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Sheriff’s Race: Both Morgan And Powell’s Campaign Finance Reports Headed To Grand Jury
July 26, 2012
ARCHIVED STORY — July 26, 2012
Campaign finance reports from both Republican candidates for Escambia County Sheriff will be presented to an Escambia County grand jury on Monday.
The State Attorney’s Office announced Monday that the grand jury would review John Powell’s campaign finance reports after claims were made by incumbent David Morgan. And on Wednesday, the State Attorney’s Office said the grand jury would also review Morgan’s campaign finance reports.
Citing the secrecy of grand juries in Florida, Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille said his office could not say why Morgan’s campaign finance report would be presented.
Due to a letter from Morgan to State Attorney Bill Eddins, the nature of the allegations against Powell became public.
In that letter, Morgan asserts that about 30 cash contributions made to Powell’s campaign that were in excess of the legal $50 per person cash limit.
Powell said Monday afternoon that he has cooperated fully with the State Attorney’s Office investigation and that any mistakes were just that — honest mistakes that were being corrected with any cash contributions in excess of the $50 rule being refunded to contributors.
If the grand jury were to find any wrongdoing on the part of either candidate, a resolution in the case is not likely before the August 14 primary.
Comments
30 Responses to “Sheriff’s Race: Both Morgan And Powell’s Campaign Finance Reports Headed To Grand Jury”
All the best dressed dictators wear a chest full of bling. Morgan is a clown and if Powells railroading doesn’t finish Morgan, Escambia County deserves another term with Gadhafi Junior
I agree with you David, as a Vietnam veteran that was wounded in combat. As a taxpaying citizen of Escambia County I disagree with you. There is a place for wearing your military uniform, and medals. A sheriff seeking reelection is not one of them. He is the top law man in the county. Escambia county is not under Marshall law. Therefore the medals are inappropriate. As I said in my previous comment, I think Sheriff Morgan is a publicity hound and does not have the best interest of Escambia county at heart, but rather his best interest at heart.
J.P., You did a real good job on ch23 forum last nite. Keep up the good work! Good luck!
morgan is doing everything he can to smear Mr Powell to cover his short comings. For a crime to occur there must be intent not from the sound of it clerical error, Mr Powell has had information on morgan that would put a bad light on morgans true character. He refuses to put that information out and chose to take the high road. He is campaigning on his experience and morgans lack of and the fact the crime in this county is out of control. morgan on the other hand has chosen to attack anyone associated with the Powell campaign. Especially his employees who are afraid to openly support Powell (most do). Business owners are afraid to show support because the Deputies who frequent their businesses are chastised. Mr Powell has stated that if he is elected and does not do a good job then put him out next election.. morgan apparently says if you try to put me out I will get you. Leader (Powell) or dictator (morgan) the intelligent Citizens of the county will decide.
Do the crime do the time!!! The biggest problem I see is, people in any office from COUNTY to Washington (do not have to go by the same rules we the people that pay there pay + perks have to) I have delt with it. if you do wrong you get in trouble, but if you are in the circle of politics it will effect you very little for the same crime…
JJJ
By GOBC I assume you mean “Good Old Boy Club”, and that was one of the reasons I voted for Morgan.
Marshall
“LEO GUY” is what I use when someone several months ago from a previous comment tagged me with when I expressed support for our local law enforcement. I am not a Law Enforcement Officer, but I do try not to make negative comments to someone doing a job I would hate to have to do. I will try to support whoever is sheriff. :-/
bk63,
It sounds like you want the GOBC back. Just saying.
Who ever is unfortunate enough to get elected sheriff, probably deserves it.
He’s (Morgan) done some good things for the area, With that said, His suite wearing is loud to say the least. John Powell is from our area. Is a police officer & with the right people under him he would do fine. I would rather a local person be the sherrif with us Locals in mind & not the news camera’s . He knows the problems of Pensacola & Escambia county. He’s from here.Time for a change. Again, Sheriff Morgan is not a bad guy. Has served us in the military & i thank him for that. I just think John would be more personable & up front with the community in mind. Not himself.
