In another twist in the contentious campaign for the chair of the Gwinnett County Commission, Gwinnett County Sheriff Butch Conway and State Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford) held a news conference Thursday to speak out about what Unterman called "the politics of personal destruction."

Conway challenged ethics complaints that Rome-based watchdog George Anderson filed against him and his department and played a recording in which Anderson said Norcross political activist Joe Newton had put him up to it. Conway also said Newton was working on behalf of Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister, who is facing Commissioner Lorraine Green in a runoff Tuesday.

Vino Wong/vwong@ajc.com (ENLARGE)

Sheriff Butch Conway and State Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford) held a news conference Thursday to speak out about issues raised in a contentious campaign. Here, Conway is pictured in a 2006 photo.

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Bannister said later no such relationship with Newton exists.

"It's been a bitter, nasty campaign," Conway said. "It's got to stop."

Unterman described her efforts to shine a light on murky campaign financing in all Georgia races, including her own, and talked about her legislative attempts to change campaign financing so voters could know who was supporting who, and who was paying for what.

Fighting back

Self-described ethics watchdog Anderson, who was the subject of Conway's presentation, said Thursday he regretted being sucked into the campaign between Bannister and Green. Anderson, executive director of the Ethics in Government Group, filed ethics complaints against the sheriff — who has supported Green in the election — and against Green.

"I never liked to be used by anybody in a campaign," Anderson said, when reached by phone. "It looks like it was just a campaign to destroy their reputation before a primary election and a runoff election. ... I don't want to be any part of it."

Anderson said Newton was one of the people behind the effort to discredit the sheriff and Commissioner Green. He said Newton, who represented himself as an impartial community activist, called his home repeatedly over the summer asking him to look into potential ethics violations.

"His intention when he contacted me was to use something that I cherish very much, my credibility," Anderson said. "I do feel like I was put in the middle of something, and I wish that I had never gotten involved."

At the news conference, the sheriff denounced Newton's meddling in the race and challenged his credibility by presenting documents showing Newton has had traffic-related arrests in North Carolina and Georgia and a conviction for misdemeanor assault against a woman.

Anderson had accused Conway of using county paper and ink to print campaign fliers for Green and of using deputies to post campaign signs. Conway disputed the accusation, saying, "no deputies were paid or on the clock at any time for use in this campaign."

Staying out of it

At this point, Anderson said, he's no longer sure if a violation occurred, and he'll let the State Ethics Commission decide the merits of his complaint.

Newton gave Anderson's nonprofit organization $100, Anderson said, as reimbursement for expenses incurred while investigating the complaints.

Newton, 62, has said he's not working on anyone's behalf in this year's race.

Bannister said he's tried to run a positive campaign focused on the issues and he denied any connection to Newton.

"Joe has never given me any money," Bannister said, adding, "I have no control over him operating his own political action committee."

Bannister said the complaints are just unfounded accusations. "There's been no proof yet, and there is none" of any wrongdoing, he said.

An active member of the Gwinnett County Republican Party, Newton previously told the AJC he donated to many candidates, including $2,000 to Bannister's first campaign in 2004 and $50 to Green's campaign in March. He says now he can't find the canceled check to Bannister and may have to amend his financial disclosure form.

Party speaks out

Unterman said she has been fighting for transparency in campaign financing for years, most recently in a 2006-2007 bill to reform the Ethics in Government Act that passed the Senate but got stuck in the House.

"I see this recurrent pattern," Unterman said. "And I see it happening two years from now if no one stands up and does something about it."

Even the Gwinnett GOP thinks the mudslinging has gone too far.

Party chairman J. Gregory Howard attended the news conference, he said, because he was concerned that the negative campaigning was only discouraging voters from being involved.

Last week, he said, his 12-member board voted unanimously to issue a statement saying Newton was over the line. And, he added, the board includes supporters for both Green and Bannister.