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COMMUNITY
Wilkinson spars with
ethics reformers
BY DAN WH1SENHUNT
danwhisenhunt@reporternewspapers.net
Rep. Joe Wilkinson clashed with
groups looking to reform the state’s
ethics laws over remarks he made at a
Jan. 24 luncheon for Fulton County leg
islators.
House Speaker David Ralston in
January introduced a bill that would
be “a complete ban on lobbyists spend
ing on individual members of the gen
eral assembly, a complete
ban on gifts, tickets to
athletic events, concerts
and other entertainment
events.”
Wilkinson chairs the
House Ethics Commit
tee and said the state has
some of the strongest
ethics laws in the country
and that journalistic bias
is responsible for the mo
mentum behind the pro
posal.
During the luncheon
Wilkinson, R-Atlanta, drew compar
isons to believing in the Easter Bunny
when talking about whether the state
needs to strengthen its ethics laws.
“I know Santa Claus is real, but I’ve
had some doubts about the Easter Bun
ny, so why don’t I say the Easter Bun
ny is real so I’ll feel better,” Wilkinson
said during the luncheon. “I mean this
is why we we’re working very carefully
to be substantive, not an Easter Bunny-
type thing.”
Representatives of two groups push
ing for reforms — Common Cause Geor
gia and the League of Women Voters of
Georgia — said Wilkinson’s comments
show he is out of touch with residents.
William Perry, executive director of
Common Cause Georgia, called Wilkin
son’s remarks “flabbergasting.”
“He’s definitely towing the party line
and it’s something I think shows how
completely out of touch he is,” Perry
said. “The problem is people who act in
an ethical manner don’t fear raising eth-
Joe Wilkinson
ical standards.”
Elizabeth Poythress, president of the
League of Women Voters of Georgia,
said the reforms are about restoring trust
and transparency.
“That’s why we need ethics reform,”
Poythress said. “It’s not about making
us feel better, it’s about building trust,
and trust is the foundation of democ
racy. Chairman Wilkin
son should really get
fairy tales off of his mind
and listen to the voices
of Georgians that spoke
in the last election, 82
percent saying that they
wanted ethics reform.”
The groups pushing
for reform want to limit
what lobbyists spend on
state legislators and pass
laws addressing conflicts
of interest.
Wilkinson’s remarks
drew the attention of Jim Walls, edi
tor of the Atlanta Unfiltered Blog. Walls
helped the Center for Public Integrity
produce a 2012 report that found Geor
gia ranked last among all 50 states when
it comes to transparency.
Until Reporter Newspapers post
ed the video, Walls was unaware that
Wilkinson commissioned a report to
challenge the CPI report.
Wilkinson declined to provide a copy
of the report to Reporter Newspapers.
The state Legislature is exempt from the
state’s Open Records Act.
“It is not a public report,” Wilkinson
said. “It is something I used to try to do
an appeal. The fact of the matter is, it’s
moot now.”
Wilkinson said that he wants sub
stantive reforms, not “feel good” legis
lation.
“My goal is far higher than that,”
Wilkinson said. “It is to restore the
public’s confidence in their elected of
ficials.”
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