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Georgia Legislators Target Deal’s Unrepresentative Appointments to Top Boards

Release: Tuesday, August 26, 2014

 

Georgia Legislators Target Deal’s Unrepresentative Appointments to Top Boards

 
 

Atlanta, GA – Today, prominent women and African American legislators assailed Gov. Nathan Deal’s appointments of wealthy campaign contributors to the state’s most powerful boards. The governor defended the appointments—the vast majority of whom are wealthy white men—by saying he wants to appoint people who he has “confidence” in and who think the way he thinks.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last week that more than four-fifths of members of the state’s most powerful three boards—the Board of Regents, Georgia Ports Authority and Board of Natural Resources—have contributed nearly $1.3 million to Deal’s campaign and political action committee. Of the 51 positions, 43 are held by white men while only five are women and one is an African American.

Responding to the report, Deal told WSB and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Any governor appoints people who think the way he thinks, who are going to carry out policies that he believes are important in board settings. Some of these boards are very important boards. They do help set the direction and course of our state. I don’t want to appoint somebody that I don’t know, or I don’t have any confidence that they won’t have the same general point of view.”

Democratic leaders responded:

“Women make up over half the electorate, vote more consistently than men, and yet women account for less than 10 percent of Nathan Deal’s appointments to the state’s top three boards. That’s just wrong,” said State Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler, House District 91, Chair of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus.

“The numbers speak for themselves. 94 percent of Governor Deal’s appointments to the state’s top boards are white and 90 percent are men. That doesn’t look like Georgia,” said State Rep. Virgil Fludd, House District 64, Chair of the House Democratic Caucus

“Governor Deal said he does not appoint anyone he does not know or have confidence in. Based on his record of appointments, one can conclude that he either does not know or does not have confidence in woman or African Americans and for any appointments remaining during his time in office I would be happy to introduce him to both!” said State Rep. Roger Bruce, House District 61

“Nathan Deal clearly hasn’t demonstrated that he values diversity in his board appointments. It seems to me that if you don’t fit a certain demographic, then don’t expect to have a representative voice at those highest levels of state government,” said State Rep. Howard Mosby, House District 83

In contrast, Sen. Jason Carter has promised to release donor information and any conflicts of interest of any appointments he would make as governor.

 

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DPG Chair Addresses Comments Made by RNC Chair

Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Addresses Comments Made by RNC Chair Reince Priebus

 

 Atlanta, GA – Today, Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter responded to comments made by Republican National Committee Chair Reince Pribus at a Cobb County GOP event.

 

At the event, Priebus stated “Under Governor Deal’s leadership, Georgia has created jobs, balanced budgets and even branded number one for business in America. So if you want jobs, vote republican. If you want better healthcare, cheaper energy, better schools, vote republican.”

 

“If Reince’s comments weren’t so delusional, they’d be laughable,” said DPG Chairman Porter in a statement. “Just this week, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics issued a report showing Georgia having the 50th worst unemployment rate in the country. On Deal’s watch, our classrooms have lost 9,000 teachers. Georgia’s hospitals are shutting down left and right due to lack of funding.”

 

“Maybe instead of reading some of Nathan Deal’s campaign literature on his ride in, Reince should have picked up a paper. The facts are out there and the verdict is in—Georgia is in an economic free fall and Nathan Deal and the Georgia GOP swapped our parachute with an elephant.”

 

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BACKGROUND

 

Bureau of Labor Statistics 8/18/14 – July 2014 Unemployment Release

 

Bureau of Labor Statistics – Local Area Unemployment Statistics

Leaked: Nathan Deal’s Speech to RNLA

Down in the polls, Gov. Deal is leaving Georgia to try his luck in Vegas.
Deal is the featured speaker at the Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA) seminar on election law. Participants will even get ethics credit for listening to one of the most ethically-challenged governors in the country. We just got a copy of the governor’s speech outline, and you won’t want to miss it:

 

 

Nathan Deal’s RNLA Speech by GeorgiaDemocrat

Georgians Deserve a Full Investigation of the Ethics Commission Cover-up

Last week, we got the news of a leaked memo authored by Ethics Commission chief Holly LaBerge that alleges staffers from Nathan Deal’s office pressured her to make ethics complaints about Deal’s 2010 campaign “go away. ” Now more than ever, Georgians deserve a full investigation of the cover-up that is costing Georgia taxpayers more than $3,000,000.

 

Georgians Deserve a Full Investigation of the Ethics Cover-up from Georgia Democrat on Vimeo.

Three Questions Nathan Deal Should Answer Immediately

We know what Nathan Deal is going to say about the latest developments in the Ethics Commission cover-up. He’ll deny, rinse, and repeat. This is the same move he’s pulled every single time he’s gotten into hot water.

