Dawnna Dukes’ campaign spending raises questions
June
Over the last 15 years, state Rep.
Earlier this year, the
Law enforcement officials have said they are focusing on how Dukes used state money, but a Statesman investigation has found that the legislator also has a history of questionable spending from her campaign account.
But Dukes' spending nonetheless stands out for her penchant for paying family members, for the amount she spent on gas and for her vague use of the term consultant in the finance reports, which makes it difficult to tell what the money paid for.
The Statesman found between 2001 and 2015, Dukes' campaign spending included:
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Nearly
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"It's hard, without additional information or subpoenas, to say any of this is, on its face, illegal," said
Dukes spokesman
Political consultant
"I never saw anything weird or anything to give me pause," Strother said. "I've always known her to be by the book and expected everyone to be by the book."
Longtime lawmaker
Dukes, the daughter of businessman
The 52-year-old legislator gained power in the House and drew the ire of her fellow
Dukes' vehicle was rear-ended while she was driving on
Dukes has been fined several times by the
The latest scrutiny into her activities began about six months ago when the State Auditor's Office started looking into questions raised by
The
The Statesman reviewed hundreds of pages of Dukes' campaign finance reports filed since 2001. (Records prior to 2001 are not readily available.) Thousands of dollars went to telephone bills, email services, advertising, staff salary supplements and other expenditures typical of many lawmakers. Some other expenses, and the circumstances around them, raise questions.
Family funds
State law prohibits politicians from paying their family members with campaign money, but the ban only covers spouses and dependent children. Dukes has paid siblings and a nephew.
Over the last 15 years, Dukes has paid her sister,
The expenditures continued over the years until early 2014, when Dukes accused Green of stealing and pawning
Dukes paid her nephew
Ateja Dukes, who used to be a neighborhood liaison for the city of
Dukes also used consulting to describe six payments to retired seamstress
Campaign accounts cannot be used for buying clothes and related services, even when the clothing is worn during state business, according to a 1992
Gas expenses
Over the past 15 years, Dukes, who lives 16 miles from the
Dukes' six
State Rep.
"I have never really thought about it," Naishtat, D-
Festival expenses
Dukes has also used her campaign to help pay at least
Although the event was supported by corporate donors, financed through an account with an established nonprofit (most recently the
In 2009, the campaign paid
Hewett, who was in the band Shalamar, also performed at a Dukes campaign fundraiser in
Dukes recently said she is discontinuing the event because of negative attention related to the criminal investigation.
Duplicated payments?
Some expenditures listed in Dukes' campaign reports appear to have been paid by others, raising questions about where the money went.
In 2015, a legislative intern for Dukes was injured while working on the African American Community Heritage Festival and received treatment at a MedSpring urgent-care clinic. A subsequent campaign finance filing lists a
But a former staffer, who asked that her name not be used for fear of retribution, said that she took the intern to the clinic, paid for the copay and was never reimbursed by Dukes or the campaign. The former employee provided the Statesman with a receipt showing that she paid MedSpring
The injured intern confirmed to the Statesman that the staffer paid the medical bill, adding that Dukes wasn't involved in the intern's medical care after the incident and didn't speak to her about her insurance copay.
Separately, Dukes was reimbursed
Because of the wording in the campaign finances report, it's unclear whether one or two parties were held. But three former staffers -- all of whom asked that their names not be used for fear of retribution by Dukes -- say the legislator only held one small party for her staff at her
Three former employees who were at the gathering said that Dukes didn't provide any additional food or beverages at the gathering.
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Rep.
Age: 52
Education: Bachelor of science in psychology from
Profession: Owner of consulting firm
District: 46, which includes parts of
First elected: 1994
Notable legislation: Law requiring all
Areas of focus: Member of
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