Wal-Mark! and Dent Unglued

Others are wondering about the Taylor-Young-Wal-Mart-PeachCare Connection. Check Tom Crawford's piece at Capitol Impact/The Georgia Report. (This is a paid service but well worth the investment.)

05/31
Political Notes -- Taylor and Wal-Mart - Stock holdings undercut his healthcare proposal . . .

"Undercutting Taylor’s PeachKids proposal, however, was the fact that the lieutenant governor also owned more than $10,000 worth of stock in Wal-Mart Stores Inc.," (Crawford)

"One of Taylor’s campaign chairmen, former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young, has become a high-profile spokesman for Wal-Mart, a stance that has also drawn criticism." (Crawford)

Dent responded that Taylor had sold the stock. Is that an admission that he should have never owned it? He also said that he hoped Crawford was looking at Cox's filing as well, especially how her energy holdings could benefit from her fuel plan. Problem with that argument? Cox's agri-fuel initiative could actually hurt those companies. Whoops.

There are many questions that are still unanswered here. How long did Taylor own that stock? The financial disclosure was filed early in May. When did he sell the stock?

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Cox,Taylor, Perdue: Minding (Whose) Business?

Wouldn't it be great to have a governor who focuses her time and attention on taking care of the people's business, as opposed to taking care of the family business? A quick look at the financial disclosures filed by Taylor, Cox and Perdue reveals that for both Taylor and Perdue, most of their fiduciary positions relate to their family businesses, while all of Cathy Cox's positions are with non-profits and educational institutions. Based on this alone it is obvious that Cathy Cox would be a new kind of governor.

Here's the breakdown:

Cathy Cox

1. Georgia Historical Society: Board of Curators, Ex-Officio
2. State YMCA of Georgia: Board of Directors
3. Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation: Board of Directors, Ex-Officio
4. Mercer University: Board of Trustees
5. Wesleyan College: Board of Trustees

Mark Taylor

1. Fred Taylor Company, Inc.: Director/Vice President
2. Taylor Property Management, LLC: Member
3. MML Limited Partnership: Member
4. Linda Taylor 2005 Irrevocable Trust: Trustee

Sonny Perdue

1. Perdue Inc.: Director
2. Houston Fertilizer & Grain Co., Inc.: Director/Sole Stockholder
3. Perdue Family Limited Partnership: GP & LP
4. Agrowstar LLC: Member
5. Perdue Farms: Owner/Operator

Candidates are required to "name all fiduciary positions held by the candidate for public office or the public officer." "Fiduciary" refers to holding something in trust for another, and generally implies that the person is entrusted to act on behalf of others: a lot like what a governor does.

I think that this is but one example of how Cathy Cox would be a different kind of Governor than either Taylor or Perdue. Her ongoing commitment to community service, even while serving as Secretary of State, demonstrates to me that she would put the interest of the people of Georgia ahead of her own personal and financial gain. That's the kind of difference we need!

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"Soul Jam" Responds Warmly to Cathy Cox

On Sunday, thousands welcomed Cathy Cox at Macon's "Soul Jam" music festival. Cathy was accompanied by Rep. David Lucas, his wife, Councilwomen Elaine Lucas, and Rep. Nikki Randall. Cathy was defninately "in her element" as she visited with the people, and they were clearly in her corner as they responded with rousing applause to her message of changing the way government does business in Georgia.

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A Young Soldier's Diary: First Publication

We are all grateful for the sacrifice of our soldiers, and in honor of Memorial Day, I tip my hat to the bravery of a young soldier, headed into a battle he could not have imagined. From March, 1945, here are some excerpts from my father's diary as he served aboard the USS Simms in the Sea of Japan. A.D. Hamrick was 21 years old. His his diary ends on March 16. After that, the battle was too heated to allow for more entries. Soon, his flotilla came under attack, an attack that included suicide bombers. One Japanese plane crashed into the sea just shy of his ship, and the force lifted the Simms out of the water. My father was lucky to survive the battle, and often spoke of the bravery of his shipmates as they paved the way for the Marines. His words will take you to that time, to that place:

Mar. 12
Sixth day of steaming- all conditions 4.0 Making for Siapan at 14 knots for further assignment- Had unidentified plane on radar to-day. Stood regular watcher and charged batteries. Praitic (sic) G.Q. at 1540.

