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By Jeff, on July 13th, 2010%
I don’t know about y’all, but I use DVR when watching TV – I RARELY watch anything live anymore, instead tape delaying it at least an hour and skipping all commercials – including political ones.
So I completely miss anything the candidates put on TV.
Fortunately, many are smart enough to realize that I’m not the only voter that does this, and so they place them on youtube as well. Over the next couple of days, I will do my best to place every single campaign commercial from a Statewide candidate on this site for your viewing pleasure (or revulsion, as the case may be). I will place them in what youtube has as chronological order, from earliest to latest.
Continue reading Campaign Commercials: John Oxendine
By Jeff, on July 3rd, 2010%
John Oxendine and his former Campaign Manager (and current PSC District 2 Candidate) Tim Echols are now in hot water – AGAIN.
This story by AJC’s Aaron Gould Sheinin describes an interesting tale. Apparently Ox doesn’t have quite the active fan base he thought he did, and he felt he needed to spent $12,500 to hire 150 teenagers to go knocking on doors.
That alone, not such a big deal, so long as it shows up on his disclosure.
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By Jeff, on July 2nd, 2010%
Yesterday, multiple Atlanta media outlets revealed court documents from 20 years ago in Houston County revolving around a young lawyer. This lawyer had been practicing law for just two years when he was involved in some kind of dispute where he was representing some company. Apparently, he was ordered multiple times by the judge to produce some documents, and he never did.
Because of this blatant disregard for the orders of a judge by a young lawyer, the judge told the lawyer this:
“If I knew I could suspend you from practicing law in the state of Georgia for the rest of your life I would do so. You’re an an abomination as far as I’m concerned… let me tell you what. If I knew I could put you in jail right now for contempt of court, I would do so…We don’t need people like you practicing law in the state of Georgia…I’ve never seen anybody quite like you…You give all lawyers a bad name as far as I’m concerned.”
That young lawyer? He’s no one we should be concerned with right now. He hasn’t been making headlines relatively frequently over the past couple of years. He hasn’t been the subject of numerous posts here. He isn’t running for Governor, and he hasn’t been accused of accepting $120K in potentially illegal campaign contributions.
Oh, that’s right – he HAS done all of that stuff, and he IS someone we should be concerned about right now.
You got it – that young lawyer is John Oxendine, and this WSB-TV report tells the whole story.
H/T to Doug Deal for the title of the post. 
By Jeff, on June 5th, 2010%
John Oxendine has been having a pretty dang good week.
First, he got a hearing that had been planned regarding that $120K in potentially illegal funds he was caught accepting last summer put on hold until after the Primary.
Then, Jim Galloway’s latest post on his site (which may well be a print edition article, from the style of it) was about how John’s campaign has done SO GOOD recently about avoiding all the screwups that had plagued it until around March, when he got his 3rd campaign manager in 12 months.
But then this video came out, literally within a couple of hours of me seeing Galloway’s post:
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By Jeff, on May 21st, 2010%
I’ve noticed over the past couple of months – since getting his THIRD campaign manager in 10 months or so – that Ox has been pretty quiet. He seemed to be content to let the others duke things out while he sat back on his name ID and coasted to a spot in the runoff.
Honestly, that was the single smartest move I’ve EVER seen him make.
But all of a sudden going quiet like that also can arouse suspicion – the proverbial “calm before the storm”.
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By Jeff, on April 8th, 2010%
John Oxendine will be in town at the Southwest Ga Regional Airport today from 4:30p to 6p for a Fair Tax Town Hall.
If any of you actually go, can you get some audio and/or video and get it to us please? Thanks!
Since I’m trying to be somewhat nice with this announcement, I’ll shut up now.
By Jeff, on April 5th, 2010%
Per an email I just got, it appears that the Lee County Sign Ordinance that snagged two Governor candidates and the sitting Governor recently is actually in violation of State Law itself.
You see, per an email I got about 30 minutes ago, OCGA 16-7-58(a)(2) states (emphasis mine)
It shall be unlawful for any person to place posters, signs, or advertisements: On any private property unless the owner thereof or the occupier as authorized by such owner has given permission to place such posters, signs, or advertisements on such property; and, provided, further that no municipal, county, or consolidated government may restrict by regulation or other means the length of time a political campaign sign may be displayed or the number of signs which may be displayed on private property for which permission has been granted;
This means that three clauses in particular of the Lee County Sign Ordinance are in direct violation of this State law. The relevant portion of the Lee County Sign Ordinance in question is contained in Section 70-645, which states (bold emphasis mine):
(b) Signs not requiring a permit. Except as otherwise provided, the following on-site signs may be erected without securing a sign permit, subject however, to meeting all other applicable county codes and regulations.
