The lib’ral Atlanta media kabal has struck again. After making Congressman Nathan Deal create new racially insensitive terms last week, they have again set their sites on John Oxendine and his father, Judge Jim Oxendine.
Doug Richards of WXIA continues to dig into ethical questions surrounding Judge Oxendine, and has discovered that Judge Oxendine was removed from the board of the non-profit Warm Springs Rehabilitation Development Fund. This follows the revelation that Judge Oxendine hired political consultant and fellow board member Wayne Reece, himself with ties to State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, and paid him just shy of $400K of the foundation’s money. The board determined that both Oxendine and Reese made attempts to conceal the payments.
In August, Judge Oxendine was removed from the board of the Warm Springs facility — in a unanimous vote by the board’s executive committee.
According to minutes of the meeting, obtained by 11alive News, Judge Oxendine was removed after he authorized payments to a political consultant with close ties to his son Insurance Commissioner and candidate for Governor John Oxendine.
The minutes report that Oxendine and the consultant, Wayne Reece, quote “made attempts to conceal the perceived contract / agreement from the executive committee board members and the … Board of Trustees” of the rehabilitation facility.
The consultant, Wayne Reece, was also on the facility’s board. He too was removed by unanimous vote.
The paperwork says Reece’s consulting firm billed the Warm Springs facility as much as $392,000 before the board suspended payments.
In a phone interview, board member Vicki Gordon told eleven alive news “we felt as a board it was important to take quick action, and decisive action, and that’s what we did.”
Wayne Reece is a lobbyist registered with the state.
According to the Reece and Associates website, his career dates to the successful gubernatorial campaign of Joe Frank Harris.
Reece’s company writes a newsletter that, among other things, documents joint appearances with Reece and John Oxendine.
At this point, the Oxendine family appears to be challenging the Talmadge family for their ability to withstand multiple scandals and still ride high atop the polls. Of course, with certain pollsters having their own ethical issues, it may be more true now than ever that the only poll that matters will be on election day.
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I can see why some people mention the “Lib’ral Media” in the same breath as “The Devil.”
I cannot wait until the Deal’s DC – Maryland team of private investigators lets lose on Handel for leaking the vehicle rebuild story.
The AJC cannot afford to do the leg work so they are waiting for the leads.
I warned you that the Old Roy Establishment will do any and everything to see that Oxendine fails. They have run out of things on him, so poor old 81 year old dad must suffer. Next come the mothers and children.
It will end with a real duel and Ox is the better shot.
Good heavens . . . Just out of curiosity, which do you prefer, Soarin’ Strawberry Lemonade or Grapeberry Splash?
So the Dad, who appears to have diverted $400K of charitable funds meant for rehabilitation of people with severe physical disabilities to his fellow board memeber and stooge for his son, is a victim?
Really?
I would encourage you to visit the Warm Springs insititute sometime. Look at one of their patients in the eye, and tell them the man with the fiduciary responsibility to maintain the funds to complete their mission but instead lined the pockets of his friend is a victim.
hmm… Ox in a duel, and one of the participants is an avid hunter who was recently on a annual hunting trip with his dad…
not thinking Ox fares so well there, honestly. Might not be such a smart move for him.
“It will end with a real duel and Ox is the better shot.”
does the bible allow ox to participate in a duel?
Hey, it turns out that the AJC broke the original story and not Doug Richards.
“The news comes two weeks after Gwinnett’s Superior Court judges relieved Jim Oxendine of his duties after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on his involvement in negotiating a land deal for a real estate developer. Superior Court rules prohibit senior judges from practicing law. ”
http://www.ajc.com/news/gwinnett/judge-oxendine-removed-from-163415.html?cxtype=rss_news_128746
I guess Galloway went rogue when he gave Richards credit for breaking the story. Also, clearly the AJC was working this story yesterday, but Richards actually reported on it last night. The AJC? Not so much.
I will say from reading the AJC story that it appears that the rest of the board had been sleeping while Reese and Oxendine were running things, despite their claims of active concealment of this particular deal by Oxendine and Reese. If so, the stink is still on these passive board members. Throwing Daddy Ox and Reese off the board doesn’t change that.
Ack. Reece, not Reese. I blame Icarus.
You should blame the Lib’ral media. All the cool kids are.
I just did, pinko.
Realizing that by doing so I subject myself to justifiable ridicule, I hereby jump in to say: I broke this story Wednesday on WXIA at 11. The AJC posted it / printed it Thursday morning. A brief timeline, FWIW.
Late Monday: I learned about the contretemps with the Warm Springs Board.
Tuesday: Efforted interviews. Failed, mostly.
Wednesday. Interviewed another board member by phone, verifying the Oxendine / Reece departures and circumstances. Intended to hold the story for a day. 5pm, learned the AJC was also working on the story. Aired the story at 11 on WXIA.
