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DEL.ICIO.USWitness recalls questionable contributions
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A former campaign manager testified today that Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell relied on questionable campaign contributions to fund his re-election bid in 1997.
Atlanta attorney Kevin Ross, called as a prosecution witness, said Campbell was desperately trying to hold on to his reign as mayor, which appeared to be slipping when he failed to garner half the votes to win re-election on Nov. 4, 1997.
The campaign needed more money for a runoff — and fast, Ross said. He said the money came in the form of questionable campaign contributions.
Ross said he later realized that Steve Labovitz, the mayor’s golfing buddy and campaign treasurer, had signed several money orders and cashiers checks in various people’s names and totaling more than $100,000.
Ross said $5,000 appeared to be donated by five members of the mayor’s family, but none of the relatives had actually contributed the money, a point on which attorneys for both sides agreed.
Campbell is charged with racketeering, including taking more than $160,000 in payoffs and $137,000 in illegal campaign contributions. He has pleaded not guilty.
His defense attorneys, led by Billy Martin, told jurors Monday that there were excessive contributions that exceeded limits allowed by state law but that Campbell didn’t know about them. Martin also derided the prosecution for bring up Labovitz’s name since he has not been charged with any crime.
Ross, who first took the witness stand Monday, continued his testimony today, describing a state of panic and low morale as Campbell tried to quickly gear up for the 1997 runoff.
“We felt like we were in trouble,” Ross said after learning that more than half of the votes cast had been for someone other than Campbell, who netted 43 percent of the votes.
The election night party at the Hyatt Regency downtown began as a celebration, but when election results came in it soon turned to a somber meeting to strategize about the runoff, Ross said.
The campaign needed more money and energy, Ross testified.
“The mayor was worried about the fact that we needed to raise this money,” he told the seven-man, five-woman jury seated in the Richard B. Russell Federal Building.
Later one morning, former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson, who backed Campbell in the mayoral race, stopped by the campaign headquarters and found that no one had arrived to work yet, Ross said. He said Jackson told Campbell, who was enraged.
Campbell assembled campaign workers, telling them he expected them all to work hard without excuses about childcare needs, church events or sickness, Ross testified. “A number of them were crying,” he said.
Thousands of dollars soon poured in, with much of it coming from the cashiers checks and money orders in Labovitz’s handwriting, Ross said.
Campbell won the runoff, beating out Marvin Arrington on Nov. 25, 1997. Yet still more money was needed. The campaign had raised $3 million but was left with an $80,000 debt, Ross said. He said he wanted to take a closer look at expenditures, but Campbell told him not to.
Labovitz sent out a memo to staffers suggesting it would be a good time to ask for donations from people who had failed to support the mayor or who didn’t give “to the best of their abilities” so they could “see the error of their ways,” according to the memo displayed for jurors.
Ross testified that The Committee To Elect Bill Campbell reported that it raised $163,000 in 1998, the year after Campbell was re-elected, to pay off the campaign debt, and in 1999, the committee reported raising an additional $91,000, even though Campbell could not run for re-election.
Ross said he never had discussions with Campbell about contributions to his campaign during the 1997 race, but Ross, who managed both the 1993 and 1997 races for the mayor, said he did talk to Campbell about his contributors. Ross said Campbell implied those contributors received favorable treatment.
“He was inclined to be supportive of people who contributed to him,â€? Ross told the court today, “and inclined not to be supportive of people who didn’t contribute to him.â€?
He said that, at one point after Campbell’s re-election, Ross talked to the mayor about mending fences with an opponent. He said Campbell’s response was that “they didn’t support him, and they would just have to deal with him the next four years.â€?
Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell Vineyard began questioning Ross about his and the mayor’s dealings with the computer company Oracle, which Ross represented as an attorney.
U.S. District Judge Richard Story had the jury removed while Russell and defense attorney Jerry Froelich argued whether Ross should be allowed to testify about Oracle’s dealings with the city and Campbell.
“You think we’re going to be here two months; we’re going to be here six months,â€? said Froelich, arguing that admitting the Oracle testimony would be “going down a roadâ€? to let in other evidence that is not specifically cited in the 11-count indictment.
Russell argued that Campbell’s lawyers had cleared the road already for evidence outside the indictment when, in their opening statement Monday, they argued that “in this big city, with 8,000 city employeesâ€? Campbell couldn’t possibly be personally and intimately involved with city contractors.
“In this case [Oracle],� argued Vineyard, “he [Campbell] is personally knowledgeable,� and the evidence is “important for the jury to know.�
Judge Story said, “I want to keep this [trial] as manageable as possible…at the same time I do see how this[Oracle] testimony is relevant. I just have to weigh in my mind how far afield we can go.�
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