Ethics board fines Macon mayor, other local officials

The Georgia Ethics Commission fined Macon-Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller on Wednesday for violating Georgia campaign finance laws by transferring nearly a quarter million dollars in excess campaign contributions to a nonprofit organization in which he had a controlling interest.

Miller, who was elected in 2020 and re-elected in 2024, was fined $5,000 for five separate violations that occurred over a period of four months last year. 

The state’s investigation found Miller transferred a total of $220,000 in excess campaign contributions from his campaign to Advance Alliance of Georgia Action Fund, a nonprofit he helped create in 2023, on five different occasions between March and June 2024. Miller is listed as the nonprofit’s CEO but told the commission he doesn’t have a controlling interest in it. 

Earlier this year, Miller told The Melody the purpose of Advance Alliance was to promote “civic engagement and policy advocacy in the areas of public safety, education, economic development and good governance.” 

Miller disputed that he knowingly or intentionally violated campaign finance laws but cooperated with the commission’s investigation and “explained that these alleged violations were inadvertent, and at all times he believed he was operating within campaign finance law,” according to the consent order approved by the ethics commission Wednesday. Miller withdrew those defenses in the interest of resolving the matter.

The mayor told the state he was relying on the Black’s Law Dictionary definition of controlling interest, which means a greater-than-50% ownership in an enterprise, in creating the action fund. He also said all the money was spent legally and part of it went to “political purposes” and “research and advocacy regarding violence prevention best practices, mental health policy, tax policy, economic development strategies” plus legal expenses related to the setup of the fund, according to the consent order. 

A Melody investigation in April found Miller filtered at least $100,000 through different organizations to support and oppose certain candidates for local and state offices. Most candidates targeted for support and opposition said they were unaware of money spent to influence the outcome of their races.

Miller wasn’t the only public office holder in Macon to be fined by the ethics commission at its meeting in Savannah on Wednesday.

State Rep. Miriam Paris, D-Macon, was fined $500 for failing to file personal financial disclosure reports for 2022 and 2023. Paris told the ethics commission she inadvertently missed the filings when the state adopted a new filing system in 2022, according to the consent order. Paris filed the missing reports immediately when contacted by the state.

Macon Water Authority Board Chair Gary Bechtel was fined $1,500 for failing to file five campaign finance disclosure reports between September 2022 and December 2024. He also did not file the required yearly personal financial disclosure in 2021, 2022 and 2023. 

Bechtel told the ethics commission that he inadvertently missed the filings and “moving forward, he has a better understanding of the required filings for his elective office,” according to the consent order. Bechtel was elected chairman of the water authority board in 2022. He has  previously served on the water board, the school board and county commission. 

Also Wednesday, the ethics commission fined Go Big for Macon, a ballot question committee formed to promote passage of the 2025 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, for accepting a $50,000 contribution from the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority. Go Big for Macon raised $85,000 to promote voter approval of the penny-on-the-dollar sales tax.

The General Assembly instituted a ban on government agencies making contributions to campaigns or committees, and Go Big for Macon was fined $1,500 for accepting the industrial authority’s dollars. Go Big for Macon denied it knowingly or intentionally violated the law.

Only about 6,230 voters cast ballots in the March election in which the SPLOST was the only item on the ballot. More than 5,180 people voted in favor of it and 1,050 voted against it for a voter turnout of about 5.2%. The 2025 SPLOST will raise $450 million for public projects related to public safety, recreation, road paving, private sector growth and economic development.

In its June meeting in Athens, the ethics commission found the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority acted in good faith and imposed no monetary fine, but the authority agreed to have a written agreement guaranteeing money it contributes will only be used for voter education.