MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) -- A sheriff in Georgia has agreed to pay a $10,000 fine after state investigators found he had his staff working on his reelection campaign during their office hours.
"We feel this is a fair and appropriate fine that clearly addresses the importance of elected officials not utilizing their public office to benefit their campaign at any time whatsoever," David Emadi, executive director of Georgia's transparency and campaign finance commission, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution after Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren agreed to the payment Thursday.
The fine was part of a consent order passed by the commission in a 4-1 vote, the Marietta Daily Journal reported.
Investigators found employees in the Warren's office had arranged photo shoots, ran errands for food, and wrote emails for his reelection fundraising efforts while they were on duty, Emadi said at the hearing. One of these events was the annual Corn Boilin', a joint fundraiser for Warren and the Cobb Youth Museum, news outlets reported.
Warren's attorney, Doug Chalmers, said the crossover between the campaign and office work happened because employees were "confused about what they could and could not do" during office hours since the fundraiser was started under Warren's predecessor and has been held for decades.
Despite the fundraisers, the newspaper also reported Warren and his campaign did not contribute money directly to the children's museum last year. Chalmers had previously told the newspaper his client would raise at least $10,000 for the museum every year, and would make a personal contribution if the fundraising efforts does not reach that amount.
Investigators found the sheriff had also misused campaign funds and failed to report some contributions, the newspaper reported.
The sheriff will attend campaign finance training for the violations, and Chalmers said employees in his office would receive training as well. Warren is set to face reelection this year for his fifth term.