 

According to Deal, it’s always someone else’s fault.

 

Question is, who will he blame this time?

 

Yesterday, a damning memo was obtained by the AJC authored by Ethics Commission Executive Director Holly LaBerge in 2012 that alleges state employees Ryan Teague, Nathan Deal’s chief counsel, and Chris Riley, Deal’s Chief of Staff pressured her to make ethics complaints about Deal’s 2010 campaign “go away.”

 

Previously, Deal has claimed “no involvement whatsoever”, but according to an interview with WAGA’s Dale Russell, LaBerge—who is now claiming whistleblower status—the cover-up came directly from Deal’s office.

 

If he is still claiming innocence, Nathan Deal should answer these questions IMMEDIATLEY:

 

1)      If Ryan Teague and Chris Riley are state employees and they were acting on behalf of Nathan Deal as an individual or the Deal for Governor campaign—Riley’s text message specifically references DFG—then why have they not been fired? Georgia Code § 21-5-30.2specifically prohibits state resources from being used for campaign purposes:

 

2)      If the Deal Administration used state funds to negotiate a settlement on behalf of Nathan Deal the individual, why hasn’t Attorney General Sam Olens opened an investigation of the activities of Nathan Deal’s administration?

 

3)      Randy Evans—who now appears to be playing the role of “The Wolf” from Pulp Fiction—represented Nathan Deal in the original ethics complaint. So, why did two individuals in the governor’s office negotiate a settlement instead of Randy Evans?

 

The latest developments in the continuing ethics cover-up only reinforces Sen. Jason Carter’s call for Attorney General Sam Olens to fully investigate both the original ethics complaint and the actions leading up to the cover-up.

 

Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter had the following to say on the ethics matter: “This is either willful blindness or unconscionable incompetence on the part of Nathan Deal. We’re gonna keep getting the same old story from Deal. Truth is—I wouldn’t hold in my hand what’s sure to come out of his mouth.”

Nathan Deal v. the Rest of the Nation: A Major Jobs Disparity

Last week, the United States Department of Labor announced the creation of 288,000 new private sector jobs nationally in the month of June alone. The national unemployment rate dropped to 6.1%, the lowest since September 2008. These numbers mark 52 months of consecutive job growth and five months where at least 200,000 jobs were created.

 

Yet, as the national unemployment rate drops and more jobs are created, Georgia continues to lag behind the rest of the country under Nathan Deal.

 

Here are the facts:

 

Georgia has the 8th highest unemployment rate in the nation.  (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

 

Nearly four in ten working families with children are “low-income.” (GBPI 6-19-14)

 

Over the last 15 years, Georgia is only one of two states where real per capita GDP has declined. (AJC 6-20-14)

 

Georgia’s economic outlook is exceptionally grim outside the metro-Atlanta area. In a recent Bloomberg ranking of the fastest shrinking U.S. cities, Georgia was the only state in the nation to have more than one city in the top ten list—we had THREE. (Bloomberg)

 

45% of Georgia’s children under the age of 13 in working families are in low-income working families. (GBPI 6-19-14)

 

Adjusted for inflation the average Georgia family makes over $6000 less than the average family did 10 years ago. (Politifact 1-23-14)

 

Nathan Deal will use a couple of rankings and some feel-good ads to justify another four years in office. But Georgia is lagging behind the rest of the nation and these numbers do not lie.

 

Georgia is headed in the wrong direction. But we don’t have to settle for Nathan Deal’s status quo.

 

With your help, and with your vote, we can fix this.

What’s wrong with them?

GOP NOT Welcome copy

 

Remember that GOP autopsy and subsequent “rebranding” attempt? If none of that rings familiar, don’t worry—Georgia Republicans seem to have completely forgotten as well.

 

Republicans in Georgia and at the national level have bragged about this rebranding project in an attempt to convince us that the GOP is a more tolerant, inclusive party.

 

About that…

 

Jody Hice is a Republican running to replace Paul Broun in Congress. Hice has a history of repulsive comments—he’s suggested that supporters of choice are worse than Hitler, compared being gay to beastiality and incest and said that he has no problem with women running for political office “if the woman’s within the authority of her husband.”

 

Now, Jody Hice has turned his attention to followers of the Islamic faith. Here’s what he had to say:

 

“Most people think Islam is a religion, it’s not. It’s a totalitarian way of life with a religious component. But it’s much larger. It’s a geo-political system that has governmental, financial, military, legal and religious components. And it’s a totalitarian system that encompasses every aspect of life and it should not be protected [under U.S. law].”

 

But he doesn’t stop there…

 

“…That’s why Islam would not qualify for First Amendment protection since it’s a geopolitical system … This is a huge thing to realize and I hope you do. This will impact our lives if we don’t get a handle on it.”

