UPDATE: Bobby Kahn calls for an investigation.
How convenient. Kahn tips off the newspaper, then calls for an investigation based on the resulting article. One interesting note in Salzer’s new article:
Perdue’s purchase was first disclosed in May when the governor filed his financial disclosure report, although he was not required to report that he bought the land from Thomas’ Fourth Quarter Properties.
Kahn’s outrage seems manufactured. Where was the outrage way back in May? Also, for Mark Taylor to chime in seems hypocritical, since the Ethics Commission is considering complaints filed against him (by me).
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The AJC’s James Salzer has a pair of articles today looking at some land Governor Perdue purchased in Florida and an accusation that Mark Taylor took too much money from a donor.
The Perdue article looks in depth at the purchase, which could be lucrative for the Governor at some point in the future. Apparently Perdue purchased the land from Stan Thomas, who the Governor appointed to a State Board. I don’t see this as a problem. Since it is in Florida and the Governor will not have any control over any situation that may impact the value of the land. No complaint has been filed, but Salzer seems to be looking for a problem – with some help:
An account of the land deal was brought to the attention of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution by the Democratic Party. The newspaper confirmed details of the transaction through public records.
Salzer’s article on the accusation against Taylor is much shorter, but probably because the story is not that complicated. Several car dealerships owned by Carl Gregory gave a total of $40,000 to Taylor’s campaign, which Taylor claims was legal to do at the time (last December).
What about all this? Are these issues potential problems for these two candidates?
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Rightofcenter, we have no way of knowing if he got the land at a sweetheart price or not. Land appraisers in Florida aren’t sure how to value the land, although they’ve admitted that if Thomas’s company is up to something, the land might be worth well more than what it was sold for.
I like how people have talked about risk. Well, Perdue purchased a hand picked parcel of property from one of the most successful developers in the country. Some risk! I would be shocked if this land is eventually sold or developed for anywhere near the $2 million he paid for it.
Nothing like a blog being overrun with a bunch of conspiracy nuts like GetReal, et al.
Perdue doesn’t strike me as an idiot who would invest $2M in a swamp without a reasonable expectation of a profitable return on his investment. Lost in all this back-and-forth is that Perdue invested the money in Florida to avoid paying taxes on the land he sold in Houston County. Does that strike you as something a moronic investor would do? Not really, at least not to me. Nor would a sane investor buy land that has no hope of appreciation and greater profit (if that were the case, Perdue would have held on to his land in Houston); that’s just not sound investing. I hope that if most Georgians think Sonny’s that stupid, they’ll vote him out of office. Does anyone think that he bought land in Florida from a donor friend just to avoid some taxes?
No, Sonny invested that $2M to make more money *and* to avoid paying taxes on his land sale. Were Sonny *not* the Governor, there would be no problem with either of those two goals.
There’s a reason most Governors place their funds into blind trust — to avoid any appearance of impropriety and so no one can accuse them of paying more attention to their finances than the state’s. As Perdue himself notes, he doesn’t (and shouldn’t) have time to properly investigate the land deal. So, he invests it with a friend. Who is a donor. Who Perdue appointed to a state board.
Hey, to victor goes the spoils — if Sonny wants to appoint his political donors to boards, authorities, etc, that doesn’t bother me. That’s politics.
What’s not cricket here is using your office to enrich yourself. And, via Stan Thomas’s appointment to a state board and this subsequent deal, it is reasonable to question whether or not there was a quid pro quo.
Caroline,
We are on the same side you’re on here. No one has done more for the white man than Mark Taylor. Hell, Sonny won’t even give us our flag. Mark Taylor was adamant about the flag.
Sonny Perdue is NOT for the white male voter. So the white male voters are NOT for Sonny Perdue.
WMV for Taylor ‘06!
GADEM,
Is your point , That Stan Thomas gave Sonny a great deal on land to get a job so he could make inside money via being on the board?
So my question is show me the deal Stan Thomas did that he made extra money via being on the board ?
I am all ears if I am missing something.
If not this is a smoking gun with no bullets.
The thing I like about this board is that, although it admits to leaning toward the GOP, it urges ethical conduct for all elected officials. So I’m puzzled by the tin ear some commenters have about why someone might crinkle an eyebrow at this transaction.
We have a prominent Georgia developer who sold the governor property for $500,000 less than it cost the developer two years ago. It’s property on the development fringe of Orlando, one of the South’s hottest real estate markets.
