>>12224808 CM asking for Stacey Abrams TANK connections

She’s been hiding money for a long time

Voter drive raised millions, but Abrams won’t say from whom

Alan Judd

Sept 15, 2018

Nonprofit foundations laid groundwork for her bid for governor

Stacey Abrams’ name was nowhere to be found on statewide ballots in the 2014 elections. In Georgia’s House District 89, which she had represented since 2007, she didn’t even have an opponent.

But Abrams was nonetheless directing a sprawling, well-funded campaign, one that established her as a major political figure in Georgia and beyond.

Abrams raised $12.5 million between 2013 and 2016 for two non-profit, tax-exempt foundations she created: Third Sector Development and the Voter Access Institute, public records show. Third Sector ran a voter-registration drive called the New Georgia Project that focused on people of color. Voter Access reached out to what it called "low-propensity" voters, trying to persuade them to cast their ballots.

Now, as she tries to become the first African-American woman elected governor of any state, Abrams won't say where the money came from, even though the two foundations paid her, over three years, nearly half a million dollars.

The foundations’ work underwhelmed many of Abrams’ fellow Democrats. Their party got just 3 percent more votes for governor in 2014 than in 2010, and turnout among African-American voters declined by more than 2 percentage points.

But for Abrams, the registration drive was a success. It introduced her to wealthy progressive activists across the country, some of whom are now spending millions of dollars supporting her gubernatorial campaign. It also led to a fraud investigation by the state Board of Elections, the source of lingering animosity between Abrams and her Republican opponent for governor, Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp.

RELATED: How voting issues became a big issue in Georgia's governor race

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reviewed public tax filings by Abrams’ foundations, her personal financial disclosures, tax returns of organizations that supported her, and records of the Board of Elections investigation. The documents, as well as interviews with Republican and Democratic politicians and operatives, suggest the foundations’ greatest successes lie in creating the infrastructure that undergirds Abrams’ gubernatorial campaign.

At least 13 political consultants, fundraisers and other contractors working for Abrams this year have served in similar capacities for her foundations, her political action committee or her legislative campaigns. At least 11 paid members of her campaign staff also worked for Abrams’ other political and non-profit groups. They include Lauren Groh-Wargo, who was Abrams’ top aide on both foundations before becoming her campaign manager.

“Absolutely, 100 percent, no doubt,” the foundations set the stage for the campaign, a former Democratic candidate said. Like others, the former candidate spoke on condition of anonymity, citing a fear of political retaliation for what might be perceived as criticism of the party’s nominee.

For years, another Democrat said, Abrams made no secret that she planned to run for governor in 2018, “so how shocking is it that a politician would set up committees to get money to help get them somewhere?”

Federal law does not require tax-exempt foundations like Abrams’ to publicly identify contributors. Nor does the law prohibit disclosure, and many organizations routinely publish donor lists.

But the lack of transparency by foundations so closely tied to a prominent politician reinforces public cynicism, ethics advocates said.

“Are these groups, are these people going to have any influence with, potentially, our next governor?” said Sara Henderson, executive director of Common Cause Georgia, a watchdog group. “You would think turning over at least some of the information would be in her best interest and the voters’ interest.”

Abrams’ campaign declined to make her available for an interview. A spokeswoman, Priyanka Mantha, would not comment on Abrams’ reasons for withholding donor names.

On Friday, the campaign issued a statement in which Abrams said: “I’m proud of New Georgia Project’s efforts to register, advocate for, and mobilize hundreds of thousands of Georgians and successfully combat voter suppression being perpetrated by Secretary of State Brian Kemp.”

https://www.ajc.com/news/stateregional-govtpolitics/voter-drive-raised-millions-but-abrams-won-say-from-whom/8eYeUD80WFSaCYO3Y3ANdL/