Wednesday was a long day for one reason: I didn’t want to read about it in the AJC first! News folk are competitive like that.
That said, I give the AJC full credit for breaking the Gwinnett land deal story. They did, and continue to do great work.
There’s a paper published in Atlanta?
I hope it was obvious that I was being facetious. The ridicule goes to the AJC for pretending to break stories they clearly didn’t. Boosterism in a subsequent story doesn’t inform the reader in any way, so it follows that false boosterism is worse than useless. And again, kudos again to Galloway for giving credit where credit is due on the original Oxendine “retirement” story.
http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2009/10/07/your-morning-jolt-oxendines-dad-dismissed-from-judicial-post/
PS – The WXIA Overlords need to work on making sure the embed codes they supply for their videos at least do no harm in the long run.
Heard that. Corporate is working on it. I’m holding my breath waiting…
’10 will be a bloodletting year……..
Wow, what were they supposed to be getting for that money? It looks like their total annual income is only $633,000.
http://watchdog.net/ein/581707375/roosevelt-warm-springs-rehabilitation-development-fund-in
Biz Chronicle has this today:
Thursday, October 15, 2009, 12:31pm EDT | Modified: Thursday, October 15, 2009, 12:31pm
Ethics panel probing further into Oxendine campaignAtlanta Business Chronicle – by Dave Williams Staff Writer
The State Ethics Commission wants more information before deciding whether Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine’s campaign for governor received illegal contributions.
Commissioners voted 3-0 on Thursday to table a complaint against the Gwinnett County Republican until the ethics agency receives responses from two west Georgia insurance companies and 10 Alabama-based political action committees.
The PACs contributed $120,000 to Oxendine’s gubernatorial campaign that came from the two insurers. Georgia law prohibits companies from contributing to “elected executive officials” – a list of statewide office holders that includes the insurance commissioner – who regulate their industries.
Oxendine’s lawyer, Stefan Passantino of McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP, cited an advisory opinion issued by the commission last spring that said officials covered under the law cannot be found to have committed a violation unless it can be shown that they knew or should have known they that were receiving donations from a “regulated entity.”
Passantino said the commission’s investigators did not produce any factual evidence that Oxendine knew where those PAC contributions originated.
But Tom Plank, one of the agency’s investigators, said the Oxendine campaign should have known what was going on. Plank noted that seven of the 10 PACs shared the same address, many of the checks bore the same signature and most of the contributions were made on the same date.
“It’s hard to believe somebody didn’t know about that from your campaign,” Commissioner James Gatewood told Passantino.
The motion to table the case, made by commission Chairman William Jordan, included instructions that the PACs and insurance companies be added to the complaint as respondents.
Oxendine returned the contributions last summer after the complaint was filed.
So if I read this right, their defense is “Duuuuhhhh, we didn’t know!”
Yeah, that’ll fly.
That was the problem really dismal revenue and they hired lobbists to lobby for revenue [fed gov handouts]…………..sounds like MARTA.
Something about bringing in F.D.R. the 4th to lobby OBAMA and Army [disabled]……..follow the money.
When a ORG is desperate they do deperate things and then blame it on others when they get caught………..poor Oxendine Sr. gets all the blame.
Why I recommend everyone always have a tape recorder handy, your friends will stab you everytime when offer a better goverment job.
King Rat is making promises he may not be able to keep. Get it in writing before you trash everyone for the cause.
I suppose that Oxendine thinks the best defense is a strong offense:
Ox: ‘Proud to be attacked by the gay lobby’
by Tom Crawford on 10/15/2009
Republican gubernatorial candidate John Oxendine, strongly criticized by a gay community newspaper for his stands on gay issues, fired back Thursday at what he called the “radical homosexual activists.”
In a fundraising email addressed to “Patriots,” Oxendine said:
“These homosexual activists join a long and growing list of those on the radical Left who are, by their very attack, acknowledging who the true conservative is in this campaign and who they are afraid of. While, I am proud to stand up for traditional marriage and, frankly, proud to be attacked by the gay lobby, I NEED YOUR HELP today.”
The contretemps between Oxendine and the Southern Voice newspaper was sparked by an earlier news release from Oxendine that criticized last weekend’s National Equality March in Washington, D.C.
“The family is under attack, and in Washington DC this weekend, so is the President,“ Oxendine said. “They [gay rights activists] insist on teaching children in the public schools that same-sex marriage is morally equivalent to traditional marriage.”
