State ethics commission finds reasonable grounds in candidate Shaquita Maxwell preliminary hearing

The Government Transparency & Campaign Finance Commission on Jan. 15 denied a continuance request from respondent Shaquita Maxwell and found reasonable grounds to believe six violations of Georgia campaign finance law occurred during her 2024 mayoral campaign.

The commission’s investigator, identified in the meeting as Mr. Baywell, presented the agency’s investigation into errors and omissions on Maxwell’s candidate contribution and expenditure reports and the campaign’s financial practices. Baywell said the primary factual issue in the original complaint was an apparent $3,000 anonymous cash contribution recorded on an April 30, 2024 campaign report, and he described multiple related reporting and bookkeeping deficiencies.

Baywell told commissioners that the April 30 report showed itemized entries such as “Macedonia Church Family” and “Maxwell family and friends,” which the investigator said were insufficient because donors who give more than $100 must be…