Candidate’s coupon offer raises questions

Complaint says Jones flier could be bribe

A flier for Shelby County Commission candidate Martavius Jones that includes coupons for local businesses was forwarded Thursday to a state agency as a possible violation of campaigning laws, said county Election Commission chairman Robert Meyers.

“We’ve never seen anything like that that we can recall,” Meyers said. “The issue would be, is it somehow a way of buying votes?”

Meyers said he received at least one complaint about the flier this week. Two state election laws prohibit bribing or bargaining with voters for support, but Jones said he violated neither law and

We’ve never seen anything like that that we can recall. The issue would be, is it somehow a way of buying votes?”

Robert Meyers, Shelby County election commission chairman

called the report an attack from one of his two opponents.

“Those businesses on my campaign material are all in Shelby County Commission District 10, and their inclusion on the campaign literature was an effort to demonstrate a commitment to small businesses on my part,” Jones said.

Former Memphis City Schools board member Jones is running against Jake Brown and Reginald Milton for the Democratic nomination for District 10.

Early voting began this week leading up to the May 6 election. The coupons on Jones’ flier expire May 7.

The glossy gold and purple flier has campaign information on one side, and 10 coupons on the reverse side that offer 10 percent off purchases at places that include a florist, a bakery, a barbershop and several eateries. Above the coupons are a picture of Jones, “Elect Martavius Jones,” and his slogan. Un-

derneath the coupons are the campaign’s website address, an e-mail and phone number to reach Jones and his social media information.

Milton said he was one of the people who filed a complaint because the coupons “just didn’t smell right.”

“Maybe it was all innocent,” Milton said. Still, “you really don’t want to mix politics with giving away any item.”

The Tennessee law Meyers quoted gives a broad description of what constitutes bargaining, though it doesn’t explicitly mention coupons. Violation of the law is a Class C misdemeanor. Martavius Jones campaign literature that contains coupons for discounts on some services.

Jones said he didn’t violate that particular law because the coupon fliers weren’t addressed to any one person. He said he did not ask the participating businesses for anything in return for their inclusion on the flier.

The state Bureau of Ethics and Finance said the coupons should likely be reported as in-kind donations, but Jones said he doesn’t know how to value them.

Larry Buser, spokesman for the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, quoted a Tennessee law against bribing voters. But he said the D. A.’s office must be contacted to investigate a violation of either of the election laws. The Election Commission agreed the D.A.’s office would handle the complaint.