Conflicts of Interests in State Government, Local Forsyth County Connections
The Guilty flee when no one pursues
Speaking to a crowd of local citizens, Christ was clear when he instructed, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
Yet our state and local governments are awash with elected and appointed officials serving conflicting interests. I submit that it is this explosive phenomenon, one of public officials representing conflicting interests, which is destroying our country. It should not happen and the people of Georgia, and in particular Forsyth County, should not tolerate it.
Warnings Prior to Taking Office
In recent years, I have made it a point to warn anyone running to represent me in state government, that should he (or she) win, “Do not trust anyone.” State government is a fountainhead of riches for anyone who can find a way to sponsor legislation to channel taxpayer funds to benefit private interests. That is why at our state capitol you see countless smiling faces, representing special interests from both inside and outside of the state. These lobbyists get paid big money to influence decisions of our state politicians. So before they go down there for their first term, I tell my representatives, keep it simple. Do not trust anyone. Do not go to lunch. Do not let them into your office. Keep your head down. Remain focused on the interests of the people you represent at home. Sounds simple, but it must be more complicated than that because hardly anyone heeds my warning. And that is what ultimately gets them into trouble.
Conflict of Interest #1- Taking Contributions from Outside of One’s Home District
I recall a few years back a newly-elected, well-liked, but naive state senator from my home of Forsyth County, Georgia, who as usual, received “the warning.” He was an individual whose motives were pure, and who if he chose could have remained in that seat as long as he wanted, with very little need of outside campaign financing. But shortly after taking the oath of office, I received a letter from the Lieutenant Governor inviting me to a fundraiser on my senator’s behalf at the Capitol Grill in downtown Atlanta. I just shook my head. Accepting an offer for a fundraiser such as that, outside of district, is just the beginning of conflicting interests taking control of a politician. When you take their money, they will not let you forget it. As soon as a representative accepts an offer for an out-of-district fundraiser, he begins to serve two masters. Once contributions change hands, there is no going back. Once a politician accepts contributions from outside of district, he no longer serves only the people who elected him, and can’t serve both, defining a conflict of interest.
The system exploits normal human frailties. We all have them. All it takes is one weaker moment and everything changes. A weaker moment easily morphs, becoming a lifestyle. Unfortunately, trusting others in politics eventually became this senator’s downfall.
Conflict of Interest #2- Sponsoring Legislation for Personal Enrichment
Normally, interested third parties hire lobbyists to persuade lawmakers to sponsor legislation on their behalf. But now and then, a lawmaker becomes even more greedy than usual, effectively becoming his his own lobbyist, sponsoring legislation for his own personal enrichment. If you read my Substack, you know of one recent local case in which a Forsyth County Georgia Representative, Todd Jones, sponsored legislation, HB520, written such that only his firm possessed the patented monitoring technology, hardware and services capable of satisfying the bill’s requirements. The potential wealth transferred from the people of Georgia to his firm as a result of HB520 becoming law would be unbounded. A legislator cannot do that. It is a conflict of interest, which is why I filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee earlier this month.
Taking that conflict of interest a step further, Representative Jones recruited other legislators to either invest or work alongside in his firm, eventually causing them to become conflicted as well, as Jones, unbeknown to them, sponsored legislation serving their personal interests without them knowing, which, again, is why I warn, “Don’t trust anyone.”
Conflict of Interest #3- Representing the Governor as the Governor’s Floor Leader
Another manifestation of an elected representative serving two masters, is one we see year after year, but few recognize it for what it really is, a conflict of interest.
Each year, before the Georgia General Assembly convenes, the governor issues a press release advising the House and Senate of the members he has chosen to represent him as his “floor leaders” in each chamber. But guess what? Not only does that create a conflict of interest for the floor leaders, but it is also a violation of the Georgia Constitution, which separates powers among three branches of government. The governor is the executive, not a lawmaker. As such, he is not eligible to legislate. He does not get “floor leaders” to propose his own personally-endorsed legislation, and certainly not to whip other members to pass it when they resist. Furthermore, he does not get to propose an annual “governor’s bill.” The governor only executes the laws the legislators pass, and which he opts to sign into law. There is no such constitutionally-authorized position as a “governor’s floor leader.” It’s simply not a thing.
Therefore, Forsyth County voters should know that the moment Representative Lauren McDonald (R-26) agrees to represent the governor on the floor of the Georgia House of Representatives, he necessarily walks away from the interests of the people who elected him. “No man can serve two masters.” The governor is not entitled to representation in either chamber. Only the people of Georgia are entitled to representation in the Georgia Legislature. When Lauren McDonald agrees to represent the governor, that is a conflict of interest just like any other. When McDonald represents the governor, his constituents receive his representation only so long as they agree with the governor’s will. If you do not believe me, how many times have you known a governor’s floor leader to vote against the governor? I venture to say, never. If it happened, it would be window dressing, or a governor’s floor leader would be called in for a visit and summarily fired from representing the governor on the floor of the chamber. Because the governor wields that amount of influence over his floor leaders, the districts these legislators are elected to serve effectively have no independent representation in state government, violating the inherent principle of separation of powers, but also violating Article IV, Section 4 of the US Constitution, which requires every citizen to be represented in the government. But of course floor leaders will tell you they represent their districts even better, being so closely aligned with the governor. Even if that were true, it would violate the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution requiring equal protection under the law for all the other citizens of Georgia. But it’s not true anyway. When a governor’s floor leader loses the ability to vote against the governor, which is what happens, then he is also not able to maintain independence necessary to represent his district when the needs and opinions of his district require it.
