The Georgia Transparency and Campaign Finance Committee on Monday, March 21 voted unanimously to move the case for alleged campaign finance violations against Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. to the next higher authority.
The Office of State Administration of Hearings will determine whether to pursue criminal charges or civil fines against the mayor and businessman James McKinnon of Cardinale Management, which owns Regency Mall.
Former Mayor’s Office employee Tonia Gibbons also attended the hearing. The Ethics committee also was looking into her involvement in the alleged misuse of campaign funds during her employment in the Mayor’s Office, but members removed Gibbons from the complaint. They found that she was doing her job as an employee and following the mayor’s direction.
In the first matter before the commission, allegations that Davis improperly filing campaign documents and raising and spending unreported campaign money, the mayor pleaded “consent,” which is the equivalent to “nolo contendere” in a criminal matter.
A consent plea means the commission will levy a fine at a later date and that the mayor will not have to present a defense for where he spent the money. He will also avoid criminal prosecution with his plea.
In documents filed, the mayor claimed the money was spent as part of his duties as acting mayor.
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In the second complaint, attorney for the commission, Joe Cusak, presented a case that he said proved that Davis was in collusion with McKinnon to create a billboard campaign using what is termed ‘dark’ or undisclosed money.
“The evidence shows through invoices and emails that a fictional entity, the Concerned Citizens of Richmond County, paid for two billboards to sway voters to approve moving the James Brown Arena to the Regency Mall site,” Cusak told the commission.
Under Georgia law, a single individual could purchase such a billboard, but if more than one person is involved, the effort is considered a “ballot committee,” and they must register with the Richmond County Elections Board at least 15 days before the election or referendum.
Cusak maintained that Davis tried to cover up his involvement in the scheme by using his personal email account to communicate, knowing such emails cannot be requested as part of an open records request.
Davis’ attorney, Ed Tarver, sought to prove that McKinnon was the sole mastermind behind the billboards, stating that, as owner of the defunct mall property, his company was seeking a buyer or someone who would sign a long term lease on the approximately 70 acres in south Augusta.
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However, McKinnon, who resides in New York state, has not responded to a subpoena from the commission, and Tarver could not produce any document that showed McKinnon paid for the billboards out of his own pocket.
Tarver did admit that Davis used city funds to have renderings or mock ups of the proposed new Arena drawn up and that those renderings were available to the public and the media. The admission may come back to haunt Davis, since the body that oversees the arena did not commission the renderings and neither did the Augusta Commission.
Under the city charter, the mayor does not have the authority to commission such architectural studies on his own.
The decision allows Cusak’s office the ability to broaden their investigation into any other possible actions by the mayor. Attorneys for the state also now have the ability to interview witnesses who have recently come forward with allegations against Davis.
As the decision was rendered, Davis could be seen placing his head in his hands.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