Southern Voice news editor Dyana Bagby countered with a blog post headlined “Dear John Oxendine, you will lose in the end” that criticized Oxendine for past anti-gay statements and actions:
Oxendine has a long history of trying to deny gays in Georgia basic rights while serving as the state’s Insurance Commissioner, including attempting to deny local government employees the rights to domestic partnerships . . . So sacred is your marriage that when your baby Jake is born, you immediately put him in a starring role in one of your campaign ad commercials? No way is that exploiting the family, right?
That blog post apparently infuriated Oxendine, who came back with his scorching email on Thursday.
“The radical homosexual activists over at Southern Voice have launched a vicious attack on me – by name – for my defense of traditional marriage in America,” Oxendine wrote.
He added:
“Will you send a message to the radical Left and the homosexual activists by sending our campaign a donation today?
I need your financial support to be in a position to continue our positive campaign for the Reagan values of Faith, Family, and Freedom. A donation of $30, $50, $80, or even $100 – or more – will allow me to get our message out to protect traditional marriage.
You and I know that we are not against anyone and that we love all people. No matter how much a few radical activists try; we will not surrender the institution of marriage. Marriage is between a man and a woman — always has been and always will be . . .
But, I cannot do this without your financial support. I am willing to take the direct attacks by the radical Left. What I need you to do is help provide the resources to carry the battle across Georgia.
$30, $50, $80, or even $100 – or more – whatever you can give, give TODAY. I promise you the homosexual activists are already raising money to defeat our campaign and insure that Roy Barnes is Georgia’s next Governor. They want Roy Barnes to redefine marriage in Georgia.
If you want to stop Roy Barnes and his friends at Southern Voice from legalizing same sex marriage in Georgia, then send a contribution TODAY.
© 2009 by Capitolimpact.com
Is Ox going to save us from forcing everyone to marry a gay person? I never knew we had mandatory being gay bill proposed in Georgia.
A new bumper sticker
VOTE OX OR YOU WILL TURN GAY
“Never interfere with the enemy when he is destroying himself…”
Add the King Roy video, and it’s hard to believe there won’t be a flameout before the primary season even gets in full swing.
The fun has to end sometime I suppose.
It’s a bad day in the Oxendine Campaign today.
First news comes out that his dad has been removed as the head of a charity for polio victims because he diverted funds to one of his son’s political advisors.
Second, the state ethics commission continues its investigation into his illegal campaign contributions.
I hate to say it, but the good stuff hasn’t even come out yet…
Momma Oxendine (step-momma, I think) has some problems of her own. She is Charles Bannister’s appointee to the Gwinnett Library Board and currently serves as the Chairperson.
This is the board that first voted to close the three-year-old Dacula branch on an agenda item added at the last minute, in favor of a new branch just seven miles away. After the public expressed outrage, the Board made a move toward a “regional” library system that would repurpose three branches as computer labs without books.
When the tar and feathers came out, the Board “re-thought” its plan and have now decided that the computer labs will have some books. But even this ill-conceived plan is now in jeopardy; three County Commissioners have now sent Oxendine and Company a “reconsider your vote or else” letter.
Doug Richards and the AJC better quit taking so many cheap shots at the Oxendines. Don’t they know that a public official’s personal business dealings are not a proper topic of discussion. Frankly, I’m shocked that things like this would even be mentioned on Peach Pundit, a site so concerned with the well-being of elected officials.
Bristol. Palin.
Or were you being facetious USA1?
I thought the last line of his rant was too subtle.
Ask Icarus.
$400,000. $400,000. What a waste of money. Someone should just get shot for that type of coverup. Sacrifice one (or two) so the other crooks will get the message.
Sacrifice one (or two) so the other crooks will get the message…. What message is that, less competition???
The people have to get where they quit supporting/enabling all the “crooks”… It has always amazed me how hard it is to get a “good person” elected…. and keep them “good” , if we’re lucky enough to get them elected. I believe, just like the failed War on Drugs, to win the “War on Corrupt Politicians”, we have to remove the incentive for crooks to want to get into “the business” (and what causes them get “crooked” once they’re in). This is yet another reason to keep government power and influence limited… very limited. The less “money is in it”, the lower the incentive for corruption.
Indeed. Another solution is term limits, as the longer someone is in office the more power and influence they accumulate.
Only if it’s not state-by-state. A US-wide solution is the only way out, lest we get into a seniority war with other states that don’t limit their politicians.
How about self-imposed term limits? I’ve said since before beginning my campaign that if I was ever in office, I would spend a max of 8 yrs in any given office (exception being US Senate, where I would stay in no more than 12).
After 8 yrs, I move up or out.
It worked for Zell.
True again.
Of course if a majority of states enact such legislation, the House rules would suddenly not take seniority into consideration.
The Supreme Court has already ruled that states cannot further restrict the qualifications of Congress, so it would have to be Constitutional Amendment anyway.
Jeff,
Then the good people move on and the bad ones remain in power, making the problem worse.
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