 

Message to the Georgia Republican Party—if you want your outreach efforts to be taken seriously, stop putting racists and right-wing fanatics on the ballot.

 

Just this weekend, Nathan Deal was spotted pallin’ around with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. When Huckabee expressed concern that the two being spotted together might hurt Deal’s reelection bid, Deal said “You helped me get there in the first place.”

 

Last Thursday, Huckabee—who Deal calls a “good friend”—compared the Republican fight against LGBT marriage equality to fighting against Nazi Germany.

 

Phil Kent, Republican talking head and Deal political appointee to the Georgia Immigration Enforcement Board—who has called Somali refugees “primitive people“—recently said the notion of all cultures being equal is a “great lie”.

 

But it should come as no surprise that this is the company that Nathan Deal keeps. After all, Deal has derided minority voters as “ghetto grandmothers” and talked about judging a child’s potential based solely on the way they look.

 

And in just a few weeks, the GOP will choose a candidate for U.S. Senate between the guy who wants underprivileged children to sweep the floors for their free or reduced lunch and the guy who makes fun of people who don’t have a college degree.

 

The second runner-up in that Senate race likes to post things like this about First Lady Michelle Obama on Facebook.

 

This is the Republican Party’s problem. The GOP would rather stick with a strategy of throwing red meat to the most extreme wing of their base with disgusting rhetoric than address the very real problems they have with women, people of color, and the LGBT community.

 

The Democratic Party of Georgia realizes that our Party is not perfect and there is much work to be done. But our progress has accelerated because of Georgia Democrats’ commitment to tolerance, inclusion, and values that seek to lift people up rather than tear them down.

 

This year, Georgia Democrats have a ballot that reflects the diversity of our Party and our state.

 

Georgia Republicans? Not. So. Much.

 

It certainly seems as though the Georgia Republican Party has given up any attempt to reach out to new voters. And with rhetoric like that of Jody Hice and the rest of this crew…that isn’t going to change any time soon.

 

 

What is Nathan Deal afraid of?

MORE THAN $3,000,000.

 

That’s the amount Georgia taxpayers are now on the hook for as a result of the Ethics Commission cover-up involving an investigation of Nathan Deal’s 2010 campaign finances.

 

Friday, Nathan Deal’s administration announced that it reached a multi-million dollar settlement with the two remaining CIVIL lawsuits against the state Ethics Commission. The state will also pay more than $400,000 to an ex-Ethics Commission attorney who only THREATENED to sue.

 

Last month, we learned that the final amount awarded to the ex-Ethics Commission head by a Fulton County jury would total to $1,150,000.

 

This brings the total—so far—to more than $3,000,000. That’s more than double the Ethics Commission entire $1,350,000 annual budget.

 

WATCH OUR VIDEO BELOW

 

What is Gov. Deal so afraid of? from Georgia Democrat on Vimeo.

A few weeks ago, Nathan Deal suggested stripping state employees of whistleblower protections—the same protections that allowed former Ethics Commission employees to bring this cover-up to light!

 

Even in the face of criticism, just today Deal doubled down on the proposed restrictions, saying “None of us want a situation where you have any agency within state government where someone cannot be fired for legitimate reasons and could seek the protection of the whistleblower statute as a defense to their being removed from their position. From that standpoint it needs to be looked at.”

 

Unbelievable.

 

Nathan Deal has claimed that he had “no involvement whatsoever”—which has turned out to be not the most factual statement—so we have a few questions…

 

If Nathan Deal claims no involvement whatsoever, then why is the state breaking its neck to settle these whistleblower lawsuits?

 

And if Nathan Deal has nothing to hide, why is he advocating the restriction of whistleblower protections?

 

This just isn’t adding up…

Release: DPG Chair Responds to News of Multi-Million Dollar Settlements in Ethics Lawsuits Involving Nathan Deal

Release:  Friday, June 13, 2014      

 

Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Responds to News of Multi-Million Dollar Settlements in Ethics Lawsuits Involving Nathan Deal

 

 

Atlanta, GA – Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter released the following statement in response to news that the State of Georgia will settle the two remaining civil lawsuits against its ethics commission. In May, the state agreed to pay former ethics commission head Stacey Kalberman $1.3 million. Reports say the second and third settlements will total $1.8 million—moving the final amount to more than $3 million. All three lawsuits are related to an investigation into Gov. Nathan Deal’s 2010 campaign.

 

“What I really have to say is not fit for print. It must be nice to not have to pay for your own ethics violations—but after decades of living off of taxpayer money, why wouldn’t Nathan Deal expect us to pay for this too?

 

“It’s reprehensible that hospitals are closing, students are being cheated out of the education they deserve, our state agencies have been stripped of funding to the point that we can’t protect children in danger, yet our governor can find enough money in our state budget to sweep his election-year headaches under the rug.

