Ethics Commission settles campaign finance case against John Oxendine

ATLANTA – The longest operating marketing campaign finance case in Georgia Ethics Fee historical past has come to an finish.

The Fee voted to settle a case that has dragged on for some 13 years towards former Insurance coverage Commissioner and Gubernatorial candidate John Oxendine.

The fee, that when accused Oxendine of illegally spending almost $100,000 in marketing campaign donations on a house down fee, fancy automobiles, an athletic membership and baby care bills – settled the case, not with a bang, however a whisper.   

“It is simply principally flip it over, no matter is left, to make it go away, stated Commissioner Rick Thompson.

John Oxendine was in his 30s when he burst onto the Georgia political scene. 

He was elected Georgia’s Insurance coverage Commissioner 4 consecutive phrases, after which ran for Governor.

In 2010 Nathan Deal gained the republican major in a run-off and later was elected Governor.  Oxendine completed again within the pack.

That run for Governor result in one among two ethics complaints towards Oxendine. 

However the circumstances dragged on for years, stymied by seemingly limitless workers controversy and turnover after which COVID. 

Thursday, the Fee introduced a settlement settlement by which the fee dropped its marketing campaign finance case towards Oxendine who in flip agreed to close down his previous marketing campaign account and ahead the remaining marketing campaign donations to the state. Roughly $128,000 {dollars}.

“My shopper is happy with the outcomes as a result of all of the allegations which have been asserted towards him over the previous 13 years have now been dismissed. We’ve got no findings of any violations or any penalties. He is now in a position to put the 2010 Gubernatorial election behind him,” stated Oxendine’s legal professional Doug Chalmers.  

The vote was 4-1 to just accept the settlement, with commissioner Rick Thompson who was the fee director when the case was first filed, voting no. 

“I do really feel it’s considerably irritating, there isn’t any admission of wrongdoing, and we’re not even calling this a penalty,” stated Thompson.

However, deputy govt director Robert Lane says it’s a win-win for everybody concerned.

 (What does state get out of this?) The state will get a bit of underneath $132,000 and for that the state can present that we aren’t going let anybody misuse marketing campaign funds irrespective of how lengthy it takes.