Percentage of Influence Dollars: This percentage is based on the campaign donations identified by the Project as being from “influencers” (lobbyist expenditures are not included) divided by the Total Itemized Campaign Funds Raised.

Total Campaign Funds Raised: This dollar amount is the total of all the campaign funds raised and reported to the state ethics commission by Commissioner Eaton since his current term began in January, 2019. An amount of $117,389 was subtracted from the total of campaign contributions listed on his campaign finance reports because that is the amount of funds carried over from the campaign for his previous term. For this Project, this number also does not include loans from the candidate to the campaign or aggregated campaign contributions under $100 because the sources of those funds are not reported per campaign finance law and therefore are not able to be tracked as influence dollars or not. The amount does include itemized in-kind contributions, which are presented separately on the campaign finance report.

Total Influence Dollars are the combination of all lobbyist expenditures plus campaign contributions from individuals and entities that we have identified as those regulated by the PSC, have a business relationship with an entity regulated by the PSC or are looking to influence a decision made by the PSC.  Commissioner Eaton’s Total Influence Dollars date back to the start of his current term, which began in January 2019 when he was re-elected to the Commission. Some campaign donors could not be immediately identified as influencers and will require additional research to uncover any relationships that would make them an “influencer”, so check back often as we expect this number to grow.

Notes of Interest:

• Commissioner Eaton resigned from the PSC in July, 2021 after being appointed by Governor Brian Kemp to serve as a judge in Fulton County Superior Court (despite never having served as a judge or a lawyer).
• He does not seem to care too much about timely disclosure reports. He filed his June 30, 2020 on September 21, 2020, almost 3 months after the deadline, and as a result, was fined $125 by the state ethics commission. He was also fined $125 for filing his December 31, 2018 report almost 14 months after the deadline. He has reported only one campaign contribution since his last term began in January, 2019. According to the State Ethics Commission, Eaton has been fined for late or missing campaign finance reports more than any other Commissioner, and almost more than any other elected or appointed official in the state.
• Since his last term began in January, 2019, and up to the point of his resignation, lobbyists have spent $1,142.62 on lunches, dinners and other gifts for Commissioner Eaton.