Rumors
have it that regardless of whether John Padgett wins reelection as
Georgia State GOP Chair, or that Alex
Johnson defeats him at the convention on May 17, in consulting the Magic
8-Ball for the financial future of the Ga GOP, the answer that floats-up is
"Very uncertain."
PV Offers
Bleak Evidence: We were anonymously forwarded
some internal financial documents and it's taken a little bit of time to sort
thru them, but, John Padgett has some 'splainin to do to those of you who have
either 1) contributed money to the state GOP, or 2) worked in the trenches all
these years. Here are the documents for your perusal as we discuss the
numbers:
The balance sheet shows current
assets of $120,140, and current liabilities of $107,101, all as of March 28...a
difference of $13,039. What does that number mean? It means it appears the party has enough cash on
hand to pay for current liabilities, with $13,039 to spare. But, you cannot look at a balance sheet
and know all by itself that everything's okay, which is why you have to look at
the P&L.
The P&L shows quite an
eye-opening view of just how quickly the party's burn rate is on a monthly basis. "Burn rate" is the
rate of cash going out the door. Without causing your eyes to glaze over, here
is the eagle-eyed snapshot to focus on: On Page 3 of the P&L is a category
called "Political" and
below that you see line-item classifications for "Pol Consulting",
"Pol Employee Insurance", "Pol Party Building", "Pol
Salaries", etc.
All total for all "Political
Consulting" expenses, including Pol Consulting and Pol Salaries, totals $131,446 for the first 3 months of
that, there is a total being paid for "consultants" of $113,374, or approximately $38,000 per month.
Note that there is an entirely separate category for General
Salaries on the previous page that totals $17,500. This includes people
who work in full-time positions (Executive Director, Political Director,
Accounting Dept., etc.). So, unless Accounting is involved in FUBARing
book entries (and cash is being accounted for in some creative manner...which
would be a whole 'nother
matter), a pile of cash payments is going out the door when it shouldn't be.
Why shouldn't it be? Because the political cycle for 2014 ended on
November 4, 2014. True, there would be expenses, and invoices coming-due
through December of 2014.
But, these financial statements are
for the first 3 months of 2015. Why is the party paying for "political
consulting" during an off-election year? Why is John Padgett
throwing approximately $38,000 per month to "political consultants"
in a non-election year? At least every single party chairman before
Padgett knew that you had to conserve cash in the year after an election year.
Looking at the last page, the party
has a Net Ordinary Loss of ($171,626) for Jan 1-Mar 28. That
means a whole lot more money was paid-out than what came in. This Net
Loss already accounts for the revenue from the Republican Gala fundraising
dinner, along with party membership renewals, etc. (you need to look on Pages
1-2 of the P&L to see those broken-out).
Someone told me that at the State
Committee meeting held back in early April, the party's esteemed legal counsel
Anne Lewis stood-up and said something to the effect of "Hey, we need you guys to go talk to the
elected politicians you know to get them to contribute money to the
Party."
Gee...are the Party's legal bills not being paid, John Padgett?
Hmmm...especially since it appears Lewis's firm is the one
battling the federal discrimination lawsuit brought-on by your party employees.
Is John Padgett doing a heckuva job as party chair?
Dunno. We're certain there will be party stalwarts who will
pronounce "Just wait until state convention is over, and we'll be rolling
in the dough...".
Yeah, well, if the state conventions
of the past are any indication of what this one will cost ($100,000+), whatever
payoff there is from the convention will be going straight into the pockets of
Padgett's favorite political consultants to the tune of $38,000 per month
for...what purpose in an off-election year?
Conclusion
Just so you'll know, I went thru a
LOT of thinking before issuing this Vine. Some GaGOP grassroots members
will cry and bitch and moan and whine and stamp their feet and declare
"Why does he have to show our dirty laundry like this???"
Just so you'll know, the reason I
decided this had to be done now
is because if Alex
Johnson wins the chairmanship, the majority of people will understand that the
financial condition of the party is how he will inherit it on May 16, and that
a Chairman Johnson will not be responsible for what may lead to the Georgia Republican Party
having to file bankruptcy sometime this year.
Because....the financial management
(and mismanagement) of the GaGOP's funds are solely due to John Padgett's direct ignorance of things
like..."election cycle cash flow."
You folks in the establishment GOP
think Padgett has "all the experience?" Yeah, he has experience
alright. Experience in hiring people who don't appear
to have been raised right in their treatment of others and
experience in signing contracts with political consultants to continue paying
them well into a slow-fundraising time period.
Feel free to forward this edition of
Political Vine to whomever you desire.
Source: Political Vine
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