Robinson Fined $5,000 For Not Reporting All Campaign Spending

DOUGLASVILLE, GA — A Douglas County commissioner is on the hook again for crossing the law — but at least this time taxpayers won’t have to foot the bill.

District 2 Commissioner Kelly Robinson agreed Thursday to pay a $5,000 fine for violating state campaign law by not reporting all expenditures, according to The Douglas County Sentinel.

The fine stems from Robinson’s 2020 reelection campaign, during which Robinson is alleged to have made nearly $4,000 worth of ATM withdrawals from his campaign fund without reporting where the money went.

During a hearing Thursday, Joe Cusack of Georgia’s ethics commission showed how Robinson’s campaign bank records didn’t square with campaign contribution disclosure reports sent to the state. Robinson’s response was that the money was used to pay for transportation to campaign events. According to the Douglasville paper, Robinson has said he is legally blind and can’t drive.

One condition of the penalty is that it can't be paid by Douglas County. That contrasts with what happened last year, when Robinson was accused of violating a citizen’s free-speech rights by blocking her from his public Facebook page. After Robinson reneged on an agreement to let the citizen back on his page, she filed a lawsuit that eventually cost Douglas County nearly $175,000 in legal fees.

Read the complete story in The Douglas County Sentinel.

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