Whatever Will The Georgia Reporter Report On Now?The following letter is from
State Senate Majority Leader Bill Stephens. It concerns some allegations first brought to light in the midst of the election for a new Majority Leader back in June of this year. Those allegations, while made from a Democrat-controlled Website, were made in the hopes of helping-out Senator Stephens' Republican opposition.
This letter by Senator Stephens addresses those allegations and should put to rest any doubt in anyone's mind as to the true nature of Senator Stephens' character. Rather than quote excerpts from it, the Political Vine has decided to re-print the letter in its entirety so that nothing can be misconstrued. Oh...and to those individuals who may be waiting for the "other shoe to drop," you might find it useful to pick-up the first shoe and insert it in your own mouth; do let us know if you need any help. ;-)
Statement from Senate Majority Leader Bill Stephens
October 10, 2003Friends and colleagues:The time has come for me to set the record straight regarding accusations made against me some four months ago.
I said at that time that, “when you are in a position of leadership, or seeking a position of leadership, such attacks are to be expected. How you respond often says as much as anything.” I also said that “I want to assure the people of Georgia that I take these allegations seriously” and will “respond accordingly.” Today, I am pleased to be able to make that response.
For the past several months, I have remained silent on these allegations. The reason I have not spoken out before now is this: You deserve the truth. And as frustrating as this has been for me personally, I felt it was important to allow the attorneys, accountants, and financial advisors time to conduct a thorough, independent investigation. Failure to do that would create more doubt and confusion, and Lord only knows we have enough of that in politics already.
Silence comes with a price, and I have paid for that in terms of allowing a certain amount of doubt in the minds of my friends, colleagues, those in the media and others. Even with that, however, I thought it was important to conduct a thorough investigation and to address forthrightly these questions. That is why, immediately upon becoming aware of these allegations, I retained
Randy Evans and Doug Chalmers of the law firm
Arnall Golden & Gregory LLP.
These attorneys are nationally known experts on professional and government ethics. Among others, they have represented U.S. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert; Former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich; U. S. Senator Zell Miller; Governor Sonny Perdue’s campaign; U.S. House Majority Whip Roy Blunt; Former GOP Conference Chairman U. S. Representative J. C. Watts; and other prominent individuals in business and politics. Mr. Evans recently briefed Speaker Hastert’s position regarding the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act before the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Chalmers has represented Governor Perdue’s campaign in proceedings before the State Ethics Commission.
I charged these attorneys, together with an accountant and a CPA firm of their choosing, with the mission of conducting a thorough, comprehensive, forensic review of my political, business and personal financial records covering a six-year period of time commencing with when I became a candidate for State Senate. I am not aware of another public official who has voluntarily subjected himself or herself to such a comprehensive review. I gave them complete access to all records and asked them to provide me with a report which set forth all of the facts, whether or not those facts were favorable to me. I also asked them to prepare the appropriate response and reply to the ethics complaint filed with the State Ethics Commission.
The attorneys and their accountants have completed their report, and an initial response to the ethics charges has been provided to the State Ethics Commission. I have studied the report closely, and I am pleased by a number of its conclusions.
First and foremost, with respect to the allegations concerning my campaign’s finances, I am pleased that the investigation found
absolutely no evidence of improper use of campaign funds for personal profit. Indeed, the investigation found that the Campaign still owes me for repayments of loans that I made to the campaign and for reimbursement of expenses I incurred on behalf of the Campaign.
In order to avoid creating even an appearance of impropriety, however, I intend to forego paying myself any of the more than $32,000 to which I am entitled under the law. I was confident that the investigation would exonerate me on this issue, and I am pleased that the records show that I did not pay myself more than the amounts to which I was entitled.
With the respect to the allegations that I received favorable treatment from two North Georgia banks on personal loans, I am also pleased that the investigation found that I paid all amounts owed under the loans in question, including all penalties and interest. I am also pleased that the investigation confirmed that I did not use my position as a state Senator to pressure them to provide any special treatment. While I remain embarrassed that I encountered financial difficulties which caused a default on these two loans, I was determined to do what I would hope any other Georgian would do in facing that same difficulty, that is pick myself up and pay every penny owed. It was difficult, but I did so. Believe me, I now have a new empathy for those that face family illnesses, delays in starting new businesses, business layoffs and tough economic times and then come out stronger because of those challenges.
The report is also clear, however, that my previous campaign disclosure reports did not accurately reflect the amounts that I loaned to the campaign and paid on behalf of the campaign, as well as the amounts that were reimbursed to me. There is no excuse for this, and I take responsibility for the reporting errors that occurred. I am disappointed that my campaign staff and I allowed this to occur, but as they say in the Navy, “it happened on my watch.” I have directed my attorneys to disclose fully the results of their investigation to the staff of the State Ethics Commission. My legal counsel and I have met with the staff to discuss these issues, and we stand ready to provide any additional information the Commission may need in order to resolve this issue.
I am also taking aggressive action to amend my previous campaign finance disclosure reports. As I previously noted, this investigation has been exhaustive, extensive and expensive...covering a six-year period going back to 1997. I have ordered amended disclosure reports be filed to correct the inaccuracies uncovered by that review.
In addition, I have also implemented new procedures that will ensure that my future campaign disclosure reports accurately reflect my campaign finances. Specifically, I have ordered my campaign staff, attorneys and accountants to implement a system of procedures and controls that include having all disclosure reports reviewed by legal counsel before filing. In addition, all campaign-related expenditures will be authorized and made by the campaign’s treasurer, and an audit of all campaign records by a CPA firm will occur at least twice per year in order to match all records with the disclosures.
Now, what should take place when something like this occurs is this: You take responsibility, you learn your lessons, and you take your knocks and you move on. I heard someone say the other day that “people don’t expect their elected officials to be superhuman or infallible, but they do expect them to be honest.” I agree with that, and I have been honest and forthright in addressing this situation.
