A tea party activist on Thursday filed another ethics complaint against Senate Rules Chairman Don Balfour alleging that he abused his position by billing the state for mileage while out of town on lobbyist-funded trips.
Debbie Dooley, state coordinator of the Georgia Tea Party Patriots, filed the complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee. Dooley said Balfour, R-Snellville, violated Senate rules and state law and called on GOP leaders to strip him of his chairmanship.
In a statement, Balfour said the complaint "smacks of campaign politics." He said he reimbursed the state for what he claimed were "inadvertent" errors and filed corrected paperwork.
"To hype this with a refiling is like holding a press conference because someone corrected a tax return," he said.
It is at least the second complaint filed against Balfour following media investigations into his reimbursement reports.
Dooley said, “Every day we have had activists in our mailboxes livid over the fact that he is getting away with this."
The complaint alleges that on eight occasions dating to 2009 Balfour claimed mileage reimbursements for his travel to and from his Snellville home, even though state records show he was out of the state on trips paid for by corporate lobbyists. It also questions “numerous additional mileage reimbursements” to Snellville even though he rents a condo in Atlanta. The complaint states that Balfour “presumably would spend at least some nights at that residence.”
Dooley said she does not accept Balfour's assertion that he made inadvertent mistakes on his expense forms.
Senate Ethics Committee Chairman John Crosby, R-Tifton, said ethics complaints are confidential and he could not comment on either of the known complaints against Balfour. Crosby said the committee has a meeting scheduled June 1, but in keeping with Senate rules, it will not be open to the public.
Dooley said she had legal help in drafting the complaint and believes it falls within the committee’s purview.
“The committee is at a crossroads,” she said. “They can choose to hear this complaint if they want to, or they can send a wrong signal that if you are powerful the good old boy network will protect you when you do wrong.”
Along with violations of Senate rules, Dooley’s complaint alleges Balfour broke the law when he swore in an affidavit that the mileage claim was correct.
About the Author
