Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. is asking a judge to toss out a lawsuit filed by The Augusta Press over the denial of access to financial information related to the Augusta Mayor’s Masters Reception.
The motion to dismissed was filed June 22 in the Richmond County Superior Court case. It alleges the financial records of the Augusta Mayor’s Masters Reception are not covered by the state’s Open Records Act because it is a private, non-profit corporation that does not contract with the city, does not function on the city’s behalf and does not get at least one-third of its funding from taxpayers’ funds.
The mayor’s master reception began in 1999 under Mayor Bob Young. It has always been an open-to-the-public event to celebrate the start of the annual golfing event that has put Augusta on the map.
In 2016, Davis made some changes to the event such as bringing in a major musical act, and the Augusta Mayor’s Masters Reception was incorporated with the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office. Davis’ former staffer Tonia Gibbons is named as the chief executive officer and secretary with an address that is the city’s Municipal Building. The corporate office is the office of the attorney representing Davis in this and other legal action, former U.S. Attorney Ed Tarver. Gibbons is now a private consultant who has received payments from the city’s coffers.
According to the motion to dismiss The Press’ lawsuit, the Augusta Mayor’s Masters Reception is only organized to provided one event each year.
The city of Augusta contributed $5,000 for the event this year. A former staff member of Davis’ office told The Augusta Press earlier this year that more than $100,000 was privately donated. The Augusta Press filed Open Records requests to review the Augusta Mayor’s Masters Receptions’ financial records.
According to the motion to dismiss, while the Augusta Mayor’s Masters Reception is registered as a nonprofit with the state of Georgia, it is not registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt nonprofit. According to IRS regulations, no donor can claim a tax deduction for money given to the Augusta Mayor’s Masters Reception.
Davis’ motion to dismiss the lawsuit accuses The Augusta Press of filing Open Record requests to “harass, intimidate and coerce” the mayor by filing 115 Open Records requests since 2020. Several times The Augusta Press has threatened to file suits that would seek the imposition of a $1,000 penalty for filing the Open Records Act and attorney fees, the motion states.
The motion to dismiss contends the lawsuit over the records of the Augusta Mayor’s Masters Reception has no legal justification and was filed “in an attempt to bully … for complete and unfettered access to the records of a nonprofit organization…”
The motion to dismiss also contends The Augusta Press’ lawsuit over access to the Augusta Mayor’s Masters Reception financial information has needlessly cost taxpayers’ funds. The lawsuit names Davis, Gibbons and the Augusta Mayor’s Masters Reception as defendants.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.Â