I have a great deal that I want to accomplish with you, and for Georgia, over the next few years. Good Lord willing, that’s exactly what I intend to do. As a Senator, I will continue to aggressively represent the people of my North Georgia District. As Senate Majority Leader, I will fulfill my responsibility to the Senate, to the Caucus and to all the people of Georgia.
Finally, as a human being given the opportunity for political leadership, I will move forward with even more focus and determination, regardless of partisan challenges, personal attacks or any other obstacle placed in the way of making Georgia better.
I hope you believe, as I do, that Georgia’s best days lie ahead.
Thank you.
A Website So You Won't Forget...Blood of Heroes.
6th District Voter ToolCobb County GOP Activist Norman Watson has developed a Website designed to help encourage voter interaction with the candidates for Georgia's 6th District Congressional seat:
Team GOP. This site will have a calendar for candidate meeting dates, a message board so you can leave comments or questions and a voting area for you to vote for your candidate. There will also have a news area where each candidate can post their own article. I hope you will take advantage of this site to post messages, get to know the candidates and vote.
Georgia Public Policy Foundation Hosts Conference At Cobb County's Galleria (and this is one Anthony-Scott Hobbs had absolutely zero to do with)
The
Georgia Public Policy Foundation, in partnership with
Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his Center for Health Transformation, will host a daylong conference October 23 at the Cobb Galleria Centre to focus on cost-effective health care choices for consumers.
"Transforming Health and Health Care in Georgia," from 9 a.m.to 5 p.m., will include panel discussions, a three-hour afternoon workshop hosted by Gingrich and a luncheon address by Gov. Sonny Perdue and Gingrich. The registration deadline is October 20; $125 fee includes the luncheon. Register at 404-256-4050 or go to the
GPPF Website.
[
PV Reminder: Allow us to repeat this, though Governor Perdue will be appearing in Cobb County to speak at a conference, Anthony-Scott Hobbs had absolutely
nothing (as in, nada...zero...zilch, etc.) to do with this event on October 23. As an aside, Hobbs also had nothing to do with "spearheading" last week's fundraiser for Governor Perdue held at Robert Moultrie's home on October 8 as Hobbs claims. The event's location and logistics were decided at least 3 weeks
prior to Mr. Hobbs begging to get on the host list. As another aside, Mr. Hobbs did not, as he has previously boasted, raise "$40,000" at the 2002 Cobb GOP holiday fundraiser. In fact, based on the accounting reports provided by Mr. Hobbs, the Cobb GOP has, instead of raising money, lost money, either by spending funds carelessly, or by spending funds in ways that anyone would frown upon. Anyone who believes anything Mr. Hobbs says in his capacity as Cobb GOP party chief about anything from this point forward should be duly warned that he is about as reliable and trustworthy as those gypsies who come around trying to sell aluminum siding to senior citizens. Actually, on second thought, he bears a striking resemblance to them in his complete demeanor. But, we will be covering more of the
Misadventures of the Cobb County FUBAR-ites in later issues. Stay tuned...]
Buckhead YRs Meeting NoticeOCTOBER MEETING- October 14, 2003: The Meeting will start at 7:30 pm with a social period beginning at 7:00 at
Rio Grande Cantina (across the street from the old Rio Bravo), 3227 Roswell Road. (404) 237-5020.
The Buckhead Young Republicans would like to welcome
Herman Cain to our October meeting to discuss his current run for the U.S. Senate.
Herman Cain grew up in Georgia with a wonderful set of parents and little else. Cain’s father would work three jobs because he wanted his family to have more opportunity. As a result of his dad’s influence, Cain earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Morehouse College in 1967. He earned a master's degree while working as a mathematician for the Department of the Navy. Upon graduation, he worked as a business analyst for The Coca-Cola Company. In 1968, he married Gloria Etchison; they have two grown children. In 1977, Cain joined The Pillsbury Company at age 31. Within three years he rose to the position of Vice President of Corporate Systems and Services.He resigned his senior position in 1982 to seek additional career challenges in the restaurant industry.
Cain started from the ground up by making hamburgers at Pillsbury's Burger King division. Nine months later, he was managing 400 Burger King units in the Philadelphia region, the company's poorest performer.Within three years, his region was ranked number one. In 1986, Cain was appointed president of then financially troubled Godfather's Pizza, Inc. chain headquartered in Omaha. In 14 months, the chain regained profitability. He led his executive team in a buyout of the company from Pillsbury in 1988. Cain was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Restaurant Association (NRA) in 1988 and he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors from 1994 to 1995. While leading this association, he developed the organization into a pro-business voice via national debates and speeches concerning health care reform, employment policies and taxation. Following this experience, he was appointed to serve on the Economic Growth and Tax Reform Commission. He then became a senior advisor to the 1996 Dole/Kemp campaign for the Presidency.
While continuing as President and Chairman of Godfather's Pizza, Inc., Cain began a second career delivering national keynote speeches. Using his messages as the foundation, he created T.H.E., Inc. and he has authored three books on topics ranging from leadership to self-empowerment. In 2002, he became an Executive Lecturer for the Gallup Organization.
In 1996, Cain became CEO and president of the NRA for two and a half years. He became the only volunteer chairman to become the full-time CEO and president of the Association while still a member of the Board. Cain sought to leverage his restaurant experience with the technology market when he became CEO and president of RetailDNA in 1999.
Despite his global industry reach, Cain devotes time and energy to his family and indulges his passion for concert singing as well as many community projects. He remains Chairman of the Board of Godfather's Pizza, serves on the Boards of Directors of several Fortune 500 Companies and he is an associate pastor of Antioch Baptist Church North, Atlanta.
