Catherine Bernard, Unethical Disclosures, and Frat Boys

On Friday, I filed an ethics complaint against Catherine Bernard’s campaign for House District 80. My complaint details her use of campaign money on hair treatments (think John Edwards) and her lack of end-recipients. She responded to my complaint this afternoon, accusing me of being one of the “smirking, useless frat boys in the Georgia Republican Party”. She also alleged my complaint is “made up”.

While her response was lovely, she forgot to mention her disclosures.

Let’s take a look at her filings; here’s a link. In one example, reimbursements were made to a Catherine Bernard rather than a printing company for “Push Cards”. In another example, an expenditure listed as “Beauty Bar of Buckhead” raises concerns. These are merely two examples listed in my four page complaint.

She also said my only link to House District 80 is my support of Meagan Hanson. This is an absurd attempt to move the conversation away from her financial disclosures. Let’s set the record straight: Last Thursday, the Atlanta Journal Constitution posted an article about the House District 80 race and each of the candidates contributions and expenditures. I happen to write for a blog dedicated to Georgia politics, so naturally my curiosity got the best of me. I discovered little gems in Catherine’s disclosures, such as proof she paid rent for a campaign HQ during a time she wasn’t a candidate. After a few minutes of exploring, I discovered multiple instances of unethical expenditures totaling over $8,000. My complaint alleges that she broke basic campaign ethics laws requiring candidates to tell the voters where money was spent.

The fact she tried to twist an ethics complaint, a situation in which she has possibly broken the law, into a personal attack against me shows her lack of sincerity in being an advocacy for transparency and ethics. Rather than rectify her wrongdoings, she blamed the establishment. My hope is she responds to the ethics complaint with facts, not personal attacks.

In closing, I didn’t join a fraternity. I don’t like Sperry’s enough.

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