2020 election affidavit unresolved
District 3 Commissioner Felicia Franklin’s outstanding state tax liens have been satisfied, according to online filings with the Georgia Department of Revenue.
A check of the records on May 24 showed the June 7, 2022 and Feb. 6, 2023 State Tax Executions filed against Franklin were released on May 22. Those liens totaled $5,074.
Franklin owed state taxes for 2017 through 2020. During her run for reelection, Franklin signed a Declaration of Candidacy and Affidavit on March 4, 2020 in which she affirmed, under criminal penalty of false statement, that she did not owe the state any money and that she would not “knowingly violate any provisions of the Georgia Election Code”:
Franklin did not respond to The Clayton Crescent’s requests for comment.
Since The Clayton Crescent broke the story, several local activists, among them Carol Yancey, Oreatha Ensley, and Jodie Chambers, have sent letters to Gov. Brian Kemp, Attorney General Chris Carr, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and Clayton County District Attorney Tasha Mosley, asking for an investigation into Franklin’s affidavit and calling for her removal from office.
Former Clayton County Elections Board member Pat Pullar, who had notarized Franklin’s affidavit in 2020, told The Clayton Crescent that she had not known of Franklin’s back taxes at the time.
Franklin is due for a preliminary hearing before the State Ethics Board on June 26 at 10 a.m. to respond to allegations that she spent campaign funds on personal expenses. She had been scheduled to appear at the March meeting but secured counsel and asked that her preliminary hearing be deferred.
The SEB will meet downtown in the Coverdell Legislative Office Building, Room 606, across from the State Capitol.
