Donor money back in coffers

A Henry County lawmaker says he has reimbursed his campaign more than $2,500 after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution questioned whether he was using campaign donors' funds to pay for his children's membership in private athletic clubs.

Rep. Steve Davis, R-McDonough, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week he paid his campaign $2,650 "out of an abundance of caution."

Campaign funds, according to state law, can only be spent to "defray ordinary and necessary expenses" to seek or retain public office. In recent years, several Georgia lawmakers have run afoul of the law and been punished for paying themselves and buying goods and services unrelated to campaigning.

Davis' campaign paid Crush Athletics of Conyers $750 on Dec. 31 and described the payment in disclosure reports as a "sponsorship," which under some circumstances would be legal. State law allows candidates to give excess campaign cash to nonprofit groups.

But Lonnie Wheeler, head coach at the private volleyball club, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Davis' $750 check was for Davis' child to play volleyball. A brochure posted on Crush's website says registration costs $750.

Asked if Davis paid for some kind of sponsorship, Wheeler said, "That would be a no."

In February 2010, Davis' campaign paid Magic Volleyball of McDonough $500 and another $1,000 on Nov. 17, 2010. Both expenditures are described on Davis' campaign disclosures as "sponsorship."

Magic director Joe Whigham confirmed that Davis' children played for the club in 2011 but would not comment further. It is not clear how much Magic charged for club membership.

Asked if the payments to Crush and Magic were for sponsorships or for his children's registration fees, Davis would not directly answer, but confirmed that his children benefited on some level.

"Out of an abundance of caution I have reimbursed with personal funds the campaign for any organization that included my children's participation," Davis said.

Davis said the reimbursements would appear on campaign disclosure reports that were due to be filed with the state ethics commission by midnight Monday. Those reports had not yet been filed late Monday.

Reimbursing his campaign does not absolve Davis, said William Perry, executive director of Common Cause Georgia, a government watchdog group.

"If he listed it as a sponsorship and it indeed was not, he knew at the time it was wrong," Perry said. "It is like shoplifting, then returning the stolen items to the store and saying you are doing so out of an abundance of caution. There is a huge difference between sponsorship and paying for something that benefits members of your family."

Rick Thompson, a former executive director of the state ethics commission, said the law is "pretty cut and dried."

"You cannot use your campaign funds to buy your wife a diamond pendant, or put your kid in special volleyball classes," said Thompson, who now advises candidates and elected officials on how to navigate the state's rules. Davis is not one of his clients.

Davis is locked in a brutal primary with businessman Dale Rutledge for House District 109, a seat based in Henry County that also includes parts of Rockdale and Newton counties. The pair have swapped accusations of ethical lapses in the run-up to the July 31 primary.

Davis claims Rutledge violated state ethics rules before he was even officially a candidate by taking out loans and spending campaign funds before he actually registered to run. Rutledge does not deny the charge and, in fact, filed an ethics complaint against himself after realizing his error.

"Instead of waiting for someone to find our error Dale decided to file the complaint on his self and address the problem," Rutledge spokesman Charles Mobley said.

Asked to respond to charges Davis used campaign funds to pay for his children's athletic activities, Rutledge told The AJC, "I decided to run for this seat because there is a lack of trust nowadays between the voters and their elected representatives. My message has been simple and clear — when I'm elected voters will never again have to question the reasoning behind decisions made by their House member."

Davis said it is "a long-standing practice" that elected officials use excess campaign funds to support community groups.

"Candidates have sponsored all kinds of groups," Davis said. "Educational groups, schools, nonprofits, charitable and, yes, youth athletics."

Wheeler, the Crush coach, said Davis spoke to him about a sponsorship when he received the $750 check but Davis never spoke about it again.

"He had mentioned that he was going to try and get a sponsor," Wheeler said. "So, I received a check, took it, deposited it, and never even thought about the sponsorship part."

James Cox of Stockbridge gave Davis $400 in August 2011. A Henry County police officer, Cox said he will reserve judgment, as allegations of using campaign funds to pay for his daughters' volleyball teams doesn't mean Davis is guilty of wrongdoing.

"He's been a good friend to Henry County Fraternal Order of Police," Cox said.

Davis is far from the first public official to be accused of improperly using campaign funds. Gov. Nathan Deal faces an ethics complaint that accuses him of personally benefiting from his campaign's use of an airplane in which he has an ownership interest. Deal denies he has received any benefit.

Former state Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, R-Sharpsburg, was fined $2,500 in 2010 after he was accused of using campaign funds to reimburse himself $21,000 more than he loaned his campaign and for accepting reimbursements from the state for purchases he made from his campaign account.