…
(13) Political signs provided as follows:
a. The sign shall not be displayed earlier than 60 days prior to the primary election, general election or referendum it concerns.
b. The sign must be removed no later than seven days following the date of the primary election, general election or referendum it concerns. The owner of the property on which the sign is located will be responsible for removing the sign; provided, however, that a property owner shall have no responsibility where the sign has been placed on his property without his consent.
c. The sign shall not be lighted, either directly or indirectly.
d. The sign shall be located entirely on private property. It shall not be located, in whole or in part, on any public lands or public right-of-way and shall not be located on any trees, rocks or like objects.
e. The number of signs displayed shall be restricted to one sign per premise per candidate or issue.
f. Political signs shall not exceed four square feet in area in residential districts. In all other zoning districts, political signs shall not exceed nine square feet.
g. The planning director, code enforcement administrator, or other designated county employee shall, without notice, immediately remove or cause to be removed any and all political signs in violation of this section. The removal will be at the expense of the property owner.
I have requested that the entire Lee County Sign Ordinance be suspended in its entirety pending further review, in an email which I sent to Lee County Clerk Christi Dockery, Lee County Administrator Alan Ours, and each member of the Lee County Commission. Also in this email, I requested that this subject be added to the Agenda for next week’s meeting, and that I be allowed to present a modified Sign Ordinance to the Commissioners. That email is below the fold.
Now, how does this affect John Oxendine, Ray McBerry, and Sonny Perdue (as well as all other candidates)? As it stands right now, any signs they put up are STILL in violation of the Lee County Sign Ordinance until I can get it suspended. Meaning that they are STILL breaking the law, even though the law in question is violating State law. This is not a matter the individuals in question can simply choose to ignore, however, as there are right and just procedures in effect for correcting this issue – namely, going before the Commissioners to have them amend the Ordinance, and failing that, a legal case before court of competent jurisdiction.
No, Ray, you can’t throw the Commissioners in jail on felony charges.
I will continue to update on this developing story.
Here’s the email I sent:
Continue reading Lee County Sign Ordinance Violates State Law
By Jeff, on April 2nd, 2010%
by the Lee County Sign Ordinance.
Driving around town over the past few days, I’ve noticed three rather large signs for two Governor candidates that have already had personal run-ins with the law: John Oxendine and Ray McBerry. There is also a similar sized sign from current Governor Sonny Perdue’s 2006 campaign.
Ox’s is in downtown Leesburg, roughly 50′ off the railroad tracks and within 5′ or so of Walnut Ave at the redlight in front of the Lee County Courthouse. It was erected within the past 48 hours, as it was not there when I was in town Weds, but was there when I came through town last night. McBerry’s is on a dilapidated billboard maybe 30-50′ off Hwy 82 in southern Lee County, near the Oakland Plantation area, and has been there for at least a few weeks now. It is on top of a 2006 sign from Governor Perdue.
Here’s the problem: all four signs violate the law, the Lee County Sign Ordinance.
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By Jeff, on March 9th, 2010%
I knew about this issue from twitter, but admittedly I’m a bit late on getting all the details. But trust the boys from Peach Pundit to avoid this one like the plague – it makes their girl look like… well, a paranoid conspiracy theorist.
Here’s what has happened:
Apparently, John Oxendine told the Rome Chamber of Commerce that he “fully supports” a highway most people here in South Ga have never heard of and probably never would hear of, but is a major agenda item of this group. It is the proposed “411 Connector” that basically extends US 411 from US 41 to connect to I-75 at Ga-20. (Roughly 5-10 miles or so across northern Cartersville.) Ox said “I am going to build that road if I am elected governor”. (Which brings up an interesting side question: How is Ox going to have time to personally build a road if he is trying to manage a State and go on fancy hunting and awards show trips every year?)
About a week later -and timed to coincide with a major ad campaign against this road from a maxed-out contributor to her campaign – Karen Handel questioned this road’s value and route, in language very similar to the ad from the major contributor.
Much has been said about the conflict between Lynn Westmoreland and John Oxendine, but this issue is showing some fracture lines between US Rep Phil Gingrey and Karen, with Gingrey telling the Rome News-Tribune this:
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By Jeff, on February 18th, 2010%
We do see it coming – which is why you continue to fall in polls. 90% of the people of this state know who you are, and yet the latest polling indicates that only 25% of them would vote for you – and last summer, you were bragging about 35%!
For those that don’t know, Austin Scott dropped a nuclear bomb on The Ox yesterday during a hearing on his bill that would make some of Ox’s known actions a felony – specifically his taking donations from insurance executives while Commissioner of Insurance. (That $120K in allegedly illegal donations he accepted last year would be included here.)
Galloway has the details here and here, but here are Ox’s direct words:
“Because [elected insurance commissioners] are different. We are a pain in the butt. We are very high maintenance. We’re politicians. I am not a professional regulator, I am a politician.”
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