Shipp: Connect the dots on Perdue's land deal

Bill

Shipp

more Shipp columns

www.billshipp.com

Mark Taylor and his Democratic campaign consultants owe Gov. Sonny Perdue an apology. In their campaign for governor, they accused Perdue of trying to get rich off an investment of $2 million in swampland near Disney World.

The Democrats were wrong. The Florida tract was nearly worthless. C'mon, Mark, tell Sonny you're sorry.

Of course, there remains a tiny question about the governor's transaction: Why would Gov. Perdue pump $2 million into a piece of junk property way down in Florida?

Answer: Perdue was not attempting to get rich off the Florida deal. He was trying to skip - or at least delay for a long time - paying $300,000 in federal taxes on $2 million he had received from the sale of land owned by the Perdue family in Georgia. He used the Florida property as a parking place for his money from the Georgia deal - a place that would shield him from taxes. He created the appearance of having used the profit from the Georgia sale to invest in land of similar worth in Florida. That's where the tax relief comes in.

According to press reports, Perdue bought the Disney World property without ever seeing it just one day before a 180-day grace period expired - a period that allowed him to reinvest money from the Georgia sale without facing hefty taxes.

No wonder Perdue chuckled during campaign debates whenever the Florida land deal came up. He facetiously offered to sell the Florida land to Taylor for "$20 million or $10 million."

Perdue knew Taylor and his bloodhounds were barking up the wrong tree. The Democrats never dreamed that the governor, known to be a shrewd businessman, would pay a whopping $2 million for nearly useless real estate. They believed Sonny was simply trying to turn a profit the old-fashioned way. They also thought that Perdue would never have the audacity to work with Stan Thomas, a Perdue appointee to the state economic development board, to acquire the nearly worthless land and sidestep the $300,000 tax on the sale of other property. Or that the state legislature would help out Sonny with a bill that gave him a $100,000 tax break on the Georgia-Florida land deal.

The Democrat's failure to recognize that Perdue and his pals were such a daring and clever lot may account for Taylor's landslide election loss.

A smarter opposition research team and a wiser electorate might have put two and two together.

Perdue had already raised eyebrows with the notorious Oaky Woods deal, in which he refused to permit the Nature Conservancy to buy the 20,000-acre hunting preserve in Houston County for use by the state for conservation purposes. Instead, the land was turned over to developers who plan a gigantic real estate project. Gov. Perdue, of course, had acquired land adjacent to the soon-to-be commercially bustling Oaky Woods. In just 18 months, the Perdue tract increased 150 percent in value.

More curious campaign operatives also might have wondered why Perdue was so adamant in supporting laws aimed at keeping secret the details of economic development proposals - and why the governor refused repeatedly to follow the tradition of his predecessors and make public his tax returns as well as his sources of income.

Perdue said he did not want to follow the custom of putting his business in a blind trust while he served as governor. He said, in effect, that he had too many irons in the fire to allow a trustee to take over. Boy, he wasn't kidding!

There were other clues regarding Perdue's style and motives. He has taken an active role in trying unsuccessfully to defeat two Georgia Supreme Court justices whom he believes are not his allies.

When he failed to beat them in elections, Perdue set out to expand the court by two seats (to be appointed by him) - though nearly every expert and the present justices say the expansion is not needed. One might get the impression our governor is trying desperately to create a friendly appellate bench. Wonder why.

He also has appointed Catherine O'Neil, wife of U.S. attorney David Nahmias, to the prestigious Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. Why would a federal prosecutor's spouse accept such a potentially problematic post in an administration that is under scrutiny? Oh, I forgot. Many of these folks currently in the spotlight - mostly Democratic retreads calling themselves Republicans - don't lose much sleep over conflicts of interest, oaths of office and other such minor matters.

• Reach Bill Shipp at P.O. Box 440755, Kennesaw, GA 30160, or e-mail shipp1@bellsouth.net.