Better Georgia learned today that Secretary of State Brian Kemp has abandoned his attempt to hire Nathan Deal’s former press secretary through a no-bid contract.
Kemp’s decision to cancel the contract follows a formal protest filed by Better Georgia with the state’s Department of Administrative Services.
Kemp attempted to get around the state’s procurement laws that ban no-bid contracts unless “only one supplier is capable of providing the needed goods or services.”
Brian Robinson, the governor’s former press secretary, clearly did not fit the description. Kemp hoped to pay Robinson $72,000 — using taxpayer dollars — for political reasons.
Better Georgia filed a formal protest on December 29 to contest the contract.
Today we learned the Kemp couldn’t move forward with the illegal contract once the deal became public.
Kemp hired Robinson while he was reeling from a massive data breach where he shared personal information, including Social Security numbers, of every Georgia voter with a “no compromise” gun lobby, a neo-Confederate political party and others.
The 2015 data breach was second in Kemp’s administration, following a similar problem in 2012. Kemp did not tell the public of either data breach until after the media discovered them.
Sen. John Albers (R–Roswell) has filed Senate Bill 276 (SB 276), the “Georgia Personal Data Security Act,” to require the secretary of state to notify the public with 45 days of any data breach. It would also allow the attorney general’s office to investigate.