 

“Apparently an aversion to embarrassing ethics trials and a win-at-all-costs mindset are enough to burden taxpayers with the consequences of Nathan Deal’s own unethical behavior. But avoiding accountability as a campaign strategy is just flat out wrong. Voters won’t—and should not—forget this.”

 

 

 

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BACKGROUND

 

AJC 6/13/14 – State settles all remaining ethics commission cases

DPG 5/28/14 – Deal Finally Admits His Office Advised Ethics Commission on Replacing the Executive Director

WABE 5/22/14 – Campaign 2014: A Conversation with Republican Governor Nathan Deal

DPG via WSB – Nathan Deal Suggests New Restrictions for Good Government Whistleblowers

 

 

Release: DPG Chair Responds to News of Probable Million Dollar Settlement in Second Ethics Lawsuit Involving Nathan Deal

Release:  Friday, June 7, 2014        

                                                                                     

Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Responds to News of Probable Million Dollar Settlement in Second Ethics Lawsuit Involving Nathan Deal

Chairman DuBose Porter calls on Nathan Deal to be held accountable for his actions

 

Atlanta, GA – Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter released the following statement in response to news that state officials are preparing to pay out another $1 million settlement in yet another disturbing whistle-blower lawsuit involving an investigation of Gov. Nathan Deal’s campaign finances.

 

“The people of Georgia expect Nathan Deal to be held accountable for his actions—not taxpayers,” said Chairman Porter. “The Deal administration has now racked up a tab of more than $2 million in state funds and there are still more ethics lawsuits to be resolved.

 

“This week, the Muscogee County School District announced the loss of 69 teachers and school-based personnel. By my estimation, the taxpayer dollars used to bail Governor Deal out of ethics lawsuits could have been used to keep those teachers and other personnel in our schools. Voters and taxpayers have the right to be beyond angry at the Governor now.

 

“In addition to a multi-million dollar tab, Deal has given Georgians heartburn and proposals for even more secrecy in government. No wonder Nathan Deal wants to silence whistle-blowers—the more we learn about how Deal runs his administration, the more it costs the rest of us.”

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Deal Finally Admits His Office Advised Ethics Commission on Replacing the Executive Director

Nathan Deal Finally Admits His Office Advised Ethics Commission on Replacing the Executive Director; Now Wants to Restrict Rights of Whistle-blowers

 

In case you missed it last Thursday, WABE’s Dennis O’Hayer sat down with Gov. Nathan Deal to discuss the upcoming general election. During the interview, O’Hayer asked Deal about his involvement in the state ethics commission political payback scheme. Here’s what Deal said:

 

Deal: “My executive counsel got a phone call from a member of the ethics commission asking if he knew of anyone who might be interested in talking to them about a position with the commission.”

O’Hayer: “So you’re saying you did not initiate that?”

Deal: “No, not at all. I didn’t know about it until well after the fact. We get those kind of calls, from department heads and agencies, all the time. ‘Do you know of somebody in state government who might want to make a change, or might be looking to go to another type of agency?’ If that’s the involvement, that’s a very thin line to be able to place any responsibility on.

“He did understand that Holly LaBerge might be interested in moving from where she was with the public defender’s office. He relayed that information to the ethics commission, they made the judgment call … If that’s all that they can hang their hat on, that’s a very thin line.”

 

This month, the AJC reported that the governor’s office played a DIRECT role in recruiting ex-ethics commission head Stacey Kalberman’s replacement:

 

The line isn’t as slender as the governor might like. What Deal didn’t say was that Ryan Teague, the governor’s executive counsel, didn’t just pass LaBerge’s name along, but called her himself. LaBerge testified in Kalberman’s case that she was contacted by someone in the governor’s office, but said she didn’t remember who it was.

Deal’s office, however, told the AJC it was Teague.

Teague and the governor’s chief of staff, Chris Riley, also met with LaBerge, according to records.

 

 

That exchange is a FAR cry from last October when the governor said “I’m obviously an observer from the outside who is apparently getting credit for having done all this and I’ve had nothing to do with any of that.”

 

It appears that Nathan Deal not only wants to suppress the truth about his office’s involvement in the political payback scheme involving the state ethics commission—he is shifting the blame to the very people investigating him.

 

Just yesterday, Deal suggested the removal of protections afforded to “whistle-blowers”, saying:

 

“It’s certainly something that I think we need to look at – the circumstances that give rise to giving whistle-blower status to people who are charged with investigations. If that is the definition of who’s entitled to be a whistle-blower, than you have the inspector general’s office and you have the ethics commission, all of whom by the very nature of their job description, make them investigators. If by that job description we’ve automatically made them whistle-blowers, then that’s something that ought to be investigated as well.”

