One day after his opponent filed a complaint with the Missouri Ethics Commission, Fourth Ward Columbia City Council candidate Daryl Dudley said he is suspending his campaign.

In a news release issued Tuesday evening, Dudley�s election committee said he �will be suspending campaign operations� ahead of the April 5 election. The release also reiterated plans to refund $60,000 worth of large contributions that were reported to the ethics commission late and to cancel advertising bought with the money. It did not elaborate on what that suspension means for his city council bid.

Dudley�s name will appear on the April 5 ballot. Boone County Clerk Wendy Noren said the deadline to withdraw is the sixth Tuesday before an election.

Fourth Ward Councilman Ian Thomas on Monday said his campaign treasurer, Richard King, had filed a complaint against Dudley with the ethics commission after Dudley�s election committee failed to properly register and did not report large contributions in a timely manner.

State law prohibits commission officials from confirming complaints until an investigation is finished. Earlier this week, Betsy Byers, director of business services for the ethics commission, said there is a period of about two weeks before an election when submitted complaints will not be heard. The ethics commission is prohibited by state law from talking about complaints, even to confirm that one has been filed.

Missouri Ethics Commission Executive Director James Klahr said any complaint received after last Friday would have been rejected because of the window. Klahr said complaints rejected in the pre-election window can be refiled.

�Unfortunately, recent distractions surrounding Daryl Dudley�s campaign are overshadowing very real issues facing the City of Columbia, and making it impossible for him to continue campaigning,� the release said.

Dudley did not show up for a candidate forum Tuesday night hosted by the Columbia unit of the NAACP. His absence from the forum was noted by Thomas, who has criticized Dudley�s lack of appearance at multiple candidate events.

Dudley has said his work obligations often mean he has been unable to attend candidate forums.

Dudley did not respond to several phone calls after the forum seeking clarification about the campaign suspension.

The release directed all questions to Dudley�s attorney, Phebe La Mar, who said in an email that the release �means exactly what it said.�

�He will not be campaigning for the remainder of the election cycle,� La Mar wrote.

Dudley also failed to file election committee documents with the Missouri Ethics Commission, as required by law.

Dudley last week denied knowledge of the violations and said he did not believe his failure to file with the state was a violation.

Paul Land, Dudley�s campaign treasurer, last week refused to comment about Dudley�s campaign. Land could not be reached Wednesday morning.

This story was first published online on Tuesday, March 22, 2016 at 8:00 p.m.