Mar. 13

Steaming as before. Refueled from LSV. Passing Marshall Islands, with Enitiwok just off our port beam. Plainly visible. Talked with Skipper and he ways we will anchor 2000 yds. off the shore at destination and we will have enemy resistance 3000 yds back in the hills. First Light. Mr. Smith (N.C.) said yesterday that 85 per cent of casualties since November of '44 have been by Japanese suicide pilot's- each made a hero and sent out to crash a ship with his plane. Took throttle during refueling of ship. No extra curricular activities.

Mar. 14

On 4-8 watch. Had down battle stations. Precautions against early morning plane attacks. Sea a little rougher than common. Sunshine all day long. Captains inspection for deck force. Field day in #2 Eng. Room. Battle stations at dusk. Area designated as "forward area". Expect action any time.

Mar.15 '45

Pay day, but I didn't draw mine. Sea still rough. Nearing destination (Siapan). Usual G.Q. stations Put in about 16 hrs. today. Nothing else our of the ordinary. Very hot. Tough sleeping at night.

Mar. 16

Arrived at Siapan to-day. Had 4-8 throttle watch. Island 15 miles long and varied as to width. Has high (1000 ft) volcanic rise in center.

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Why Does Mark Taylor Own Wal-Mart Stock?

Here's an interesting equation: Mark Taylor owns stock in Wal-Mart, and Andy Young, his campaign chair, has been hired as an advocate for the company, a company that tops the list in Georgia in terms of numbers of children of employees who are on the PeachCare rolls.

Why is Mark Taylor, who is supposed to be a friend to organized labor in Georgia, personally invested in Wal-Mart? I was looking for something entirely different today when I noticed that in Taylor's May, 2006 financial disclosure, he lists marketable securities in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. worth $10,530.00.

Earlier this year, we were all a little shocked to learn that Taylor's campaign chair, Andrew Young had been hired to advocate for Wal-Mart. See that entire article here in the 3/15/2006 edition of USA Today .

Add to this the "PeachCare" factor, a program that Taylor touts, and a program that has benefited thousands of Georgia children. Trouble is, a state survey found that more than 10,000 of those children have a parent that works for Wal-Mart- fourteen times more than the next highest employer. As a shareholder, has Taylor advocated for Wal-Mart to provide adequate health insurance for it's employees so that Georgia taxpayers won't have to do that for them?

In January, the Atlanta Journal reported that:

In Georgia, a state survey found that 10,261 of the 166,000 children covered by Georgia's PeachCare for Kids health insurance in September 2002 had a parent working for Wal-Mart. Georgia's PeachCare program was launched in 1998 to provide health insurance to children whose parents cannot afford or don't have access to those benefits.
The Wal-Mart figure was about 14 times the number for the next highest employer: Publix, with 734.
Wal-Mart is the state's largest private employer. But when the top four companies on the list were measured by number of PeachCare children per the number of employees in Georgia, Wal-Mart still dominated.

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Front Page Promotion: Cox Leads on Bio-Disel

Here's a post from "Button." With millions of Georgians on the road this weekend, Cox unvieled a forward-thinking stragtegy to make Georgia a leader in the emerging bio-fuels sector. Not only does this strategy help consumers- it could potentially help our farmers. This is a win-win strategy, and all Taylor can do is complain about her traveling around Georgia to tell voters about it. Can't blame him. He surely doesn't want voters to meet Cathy and hear from her directly because when they do, they will vote for her!

From "Button":

Well, apparently the Taylor campaign has a problem with this too.


http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/0528metgagov.html
Cox: Ga. should use 25 percent biofuel by 2025

By SHANNON McCAFFREY
Associated Press Writer

Published on: 05/28/06

Secretary of State Cathy Cox said Saturday she wants farm-grown fuel to make up 25 percent of all the fuel used in Georgia by 2025.