CONTEMPLATING:
“It is just another sad sign of the times we live in when people say a man should not be proud to show that he served in the military of our country”
It isn’t that. A man should always be proud he did his duty. The nation is filled with people who quietly did their duties.
Some think of it as bragging. (Not me, I’m good with it, but some….)
It strikes them as a “look at me! I’m special!” attitude.
Some of the ones who’ve done their duty without feeling the need to call attention to themselves wonder at the need to shout.
And those of us who’ve never done anything noteworthy wonder what all the fuss is about.
David for pretty ribbons
trusting the Republicans to pick a good one
Regarding Mike O
I understand your position, but disagree with you. How they dress is relevant. Morgan’s uniform with the war medals is proof that he is a publicity hound and grandstands at every opportunity. If he worried half as much about crime and his deputies as he does his personal image the citizens of Escambia county would be safer. Remember the press releases that he immediately began spitting out when the Billings murders took place. Very inappropriate. I was at a funeral of a deputy. Morgan walked in the funeral home walked up to the casket and began singing Amazing Grace, by himself. I was embarrassed for the family. He grounded the Sheriffs office helicopter, but used it as his personal transportation on an event at the beach. Now he tattles on his opponent. I will not vote for him, and I predict his latest stunt will thwart any chances of reelection.
leo guy…I would figure, by you using the “LEO” in your name, that you believe in following laws and regulations. Well guess what…Air Force Regulations states the Ribbons should be worn in the same location on civilian dress as it was on military dress. They also state ribbons should only be worn on certain days, like Veterans Day, and not worn for Political Gain! Seems Morgan is violating all three! So if you want to talk “PROUD”…then honor the Ribbons/Medals and wear them as intended! Wearing them in violation of regulations…to me is Dishonor!
“Air Force. Air Force Instruction 36-2903, paragraph 4-4 says that honorably discharged and retired Air Force members may wear full-size or miniature medals on civilian suits on appropriate occasions such as Memorial Day and Armed Forces Day. Female members may wear full-size or miniature medals on equivalent dress. As with the Army, medals should be placed in the approximate same location and in the manner they are placed on the Air Force Uniform.”
One things for sure……Powell has been a “r e a l” cop!!! And a good one, too!
don’t be too quick to judge! that cross sheriff morgan wears cost him $1000 a year. anyone can get one if they join the organization and agree to pledge at least $1000 per year to the charity. do not let this man make the work of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem look bad, they really do good things. I can not speak for the sheriff but I can say the charity is good!
I’m with MIKE O. Let us get back on the topic. The ridiculousness of Morgan attempting to put Powell in Jail when he violated the same laws far outweighs the ridiculousness of his uniform.
Sure is funny how an article about accepting too much money turns into a bunch of whining about how they dress. Its sad that we as a community for which these two guys serve, only care about how they dress or how much money the other has. As far as im concerned, we need a sheriff that cares about us and wants whats best for our safety and well being. I do not believe either of these two men are right for the position in which they are vying for. But, then again, these are our options. Tough choices to be made here….
Proud?
Whatever.
Proud? Really? My family has all served! I have family members that carry their scars, not their medals, daily. He is no longer in the military he is a Sheriff now. No other Sheriff in Florida has created his own uniform. A real man doesn’t have to carry his honor on his chest, it’s revealed in what he does. By the way military police isn’t exactly combat! I am a proud American, I love my country and I’m thankful for the men who fought for it! For example, the Marine coming home tomorrow, he doesn’t need medals, his award is who he is. Pride goeth before destruction and haughty spirit before a fall. God Bless the men and women who have actually fought for our country.
It is just another sad sign of the times we live in when people say a man should not be proud to show that he served in the military of our country. :-/
>>William, nice picture of Morgan!
I’ll point out here that I took the most equitable approach I could find to choosing the pictures. The photos of both men are the pictures they chose to submit to the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections for their candidate profiles.
