So this is who was endorsed by our ex-County Commission Chair

I know some of our intrepid readers go ballistic every time I mention the name Wendell Dawson. I have had my fair share of arguments and disputes with the ex-chair of the Oconee County Commission. His endorsement of Mike Wiggins for State Supreme Court would be in the disagreement pile. Here is an article from today's AJC detailing some of the alleged crud and corruption with the Wiggins camp. And this might be the only time recently I have agreed with Zell Miller on anything except his party affiliation.

Judge hopeful hit by ethics charge
Wiggins denies donation complaint

By JILL YOUNG MILLER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/19/06

A complaint filed Wednesday with the State Ethics Commission charges that Georgia Supreme Court candidate Mike Wiggins, his campaign committee and a group called the Safety and Prosperity Coalition are "engaged in an illegal and coordinated effort to improperly influence the outcome" of the Nov. 7 election.

Former Bush administration lawyer Wiggins, 53, of Atlanta is running against incumbent Justice Carol Hunstein, 62, of Decatur, a 14-year veteran of the court and its presiding justice.

Wiggins' campaign manager, R.J. Briscione, called the complaint "utterly false."

The Safety and Prosperity Coalition, according to its Web site, was formed largely to guard Georgia's 2005 tort reform, limiting liability for businesses when they are sued, from erosion in the courts. The group, which could channel unlimited funds into television ads and other efforts to influence voters, supports Wiggins and had raised a reported $318,500 by the end of September. Last week, it began airing its first ad, a pro-Wiggins spot, on network TV.

Georgia law limits contributions to Supreme Court candidates to $5,000 per donor. The same rule doesn't apply to independent committees, such as the Safety and Prosperity Coalition. Under Georgia law and ethics rules, independent committees may advocate for the election of specific candidates, but they are forbidden to coordinate their efforts with those candidates or to give money to their campaigns.

The 14-page complaint alleges that the Safety and Prosperity Coalition is improperly connected to Wiggins, "having recruited him to be a candidate, promising him substantial financial support, supplying his first campaign manager, and otherwise consulting with him on message and strategy."

The complaint, by Atlanta lawyer Gary B. Andrews, says "under the guise" that it is an independent committee, the Safety and Prosperity Coalition has accepted as much as $100,000 from a single source to run TV ads supporting Wiggins.

Late Wednesday, Wiggins' campaign manager Briscione in a written statement called the complaint "utterly false and based on untrue statements from a disgruntled former employee who has been paid thousands of dollars by Justice Hunstein." He did not identify the employee.

Rick Thompson, executive secretary of the Ethics Commission, said the commission will review the complaint and decide within two days if it merits investigation.

Eric Dial, chairman of the Safety and Prosperity Coalition, would not comment on the contents of the complaint late Wednesday afternoon but said: "We're not surprised by the filing of an ethics complaint this late in the campaign season. Sadly, it's another politically motivated, politically driven attempt coming from the same group of people who have taken liberties with the truth about our organization in an attempt to smear the Wiggins campaign."

In the complaint, Andrews asks the Ethics Commission to order the Safety and Prosperity Coalition to stop advertising or other activities and preclude Wiggins, his campaign, the coalition, and "all those acting in concert with them from communicating, directly or indirectly, about the campaign or the Supreme Court election."

Andrews could not be reached for comment late Wednesday afternoon.

Attached to the complaint, as an exhibit, is a copy of an e-mail sent in June to Wiggins' wife and a Wiggins campaign worker before Wiggins was to attend a gathering of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce's governmental affairs council. In it, Liz Young, treasurer of the Safety and Prosperity Coalition, advised Wiggins -- who apparently at the time intended to run against Justice Hugh Thompson rather than Hunstein -- that he needed to be ready to explain his choice of opponents, according to the complaint.

Young wrote that his "answer cannot be that she is a one legged, Jewish female from DeKalb County with a lot of money in the bank and Zell as her campaign chair."

Young could not be reached through coalition chairman Dial late Wednesday.

Wiggins' campaign manager Briscione said in his written statement, "Mike and his wife obviously disagree with the derogatory comments in these emails sent by individuals not associated with the campaign, and we are disappointed that anyone would attempt to hold them responsible for the views of others."

Hunstein, who lost her left leg to cancer 40 years ago, said in a recent interview that she is Christian.

Former Georgia Gov. Zell Miller, who appointed Hunstein to the Supreme Court, is a co-chairman of her campaign.