SALT LAKE CITY — A second political action committee has stepped forward to support Jackie Biskupski's campaign for Salt Lake City mayor, raising funds in manner incumbent Ralph Becker says is "possibly illegal."

But Biskupski says Becker is attacking her to distract from other issues in the high-profile race.

The PAC, Alliance for Better Leaders, is in the process of polling Salt Lake residents for Biskupski — an action with a value of $5,000. But until Monday afternoon, the committee had not registered with Salt Lake City, according to the city recorder's office.

Less than a week earlier, Becker demanded Biskupski take down at least 15 billboards paid for by a PAC led by the owners of Reagan Outdoor Advertising. While Biskupski said she had nothing to do with the billboards, the mayor said the PAC allowed a way to circumvent the city's campaign contribution limit, which is $7,500 for mayoral campaigns.

Becker's campaign railed against Biskupski on Tuesday, claiming she has been "raising unlimited funds for a secret, and possibly illegal, PAC to help pay for her campaign."

"This pattern of avoiding Salt Lake City's campaign laws that limit individual contributions and PACs raises concerns and undermines the public trust around campaign funding," Becker said. "The courts can ultimately decide the legality of my opponent's actions."

Biskupski said the billboards are a "completely separate issue," and neither she nor the PACs have done anything illegal.

"That's just untrue, and (Becker) knows that," she said. "This statement is intended to malign my character."

Biskupski said she's not violating any laws because the Reagan family funded the billboards without any coordination with her, and state law does not place any spending limits on PACs that act independently of campaigns.

Biskupski said she did coordinate with the Alliance for Better Leaders for the polling, but the PAC has not violated any election laws, she said, because the value of the campaign contribution has not exceeded the $7,500 limit.

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"It's very clear that the total value (of the poll) is less than the $7,500, so we'll claim that on our disclosure as we would for any other in-kind donation and move on," Biskupski said.

But the polling was underway before the Alliance for Better Leaders registered with the city. The PAC's founder, Robert Bergman, said he was unaware that Salt Lake City required a registry for PACs.

"Had I known about it sooner, I would have made every effort to be in compliance," Bergman said. "We have no intention of trying to hide anything."

The Alliance for Better Leaders was created in 2013, Bergman said, because he saw a "void in the leadership of Salt Lake City" and a need for change. He also said he has no intention of exceeding the $7,500 campaign limit.

The PAC's donations will be reported by the next financial disclosure deadline, Aug. 4, Bergman and Biskupski said. Still, Becker said the PACs are allowing Biskupski to dodge city contribution laws.

"It's certainly questionable whether or not it's legal to use a non-city funding mechanism to fund a city campaign," Becker said. "We don't want any undue influence from any individual or corporation on a candidate who is running for mayor, and in both of these instances, that concept has been violated."

Becker said he's "leaving it to lawyers and judges" to determine the legality of the issue.

"I don't know how this would end up in court," Biskupski said, "because the PACs are abiding by state law. There is just nothing in the city ordinance that would suggest anybody has broken the law. That's just not happening."

Biskupski said she's not concerned that Alliance for Better Leaders did not register with the city until Monday because the PAC has been registered with the state since 2013.

"I don't think most PACs know they need to register with Salt Lake City," she said. "It's not like they notify a PAC that files with the state that they should also register with the city."

University of Utah political science professor Matthew Burbank said while he believes Becker's statements against Biskupski are political, they also raise a "fair point."

"These kinds of issues being raised are not easy to sort out," Burbank said. "I think what we need here is more information. I think it's hard to know what the factual case is in terms of whether there was a violation of city ordinance or not."

Burbank also said he believes the issue could go to court, but it could have little impact on the Aug. 11 primary election. "It could happen," he said, "but realistically, whatever could happen in court in the future isn't going to matter for what's going to happen in the primary elections."

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