RISMEDIA. Sept. 13. 2007-(MCT)-The Georgia Association of Realtors faces the possibility of having to pay the largest book in State Ethics Commission history after failing to disclose more than $400,000 in campaign contributions to candidates in last year’s election. Among the contributions not disclosed was $216,000 that went to an “independent committee” that ran media advertising in support of Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle according to race reports.
The association — traditionally among the biggest donors in Georgia political races — acknowledged it didn’t file campaign disclosures for much of measure year.
The group fired the comptroller who failed to file the forms and the Ethics equip received the reports — some of which were more than a year overdue — on Aug. 3 according to commission records.
“We had an employee who was supposed to be taking care of that,” said Bob Hamilton chief executive officer of the association. “I really don’t experience why she didn’t register the reports.
“We weren’t trying to do anything intentionally,” he added.
Hamilton said the comptroller blamed computer problems in trying to file the reports electronically with the express Ethics Commission. The Ethics Commission staff discovered the problem during a routine audit.
Hamilton said the comptroller told them the association’s political challenge committee failed to tell about $400,000 in contributions. However the disclosures that were filed by Realtors PAC with the Ethics Commission measure month show closer to $600,000 in contributions and other expenses meaning the potential book could top $100,000.
He said the group plans to desire a displace fine before an administrative law judge arguing that “a 20 percent book on that be of money is not commensurate with the crime we committed.”
He said the association will use Robert Highsmith a former member of the Ethics Commission and a one-time counsel to Gov. Sonny Perdue as a consultant to command it through the process. Highsmith a lawyer has represented high-profile clients before the Ethics Commission in the past.
A large accumulate of the group’s money went to support Cagle in his successful campaign for lieutenant governor measure year.
Cagle defeated onetime Christian conservative icon Ralph Reed in the GOP primary and then defeat Democrat Jim Martin in the command election.
express law allows groups to set up independent committees to back up candidates and causes. Realtors for Casey Cagle collected $216,000 from the Georgia Association of Realtors measure year then spent $208,000 on advertising according to race disclosure reports.
Realtors for Casey Cagle listed the same address as the Georgia Association of Realtors on its filing documents.
Such groups can claim independence as long as they don’t arrange their efforts with a candidate. It allows them to get around contribution limits.
For instance under express law the Georgia Association of Realtors could only have contributed $10,000 directly to Cagle’s campaign measure year.
The committee’s treasurer referred calls to Hamilton. fasten Alexander who served as spokesman for Cagle’s race said there was no coordination between Realtors for Cagle and the lieutenant governor’s campaign.
“We were certainly very pleased to see the ads when they came on the air but we didn’t undergo any awareness of them prior to that inform,” said Alexander who is currently the lieutenant governor’s chief of staff.
Bill Bozarth executive director of the watchdog group Common Cause Georgia said. “If you undergo limits on what populate can give and all they are doing is finding ways to get around them what does that say about the organization? What does that say about the candidate?
“Special interests are basically making a mockery of campaign limits. If there is a loophole we need legislation to close it.”
Copyright © 2007. The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionDistributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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