Even in the absence of a smoking gun, it does make one wonder how one could persuade Mr. Thomas to make the same kind of deal available to the public.
Some comments indicate the belief the property is only worth the $180,000 special agricultural tax assessment Perdue disclosed on his forms. If that’s so, then Thomas paid more than 10 times what the land was worth two years ago. Not likely. But if true, then somebody with that buy high and sell low philosophy certainly shouldn’t be on Georgia’s economic development board. Can’t imagine they’ll be solvent much longer.
But absent an ABSCAM-type video tape, I guess some folks just aren’t that curious when it comes to something fishy about their own team.
Paidtomuch,
After this last election for Republicans or Dems to brag about the high road would be hard.
Getting back to the point, what did Mr. Thomas get and how did he turn it into money? I am looking at this from the bottom line. I am sorry I do not get it.
Also the real estate market is slowing down. That is why I said if Sonny had a quick turn on the deal and made big $$$$$ you would have a point. I give clients the same advise I give my son when he talks about what a baseball card is worth ie land, It is only worth what someone will pay you.
First of all, I am a politically independent real estate developer. A Republican friend emailed me the link to this website. I have logged on to give you my strong opinion about the Sonny Perdue/Stan Thomas real estate transaction. After reviewing the facts, I can only conclude that Sonny Perdue is an opportunistic thief and he hopes the dumbasses who elected him Governor will never figure out what he is up to. That especially goes for most of the Hitler Youth that blog here. Stan Thomas is a highly successful developer who literally coins money. He has never made a deal where he did not feel he had an “unfair advantage”. Do yourself a favor and check his holdings out at http://www.thomasent.com and you will actually know some facts about this guy. As far as John Konop’s questions regarding what Sonny did in return, in 2005 Stan Thomas announced a $250 million development IN GEORGIA ON HWY 400 AT OLD MILTON . This land was worth only $10 million before Stan got the State’s approval, called a DRI. This development could NEVER HAVE BEEN APPROVED without the blessings of the GA REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY and GA DOT. That is where the rat is on this deal. If these two guys are as “Christian” as they publically brag, then they should confess their sins.
Ok, so the Dems give him the idea for the article, then call for a probe based on the article, and another article is written on the fact that they called for a probe.
WHAT ASSETS? It’s been well established that he lives in a house that he doesn’t own and essentially gets an alowance from his father. He has no assets. And why would he? He’s spent most of his adult life as a politician. He’s never built a business. Sacha on the other hand at least put together a fairly successful business.
Despite what you may have heard, the Dems don’t have a monopoly on planting poltiical stories. Whatever the source, the test ought to be whether or not the story is true. It’s actually a refreshing new policy that the AJC story reflected where the story came from.
I don’t agree that the issue is whether the possible profit the governor makes is short term or long term.
What seems germane are the questions: why did the developer take a short term loss on a real estate sale to the governor and why did the governor lowball the value of the property on his financial dislcosures?
I think if these were issues that had been brought up, oh, say, in the White Water investigation, nobody on this board would be confused about why these are valid questions.
I am a politically independent real estate developer. I am familiar with quite a few real estate deals in GA. A Republican friend emailed me the link to this blog. After reviewing the facts, I can only conclude that our Governor Sonny Perdue is an opportunistic thief and he really believes that he has outsmarted the dumbass voters of Georgia. That especially goes for the Hitler Youth types that seem to lurk around this site. Enough of my opinion. Now for the facts. Stan Thomas is a very shrewd real estate developer who literally coins money. He never makes mistakes. If there is not an “unfair advantage” for him, he creates one. Check this guy out at http://www.thomasent.com. He is a real pro. As to what Stan Thomas got from the Governor other than his appointment to the State Board of Economic Development, please consider this FACT. Stan Thomas, after concluding his Florida land deal with Perdue, applied for and received a highly lucrative DRI designation from GRTA and ARC that allowed him to turn a piece of real estate on 400/Milton Highway into a $250 million development. I believe this development is near where John Konop lives. No wonder Mr. Konop got trounced so badly. A parting suspicion, which is only a suspicion…Stan Thomas lives in Newnan and is on the State Economic Development Board and has been to Korea with Governor Perdue. The highly touted billion dollar KIA car plant will be built in Newnan. Somebody stands to make gazillions. Go figure….
it’s only august, can;t wait to see the stuff kahn makes up in october
This from the AJC:
“Taylor said Wednesday that if he’s elected, he will put his assets into a blind trust.”
