Mississippi Democrats may be in somewhat of a pickle with their Michigan counterparts.

State Chairman Wayne Dowdy last week admitted that his party’s executive committee is looking into the legitimacy of a loan claim by the Michigan Democratic Party.

The August 2003 loan of $40,000 was used by Democrats here to pay a portion of a legal settlement with former Director Alice Skelton, who after being fired sued for back pay in February 1997.

Several problems surround the loan. First, no documentation of the loan exists with the party here. That could be because the check itself was paid directly to Skelton from the Michigan party.

That would explain &045; perhaps &045; why no trace of a $40,000 loan appears in any reports filed with the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office. It does not, however, explain why the Michigan party did not file the expenditure with their Secretary of State. According to records from June to October 2003, the Michigan party did not show where they spent the money. However, they are not hiding the fact they spent it now, at least not from their counterparts here in Mississippi.

Mark Brewer, the executive director for the Michigan party, has sent a letter to Dowdy saying Mississippi is late in its payment. According to this letter, the loan arrangement was for Mississippi Democrats to repay the money by Dec. 31, 2003.

It looks like they can remain that way for a while. At a special meeting last Saturday, the party here appointed Cono Caranna to lead a committee to investigate the loan claim. Caranna, the district attorney for Hancock, Harrison and Stone counties, is a respected attorney among Democrats who has their faith in getting to the bottom of this.

Most Democrats here are quick to point out that the loan was made by former Chairman Rickey Cole, who stepped down to pave the way for Dowdy. Cole has not returned repeated phone calls to speak about the matter, nor was he present at the called meeting, though he was asked to attend.

Cole’s role in this matter comes from the fact he negotiated the settlement with Skelton. Oddly enough, many members were quietly surprised the party settled with Skelton. These members insist they had only one contract with her and that the contract was paid in full.

Of course, the resolution came in the midst of a heated gubernatorial race involving former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, a Skelton supporter, and Democrats most likely did not want any bad publicity for Musgrove to have to deflect with then-challenger Haley Barbour hot on his tracks.

Another person keeping quiet is Brewer. The Michigan leader has refused to comment as well. And party members here say that party members there were not aware of the loan agreement at the time it was made. That fact cannot be confirmed, but Brewer’s silence is suspicious, especially given the fact that Dowdy, to his credit, has met this controversy straight on and has been forthcoming about what his party is doing to resolve the issue.

The question for Democrats here seems to come down to whether or not the loan &045; paid directly to Skelton &045; is legit. If so, Dowdy said they will begin to repay it. Of course, party coffers are not quite that full, so Democrats will have to raise money to pay it off.

But other questions still surround the controversy. Supposedly, some $54,000 was raised in local, private funds for the settlement-again, paid directly to Skelton. What of this money and reporting it? What of reporting the $40,000 loan itself? What of circumventing campaign finance laws by taking political donations and paying them directly to individuals?

This is all the gray area of political money, but someone has to sort it out.

Sam R. Hall

can be reached by e-mail to

shall@sctonline.net