Georgia Tipsheet

According to a report from the Atlanta Journal Constitution, state Senator Chip Rogers will announce that he is leaving office later today.

The news comes weeks after he declined to seek another term as Majority Leader of the upper chamber, and not even a month after his re-election to another term in office. The AJC report notes that Rogers “has been one of the Georgia Legislature’s most visible leaders, a conservative Republican who at times veered unintentionally into the spotlight because of his views.”

He recently received national attention, and late night jokes, for his part in hosting a meeting under the Gold Dome concerning Agenda 21.

Should the anticipated announcement come, a special election to fill his District 21 state Senate seat will be in order.

-Brandon Howell

An attorney for Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers vigorously denied on Friday allegations the lawmaker had wrongfully billed taxpayers for campaign expenses.

Doug Chalmers, a prominent Republican attorney representing the majority leader, said Rogers had breached no laws by seeking reimbursements for official mailers to constituents.

Chalmers, who served as lead counsel for John McCain’s 2008 presidential effort in Georgia, was retained by Rogers last week just as the investigative website Unfiltered Atlanta began probing state receipts and campaign financial disclosures.

The website reported a handful of instances in which Rogers had sought reimbursement for identical expenses already financed by his campaign committee.

Chalmers said the reimbursements were legitimate and that Rogers had personally loaned his campaign “tens of thousands of dollars” to originally underwrite them.

“They were not campaign mailings, they were constituent mailings and had nothing to do with his election or re-election,” Chalmers told the Marietta Daily Journal. “It was proper for him to be reimbursed because he had loaned his campaign tens of thousands of dollars which were used to make these expenses in the first place.”

But to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, he said, Rogers had cut his campaign a check for $8,500, an amount slightly larger than the reimbursements he received from the state.

- James Richardson

Georgia’s Senate majority leader has allegedly pocketed thousands of taxpayer dollars for expenses already financed by his campaign, a new audit of the lawmaker’s expense and campaign finance reports revealed Wednesday.

Woodstock Republican Chip Rogers submitted reimbursement vouchers totaling nearly $7,000 to the state Legislative Fiscal Office earlier this year but finance reports for his campaign committee show it settled identical accounts on the same approximate dates as the government invoices.

Similar examples in which the state reimbursed Rogers for payments apparently covered by his campaign were also found in his filings for 2003 and 2005.

The apparent instances of double-dipping were ferreted Wednesday by Jim Walls, who formerly led the investigative unit at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution until a 2008 contract buyout, at the website Atlanta Unfiltered.

Knowingly submitting bogus expense is punishable under Georgia law by a fine not to exceed $1,000 and/or a prison sentence between one and five years, an offense of which another top Senate Republican recently ran afoul.

In total, Rogers submitted four separate invoices in April and May for personal payments made to printing and mailing vendors for which his campaign footed identical outlays.

- James Richardson

A pair of Georgia’s most embattled incumbent lawmakers felled their opposition in Tuesday’s primaries, reaffirming the powerful imprint incumbency lays on the state’s political contests.

Republican Senators Chip Rogers, the senate majority leader, and Don Balfour, who sits atop the chamber’s powerful rules committee, cruised past primary challenges that some handicappers thought had promise for an upset.

Rogers’ Christian conservative coalition was tainted by the revelation that he was formerly a sports handicapper with reportedly deep ties to sports gaming, while Balfour was plagued by a constant drip of ethics complaints.

In the end, though, incumbency proved a potent ally.

Rogers garnered 59 percent of the vote while his rival, Brandon Beach, measured at just 41 percent. Balfour secured 63 percent in a three-way contest, the remainder evenly divided among his two GOP challengers.

Of course not all incumbents were so fortunate: as returns trickled in Tuesday night, it seemed likely that at least eleven of the incumbent class had been routed by challengers.

- James Richardson

A pair of incumbents in the state’s most closely-watched legislative primaries netted the endorsement of the National Federation of Independent Businesses on Monday.

Republican Senators Don Balfour and Chip Rogers topped the endorsement list, jointly offered by NFIB-Georgia and the Save America’s Free Enterprise Trust, that included 16 names in total.

