Ethics Commission: No hearing on Oxendine case before primary

The State Ethics Commission will wait until after the July 20 primaries to hold a hearing on a complaint that two insurance companies funneled $120,000 to Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine's campaign for governor, commission officials said in court Thursday

The insurance companies are suing the commission, alleging that the investigation is politically motivated. They want it stopped. The judge said she would make her ruling by July 16

Stacey Kalberman, the commission's executive secretary, told Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Adams that no hearing would be held before the primary

Last year The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that State Mutual Insurance Co. and a subsidiary, Admiral Life Insurance Co., both of Rome, sent almost 10 times the legal amount of campaign contributions to Oxendine using 10 political action committees in Alabama. The PACs were started by Donald V. Watkins, a banker who sits on the State Mutual board. The PACs operate out of his bank, Alamerica, in Birmingham. The insurance companies are headed by Delos Yancey, a friend of Oxendine

Georgia’s Ethics-in-Government Act prohibits elected officials from taking money from companies they regulate. The law also prohibits funneling money through PACs to get around contribution limits of $12,200 per candidate in a normal election cycle

After the AJC report, Oxendine returned the donations and the ethics commission launched an investigation. This May the commission issued subpoenas for financial records from the insurance companies. The companies sued

On Thursday, Daniel Meachum, lawyer for the insurance companies, argued the commission was anti-Oxendine, and trying to hurt his reputation. Don’t wait until it’s too late, find out more about business insurance.

Stefan Ridder, a senior assistant attorney general representing the commission, said the commission needed to investigate what happened