The gubernatorial candidate used the start of the Memorial Day weekend — one of the year's busiest travel holidays — to unveil a biofuel initiative.

Cox said that using agricultural fuel products would reduce dependence on foreign sources of oil while at the same time creating new jobs.

"Our agricultural industry and our state are perfectly matched to make Georgia the farm-grown fuels capital of the world," Cox said.

But first, Cox said, investment is needed in infrastructure and research. Cox's proposal would funnel $10 million in state funds to researchers in Georgia pursuing alternative fuel development.

She said she would also use agricultural-processing enterprise zones to create tax incentives and economic development funding for private industry.

In order to meet the 25 percent target by 2025, Cox said she would appoint a commission within her first month after taking over as governor to create a statewide renewable energy strategy.

Recent high prices at the pump have renewed interest in alternative fuel sources. The Cox initiative has appeal for both environmentalists and farmers looking for profitable new crops.

Georgia is a leading producer of animal and vegetable oils, which are the building blocks for biodiesel. And the state could also begin converting biomass like pecan hulls, poultry litter and pine tree harvest cuttings into energy crops. Wood-based ethanol made from plentiful yellow pine trees also shows great promise as an energy source, she said.

Cox is battling Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue. Both Democrats had scheduled full weekends of campaigning throughout the state. The primary is July 18.

The Taylor campaign did not address the fuel initiative but said in a statement that Cox "announces her new energy policy and then takes her campaign on the road in a gas-guzzling SUV with volunteers in a large gas-guzzling RV registered in Florida. You can't trust anything she says or does."

Hmmmm, I thought this was an issue that both Cox and Taylor agreed on? If so, instead of encouraging a conversation about their mutual interest, the Taylor campaign says not to trust Cox because she's out wasting gas campaigning.........um, just what does Taylor use? I doubt he and his supporters are using a solar powered car. And um, I do seem to remember that back in 2002, Roy Barnes, Mark Taylor, and Cathy Cox took a bus tour of Georgia rallhying Dems across the state.

And it's even more interesting seeing as how Taylor's enjoyed the priviledges of the success of a trucking business in Albany. No, I don't think the Taylor fleet of trucks uses alternative fuel sources either...........

So for Taylorites wanting to talk about issues so bad, this is TWICE at least now that the Taylor campaign has diverted attention from the issue and went on the attack. Why do they have a habit of doing that? Begging to talk about the issues and then diverting attention from them leaves one with a tremendous credibility gap.

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What Cathy Cox Did Today

The Macon Telegraph reports that Cathy Cox is touring the state, going to Macon, Augusta and Milledgeville this weekend. In Macon today, about twenty volunteers spent the morning canvassing for Cox and then met other supporters at East Macon Park where Cox thanked them for their work. Following the picnic, Councilwomen Elaine Lucas and State Rep. Nikki Randall joined Cox as she set out to do some of her own canvassing. Eddie Bullington lent himself and his '69 Indy Pace car to the effort. After all, this is a "race", and Cox is definitely setting the pace! By the way, on Sunday evening, Cathy will be the guest of Rep. David Lucas as she joins him for "Soul Jam" at Henderson Stadium in Macon.

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Perdue's NEW 65% Plan

Sonny Perdue has a brand new sixty-five percent solution for Georgia schools. It involves giving schools about 65% of what they actually need. For example, consider for a moment the new "completion counselors" that Sonny touts so proudly as his solution to the dropout rate. The Perdue Team is providing districts with $40,000 per counselor when each position will actually cost a school district about $60,000. Plus, I hear that it's possible that local school districts- not the state - will have to absorb the cost of distributing Sonny's "$100 a Vote" teacher gift cards. (I wonder if the cards will go out with a "Paid for by Committee to Re-Elect Sonny Perdue" sticker?) Add the cost of these two gimmicks together, and I'd say Sonny's applying a brand new 65% rule. By the way, some districts are saying "no thanks" to the completion counselors. Sonny's squeezing them so tight with unfunded mandates they simply cannot afford to absorb a portion of those salaries and benefits.

