{"id":896734,"date":"2021-10-19T05:14:29","date_gmt":"2021-10-19T09:14:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=896734"},"modified":"2021-10-19T05:14:32","modified_gmt":"2021-10-19T09:14:32","slug":"local-govt-employees-took-hundreds-of-hours-of-paid-time-off-to-elect-warnock-docs-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/local-govt-employees-took-hundreds-of-hours-of-paid-time-off-to-elect-warnock-docs-show\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Gov\u2019t Employees Took Hundreds of Hours of Paid Time Off To Elect Warnock, Docs Show"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flocal-govt-employees-took-hundreds-of-hours-of-paid-time-off-to-elect-warnock-docs-show%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=896734&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div readability=\"30.151079136691\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"article-category\"><a class href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/democrats\/\">Democrats<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"article-excerpt\">High-paid Atlanta officials simultaneously collected taxpayer-funded salaries, consulting fees<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-thumbnail-container relative lg:mr-24 w-full my-4 mb-8\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"736\" height=\"491\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/GettyImages-1229686951-736x491-1.jpg\" class=\"w-full lazyload blur-up wp-post-image\" alt=\"Raphael Warnock\" srcset=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 736px) 100vw, 736px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/GettyImages-1229686951.jpg 736w, https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/GettyImages-1229686951-300x200.jpg 300w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" \/><figcaption class=\"absolute text-white p-4 w-full text-right text-xs bottom-0 bg-black opacity-75\">\n\t\t\t\tRaphael Warnock \/ Getty Images\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\t\t\t<span class=\"text-gray text-xs md:text-lg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/author\/collin-anderson\/\" title=\"Posts by Collin Anderson\" class=\"author url fn text-red-700\" rel=\"author\">Collin Anderson<\/a> \u2022 October 19, 2021 4:59 am<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div readability=\"120.23850497446\">\n<p><span>A pair of highly paid Atlanta government employees took hundreds of hours of paid time off to consult for Sen. Raphael Warnock&#8217;s (D., Ga.) political campaign, a double dip that saw them rake in nearly $100,000.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>According to campaign finance records, Phillana Williams and Erica Pines received a combined $97,500 from Warnock during the Georgia Senate runoff elections. Williams and Pines held six-figure salary jobs with the city of Atlanta throughout the election period, during which the operatives took a combined 297 hours in paid vacation time, payroll records provided by the city of Atlanta show.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The move allowed Williams and Pines to minimize their public service responsibilities as they raked in lucrative payments from taxpayers and the Warnock campaign. A veteran Georgia political operative told the <em>Washington <\/em><\/span><i><span>Free Beacon<\/span><\/i><span> that while congressional staffers often take time off &#8220;to lend a hand in the closing weeks of their boss&#8217;s campaign,&#8221; that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ethics.house.gov\/campaign\/campaign-work-house-employees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span>time is unpaid<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8220;The employee of an unrelated and nonpartisan public office taking paid leave to make a buck on Warnock&#8217;s campaign is a bad look for everyone involved,&#8221; the operative said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Williams, Pines, and Warnock did not return requests for comment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Williams, who still serves as director of marketing and strategy in Atlanta&#8217;s Office of Entertainment, took 24 vacation leave days from <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Williams-vacation-time-1.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nov. 23, 2020<\/a>, to <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Williams-vacation-time-2.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jan. 6, 2021<\/a>\u2014a total of 192 hours, <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Williams-vacation-hours.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">city records<\/a> show. She went on to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/disbursements\/?data_type=processed&amp;committee_id=C00736876&amp;recipient_name=The+Phillana+Factor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span>receive<\/span><\/a><span> $62,500 from Warnock&#8217;s campaign on Jan. 26 through her consulting company, the Phillana Factor. In addition to her work with Warnock, Williams took $65,000 in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/disbursements\/?data_type=processed&amp;committee_id=C00703975&amp;committee_id=C00718866&amp;recipient_name=The+Phillana+Factor&amp;recipient_name=Phillana%2C+Williams\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span>combined payments<\/span><\/a><span> for consulting work on President Joe Biden and Sen. Jon Ossoff&#8217;s (D., Ga.) campaigns.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>From Oct. 24, 2020, to Jan. 15, 2021, meanwhile, Pines took 105 hours of &#8220;scheduled&#8221; paid time off from her role as Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) senior director. During that time, she <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/disbursements\/?data_type=processed&amp;committee_id=C00736876&amp;recipient_name=Sweet+Tea+Consulting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span>received<\/span><\/a><span> $35,000 from the Warnock campaign through Sweet Tea Consulting, an LLC that Pines did not establish with the state of Georgia until late June, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Pines-business-filing.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">business records<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The paid time off proved fruitful for Pines\u2014she submitted her <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Pines-resignation-letter.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">letter of resignation<\/a> to MARTA&#8217;s chief of staff in April, writing &#8220;it is time for me to leap full time into political consulting.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>At the state government level, Georgia&#8217;s State Personnel Board <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/doas.ga.gov\/assets\/Human%20Resources%20Administration\/Political%20Activity%20Tools\/SPB%20Rule%208,%20Political%20Activity.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span>prohibits<\/span><\/a><span> employees from &#8220;directing, managing, controlling, or participating in a political campaign for state office.&#8221; As city officials working on federal campaigns, however, Williams and Pines are not bound by that law.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Williams and Pines were not the only local government employees Warnock hired as political consultants. The Democrat also paid more than $75,000 to DeKalb County director of external affairs Meredith Lilly through her LLC, Love Strategies. The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/disbursements\/?data_type=processed&amp;committee_id=C00736876&amp;recipient_name=love+strategies&amp;two_year_transaction_period=2022\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span>payments<\/span><\/a><span> came after Lilly requested an unpaid leave of absence for &#8220;personal reasons&#8221; from Nov. 23, 2020, to Jan. 5, 2021, <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Lilly-leave-request.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">county records<\/a> obtained by the <\/span><i><span>Free Beacon<\/span><\/i><span> show.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Warnock has a long history with Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D.). Warnock <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/atlanta\/news\/2018\/01\/11\/atlanta-mayor-bottoms-includes-rappers-ti-and.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span>served<\/span><\/a><span> on the Democrat&#8217;s transition team in 2018\u2014Bottoms later <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ajc.com\/news\/local-govt--politics\/city-funds-used-pay-mayor-bottoms-campaign-workers\/Es4yzBYu2udAx1hHt83Z1L\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span>faced criticism<\/span><\/a><span> when she used taxpayer funds to pay campaign aides for transition work before she took office, a move that &#8220;circumvented normal city hiring processes and broke with longstanding political practice,&#8221; according to the <\/span><i><span>Atlanta Journal-Constitution<\/span><\/i><span>. Just months into her tenure, Bottoms <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atlantaga.gov\/Home\/Components\/News\/News\/11575\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span>appointed<\/span><\/a> <span>Warnock&#8217;s then-wife as the city&#8217;s &#8220;senior human trafficking fellow,&#8221; which also drew a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/govsalaries.com\/warnock-ouleye-ndoye-18699319\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span>six-figure salary<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Warnock defeated former Republican senator Kelly Loeffler by roughly 2 points in January. He is expected to face Republican challenger Herschel Walker in 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democrats High-paid Atlanta officials simultaneously collected taxpayer-funded salaries, consulting fees  Raphael Warnock \/ Getty Images  Collin Anderson \u2022 October 19, 2021 4:59 am &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-896734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/896734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=896734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/896734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=896734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=896734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=896734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}