 

Nathan Deal Suggests New Restrictions for Good Government Whistleblowers from Georgia Democrat on Vimeo.

Sen. Jason Carter responded to Deal’s comments in a WSB interview, saying:

 

“To me, the whistle-blower parts of our ethics laws are some of the only parts that are working really well. The fact that Governor Deal wants to weaken them doesn’t make any sense.”

 

“I think we have to have tougher ethics laws and frankly more protection for whistle-blowers. The fact that the governor is responding to this ethics scandal by calling for weaker ethics laws is the wrong direction, and folks are going to see that.”

 

“The more people that are keeping their eyes on what politicians are doing, the better.”

 

In a poll released Monday by Rasmussen, a right-leaning firm favored by the GOP, Sen. Carter leads Gov. Deal in the general election matchup 48 percent to 41 percent. When asked “which candidate for governor do you trust more on government ethics and corruption”, respondents who identify themselves as Independents favored Sen. Carter by 10 points.

 

THAT’S NOT ALL—today, RealClearPolitics just moved this race from “Leans Republican” to “Toss Up.”

 

Voters are paying attention—and they know that our state cannot afford another four years of Nathan Deal’s unethical conduct.

 

Last week, it was reported that first trial concerning the political payback scheme involving an investigation of Nathan Deal’s 2010 campaign will cost state taxpayers a total of $1.15 million. This amount is almost as much as the entire ethics commission’s $1.35 million annual budget.

 

Two additional lawsuits involving the ethics commission and its Deal investigation are set to go to trial in June and October.

 

Georgians expect Gov. Deal to be truthful, accept responsibility for his failures and cooperate with any investigation. Instead, Deal successfully quashed his subpoena to testify in the Kalberman trial and is now targeting whistle-blowers for telling the truth.

 

Come November, with your help, voters will remind Nathan Deal that he was never the victim—the people of Georgia were.

 

 

Release: Georgia Federal Health Care Exchange Enrollment Surge Among Highest in Nation

 

Georgia Federal Health Care Exchange Enrollment Surge Among Highest in Nation

Chairman DuBose Porter says report is reality check that highlights urgent need for affordable health care in Georgia

 

Atlanta, GA – On the heels of a new report showing that Georgia had one the largest enrollment surges during the final weeks of open enrollment in the nation, Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter released the following statement in response.

 

“How much more evidence does Nathan Deal and the Georgia Republican Party need for them to admit there is an urgent need to expand access to affordable health care in our state,” said Chairman Porter. “This is a reality check—wake up. More than 316,000 Georgians have enrolled in the federal exchange, 177,000 at the very end.”

 

“Imagine how many Georgians could have peace of mind, imagine how many lives could be saved, imagine the financial security given to hospitals—especially rural hospitals—if our governor would buck up and expand Medicaid. Instead, Republicans in the state legislature enabled him to cower behind the political cover of his party. It’s gutless and it’s heartless.”

 

Georgia is one of 24 states that have refused to expand Medicaid. Days ago, Nathan Deal signed into law HB 990, legislation that removed the power to expand Medicaid from the governor’s office and placed it in the hands of the state legislature.

 

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BACKGROUND

 

HHS Enrollment Report

HHS 5/1/2014 – Enrollment in the Health Insurance Marketplace totals over 8 million people

HHS 5/1/2014 – Georgia Specific Data

AJC 5/2/2014 – Ga. sign-up surge among tops in U.S.

 

What Nathan Deal Thinks About Voting Rights

What Nathan Deal Thinks about Voting Rights

 

Today is the deadline to register to vote in the May 20 primary election.

 

Our position on voting rights is very clear: we have to ensure that every eligible voter can register, that every registered voter can vote, and that every vote is accurately counted.

 

That’s why we’re proud that Democratic candidate for Governor, Sen. Jason Carter, is a true voting rights advocate. As a lawyer, he did pro bono work on a legal challenge to a Republican-backed voter ID law. The service earned him the Stuart Eizenstat Young Lawyer Award from the Anti-Defamation League. As a Georgia Senator, he has fought for increased access to the ballot and against an overly partisan gerrymandering of our legislative and congressional districts.

 

Today, Sen. Jason Carter said, “The right to vote is the foundation of our democracy. Civil rights icons like Martin Luther King and John Lewis fought hard to make sure that every eligible voter could cast their ballot without impediment, and it’s up to us to defend and build upon that progress.”

 

Georgia Republicans have a drastically different take on voting rights. Since Gov. Nathan Deal took office, the GA GOP has led the charge to limit your rights, making the process more complicated and creating barriers like voter-ID laws that prevent too many Georgians from casting a ballot. Just this year, Republicans attempted to shorten early voting from twenty-one days to six days.

