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Alfred J. Powell Jr. (R-Camilla)

 

District 171 (Colquitt, Mitchell & Decatur counties)

 

State records show the state Department of Transportation wrote $691,500 in checks to Powell’s law firm in 2009, but he said they were never deposited in the firm’s account. Powell said his law partner, who has handled right-of-way acquisition for the DOT, endorsed the checks over to a new limited liability company created to continue that work rather than asking the state to reissue them. Powell said he had no affiliation with the new LLC.

Legislative website

Campaign website

Voting record

Political career

• Served 12 years as mayor of Camilla, losing a 2007 bid for re-election by less than 100 votes
  
• Elected to the House in 2008, qualifying with no opposition after predecessor Richard Royal announced his retirement at the last minute.
  
• Re-elected with 60% of the vote in 2010 and 59% in 2012; he was unopposed in 2014 and 2016.
  

Committees

• Appropriations (2010 – 2014; vice chairman for public safety, 2011 – 2014; ex-officio, 2015 – present)
  
• Governmental Affairs (2009 – present)
  
• Judiciary (2009 – present)
  
• MARTA Oversight (2017 – )
• Rules (2013 – member)
• Ways and Means (2009 – present; chair, 2015 – present)

• Children & Youth (2009)

Employment

• Attorney, Powell & Erwin P.C.
• Former Recorder’s Court judge, city of Camilla, 1981-91.
  

Business ownership interests

• President/partner, Powell & Erwin, P.C.
  
• Limited partner, Camilla Retirement Home Ltd., personal care home
  

Other fiduciary positions

• Board member, Planter’s and Citizen’s Bank
• Board member, The Center for Housing Alternatives, non-profit helping to secure development grants for housing for the elderly and disabled
  
• Board member, Georgia Community Trust, non-profit helping families to plan for financial assistance for disabled family members
  
• Past president, Georgia Municipal Association (2007)

Other investment interests

• None disclosed

Real estate holdings

• Personal residence in Camilla valued at $125,000
• Office building in Camilla used in law practice valued at $166,000
  
• Half-interest in a vacant tracts totaling 66 acres in Mitchell County valued at $93,000
  
• Commercial buildings in Camilla valued at $52,000
  
• Single-family home in Camilla valued at $50,000

Payments from state agencies

• The state Department of Transportation wrote checks for $691,500 to Powell’s law firm, Powell & Erwin P.C., in 2009 for right-of-way acquisition along Interstate 75 in Clay and Randolph counties. Powell said none of the funds were deposited in the firm’s account. Powell said his law partner, Bill Erwin, worked on DOT right-of-way acquisition before Powell took his seat in the House but created a separate LLC so he could continue to do the work since then. Rather than asking DOT to reissue the 2009 checks, Erwin endorsed them over to his own LLC and distributed the proceeds as directed by DOT, Powell said.

Friends and family

• Powell’s wife, Deidra White, ran against Rep. Dexter Sharper for House District 177 in 2016, losing 64-36%.

Campaign contributions

Donors have given Powell’s campaign more than $365,000 since 2008. The breakdown by election cycle:

• 2008: $15,875
  
• 2009-10: $65,800
  
• 2011-12: $84,395
• 2013-14: $33,676
• 2015-16: $169,808
• Reported cash on hand (Jan. 2017): $81,408

Top donors

• $30,050 Speaker David Ralston and other House Republicans
  

• $11,900 Georgia Trial Lawyers Association
• $9,776 Ex-Rep. Richard Royal, lobbyist
• $5,750 Altria / Philip Morris USA
• $5,750 Corrections Corporation of America, private-prison operator
  
• $5,500 BlueCross BlueShield of Georgia / Amerigroup
• $5,350 Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals
• $5,250 Troutman Sanders LLP
• $5,000 Lasseter Tractor Co., Moultrie, Ga.
  
• $5,000 Classic Insurance Co., Moultrie, Ga., consumer lending
• $5,000 Patrick and Mark Mobley, owners of Mobley Gin Co.
  

• $4,750 Georgia Apartment Association
• $4,000 Home Depot
• $4,000 JM Family Enterprises, automobile distributor
• $3,750 Georgia Affordable Housing Coalition
• $3,750 Georgia Bankers Association
• $3,600 Georgia Dental Association
• $3,500 Associated General Contractors of Georgia
• $3,500 AT&T
• $3,500 United Health Services of Georgia, Toccoa, Ga., nursing homes

Campaign-to-campaign donations

Candidates may make political donations with campaign funds, allowing prolific fund-raisers to share their contributions with other legislators or candidates. Some advocacy groups believe such transfers should be limited to an aggregate of $10,000 per election cycle. Powell’s committee made these political donations:

• 2009-10: $4,150
• 2011-12: $16,250
  
• 2013-14: $34,859
• 2015-16: $52,650

Campaign selfies

• Powell reimbursed himself $5,201 from campaign funds in 2008 and 2009 for mileage & lodging without reporting the end recipient of the spending, as required by state disclosure rules.
• Since January 2013, Powell has spent $59,118 to rent an apartment year-round in Atlanta.

Lobbyist gifts

Lobbyists have spent more than $31,000 for meals and other gifts for Powell since 2008. The total includes $1,859 that the Georgia Installment Lenders Association erroneously reported as campaign contributions rather than lobbyist expenses. The big spenders:

• $2,678 Georgia Municipal Association
• $2,608 Georgia Installment Lenders Association
• $2,087 University System of Georgia
• $1,714 Georgia Chamber of Commerce
• $1,332 Georgia Paper & Forest Products Association
• $1,115 Georgia Cable Association
• $1,105 Georgia Forestry Association
• $925 GeorgiaLink Public Affairs Group
• $788 ConnectSouth Inc.
• $763 Georgia Power Co.

Per diem & travel

When out of session, lawmakers may collect $173 per diem plus mileage for committee meetings or other official business. Lawmakers living within 50 miles of the Capitol are taxed on these payments, which were originally intended to cover out-of-town members’ food and lodging.

• 2009: $4,473 (18 days)
• 2010: $4,510 (20 days)
• 2011: $11,836 (44 days) #12 in House
  
• 2012: $7,068 (24 days)
  
• 2013: $9,705 (34 days)
  
• 2014: $5,039 (17 days)
• 2015: $6,126 (23 days)

Updated Jan. 23, 2017