“NFIB supports candidates who understand how important it is to reduce burdens on small business,” the group’s local chief, Kyle Jackson, said in a release. “These candidates have consistently supported less taxation, worked diligently to improve our unemployment comp system and embraced meaningfully regulatory reform.”

Balfour has been weathering a constant drip of charges the Snellville lawmaker violated ethics laws, while Rogers has been put on defense with Christian conservatives after the revelation he worked for decades as a sports handicapper.

Names of the other 14 pols, all primaried, include: Senators Cecil Stanton, Johnny Grant, Jack Murphy, Bill Heath and Frank Ginn, and Reps. Jay Neal, Paulette Braddock, Sean Jerguson, Don Parsons, John Carsons, Glenn Baker, Steve Davis, Jimmy Pruett and Chuck Simms.

An NFIB spox boasted the group’s endorsements would be “critical to these campaigns.”

But Balfour’s inclusion in the group’s legislative canon is already causing indigestion in some quarters of the right.

The editor of the popular Georgia political blog Peach Pundit wrote Monday that the endorsements had betrayed good government and grassroots activists.

“Balfour has that tiny problem of his pending Senate ethics investigation…” Charlier Harper wrote. “But NFIB doesn’t seem to care about that. Don Balfour delivers for them, as do these other incumbents. Insiders are scratching insiders [sic] backs, and you pesky grassroots voters are just supposed to shut up and glad they’re all there.”

- James Richardson

Brandon Beach, currently locked in a primary battle with state Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers, has had legal questions about his candidacy laid to rest by an administrative law judge.

District 21 resident Robert Grove had challenged Beach’s ability to run for office on the basis of his being a member of the state’s DOT, whose members are voted on by state lawmakers. Though Judge Ronit Walker made no mention of whether or not Beach’s spot on the board should have been forfeited upon qualifying to challenge Rogers, the decision did have this to say:

…While the Georgia Code bars candidates from running in two races simultaneously, in the instant case Respondent’s candidacy is neither barred by the Constitution nor by statute.

Coming on the heels of a rough report from the NRA, Majority Leader Rogers has netted the sole endorsement handed out by pro-life group Georgia Right to Life in the race.  Though the NRA did not endorse either candidate, Beach received a higher rating than the incumbent.

-Brandon Howell

Yesterday’s release of the NRA’s endorsements for contested Georgia primaries surely brought great news for some and served headaches for other prospective office holders and incumbents.

Most surprising of all, was Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers receiving a lower overall rating than his primary challenger, Brandon Beach. Rogers netted a ‘B’ from the organization while Beach rolled up an “AQ”, meaning he got an A rating purely for his survey response but lacks an actual voting record on NRA issues. As such, the prolific 2nd Amendment rights group did not make an official endorsement in the race but, for all intents and purposes, the rating seems to speak for itself.

Though a surprise to the naked eye, one cannot help but presume that the move serves as retribution for what the NRA felt was Rogers’s tampering with a piece of pro-gun legislation during this year’s legislative session. The group accused Rogers and then Senate President Pro Tempore Tommie Williams of working “against the NRA’s efforts behind the scenes”. 

The news comes following a fundraising report that saw the Majority Leader outpacing Beach handily, posting $291, 235.07 on hand to Beach’s $291,598.86. 

-Brandon Howell

Americans for Tax Reform President, and longtime anti-tax hike advocate, Grover Norquist waded into Georgia GOP primary waters today with an endorsement of Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers.

The basis of his endorsement? Rogers’s opposition to the transportation sales tax measure being voted on come July 31st. Per a release from Americans for Tax Reform:

The so-called ‘transportation tax’ is a more than a 7 billion dollar tax hike.  Senator Rogers knows that the problem isn’t that Georgia politicians are not raising enough in taxes.  They have been spending on areas other than transportation for years. Punishing today’s taxpayers for the bad spending decisions of yesterday’s legislators has it backwards. I am proud to have worked with Chip Rogers to bring down Georgia’s tax burden and take on special interests in both parties. He is a great leader with a bright future in the Republican Party and conservative movement.

Rogers’s primary opposition, Brandon Beach, counts himself a backer of the tax measure on the basis of improved infrastructure.