To the informed voter, seriously you must be on Morgans campaign.
Secondly, errors were made, but to arrest someone, seriously?
William, nice picture of Morgan! I want a real sheriff that gets his hands dirty that works along side his people, Morgan has instead become a model for the uniform he created only. He has never arrested anyone but he sits behind his desk! He will however write a letter to have someone arrested or better yet present the case to the State Attorney with half truth to have someone arrested. He won’t do the dirty work himself!
Thirdly, how about we arrest Morgan like he has some of his Deputies and then hire him back when his charges are dropped?? That’s the process he is lives by, funny on PNJ he said he didn’t know he was being investigated!
Fourthly, this is all pathetic garbage! Let’s get back to police work and protecting our citizens!!!!
Finally, put the military awards back on your military uniform and mail the cross back, you didn’t pay for it!
It would be really cool if the two of them got to share a jail cell for awhile.
I’m not sure why you folks are getting so passionate about either one of these two.
The days of having a good candidate to choose from are definately over. Morgan has done a terrible job and crippled his deputies from doing their jobs. Powell has proven his lack of ability to lead in nearly ruining the city of Dothan, AL police department.
I agree with “disappointed voter” and “clarisse”…………why is Morgan dressed to look like a dictator?…………..possibly because that’s exactly what he wants to be.
I still have to look into John Powell……….. but so far, I’m not liking our 2 options for sheriff.
I was considering voting for Morgan, but sadly now I cannot. If you cannot win on the merits of your platform then you don’t deserve to win. If this is the only dirt you can bring up about Powell you are grasping at straws.
Morgan> come on and step up to the plate and argue your points, lets not get into this petty stuff. I will admit Powell should know better but this will not prevent me from changing my vote to him in fact it decided it by your actions.
A reading of the applicable statutes indicates that there is a week long time period in which a candidate has to identify any error, report it, refund it and no harm is done. When the candidate fails to audit their own account, deposits that money and has to be made aware of the violation of law by outside parties, that’s where it becomes criminal. Sure mistakes can happen. Some quite innocently. Someone mails you a cash contribution over $50 for example. Or on 2 different occasions at fundraisers, $30 cash contributions to different campaign workers. That’s why the law allows for the week in which to verify that any cash contributions are legal. So that amounts over the limit can be promptly refunded. $2700 is a large amount of illegal donations. All of which would have been used illegally for the Powell campaign unless it was reported by others. That is why the law requires self reporting. To avoid cheating. Morgan self reported and refunded within the legal window. Powell tried to cheat and is only offering refunds after being caught with the illegal money. Hopefully you now see the difference between the two corrective approaches to illegal donation amounts. One prompt, self reported and within the legal window. The other coerced after being caught with the illegal cash. If some of the “donors” deny giving him any money then he may be in for felonies. The amount of $2700 may in itself justify a felony charge. His treasurer gave $270 in cash. $220 over the legal limit. Since those persons making the donations are also potentially legally liable John Powell sure didn’t do much to protect the interest of his contributing supporters. Double standards? OK I’ll go along with that. One legal standard. One illegal standard. That’s the biggest difference between the two candidates.
I see the sheriff is still passing out his photo with him wearing that Cracker Jack box Nazi Iron Cross look alike medal hanging around his neck, which was bought and not earned. What a faker want-a-be.
Why does one look professional and respectable like a sheriff should be and the other looks like a third world dictator?
Let’s remember that Morgan started all this drama. Now it could possibly bite him in the butt; and I love it. There is no was this could be good for his campaign and really reflects poorly on his character. How can he attempt to put John Powell in jail when he may have committed the same crime.
The reality is that there probably was no criminal intent by either candidate. Neither one should be held criminally. Morgan should gracefully bow out of the election or admit himself to the county jail if he committed the same crime that he wants to hang Powell for
I like this.
It means there aren’t any real crimes which need to be dealt with.