Finances, ethics continue to plague Deal

“There have been millions of dollars spent slandering Nathan,” Robinson said.

Most recently, Deal has faced intense scrutiny after it was revealed that the candidate for governor is millions of dollars in debt.

One loan — for $2.3 million — will come due just one month after Georgia’s next governor is inaugurated.

That loan, which Deal extended to his daughter Carrie Deal Wilder and her husband Clint Wilder, was made in addition to an initial $2 million stake Deal had in the couple’s failed sporting goods business, Wilder Outdoors.

Deal’s initial $2 million investment was lost and now supporters and critics alike question whether the candidate has the financial resources to cover the outstanding debt.

Robinson said Deal and his wife are in good shape financially and have the assets to cover the loan. He emphasized there was “no chance” that Deal would be forced to declare bankruptcy.

“Suggestions otherwise are untrue,” he said.

Robinson also dismissed allegations that Deal exhibited poor financial judgment by guaranteeing the loan in addition to his original investment in the business.

“The business was a sound business plan in a good location,” Robinson said. “They ran into the same retail buzz saw that hit Georgia and the entire nation.”

FurthercomplicatingDeal’s finances are $2.85 million in outstanding loans against his Gainesville based auto salvage business. According to the Deal campaign, the assets of the auto salvage business far exceed the company’s debt. The company, which Deal co-owns with business partner Kenneth Cronan, borrowed $2.5 million from Branch Banking and Trust in Gainesville and another $350,000 from the Verity Bank in Winder.

Robinson insists the loans are typical corporate loans and that the business is profitable. He does admit that the campaign made an error when it failed to report the loan on financial disclosure statements.

“It should have been on there. It was a mistake,” he said.

While Deal insists the company is financially sound, alleged actions taken by Deal on behalf of the company are at the root of another issue plaguing the campaign – ethics.

Deal is accused of improperly lobbying state officials in order to secure a favorable arrangement in which his company would have an exclusive contract to provide a site for state inspectors to examine rebuilt vehicles. Deal’s company was one of eight across the state designated as an inspection facility. That arrangement reportedly netted Deal’s business $1.5 million between 2004 and 2008.

When state Revenue Commissioner Bart Graham announced his intent to expand the number of inspection stations and make station site selection open to competitive bidding, Deal reportedly met with Graham in an attempt to prevent the changes. Deal has said the purpose of the meeting was to ascertain Graham’s intentions for the program and insure that inspectors would be qualified. A Congressional ethics inquiry determined Deal may have violated ethics policies, but Deal resigned from Congress before any actions were taken against him.

Robinson said the Deal campaign has fully answered all questions related to the alleged ethics violation.

“There have been no stones left unturned,” he said. “We have weathered a grueling – close to three months – of negative attacks.”

Though Deal avoided any Congressional repercussions, his actions may result in problems not only for his campaign but for that of Lt. Governor Casey Cagle.

Cagle reportedly brokered the meeting between Deal and Graham which took place in the lieutenant governor’s office. Cagle is also implicated in Deal’s financial issues because of his position as a director with GB&T Bancshares. GB&T Bancshares is the owner of Gainesville Bank & Trust, the institution which issued a half million dollar loan to Wilder Outdoors in 2005.

Cagle has denied any involvement with local lending decisions and has said he was simply acting on behalf of a constituent in arranging a meeting between Deal and Graham.

Despite the less than favorable publicity and an increasingly negative campaign by Democrat Roy Barnes, Robinson believes Deal will prevail in November.

“The fact that we have maintained a lead throughout all of this is a remarkable testament to the forbearance of this campaign,” he said.