Due to the language of the endorsement, it may be of greater significance than first blush. Rogers also has the backing of Governor Nathan Deal, who has put himself openly on the line as a supporter of the sales tax. Norquist has ridiculed him for it, as Deal was a signer of his “no tax increase” pledge while in Congress. According to the AJC, the Senate Majority Leader played a strong part in getting the measure placed on the ballot, and Rogers’s lack of support comes from “the content list subsequently drawn up by local leaders”.

-Brandon Howell

Georgia state Senator Chip Rogers said his political opponents were engaging in shameless “gutter politics” for stoking a rift with Christian conservatives over his sports broadcasting career.

The subject of a number of exposes in recent days, Rogers has been forced to defend his decades-long career as a sports handicapper.

“The fact that I was hired as talent on a sports show 14 years ago clearly has no impact on the life of any Georgian,” Rogers told the Marietta Daily Journal Thursday. “I realize my opponents do not wish to debate my record of cutting taxes, reforming Georgia’s property tax system, shrinking the size of government or helping creating jobs. It is unfortunate that they would be given a platform for dragging political debate to this levee.”

One local Christian group that considers gambling an industry that “preys upon our youth, the elderly, minorities and those with less education” is already calling for his ouster from party leadership.

The Georgia Christian Coalition demanded on Wednesday the Woodstock lawmaker resign his leadership post for his “proximity or accessory to gambling activity in the past.”

- James Richardson

The Georgia Christian Coalition demanded on Wednesday that Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers resign his leadership post atop the Republican caucus for his decades-long sports handicapping that the group said facilitated gambling.

“I want him to step down because of his proximity or accessory to gambling activity in the past,” Coalition President Jerry Luquire told the Associated Press today.

The group–which rates curtailing gambling alongside the outlawing of abortion and gay marriage equally pressing legislative fronts–said the Woodstock lawmaker was too close to an industry that “preys upon our youth, the elderly, minorities and those with less education.” They are not, as of yet, pressing him to resign his seat or abandon reelection.

Said Rogers in a 2000 broadcast: “My friends, if you want to win and you want to win big, I’ve got information about all of my lineups for today.”

Rogers, now locked in a competitive primary with fellow GOP’er Brandon Beach, did not respond to the AP’s request for comment, but recently said what would-be gamblers did with his “win big” picks was of no consequence to him.

“It’s not my role to determine what people use the information for,” he told WSB-TV earlier this week. “I was simply there to read a script, what they did with the information had nothing to do with me.”

- James Richardson

As of noon today, the time to qualify for the Georgia ballot in 2012 has ended. With that, campaign season is officially underway and several storylines now move into their next phase.

Eyes have been locked on the coalition of tea party and progressive groups pushing candidates and lawmakers to sign a pledge of co-sponsorship for legislation that would cap lobbyist gifts at $100 a year. Vowing to target incumbents who did not sign the pledge, this week was intended to serve as a true test to their potential strength.

While (as of this moment) just 34 legislators and candidates have signed onto the pledge, the bigger story lies in the names on the list, particularly on the Senate side. President Pro Tem Tommie Williams was a late signee yesterday, and as the Tipsheet has already documented, Rules Committee Chairman Don Balfour (following his last minute qualifying) joined the list this morning. His signing of the pledge, in particular, has potential to send shockwaves, as he had been a prime target of those seeking ethics reform in Georgia. (more…)

Little over three hours into the first day of “qualifying half-week” for those seeking inclusion on the ballot in Georgia this coming November, a number of incumbent lawmakers have drawn primary opposition throughout the state. While many of these challengers had already declared their intent to run, paying the qualifying fee makes it offical and secures a spot on the ballot in the July 31st primary. Per the Secretary of State’s website:

• Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers (GA-21) is set to square off, in the GOP primary, against Brandon Beach, a Chamber of Commerce CEO.
• Senate Majority Whip Cecil Staton (GA-18) has drawn primary opposition from Spencer Price, a Macon-area physician.
• State Rep. Doug McKillip (GA-117), a three-term incumbent, will square off against Athens attorney Regina Quick.
• U.S. Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-4) has drawn opposition from consultant Lincoln Nunnally.
• Steve Voshall, a businessman and founder of the Forsyth County Tea Party who announced his intention to challenge Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee Chairman Jack Murphy slightly less than two weeks ago, has yet to qualify.

(more…)