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How Can Mark Taylor Relate to "The Little Guy"?

Mark Taylor has chosen "The Big Guy" theme for his campaign, and today we learn that reference may have more to do with status than size. I haven't noticed any of those babies in his commercials having silver spoons in their mouths, but Mark Taylor apparently has one, and now his campaign says it helped convince an Albany bank to give him a million dollar campaign loan. First we thought it was a loan from Taylor, then we thought it was secured by a zero-face value life insurance policy. That made no sense. Now, today, we hear that the Taylor trust fund eased any concerns the bank might have had about being paid back.

How can a "Big Guy" who has lived with the safety net of a trust fund, someone who can walk into a bank and walk out with a million dollar check, know what it's like to be a "Little Guy" in Georgia? (And by the way, notice that there are no "gals" at all in this discussion.)

Most Georgians can't relate to what it would be like to have a million or more sitting in a trust fund, so I wonder how they feel about a candidate whose trust fund apparently helped leverage funding for his campaign? Could the answer to that question be why today is the first time we have heard about the trust fund-loan connection?

And where's Mark Taylor's voice in this? In fact, where is Taylor's voice in this entire campaign? I don't hear from him in his commercials. I don't hear him respond to these important and legitimate questions. I hear Miller. I hear Dent. I hear others affiliated with his campaign leveling the harshest of criticism at Cox. Today, we hear from Taylor's lawyer. (A move that actually made me pay more attention to this story.) But where's Taylor? Can he speak for himself?

If there's no problem with this transaction, then why didn't Mark Taylor fully disclose what happened from the beginning? Didn't The Little Guys have a right to know? Or is this just another one of those backroom deals "The Big Guys" make?

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Trouble for Georgia Dems: Ray Endorses Sellier

The Houston County Buyer's Connection contains an article announcing that Robert Ray, retiring Democratic Incumbent from HD 136 just endorsed Republican Candidate, and neighbor, and friend Tony Sellier. Beth Perera is the Democrat in that race and a great candidate. Too bad that Ray abandoned his party on this one. I understand that Sellier initially planned to run as a democrat and changed his mind. More on this later, but it does not bode well for democrats chances of reclaiming the House.

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Cox Coming to Macon on Saturday

Volunteer Kickoff Rally

Cathy Cox to Speak

Saturday May 27th at 9:30 AM

The Cathy Cox for Governor Campaign has begun
"Cathy Cox Coalition on a Mission"
Grassroots Door-to-Door Campaign

Details:

Start Time: Saturday, May 27th at 10 AM
Place: 315 College Street
Macon, Georgia 31201

To Canvass: Macon Democratic Primary Voters

Teams will canvass and then gather at 1:30 PM at

East Macon Park
3326 Ocmulgee East Blvd
*(Directions Below)

For a Picnic With Cathy Cox!

Please Contact: Bowen Reichert at bowen@cathycox.com or (478) 731-6110

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The Facts: Cox, School Funding and HOPE

Despite the rumbling from the Taylor campaign and the republican blogs, when Cathy Cox was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, she voted to increase school funding and to expand the HOPE scholarship. Not only did she vote for the first and second round of funding for HOPE, but she also voted to remove the eligibility cap on family income and to enact safeguards to protect the scholarship. She also toured South Georgia in support of the program.

If you doubt any of that, here's the record:

Cathy Cox voted for budgets increasing education funding.
HB 202, 1995, HB 1375, 1994, HB 259, 1993

Cathy Cox's 1993 budget vote funded the first HOPE scholarships.
HB 202, 1993

Her 1995 budget vote removed the income cap on HOPE scholarships.
HB 202, 1995

In 1994, Cathy voted for SB 710, which mandated that no program started with funding from the lottery would be continued with general funds and for SB 711 which created a lottery reserve fund.