 

And what are Nathan Deal’s personal views on voting rights? Here’s what he said about discriminatory voter-ID laws:

 

Deal Grandmother Watch

 

“We got all the complaints of the ghetto grandmothers who didn’t have birth certificates and all that. We wrote some very liberal language as to how you can verify it. My mother was born in 1906 and she didn’t have a birth certificate. They didn’t give birth certificates back then. But we got her one, because you can do it under the proper procedures of your state.”

 

For many Georgia voters, obtaining the ID needed to cast their vote is difficult. In fact, more than 16 percent of voting-age Georgians live more than ten miles from a state-ID issuing office and have no access to a vehicle.

 

Sen. Carter and Georgia Democrats believe your right to vote is sacred and we will continue to seek out ways to expand ballot access to all those who are eligible to register and to vote.

 

If you, a friend, a family member, or a neighbor have yet to register to vote, you can do so here. If you are already registered, check your registration status here.

A watchdog not controlled by those in power

The following is an op-ed  published in the AJC by Senate Leader Steve Henson

 

A watchdog not controlled by those in power

 

Honesty and transparency in government should be a cornerstone of a democracy. Transparency is what protects us all from corruption. No one or nothing should be excused from this scrutiny. It is what the delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention had in mind when they framed our government.

In a transparent government, there is no place for sweetheart deals, cronyism, or pay-to-play legislation. There is no place for shady maneuvering in order to protect those in elected office. We are elected to represent the citizens, and no one’s political career or personal or business interests should trump the best representation we can provide to our constituencies.

The past few years have revealed an inadequacy of ethics enforcement in Georgia government. Allegations and findings of misconduct require our immediate attention. There is simply no reason not to have a government process that is open and transparent, unless you have something to hide.

The restoration of the public’s trust and confidence through meaningful ethics reform is imperative to restore and re-energize citizen participation in government. It is imperative to hold together our democracy.

Senate Democrats have renewed our call for an independent state ethics commission after a trial found the secretary general of the ethics commission was unfairly treated when she began investigating Gov. Nathan Deal’s campaign fundraising. The jury found that Stacey Kalberman should be paid $700,000, in addition to legal fees.

Three additional cases, with similar sets of facts, will play out this summer. The cost to the taxpayers will likely exceed $2 million — money that could have been used to end the backlog of ethics cases and enhance the funding of the ethics commission.

Governor Deal and the Georgia Legislature must not allow the reality or perception that political and personal interests are placed over those of the citizens of Georgia.

The people of Georgia deserve ethics enforcement that is unbiased and not controlled by the very people it’s investigating. While the governor tries to distance himself from the case, saying this is an internal administration squabble, the truth is the squabble was created by an investigation of his actions. Is it in the best interest of government transparency that the governor appoints three of the five members of the ethics commission and recommends what their annual budget will be each year?

Democrats recognize that politics can never be fully removed from the political process, but we believe there are ways we can make our government more open and more transparent. We can create a more independent ethics commission. We can provide a funding formula so the commission’s budget is not dependent on political maneuvering.

For several years, we have proposed legislation that would legitimize ethics enforcement in Georgia by removing control of the ethics process from those subject to its power. Instead of a commission appointed by legislators or the governor, Democrats have proposed the creation an ethics commission appointed by the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court and the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals, who would be instructed to strive for diversity on the commission and 180 days to adjudicate claims.

Georgia Democrats have been moving forward on improving ethics for decades by advancing financial disclosures of elected officials and lobbyists; capping the amount of political contributions; and, preventing campaign contributions during the legislative session. We were leaders in the introduction of legislation in the recent fight to limit lobbyist gifts to legislators, and we will continue to fight to make any state agency charged with the responsibility to watch over our activities to be independent and effective.

It is time to restore public trust in governance. The governor should ask for the resignation of the present members of the ethics commission and work with other leaders in the state to appoint new members that will restore public trust. He should support a new proposal that removes his office and the Legislature from the appointment process of this agency. Now is the time to act to improve the state’s government transparency and ethics.

DPG Chair Responds to Verdict in Ethics Trial Related to Gov. Nathan Deal


Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Responds to Verdict in Ethics Trial Related to Gov. Nathan Deal

Chairman DuBose Porter says Georgia taxpayers are forced to pay the price for Deal’s political gamesmanship

 

Atlanta, GA – Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter released the following statement in response to a Fulton County jury ordering the state to pay former ethics commission director Stacey Kalberman $700,000 for wrongful termination. Kalberman testified that she was forced out of her job after she called for an investigation into Gov. Nathan Deal’s 2010 campaign.

