Edmondson went to Masters, resort island on '09 campaign trip
Gubernatorial candidate Drew Edmondson used campaign funds to help finance a 2009 weeklong trip that started with a fundraiser in Atlanta and ended with a visit to an island resort town, The Oklahoman has learned.
In between, he went to the Masters as a “special guest” of AT&T, a sponsor of the prestigious golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia. He apparently repaid AT&T for the cost of his ticket to the tournament’s first two rounds and other amenities, AT&T said.
Edmondson’s campaign said Friday it was all legal.
The Oklahoman learned of the trip from a source who, through an attorney, provided records detailing Edmondson’s expenses in 2009 in Atlanta, Augusta and Savannah, Georgia, and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
On his public campaign report, the expenses are described only as “food/ travel/lodging.”
“It is legal today, as it was then, for a campaign to spend campaign funds cultivating donors. In 2009, Drew traveled to Atlanta and then to South Carolina for events with donors,” his campaign manager, Michael Clingman, said Friday in a written response.
Acting as a go-between on getting access to the Masters was former Attorney General Mike Turpen, the records show. Turpen’s law firm had made millions of dollars off legal services to the state, due in part to Edmondson.
At the time of the trip, Edmondson, a Democrat, was the state’s attorney general but was running for governor. He would officially announce his bid two months later. He lost in the primary election in 2010.
Clingman also said it was legal in 2009 for a state officer to accept tickets for an event if the expense was reimbursed “as they were in this instance.”
The written response did not say how much was reimbursed and whether Edmondson repaid from personal funds or donations.
Under the ethics rules at the time, Edmondson could not accept from AT&T anything of value exceeding $100 in a year, ethics experts told The Oklahoman. The prohibition came into play because AT&T has lobbyists in the state.
AT&T was aware of the issue. In January 2009, the then-AT&T Oklahoma president wrote in an internal email, “We’ll need to identify the cost of everything so Drew can pay for it (state ethics laws).”
AT&T said Friday it is looking for documentation on the reimbursement.
In his current gubernatorial campaign, Edmondson has been critical of the influence of corporate lobbyists in state government. He has called for new rules to “crack down” on the lobbying industry.
Edmondson faces Republican Kevin Stitt and Libertarian Chris Powell in the Nov. 6 general election.
The records show Edmondson flew to Atlanta April 8, 2009, for a fundraising reception that evening at the law offices of one of the nation’s major class action law firms.
At the reception was Fran Tarkenton, the former star quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. He had already donated $5,000 to Edmondson the year before.
Edmondson went to the first round of the Masters the next day.
He went to Hilton Head Island April 11 and left there April 15. He flew back to Oklahoma City on April 16, the records show.
He spent more than $2,300 on the trip with a credit card he carried for campaign expenses. His campaign then paid off the credit card bills covering those expenses.
The trip expenses included $548 for airfare, $402 for a car rental, $222 for souvenirs at the Masters and $69 for purchases at a liquor store, the records show.
The expenses at Hilton Head Island included $312 at Alexander’s Restaurant, $76 at the Santa Fe Cafe, $58 at the Harbour Town Grill, $93 at one golf course and $60 at another.
It’s not clear from the records where he stayed during the trip and who paid for his lodging.
The Ethics Commission has in the past taken action against officials over trip expenses. In 2014, for example, a state legislator was required to pay a $3,000 penalty for using campaign funds to purchase plane tickets for his children to join him at a legislative conference and for other violations.
The Ethics Commission’s current executive director, Ashley Kemp, declined to comment on Edmondson’s 2009 trip. She did acknowledge that any complaint made about it now could not be investigated.
“The commission had three years to open an investigation into alleged violations of the ethics rules with an additional year to file a lawsuit if it was determined there was sufficient evidence of a violation,” she said.
A former Ethics Commission executive director, Marilyn Hughes, recalled having some knowledge of the Masters trip. “I just don’t remember it being a problem but I don’t know what the particulars were,” she said.
Both Edmondson and Turpen accepted the AT&T invitation to attend the first two rounds of the Masters.
Admission to the tournament is one of the toughest tickets in sports, with many fans paying hundreds of dollars more than face value on the secondary market. The face value in 2009 for a badge for all four days was $200.
Edmondson and Turpen also accepted an invitation to join the AT&T chairman for cocktails and dinner after the first round April 9 at the AT&T “Golden Bell” Cabin at the Augusta National Golf Club, the records show.
Each registered with AT&T to get a golf shirt, a tour of the AT&T Media Center and to play golf.
Turpen had to intervene to get Edmondson to complete that registration.
He acted after the then AT&T Oklahoma president wrote in a March 2009 email “we ... need to get the information sent to HQ to avoid them having a panic attack.”
Turpen did not return messages left by phone and email for comment.
AT&T said Friday, “Our policy follows the law and requires that elected officials who attend events reimburse any expense in excess of the applicable limits in ethics rules. We have no reason to believe that policy was not followed in this case.”