Chatham district attorney misses legal deadline to disclose donations, again

The incumbent Chatham County District Attorney missed the October deadline to report campaign donations and her personal finances, according to Georgia Campaign Finance Commission records. The lack of information contributes to an incomplete picture for voters considering candidates in the county’s marquee race.

Cook Jones, a Democrat, was fined last December for failing to file 11 election documents required by law for her 2020 campaign. Cook Jones did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday about the issue. The campaign finance disclosures would show what recent donations Cook Jones’ campaign received and what they spent it on between July and September. The personal financial disclosure would show sources of income. Both are required for candidates running for office.

Meanwhile, her Republican opponent, Andre Pretorius, reported within the Oct. 7 grace period deadline that his campaign received approximately $256,000 in individual donations during the reporting window.

Among those backing the first-time candidate are some of Chatham County’s wealthiest individuals and most powerful local Republican elected leaders.

Those donors include Paula Wallace, the president of the Savannah College of Art and Design; Tracy Young, the founder of TMX Finance and controversial title loan company TitleMax and Greg Parker, the philanthropist and founder of Parker’s convenience stores.

The campaigns of U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-St. Simons), state Sen. Billy Hickman from Bulloch County and state Rep. Ron Stephens, whose district represents residents in both Chatham and Bryan counties.

His campaign team said these donations underscored “the broad backing from the community.”

Savannah-based attorney Wade Herring, who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2022, filed an ethics complaint against Cook Jones on Wednesday about the missing disclosures.

He declined to comment to The Current but wrote that her “failure to follow the law prevents voters from knowing who is financially supporting her campaign and deprives them of critical information about her financial interests,” according to a copy of the letter to the State Ethics Commission.

A $500 donation to Pretorius’ campaign came from the Hunter Maclean Political Action Committee (PAC). Herring is a partner at the Savannah law firm for which the PAC is named.

Approximately $153,000 of the Pretorius campaign expenditures went to Red Clay Political LLC, a political firm registered to Andrew Blascovich. Blascovich, who previously worked for U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, serves as Pretorius’ campaign manager.

Based upon previous campaign finance reporting this year, Cook Jones has received financial support from several Savannah-based lawyers, as well as a fellow progressive-minded district attorney, Sherry Boston, of Dekalb County.

In an email to supporters over the weekend , Cook Jones ticked off local endorsements of her campaign. They include Pastor Candace Hardnett of Agape Empowerment Ministries, Pastor Andre Osborne of First Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, entrepreneur Teia Acker as well as two labor organizations — the Savannah Regional Central Labor Council and the Carpenters Local 256.

The 2024 election for district attorney has focused on issues of competency, ethics and management of the office in charge of prosecuting most crimes that occur within Chatham County

Cook Jones describes herself as a “smart on crime” prosecutor, diverting resources away from non-violent crimes and focusing efforts on prosecuting violent crimes.

During her tenure she has won indictments against a white former Savannah Police officer in a fatal shooting of a Black man and two former officers for lying on the stand.

Pretorius has won support among voters who believe that Cook Jones has been soft on crime. They say she has allowed murder defendants to be released on bond and left crime victims unsupported and unprotected.

Outside spending

In addition to individual donors, political action committees are also involved in the race.

Earlier this year Cook Jones received an endorsement and funding from the Justice & Safety PAC, funded largely by billionaire philanthropist and criminal justice reform advocate George Soros. Before the Democratic primary in May, the group poured in more than $100,000 with mailers and campaign literature supporting Cook Jones and attacking her primary opponent, Jenny Parker.

The PAC also supported Cook Jones in her victory during the 2020 district attorney race.

Pretorius’ campaign is also supported by outside funding.

A newly-created super PAC Safety and Justice For All has sent mailers to residents of Chatham County criticizing Cook Jones for making the county less safe. “The rule of law has been replaced by a radical, soft-on-crime agenda that prioritizes criminals over your safety,” according to one mailer.

The group registered with the state on Oct. 2 to Kayla Glaze, a woman tied to Washington D.C. firm Crosby Ottenhoff Group, LLC and who is named as treasurer of more than 100 federal committees, mainly supporting Republican causes.

Reached by The Current , Pretorius said he and his campaign manager, Andrew Blascovich, never heard of the super PAC.

The state ethics board says the Safety And Justice For All PAC won’t have to disclose how much it is spending in the race until two weeks before election day, due to how recently it registered.