 

“I’m afraid that this decision is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Chairman Porter. “Georgians are just now starting to get answers about the culture of political retribution from the Governor’s office. Unfortunately, this answer came with a $700,000 price tag that Georgia taxpayers are forced to pay all because Nathan Deal’s administration wouldn’t let the ethics commission do its job.”

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Governor Deal’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

ATLANTA—Facing a barrage of news exposing his failures as leader and a trial exposing his meddling with an ethics investigation of his campaign, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal is having a bad week.

 

The Deal Ethics Trial

Deal Ethics Screenshot


Deal caught a break early in the week when his lawyers successfully suppressed a subpoena for him to testify in the ethics trial. But that luck quickly dried up, after witness after witness implicated Deal and his staff in a coordinated effort to stymie an ethics inquiry into his campaign’s improper activities.

 

Even Deal’s ally, former Ethics Commission Chairman Patrick Millsaps, admitted under oath that actions by the governor’s office to replace the lead investigators on the commission “doesn’t pass the smell test.”

 

“Gov. Deal may have ducked having to testify, but he’s still the elephant in the courtroom,” said DuBose Porter, chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia.

 

Witnesses in the trial have testified that the commission’s two senior staff were forced out the door after initiating investigations of the Deal campaign. Deal’s office hand-picked a new director who quickly ended the investigation, witnesses say.

 

More Bad News at Every Turn

 

Deal was caught flat-footed after failing to advance key legislative issues that he suddenly found out were important to Georgia voters.

 

Under pressure for failing to push forward a measure to allow medical marijuana for children suffering from severe seizure disorders, Deal announced he would seek executive action on the issue. But that effort was dealt a blow by former Georgia Supreme Court Justice Leah Ward Sears, who told WABE that the governor would be overstepping his authority. “[T]his kind of thing would be invading the province of the legislature, and I don’t think the executive can do that,” Ward Sears said.

 

Deal woke up on Saturday to a headline in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution revealing the state is wasting millions of dollars each year in food stamps overpayments. The huge waste comes to light during a mismanagement crisis where there is a 30,000 person backlog and thousands of calls are going unanswered at the agency responsible for administering food stamps. “This is a very dramatic wrong turn,” said an expert in Georgia’s food stamp system about the waste, which amounted to $138 million last year. “It’s unusual to see a state deteriorate this far this fast.” The mismanagement has put $76 million in federal funding at risk.

 

Deal’s week wasn’t much better outside of Atlanta. His knee-jerk response Savannah Harbor deepening project setback has landed him in hot water, with reality colliding with Deal’s rhetoric. Deal’s actions “could saddle the state with poisoned property and thorny legal problems,” the AJC reports.

 

Polling Doldrums

 

Deal had already started the week down, in the aftermath of a poll showing that four in ten likely Republican voters won’t commit to voting for Deal in the GOP primary, where he faces two challengers.

 

Then WSB-TV released a new poll showing Deal neck and neck with his challenger, State Sen. Jason Carter. That puts him in what is traditionally a dangerous zone for incumbents, and demonstrates Georgia voters’ remarkable lack of confidence in Deal’s ability to address the state’s challenges. Deal has some of the lowest approval ratings for any incumbent governor facing reelection in the nation.

 

Nathan Deal’s Georgia: Where “Swing and a Miss” Becomes the Status Quo

Release:  Thursday, February 13, 2014     

 

Nathan Deal’s Georgia:  Where “Swing and a Miss” Becomes the Status Quo 

Chairman Porter asks “What has Nathan Deal been doing for the last three years?”

 

Atlanta, GA – Today, Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter expressed concerns that under the leadership of Gov. Nathan Deal, Georgia has set its bar of expectations too low.

 

“What has our state come to when we’re thankful when the governor actually did his job,” asked Chairman Porter. “When you have a leader who gets it right the first time, your state doesn’t end up in the bottom percentile of every ranking that matters.”

 

Chairman Porter also questioned why Governor Nathan Deal failed to use an emergency weather alert system during last month’s severe winter storm that was approved for use in 2012.

 

“What has Nathan Deal been doing for the last three years—because it sure hasn’t been governing,” said Chairman Porter. “This technology was given the green light two years ago, yet reports say the system hasn’t even been configured or tested. Imagine how many families could have avoided being stranded on the roads if we had a governor capable enough to use the scientific advances the 21st century has afforded us.”

 

Similar to an Amber Alert, the emergency weather alert system sends push notifications to cellphones using GPS technology. The system was successfully used in the Northeast during 2012’s Hurricane Sandy and last year in Colorado to send flood warnings.

 

“Deal’s handling of last month’s winter storm was a national disgrace and every day brings another reason why,” continued Chairman Porter. “Georgia needs a governor who realizes that emergency management is about action, not press conferences or photo ops. We need a decisive leader who can tackle the real problems we face, not a politician who pretends to be a leader on TV.”

