Ethics Commission Declines to Expedite Complaint Against Gubernatorial Nominee Mark Taylor

Strategic Insights -

The state Ethics Commission has decided not to speed up consideration of a complaint against Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mark Taylor's campaign, which alleges improper acceptance of $35,000 from a donor for his primary campaign. The commission's chairman, Jack Williams, stated that the matter was not ripe for consideration at this time, but allowed the complainant, Republican Party political director Marty Klein, to file a motion for rush consideration. This decision comes amidst a backlog of cases, which has been trimmed from 18 months to 12 months with the addition of four investigators. The complaint against Taylor is seen as a Republican ploy to deflect attention from Governor Sonny Perdue's alleged sweetheart deal on land near Walt Disney World.

Key Takeaways:

  • The state Ethics Commission declined to expedite consideration of a complaint against Mark Taylor's campaign, which alleges improper acceptance of $35,000 from a donor for his primary campaign.
  • The commission's chairman, Jack Williams, stated that the matter was not ripe for consideration at this time, but allowed the complainant, Republican Party political director Marty Klein, to file a motion for rush consideration.
  • The backlog of cases at the Ethics Commission has been trimmed from 18 months to 12 months with the addition of four investigators.
  • Democrats charge that the complaint against Taylor is a Republican ploy to deflect attention from Governor Sonny Perdue's alleged sweetheart deal on land near Walt Disney World.
  • The complaint against Taylor could come before the commission at its September meeting, once his lawyers have a chance to respond.

Statistics:

  • The backlog of cases at the Ethics Commission took 18 months to be ruled on before the addition of four investigators.
  • The backlog of cases at the Ethics Commission now takes 12 months to be ruled on.
  • Since 2002, Representative Lester Jackson, D-Savannah has paid late fees for filing late reports six times.

Sources:

  • "Commission won't act on Taylor complaint" by Walter C. Jones, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (no date provided)
  • "Campaign complaint against Taylor is 'sound bite' move" by Walter C. Jones, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (no date provided)
  • "Ethics commission fines 2" by Walter C. Jones, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (no date provided)