South Carolina state representative Todd Atwater committed a “potential ethics violation” by failing to file paperwork for his statewide candidacy in a timely manner.
That’s according to a complaint we’re told was filed recently with the S.C. State Ethics Commission (SCSEC).
According to the complaint – which was reportedly filed earlier this year – Atwater is accused of violating S.C. Code of Laws § 8-13-1308 by failing to submit his campaign finance paperwork to the commission within ten days of spending his first $500 on this spring’s race for attorney general.
Atwater filed his first campaign finance report on January 10, 2018 – more than a month after he entered the race. Atwater officially announced his candidacy on December 7 of last year – the same day he held a fundraiser “with donation levels of $1,000 and $500,” according to a source familiar with the complaint.
That event was exclusively reported by this news site last November.
The complaint also alleges that Atwater “commissioned a poll regarding the attorney general’s race before his announcement, clearly an expense that would greatly exceed $500.”
It’s not clear whether the SCSEC has initiated an inquiry into the allegations – in fact, we may never know if it did.
That’s thanks to the deliberately opaque process by which allegations against elected officials in the Palmetto State are handled. Basically, those who file these complaints aren’t allowed to discuss them, and neither are those ultimately responsible for adjudicating them.
The goal of all this secrecy? To keep everything under wraps …
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[/timed-content-server]This wouldn’t be the first time questions have been raised regarding Atwater’s campaign ethics. Late last month, we reported on a questionable mailing sent from his S.C. State House campaign. The mailing was ostensibility sent to constituents in S.C. House District 87 – which Atwater has represented since 2010 – however we received multiple reports from individuals outside of the district who received the campaign communication.
Are either of these scandals a big deal? No, not really …
As far as we’re concerned the scandal Atwater needs to be worried about is his history of voting on behalf of the liberal special interest that was paying him $400,000 a year (at least).
In fact we’re amazed there has been no ethics compliant filed yet about that …
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