Conflict of Interest #4- Interests Divided While Preparing Future Employment
In December of 2020, former Georgia House Representative Kevin Tanner signed a two-year contract to become Forsyth County Manager. Regarding that contract, the Forsyth County News reported,
However, while under contract with the county, rather than devoting his “FULL and EXCLUSIVE time and attention to his employee duties,” Tanner divided his time, simultaneously serving as chairman of the Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission, a commission created under HB514, which, BTW, Tanner, himself, sponsored into law the previous year (2019). A month and a half prior to the expiration of his two-year contract with Forsyth County, in November of 2022, Kevin Tanner accepted the governor’s tap to become the full-time Commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD), stepping into that position in early December, walking away from his contractual obligation with Forsyth County, which as reported would not expire until later that month.
Regarding Tanner’s activities during his contract with Forsyth County, according to Decatur State Representative Mary Margaret Oliver, ranking member of the Georgia Senate Health and Human Services Subcommittee, “His leadership of the Behavioral Health Commission for the last two years has begun nationally recognized reform — very needed for Georgia families.”
Thus, Rep. Oliver confirmed for us that during his time with Forsyth County, the County Manager could not have phsically fulfilled his contractual obligation to devote “full and exclusive time” to his employer. Instead, Tanner spent county time working for his other interest, as a commission chair for the State of Georgia. Furthermore, during his contract at Forsyth County, Tanner became a wholly-involved advocate for the passage of HB1013, the Mental Health Parity Act of 2022, sponsored by, you guessed it, House Rep. Todd Jones (see above). After HB1013 passed, Governor Kemp rewarded Tanner’s moonlighting as commission chair, elevating the (A) present Forsyth County Manager, (B) former elected representative, and (C) present state commission chairman to become (D) the highly-compensated and powerful Commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
A few questions seem in order here. One question is whether Kevin Tanner knew he would become chairman of the commission created in the bill he, himself, sponsored into law, which if so would have been a conflict of interest. Reason tells us he did. Next is whether Kevin Tanner received over $200K a year from Forsyth County for simply signing his name on a piece of paper. Reason tells us there are only so many hours in a day and we can doubt Kevin Tanner was up all night. Next would be whether Kevin Tanner knew the county manager position would be an interim, part-time position, but with full-time pay, while awaiting the opening of a permanent position as Georgia Commissioner of DBHDD, which happened to be vacated perfectly at the end of his two year contract with the county. And finally, here is a question for our county commissioners: If Kevin Tanner really were the best candidate for the job when they offered him the position of county manager, why would the Forsyth County Commission only desire to contract for his services for two years?
Now, all those questions are thought provoking; but here’s what really puzzles me: I don’t know Kevin Tanner, I have never spoken to Kevin Tanner. I have never mentioned him in any of my writings. That being the case, why when I visit Kevin Tanner’s Twitter page would I find myself BLOCKED? To Kevin Tanner, unless something else is going on here, I should only be some obscure blogger, if he knows my name at all. Why would Kevin Tanner block some obscure blogger he does not know, who has never darkened his Twitter page, and who for all he knows has no reason to even go there? On the other hand, given my recent articles on HB520, given my ethics complaint against Todd Jones for his role in sponsoring a bill in which his company would receive unbounded, perpetual income, and given that as the Commissioner of DBHDD, Kevin Tanner would be the one signing those checks…well, you tell me what’s going on here. In the very least, the picture I paint is what the term, “conflict of interest,” really looks like. And it appears Kevin Tanner could teach seminars on how to do it. There are so many conflicts of interest here that even I am having a hard time keeping up with them.
So, apparently, the guilty really do flee when no one pursues. I never like to make my writings about me, but for some reason Kevin Tanner did not want me to see or comment on his Twitter page, which of course only made me curious. As I said above, I don’t know Kevin Tanner, and prior to writing this piece I had no reason to even consider him. Therefore, he should have nothing to hide. So why block me? I really don’t know. But a quick peak from another computer confirms what we just learned, this time written by the hand of the commissioner himself.
Therefore, unless his contract with Forsyth County offered provisions other than those reported, there appears no way for Kevin Tanner to have performed the duties he agreed with Forsyth County, duties requiring his FULL and EXCLUSIVE attention for the length of his contract, Tanner publicly admitting in the tweet above that he effectively moonlighted with the State of Georgia the entire time.
I suggest the Forsyth Commission instruct the county attorney to research these facts, as reported, and if determined true, seek reimbursement of contract payments made to Kevin Tanner using a formula calculated to adjust for time spent performing duties with the State of Georgia, and/or lobbying for the passage of HB1013, or any other activities which took him from his responsibilities fulfilling the contract he signed, paid by Forsyth County taxpayers.
Summary
Government officials, both elected and appointed, operating under conflicting interests, are destroying our country. They are de-legitimizing our governing authorities. The examples we see in these cases barely scratch the surface.
Will any of this change? Can the republic be restored? Not as long as citizens abdicate their responsibilities to ensure representatives and government officials perform the jobs they are elected to perform, which is only to represent and do the work of the people who elect and pay them.
Hank, You have a gift of discovery and revelations to and for the people. I don't know how many followers you have or what support system you have, but I think you could be pivotal in uncovering a lot that the people of GA and beyond that need to know.
You are my partner. I connect the dots, maybe not as well as you. Todd Jones is a menace to the State of Georgia and needs to be “turfed out” in the next cycle. Tanner is so emblematic of salaried do-nothing officials marketing influence for personal gain.