I had to laugh at that one since Daddy has all the assets, right down to Mark’s pad on West Pace Ferry Rd.
“Hitler Youth”?
Wow. I would say most of us here are not youths. Oh, and I would go so far as to say most of us are not Hitler-ites either.
More of the latter than the former.
I had to laugh at that one since Daddy has all the assets, right down to Mark’s pad on West Pace Ferry Rd.
That attack has been used against MT since his first senate campaign. Hasn’t worked before. Use a different tack IMO.
Fishtail,
I live in Canton in Cherokee not North Fultin. If you what you said was true it is an issue. That is not how the story was reported.In fact todays edioral by David McNaught Two Sides Of Ethic Line said “Perdue’s land purchase in Florida violates no laws”
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/0817edethics.html
Sorry
Fulton not Fultin
fishtail,
Gee, I would have more confidence in your rantings if the only point I know anything about was accurate. However, it’s not. The Kia plant is being built in West Point, not Newnan. But continue your conspiracy theories. They provide entertainment.
I’m a little late to this game but let me add a few thoughts.
Paidtomuch: Perdue didn’t pay $100,000 an acre he actually paid $200,000. According to the AJC half of the land is wetlands so only 10 acres are actually developable. $2 mil divided by 10 (the amount of usable acres) is $200,000. It is not uncommon to discount the price of a tract of land because of wetlands or flood plain. Especially if the developer already made his money from the original development and so this would be basically all profit.
Fishtail: Neither the Gov or Stan Thomas have a vote on GRETA or the GA DOTand the DRI process is completely open and transparent. So if anyone especially an appointee of any Gov. tried to ram a development through we’d know about it in a big way real fast.
GaDemObserver: So you’re saying the quid pro quo is that the Perdue appoints Thomas to a prestigous position so he can buy a $2 million tract of land from him so that sometime in the future he MIGHT make a profit. That’s not exactly “Arms for Hostages” now is it?
John Konop,
I don’t know Stan Thomas’s motivation for wanting to be on the board, and, frankly, it wouldn’t be fair for me to speculate. But, I do know that Thomas is a land developer with probably millions of dollars in projects subject to regulation by the state of Georgia. Thomas wanted to be on the board, and Sonny did appoint him.
Thomas did sell Sonny, after Sonny requested his help, this piece of land — and he sold it to Sonny below the value that Thomas himself paid for it.
Remember Duke Cunningham? He sold a house above its market value to a donor. He’s in jail.
Dawgfan….some great points!
And fishtail; We’ve got you pegged buddy! You’re sure as hell no independant as evidenced by your rantings. You must be one of the developers that lost out big time when barnes was unable to force the northern arc down peoples throats.
As for the dumbass voters of Georgia, (this shows the dems true colors and what they think of us down here) I guess we’re not as educated as say…Cynthia Mckinneys goon squads and other quasi marxist rebels???
Dawgfan,
Do you think Sonny is a moron? Or, perhaps, do you think Sonny is a smart man and a savvy businessman. Because only a moron buys a $2M piece of swamp with no hope of increasing value. Whereas a savvy businessman would buy land directly from an extremely successful developer. There’s nothing wrong with a random investor making such a deal. There is a problem when that investor is a public official, however.
The post made earlier by CHelf explains it all. The post admits to the crap tactics of personal assasination politics waged in the past and the follow-on posts whine about the details of the deal. I don’t remember Clinton getting the benefit of the doubt for Whitewater (which resulted in nothing after $70 million on YOUR TAX DOLLARS for a 7 year long investigation).
Part of me would like to see a small fraction of that cost and time be spent investigating the incumbent, but as I look to my motivation for that I realize its just because I want to see Sonny gone.
His part of making Georgia, a non-border state, central in the immigration issue, suspension of school when high gas prices became a reality, jacking up of teacher compensation plans (and turning his back on campaign promises to teachers) all make him fair game in November.
We have a LONG way to go to fix the laughing stock that the Georgia Republican Congressional Delegation, Sonny Perdue, Ralph Reed and Cobb County School board has made of Georiga Politics. We should be leading and coming up with a way to do so.
But alas…negative politics works…wha does that say about the electorate?
Any comments on these FACTS….Sonny Perdue’s House floor leader sponsored some back-dated legislation in 2005 that helped Sonny avoid paying $100K in State income tax…see AJC….FACTS do seem to get in the way of the Kool-Aid drinkers on this site.
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