Joel Ebert, Nashville Tennessean Published 5:00 a.m. CT Aug. 14, 2019
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Two Tennessee agencies that serve as watchdogs of elected officials, candidates and political organizations are owed nearly $1.9 million, according to records provided to The Tennessean.
The average Tennessean could lose their home, be subject to liens, face collections agencies or go to jail if tickets or taxes go unpaid.
But that’s not the case for the candidates, officials and organizations that have been fined by the Registry of Election Finance and the Tennessee Ethics Commission.
Instead, the state’s attorney general is tasked with collecting the two agencies’ unpaid fines. Records show Tennessee’s top attorney has been unsuccessful and the amount in unpaid fines has grown.
The registry alone is owed $1.5 million, according to state records provided by Janet Williams, interim executive director of the Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance. In 2017, the registry was owed $786,000.
The registry’s outstanding fines include more than $475,000 in penalties levied in 2017 against expelled former state Rep. Jeremy Durham and his political action committee. Durham is appealing the registry’s record-setting $465,000 fine.
Also on the list of those who have not paid their fines is Rep. Joe Towns, D-Memphis. He has outstanding penalties totaling $45,000 that date back to 2017.
It is not immediately clear how Towns appeared on the 2018 ballot, given that he owed $10,000 from the preceding year. State law prohibits any candidates with outstanding penalties from qualifying to appear on the ballot.
Also appearing on the registry’s unpaid fine list is former Republican state senator and current Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron and his political action committee. In total, Ketron and his PAC owe $50,000.
The registry’s latest annual report indicates less than 40% of the fines it levied in 2018 have been paid. More than $236,000 in penalties assessed in 2018 have yet to be paid.
The registry’s unpaid penalties range from fines levied in the early 1990s to this year. The majority of the fines range from $10 to $10,000, with the lone exception being Durham’s massive penalty.
The Ethics Commission, meanwhile, has $345,000 in unpaid penalties on its books, up from $232,000 in 2017. The oldest outstanding fine issued by the panel dates back to 2008.
The unpaid fines to the Ethics Commission and the registry highlight the lax enforcement of both agencies, which are among the few watchdogs capable of punishing lawmakers and public officials in Tennessee.
Fines collected by the two state agencies end up going into the state’s general fund. The attorney general’s office is allowed to seek interest and court costs on top of the original fine amount.
A spokeswoman for Attorney General Herbert Slatery’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Many of the outstanding fines have been reduced and the registry frequently reconsiders or completely nullifies its previous actions.
The registry is set to meet Wednesday and could consider levying fines against a more than a dozen people, including, as is often the case, Towns. He has been fined more than $100,000 since 1996.
The registry is also expected to formally initiate a probe of embattled former House Speaker Glen Casada’s campaign finances at its Wednesday meeting.
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Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.
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