Gov. Nathan Deal Files Against Ethics Watchdog George Anderson
Gov. Nathan Deal has filed for attorney's fees regarding an ethics violation brought against him by George Anderson. Meanwhile, a local nonprofit is trying to change the law regarding ethics complaints.
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On Sept. 20, Governor Nathan Deal filed for attorney's fees against George Anderson, Executive Director of Ethics in Government Group, claiming that Anderson "filed unsubstantiated, as well as, frivolous accusations concerning payments to Southern Magnolia LLC, alleging kickbacks to Respondent, untrue allegations of personal profit from campaign funds, as well as, allegations regarding good friend and appointee Patrick Millsaps to the State Ethics Commission."
Anderson claims that he is being attacked with "abuse litigation."
"I am being attacked against my Constitutional rights to petition the government for a redress of grievances under the United States Constitution under Amendment I Article I," he said in an email to Snellville Patch.
Anderson asserted that Gov. Deal violated the public trust and used his power and resources for personal or financial benefit. He also claimed that "Governor Deal used his influence to dismantle the Commission's work force and interfered with the investigation into Deal's unethical actions from his campaign for governor."
He claimed that Gov. Deal is calling his ethics complaint "frivolous" in order to intimidate citizens who are thinking about filing a complaint in the future.
Local businessman and concerned Gwinnett County resident Kenneth Stepp believes the complaint and others like it are indeed frivolous, and take up taxpayer money and time in the courts. He has launched a nonprofit called Gwinnett Ethics in response to what he sees as a series of frivolous ethics complaints by Ethics in Government Director George Anderson and others like him.
Stepp's nonprofit is pursuing a change in law that would require an "under oath" amendment. The proposed amendment would require those who file ethics complaints to divulge who, if anyone, is paying them.
"You put yourself at risk," he explained. "You’re either going to tell the truth or you will commit perjury."
Stepp believes that the proposed amendment to the law would add credibility to legitimate watchdog organizations, while shutting down those which are hired to cast doubt on a political opponent's character.
According to Stepp's Gwinnett Ethics website:
"These self-proclaimed “watchdogs” are doing nothing more than using ethics as a platform for political attacks. In so doing, they needlessly consume time and money, and frequently hurt innocent people.
While the concept of an “ethics watchdog” is a noble one, some watchdogs are anything but. They are frequently more ethically challenged than the people they claim to be watching, and they file ethics complaints not because they have uncovered violations, but because they’re paid to do so by people who are trying to discredit a political opponent."
When filing a complaint, Stepp believes the filer should swear under oath that "no monies, favors, or enticements were received, or will be received by them or their interests, as compensation for filing a complaint," or otherwise disclose who is paying them to file a complaint (including "donations").
Stepp believes that these complaints corrupt the election process.
Anderson has stated that no one is paying him to file these complaints. He filed an ethics complaint against Snellville councilman Tom Witts earlier this year, claiming that Witts violated his oath of office because he owed back taxes.
City attorney Tony Powell has said the complaint has no merit, and the city has been pursuing a declatory judgment against Anderson. Former and current councilmembers have stood behind Witts, claiming that Anderson is using the ethics complaint as a platform for political speech.
Witts himself explained that he does owe the tax, but is paying it back and never hid that fact.
He said in a previous interview with Snellville Patch that he owes for taking a disbursement of 401K funds in 2007 after his wife was laid off. He said the money "I borrowed from myself" helped prevent him from laying off employees and kept his business (Georgia Property Restoration) afloat.
"[Despite Anderson's charges] I'd still make that decision. I'd still do it. I'd still take care of the families [of his employees]. I'd still take care of my family," said Witts, who said he has disclosed his debt in an open city council meeting. "I have nothing to hide."
According to Stepp, frivolous ethics complaints are not only damaging to Gwinnett County, they’re "hurting virtually every municipal and county government in the state of Georgia."
Dave Emanuel
12:23 pm on Monday, September 24, 2012
Mr. Stepp is to be applauded for taking the initiative to eliminate the use of ethics complaints as tools for political attacks. The mere fact that an ethics complaint has been filed casts a shadow of distrust over the target of such a complaint-- even when such complaints are completely baseless. The obvious tip-off that these frivolous, albeit vicious complaints are baseless is the agency with which they are filed. As an example, some flea infested "watchdogs", file civil complaints with agencies that only handle criminal actions, knowing there will be no follow-up. Similarly, they file complaints with the Georgia Government and Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission (formerly known as the State Ethics Commission) because they know that no action will be taken. It sounds ominous when someone states, "There has been a complaint filed with State Ethics Commission." but that commission has purview ONLY over campaign finance matters (hence the commission's current name). Consequently, filling a complaint with the "Ethics Commission" that doesn't involve campaign financing, is like filing a complaint with Patch because you want a retraction printed about an article in the AJC.
Mr. Stepp is on the right track. We need to assure that ethics complaints are filed by legitimate people with legitimate concerns.
George Wilson
12:18 pm on Thursday, September 27, 2012
It comes as no surprise that ethically challenged Republicans are trying to suppress ethics charges. Let's look at the record: 1. Republican Gwinnett county commissioner's land and bribery deals 2. Republican Senator Bob Balfour's expense account debacle 3. Republican Gov.Deals cutting of the ethics commission budget because they were investigating him .Perhaps they are trying to stop these by citizens because they know of more corruption. Don't take my word go to the website "Atlanta Unfiltered" for the full story on local and state government corruption.
Dave Emanuel
10:20 pm on Friday, September 28, 2012
And it comes as no surprise that factually challenged Democrats chose to ignore the corruption within the party they support while condemning the party they oppose. Corruption does not recognize party affiliation, it is pervasive. And the list of corrupt Democrats is just as long, or longer than the list of corrupt Republicans. However, that's really irrelevant. The task at hand is to bring about meaningful ethics reform, not to point fingers. George Wilson is simply following (tip-toeing) in the footsteps of George Anderson, fraudulently using ethics as a platform for political attacks. In so doing, he has become part of the problem, not part of the solution. Keep at it Mr. Stepp. You truly understand ethics and the means by which standards can be raised and enforced.
Kenneth Stepp
2:07 pm on Thursday, September 27, 2012
Thanks George, I agree completely about The State Ethics Commission. It has been gutted and renamed to destroy it's original mission (my opinion). Since 2009 it has taken shots from the highest office to hinder it's effectiveness. At this point it does almost nothing. The fact that Georgia is now rated 50th out of 50 states should outrage or at least embarrass the citizens of Georgia, perhaps enough to want to become voters. You are correct about what happened to the commission. It's my hope to form a coalition with other ethics groups and address this next. I've been in touch with a few people about it already. Thank you for bringing the State Ethics Commission (and what's left of it) to our attention. I'm not sure where to start, only that starting is necessary. I think that funding & freedom is what it needs before anything else. Going back to it's old name as well.
Darla Dixon
8:50 pm on Friday, September 28, 2012
Thank you Mr. Stepp, I think it's a great idea.