Gabbard’s looks cost campaign thousands

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has spent $7,939 of her campaign cash on high-end hair and makeup stylists over the past year and a half — expenses that she’s classified as “media prep” on her campaign spending reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Erika Tsuji, Gabbard’s press secretary, said Friday that the hair and makeup expenses were related to television interviews and digital communications that “help the congresswoman communicate her positions on issues important to voters.”

The total of 23 payments dating back to January of last year are to vendors such as Panci in Hawaii, which bills itself as a “full service boutique fashion management agency” and boasts clients such as Kelly Ripa, stars of “Hawaii Five-0” and “Lost,” and former Miss America Angela Baraquio.

Gabbard made 10 payments to the agency between May 2015 and June of this year ranging from $104 to $523.

Other vendors include Washington, D.C., stylists Valentina Gretsova, Nicholette Nicci and Richard A. Bernal Makeup and Hair, which advertises a long list of celebrity clients on its website, including Adam Sandler and Jennifer Love Hewitt.

There is also a $350 payment in April to Gloria Pelo, a makeup artist and hairstylist in Miami who, according to her website, specializes in “serving the fashion, entertainment and bridal industries,” where she has earned the nickname “guru to the brides.”

The FEC documents also show a $1,256 payment made in February 2015 to the Taj West End, a high-end hotel in Bangalore, India, that includes a luxury spa.

Gabbard visited India from Dec. 14, 2014, to Jan. 4, 2015, at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to her financial disclosure report. The purpose of the trip was to, in part, “build relationships with high-ranking officials in government and the military,” according to a news release from her office.

The $1,256 payment covered “multiple hair and make-up services in preparation for numerous media interviews and major speeches during her India trip,” Tsuji said by email.

Asked how this relates to Gabbard’s congressional campaign, Tsuji said that the media appearances were part of an effort to further diplomatic ties.

“Her trip was in pursuance of developing and strengthening relations and understanding between India and the U.S., including Hawaii, and the opportunity to promote Hawaii and U.S. business investment opportunities, as well as the establishment of a sister-state partnership between Hawaii and Goa, which has passed the Hawaii State Legislature and is expected to be signed by the governor before the end of the year,” she said.

Washington, D.C., groups that monitor money in politics told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that FEC rules governing campaign spending are very broad and that there is a lot of leeway in how candidates use their campaign funds. They said the spending appears permissible.

“The media prep seems like a lot of money, but it seems to be allowed,” said Jordan Libowtiz, communications director at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, on Wednesday.

While campaign spending laws are broad, that hasn’t stopped politicians in Washington from facing public scrutiny over their spending habits.

In 2007, while campaigning for president, John Edwards used campaign funds to pay for two $800 haircuts by a Beverly Hills stylist.

His famous “$400 haircuts” became fodder for his opponents. Not helping matters, a YouYube video showing him primping before an interview — with the song “I Feel Pretty” added as the soundtrack — went viral.

Edwards ended up reimbursing his presidential campaign for the haircuts. His campaign spokesman said at the time that the campaign charges were inadvertent.

Shay Chan Hodges, Gabbard’s opponent in this year’s Democratic primary, said that legal or not, Gabbard’s expenditures seem inappropriate and reflect “how invested she is in crafting her media image.”

“I feel obligated to make sure that every dollar I spend is the way that the constituents would want me to spend it because they believe in me and I want to be sure that they would be happy with how I spent it and be sure that it was really going to advance the values that they believe in,” said Hodges.