Georgia Democrats Respond to Attorney General Olens and Question Governor Deal’s Conduct

Georgia – Georgia Democrats have sent a ten-page document to elected Board of Education members throughout the state in response to the recent opinion by Attorney General Sam Olens regarding the use of public displays of support against the Charter School Amendment.  Last week, in what appeared to be an effort to influence the debate over the issue, Attorney General Olens told elected Board of Education members throughout the state that they did not have the “legal authority to expend funds or other resources to advocate or oppose the ratification of a constitutional amendment by the voters.”

Despite this ruling, the Democratic Party of Georgia found several instances of Governor Deal violating that same order, as he advocated for the Charter School Amendment on his own government website. In another instance, Deal promoted the T-SPLOST amendment that failed earlier this year. In a letter to the attorney general, Chairman Berlon asked that Olens’ look into possible ethical violations of this rule by Governor Nathan Deal.

According to DPG Chairman Mike Berlon, “The rules should be applied equally to everyone.  If the attorney general believes that public funds can’t be used to advocate for political issues, it’s not fair or reasonable to silence one’s position while the Governor advocates his own.  Let’s hope that the rules and the sanctions are the same for everyone.”

The ten-page document may be found here.