Varnell candidates deny ethics complaint

VARNELL, Ga. — A complaint filed with the State Ethics Commission of Georgia alleges that three candidates in the upcoming Varnell City Council election failed to appropriately register campaign committees.

But the candidates say they didn’t organize the two committees and weren’t aware of any laws requiring that the committees be registered.

“If any mistakes were made, they were honest mistakes and there was no ill intent involved,” said Brent Newsome, candidate for Seat 2 in Tuesday’s elections.

The complaint was filed against Mr. Newsome, Mayor Dan Peeples, who is running for re-election, and James Caldwell, a candidate for Seat 1, and was filed by the daughters of Carlus Mosier, the incumbent running for re-election to Seat 1.

Cindy Huerta worked with her sister, Marylou Stephens, to file the complaint and to air the allegations. Ms. Huerta said her father didn’t know about the complaint until after it was filed.

Tom Plank, acting executive secretary for the State Ethics Commission, said the complaint was rejected because it wasn’t completed properly.

Ms. Huerta says she plans to amend and refile her complaint, but Mr. Plank said that won’t have any effect on the election. He said it would be at least 30 days after the election before the commission would begin to review the resubmitted complaint.

Mr. Mosier this week blamed Mr. Peeples and other council members of exercising a “personal vendetta” for shutting down a “spook house” he was operating for charity. City officials said Mr. Mosier had not obtained a business license and was operating the venue in an area not zoned for business.

Mr. Peeples said in a voice mail that he has not “done anything wrong.”

Mr. Caldwell said the two campaign groups mentioned in the ethics complaint are “just people that believe in us that were trying to help us get elected.”

He said one — called Citizens for Continued Growth and Decisions — distributed a flier promoting the candidates, while the other — Citizens for Continued Progress in Varnell — had a radio advertisement.

Once the groups learned about ethics concerns, they filed the appropriate paperwork with the State Ethics Commission, Mr. Caldwell said.

“It’s unfortunate that we have people that want to try to make the little things seem bigger than what they are,” said Mr. Caldwell.

Mr. Plank said independent committees that are not coordinated by the candidates are required to register, but it’s not the candidates’ responsibility.

While the highest penalty is $1,000 per violation, it’s rarely applied, he said. When an honest mistake is made, the commission sometimes finds that a civil penalty would not be appropriate, he said.