Arc property owners gave big to Barnes

By Sarah Rubenstein and Walter Woods

Atlanta – Owners of large tracts of land near the proposed Northern Arc's major interchanges have donated more than $120,000 to Gov. Roy Barnes' November re-election campaign, records show.
Many of those contributors are developers whose land, much of it vacant, would stand to increase in value if the Northern Arc is built. Some have contributed the maximum amount of $10,000 allowed by any individual campaign donor to one candidate.
Landowners near key interchanges with the proposed Arc, including Wayne Mason in Gwinnett County, William G. "Billy" Hasty Jr. in Cherokee County and John Wieland in Forsyth County, among others, have given thousands of dollars to Barnes from January 2001 until his most recent disclosure report March 31.
Officials with Barnes' re-election campaign, which opened its new offices in Midtown May 13, said the governor has supported the Northern Arc since at least 1990. But they denied Barnes' views on the highway are influenced by his contributors.
"The notion that contributions have anything to do with his decisions is just ridiculous," said Tim Phillips, Barnes' campaign manager. He added that Barnes' contributors include people who both support and oppose the Northern Arc.
"Money in politics doesn't look good, generally speaking, and that's not our fault," Phillips said. "What's a concern for the campaign is this innuendo that somehow government decisions are being made to benefit contributors to the campaign."
Records show that most of these contributors have not given money to the likely Republican gubernatorial candidates -- state school Superintendent Linda Schrenko, Cobb County Commission Chairman Bill Byrne and former state Sen. Sonny Perdue.
Among the landowners who contributed to Barnes is Mason, a Gwinnett developer who, as of Jan. 1 owned, in part, more than 150 acres of land near the proposed Northern Arc's Interstate 985 interchange, according to county records.
Mason, a member of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce executive committee, donated $10,000 to Barnes individually. State records list Mason as a director of Lone Pine Inc., which donated $5,000.
In addition, Mason's son, attorney and former Barnes adviser Keith Mason, donated $5,000. And Wayne Mason's wife, Annette Mason, donated $10,000.
Wayne Mason did not return calls requesting comment.
Another donor, Richard B. Chandler Jr., is a member of the Atlanta Regional Commission board who, Gwinnett deed records show, was the lawyer representing ARC board member Phillip Beard in his company's purchase of land near I-985.
Beard, who, as of Jan. 1, owned at least 26 acres of land near the Northern Arc's potential interchange with I-985, has said his ownership did not create a conflict of interest.
Chandler donated $4,000 to the Barnes campaign, and his law firm, Chandler & Britt LLC in Buford, gave $1,000. Chandler's law partner, Walt M. Britt, also donated $4,000 to the campaign.
Chandler did not return calls requesting comment.
In Cherokee County, Hasty Jr., who with a partner owned 278 acres of land near the possible interchange of the Arc and I-575, hosted an Oct. 2 reception for Barnes that raised nearly $45,000.
Hasty Jr. is the son of William G. Hasty Sr., board chairman of the Georgia Department of Transportation.
Hasty Jr., through an entity, donated $2,000 to Barnes' campaign Dec. 6, according to campaign disclosure reports. Two of Hasty's partners at Hasty, Pope & Ball were also Barnes donors.
Both Hasty Sr. and Hasty Jr. have denied any conflict of interest.
Barnes Campaign Manager Phillips defended Barnes' attendance at the Hasty Jr. reception.
"He knows a lot of people, but that doesn't mean he knows the intimate details of their business," Phillips said. "I don't know that your father being on the DOT board ... necessarily should disqualify you from owning property."
Phillips also said it is not up to the governor to decide if there are any conflicts of interest.
"Conflicts-of-interest issues always have to be resolved by the people directly involved," Phillips said. "I don't know whether it's a conflict of interest or not. What I do know is that it would be probably better if all of those things were a matter of public record and disclosed."
Phillips said Barnes has been taking advice from the DOT, the ARC and the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority to improve transportation in metro Atlanta.
"What the governor has done is rely on the transportation experts, the people who told him that this is what you need to do," Phillips said. "I think in government you always assume people have several layers of agenda. If you're good at what you do, you try to see through it and discount it."
Analysts said it was typical for developers and other business leaders to donate to the incumbent governor.
It's not a surprise that developers near the proposed highway have been donating to Barnes' campaign, said Matt Towery, chairman and political writer for Insider Advantage, an online information company. But that doesn't mean they've made Barnes beholden to their needs, he said.
"I wouldn't necessarily assume that there's some horrible 'quid pro quo' between the governor and these people," Towery said. "I see it as typical donor patterns in Georgia."
Towery said the donors most likely fit into a group of people who tend to give to political candidates -- particularly the ones they think will be elected.
"It isn't really surprising that individuals who might stand to gain the most might be interested in pushing the road and giving campaign contributions to a politician who is associated with that policy," said Merle Black, a professor of politics at Emory University.
Some contributors to Barnes were associated with land deals near the Arc interchanges.
Chandler, for one, is listed by the Georgia Secretary of State's Office as the registered agent -- the individual, typically a lawyer, who helps register a company with the state -- for Bowen Builders Group Inc., a Buford-based home-building company. Bowen Builders Group as of Jan. 1 owned land near the proposed Northern Arc, much of it near the potential highway's interchanges with interstates 985 and 85. It has donated $10,000 to the Barnes campaign, and Precision Design & Development also donated $10,000.
David J. Bowen, president of Bowen Builders, is listed by the Georgia Secretary of State's Office as a member of Precision Design & Development's board of directors.
Other donors owned land through their corporations.
Mark West, chief officer of the commercial real estate entity Genoa Cos., has given $2,500 to the Barnes campaign.
According to the Georgia Secretary of State's office, West is the registered agent for Lawrenceville Alcovy Investments LLC, which, as of Jan. 1, owned at least 300 acres near where the Northern Arc could intersect with Georgia 316.
Plant Improvement Co., a construction company, owned more than 160 acres of land near where the proposed Northern Arc would intersect with I-985 and I-85. Plant Improvement Co. has donated $4,000 to the campaign, and Shepherd Construction -- whose registered agent, Stephen B. Shepherd, is listed by the Georgia Secretary of State as an officer with Plant Improvement Co. -- gave $1,000.
Barnes' re-election campaign also has received $10,000 associated with Brand Partners L.P., which, as of Jan. 1, owned more than 500 acres of land near the proposed Northern Arc's interchanges with interstates 985 and 85.
Brand Insurance Agency, whose registered agent, Bartow Morgan Jr., is a member of Brand Partners' board of directors, donated $10,000.
In Forsyth County, home builder Wieland donated $1,000 to the Barnes campaign. His company, John Wieland Homes & Neighborhoods Inc., owns more than 30 acres of land near the Arc's nexus with Ga. 400.