More fallout from the recent District 28 State House GOP Primary. Winning candidate Chris Erwin has been fined $500 for accepting an illegal contribution from his employer, Carroll Daniel Construction.
Too much, too soon
The fine was imposed by the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission. The Commission issued a Consent Order last week after considering a complaint filed by Ken Payne.
Payne alleged Erwin exceeded maximum campaign contribution limits when he accepted a $5,000 donation from the construction company.
State law limits campaign contributions for a single primary or election to $2,600. That limit can be raised if candidates agree to certain conditions, but they must first notify the Commission by filing a Choosing Option of Separate Accounting (“COOSA”) form.
Read: Consent Order (FINAL) Case No. 2018-0029
The Consent Order states Erwin accepted the contribution from Carroll Daniel Construction on February 7, 2018. He didn’t file the COOSA until two-and-a-half months later on April 21, 2018.
If Erwin had filed the appropriate paperwork before accepting the donation and had spread the money out over several elections, the contribution would have been legal. Since he failed to do that, the Commission found Erwin exceeded maximum campaign contribution limits.
Erwin was given thirty days to pay the $500 civil penalty. He must also reallocate the excess campaign contributions from Carroll Daniel Construction to a subsequent election.
On June 27, Erwin issued the following statement to Now Habersham:
“During the course of the campaign, we retained a vendor to assist with compliance filings. The Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission apparently never received a small compliance form. As soon as this oversight was brought to my attention we addressed and rectified the issue immediately, before a complaint was filed. We worked with the vendor and the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission to find a reasonable and fair resolution to this issue, which did not require the return of any campaign contributions. As a first time candidate, this has served as a good lesson for me on Georgia’s election laws.”
A race in limbo
Erwin won the House District 28 GOP Primary by 67 votes. His opponent, incumbent Rep. Dan Gasaway, is suing to have the results thrown out after discovering a number of voters were assigned to the wrong district and given the wrong ballots.
Related: Some Habersham County voters assigned to wrong State House districts
The Habersham County Board of Elections last week mailed letters to voters informing them of the problem and advising them they were being reassigned to their correct State House districts.
The State Election Board is investigating Habersham County’s districting issue.
The lawsuit is pending in Fulton County Superior Court.
This story has been updated to include Chris Erwin’s comment
