Sewell leads fundraising effort in Dawson County Sheriff’s race

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – Campaign contribution disclosure reports on file with the Dawson County Elections office show that in the final week before Advanced Voting challenger Marcus Sewell has a lead over incumbent Sheriff Jeff Johnson in both the amount of money raised and the number of contributors.

According to reports filed last week, Sewell has raised $21,115 to Johnson’s $15,204.84, Jeff Perry has raised $7,275

Sewell, who commands the Investigative Division of the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office, has attracted a total of 50 donations more than double the donations Johnson has received. Most were between $100 and $200.

Johnson reported 23 donations. Three of those accounted for nearly 30 percent of the total funds he has raised. CorrectHealth — the company that is contracted with the Sheriff’s Office to provide medical services at the jail – made the second largest donation of $1,500.

The fact that the incumbent trails the challenger in fundraising wasn’t the only bad news for the Johnson campaign. On Friday, social media posted a copy of a Gainesville Police Department Internal Affairs report from February 2004 that showed Johnson was asked to resign following an affair with a married subordinate.

According to the report, Johnson “disobeyed a direct order on two occasions and willfully shirked his duties.” The investigation concluded that his “conduct brought the Department into disrepute and reflects discredit upon you as an officer.” The report also stated that Johnson met with Capt. Jane Nichols and CID Lt. Jeff Harris on Feb. 10 and admitted to the affair.

Asked about the Facebook report, Johnson said, “I’ve heard about the article but I haven’t seen it. I don’t know what is accurate and what isn’t accurate.”

He did question the fairness of the information surfacing 16 years later during the final weeks of the campaign but added, “Voters have a right to base their decision on whatever information they want to.”