In 1995, Cathy was one of five state legislators that toured South Georgia touting the Democrat’s record on HOPE. The Democratic presentations were focused on the technical details of Gov. Zell Miller's proposals to fund pre-kindergarten programs and the HOPE scholarship program.

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Cathy Cox on GPTV Tonight

Want to learn more about Cathy's campaign and hear in her own words how she can bring the change Georgia needs?
Tune in tonight to your local Georgia Public Broadcasting station at 7PM to watch Cathy's appearance on the public affairs program "Georgia Weekly." Click here to find your local GPB television station.

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Story About Iran Inaccurate?

Promoted to the front page, is Shelby, who has some info that indicates that the story about the Iranian dresscode is bogus. Thank goodness. And no, I was not voting for war, but I will say this, for me personally, the "fear factor" is greater with Iran than with Iraq, and I am particularly concerned that if something erupts there that we have to address, we do not have the resources to do that adequately. Here's the post:

Is it foreboding that Georgia Women are Voting for war? Careful - the minority dress code story is crumbling:"Yesterday, after it emerged that the report had been false, the affair of "the yellow patch that wasn't" left us with one lesson: The world is ready to believe anything when it comes to a country ruled by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad."http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/717935.htmlBut I DID hear they tried to buy uranium from Niger to pass on to al Qaeda....
10:45 AM

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Taylor Campaign Loan

Many of you may have seen an article appeared in the AJC last evening that gave some detail about the $1 million dollar loan Taylor gave his campaign in December of 2005. Frankly, when I first read this, I thought that this story was a bit of a yawn, only important to those who pay day to day attention to politics. (After all, how many Georgians know or care about the fine points of campaign finance reporting or would be surprised about a hometown bank making a big time loan to a hometown boy (and shareholder) seeking the Governor's office?)

But Crawford does raise a couple of points that were not included in the AJC version of the story. For example, he points out that the bank made this large loan (only secured by a zero face value life insurance policy) at the end of a three quarter period when the bank showed a loss, that the bank's former chief credit officer and current interim president was himself a $1000 donor to the Taylor campaign, and that Georgia campaign finance ethics rules require that if money is listed as a loan to the campaign and not as a gift, that the loan must have been made in compliance with standard bank credit practices. In other words, it's not a loan if the person or entity does not reasonably expect to be repaid. The question is whether or not based on Taylor's reported networth and the way in which the loan was secured, it is reasonable for the bank to expect repayment. Taylor's folks have indicated that they expect to repay the loan. The bank indicates they expect repayment. Here's the Crawford piece. The detail makes it worth a read.

Political Notes -- Taylor knows where to go for funds by Tom Crawford on 5/22/2006

When Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor needed a cash infusion for his gubernatorial campaign, he knew exactly where to turn: his friendly hometown bank in Albany.
Late last December, at a time when Secretary of State Cathy Cox was having more success at raising campaign contributions and was threatening to pass Taylor in the money race, the lieutenant governor obtained a loan of more than $1 million from Albany Bank & Trust.
Taylor then put $1 million of that money into his campaign, but did not reveal in his disclosure report that the money had originated with Albany Bank & Trust. Instead, his report for the July-December period merely states that on Dec. 30 Taylor's campaign received a $1 million loan from the candidate.
The origin of the money wasn't revealed until the week of May 1, when Taylor filed the personal disclosure report with the State Ethics Commission that is required by Georgia's new ethics law. Taylor's report revealed that he had borrowed $1,005,982 from Albany Bank & Trust on a note that is due Dec. 30, 2006.
The only security for the bank loan, according to Taylor's disclosure report, is a life insurance policy with a face amount of $1.25 million but with a cash surrender value of zero.
Taylor's disclosure report also showed that he owns stock worth $15,065 in Community Capital Bancshares, Inc., the holding company that owns Albany Bank & Trust.
Some key officials of Community Capital Bancshares and Albany Bank & Trust are also major campaign contributors to Taylor.
Charles M. Jones III is the CEO of Community Capital Bancshares. During the 2002 race for lieutenant governor, Taylor reported $10,000 in contributions from Jones (two donations of $5,000 apiece on June 12, 2002). Taylor earlier reported a $5,000 contribution from Jones on May 7, 2001. Jones also contributed $5,000 to Taylor on June 30, 2004.
Taylor also reported a $1,000 contribution from Paul Joiner, who formerly was chief credit officer of Albany Bank & Trust and is now the interim president of Community Capital Bancshares.
Joiner declined to answer questions about why his bank would loan more than $1 million to a borrower when the only reported collateral was a life insurance policy with a zero cash surrender value.
I really can't discuss it that's a matter of privacy, Joiner said in a brief telephone interview. I really can't tell you a thing about it. He referred all questions to the Taylor campaign.
Taylor campaign spokesman Rick Dent confirmed that the bank loan was the source of the $1 million that Taylor gave to his campaign last December.
Dent described the financial transaction as a standard bank loan and added, "Like most banks, assets and an individual's credit history provide the basis for any loan qualification."
Albany Bank & Trust made the large loan to Taylor during a difficult period for the bank's holding company. On March 20, Community Capital Bancshares announced a loss of $172,000 in net income for the three-month period ending Dec. 31, 2005, the same quarter in which the loan was made to Taylor.
"Though we incurred a loss from a large charge-off on a loan relationship in the fourth quarter, our company has addressed its problems and repositioned itself on a solid foundation from which to grow our banking franchise, Jones said in a news release issued by the company.
On the same day that it disclosed its quarterly loss, Community Capital Bancshares also announced that Robert E. Bob Lee, president and director of the company, had resigned to pursue other interests. Lee's interim replacement was Paul Joiner, a Taylor contributor.
Bank loans to political candidates that are later paid back out of campaign contributions are not unusual in Georgia elections.
While campaign contributions from an individual to a candidate are limited to a maximum of $16,000 in an election cycle, that limitation does not apply to a bank loan made to a candidate if such loan is made in the normal course of business with the expectation on the part of all parties that such loan shall be repaid and the loan is based on the credit worthiness of the candidate and the candidate is personally liable for the repayment of the loan, according to the state ethics law.
On the personal disclosure report he filed earlier this month with the Ethics Commission, Taylor lists the bank loan as both an asset he will presumably be repaid by his campaign committee and a liability, since he must pay off the note to the bank by Dec. 30.
Taylor claims a net worth of $976,276 on his personal disclosure report. If, for some reason, his campaign were not able to pay him back the $1 million he lent to the campaign, Taylor theoretically would have a negative net worth.
People who invest in property or stock gain and lose income over time, Dent said in response to questions about Taylor's personal financial situation. Changes from year to year on the tax returns reflect the sale and/or purchase of assets. The loan is both an asset and a liability and therefore not something that really affects his overall net worth as calculated by the state ethics commission at all.
Taylor has earned most of his money from his position as vice president of his father's trucking business and from his real estate interests, according to media reviews of his personal tax returns. Taylor's taxable income has fluctuated from $495,261 in 2003 to $928,433 in 2004 and then to $199,406 in 2005.
Taylor transferred the bank loan funds into his campaign treasury at a time when Cox was raising significantly more money than Taylor from outside contributors.
In January 2005, Taylor had more than $1.7 million in his campaign bank account while Cox had just registered to begin raising money for the governor's race.
When the disclosure reports for the June-July 2005 period had been filed, Cox had raised $2.12 million compared to only $1.46 million for Taylor. That fundraising disparity continued during the July-December period of 2005 when Cox raised another $1.95 million from outside contributors to just $1.08 million from outside sources by Taylor.
By lending that extra $1 million to his campaign just before the end of the year, Taylor was able to report he had raised slightly more money overall than Cox during that July-December period.
A provision in the new ethics act that took effect on Jan. 9 will make it more difficult for future candidates to recoup loans that they make to their campaigns. From now on, a candidate who incurs loans for a campaign cannot be paid back out of campaign contributions to the extent that such loans exceed $250,000.

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