 

The Chairman concluded by pointing to the running theme of Nathan Deal’s term as governor—bad judgment, followed by apologies, followed by being dragged kicking and screaming to do what was right all along.

 

“Deal got it wrong on HOPE, state employee benefits, funding for education, support for rural hospitals—the list goes on,” said the Chairman. “When the failures of his policies are pointed out, he does a flip-flop and pretends the right call was his idea the whole time.”

 

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Background

 

AJC 2/9/2014:  Snowjam? There’s an App for that

Georgia received federal approval to use the technology, which resembles the “Amber alert” system for missing children, in 2012. It puts a big, type message on the phone’s home screen, accompanied by a distinctive sound and a vibration. The alert goes to cell phones within a given geographic area automatically, without the users having signed up for the service.

 

GPB 1/31/2014:  State Leaders Demand Better Emergency Planning, But At What Price Tag?

 

WABE 2/3/2014:  Senate Democrats Call for More ‘Independent’ Storm Response Task Force

 

AJC 1/31/2014:  Democratic poll: 63% of metro Atlanta voters say Nathan Deal flunked his own ice storm test

73 percent of voters in the snow-affected areas of metro Atlanta rated the performance of Deal, the state Department of Transportation and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency as fair or poor. Statewide, 63 percent disapproved.

 

AJC 1/30/2014:  Governor’s staff began raising questions about storm Monday

 

GA Health News 1/27/2014:  State moves swiftly to adjust employee plan

 

GBPI November 2013:  Cutting Class to Make Ends Meet

 

GBPI September 2013:  The Schoolhouse Squeeze

 

AJC 6/8/13:  Amid budget cuts, teachers struggle with larger classes

 

Athens Banner-Herald 10/27/13:  About half students who lost HOPE grants did not return to school

Release: DPG Chairman Responds to News of Federal Subpoenas of State Ethics Commission Employees

Democratic Party of Georgia Chairman DuBose Porter Responds to News of Federal Subpoenas of State Ethics Commission Employees

 

Atlanta, GA –  Tonight, news broke that at least five high-ranking employees of  Georgia’s state ethics commission, including commission head Holly LaBerge, have received federal grand jury subpoenas for documents related to the alleged disappearance of evidence with regard to Governor Nathan Deal’s campaign finances.

Democratic Party of Georgia Chairman DuBose Porter released the following statement:

“The same behavior that forced Nathan Deal to resign from Congress has now shown up in the way he conducts his administration as Governor,“  said Democratic Party Chair DuBose Porter. “The issue of federal subpoenas is troubling. Every Georgian should pay close attention so that history does not repeat itself in the ethics commission.”

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BACKGROUND:

 

New York Times 5/29/10:  Ethics Report Faults Ex-Congressman

Nathan Deal, a former Republican congressman who is running for Georgia governor, resigned from the House last week in a move that seemed certain to end an ethics investigation that could have proved politically embarrassing.

But on Monday, the Office of Congressional Ethics released its report anyway, concluding that Mr. Deal appeared to have improperly used his office to pressure Georgia officials to continue a vehicle inspection program that generated hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for his family’s auto salvage business.

Washington Post 4/1/2010:  Resignation ends ethics probe of ex-Rep. Nathan Deal

Georgia Republican Rep. Nathan Deal might have had that solution in mind when he resigned March 21, just minutes before the ethics committee faced a deadline to act in his case. Fortunately for the citizens of his state, and unfortunately for Mr. Deal, a new ethics watchdog, the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), did not drop the matter. The office, an independent panel created by a 2007 ethics and lobbying reform law, conducts investigations and makes recommendations for further action to the House Ethics Committee. Five days after Mr. Deal’s resignation, the OCE voted to release the review it had sent in January to the ethics panel, finding “substantial reason to believe” that Mr. Deal, who is running for governor of Georgia, might have violated ethics rules.

 

AJC 12/11/13:  FBI subpoenas current and former state ethics officials

At least five current and former state ethics officials have been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned.

Commission attorney Elisabeth Murray-Obertein told the AJC on Wednesday that she and executive secretary Holly LaBerge were served in the commission office. John Hair, a former ethics IT staffer, also said Wednesday he received a subpoena.

 

AP 12/11/13:  Subpoenas related to Ga. gov’s ethics complaints

Two employees of the state ethics commission have received federal grand jury subpoenas seeking documents regarding ethics complaints involving Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, according to two people with knowledge of the case.

The commission’s executive secretary, Holly LaBerge, received a subpoena Wednesday, a person with direct knowledge of the case told The Associated Press. The AP obtained a copy of the federal grand jury subpoena for staff attorney Elisabeth Murray-Obertein from a person familiar with the case. The two individuals spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly.