JACKSON ⢠Mississippi politicians continue to personally profit from their campaign funds, new state filings show, a practice thatâs illegal in many other states and at the federal level.
In November, Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney paid himself $30,000 from his campaign account. âPersonal,â Chaney wrote as the purpose of the expenditure, according to his finance report filed last week.
Before he wrapped up a 16-year career in the state Senate last year, J.P. Wilemon, a Democrat from Belmont, pocketed $12,016 that was leftover in his campaign account, a filing shows.
Lawmakers passed campaign finance reforms in 2017 following embarrassing reports by the Clarion Ledger that showed how officials had spent donations on everything from childrenâs parties, to cars, to an $800 pair of cowboy boots. Yet a grandfather clause inserted into the legislation essentially let the unregulated spending continue â as long as politicians used money raised before 2018.