

“I can’t say I’ve ever seen that,” he said. “It’s a curious one.”

King noted that under that interpretation, a candidate would have to report when he buys a new suit for a campaign event or new shoes to walk in neighborhoods and knock on doors of voters’ houses.

“Where would you draw the line?” he asked.

nkelly@jg.net