John Stoj, candidate for Sandy Springs City Council District 6, on Oct. 28 filed his personal financial disclosures several weeks late after one of his opponents, Andy Bauman, sent a letter to the media about it.
Stoj said he made a mistake and filed two hours after a reporter asked him about the issue.
Candidates and elected officials must annually file financial disclosures.
“I was horrified when I learned that I had not completed this paperwork between August 27 and September 11,” Stoj said. “Our first child was born on August 30 and prior to that, my wife had been on bed rest for three months after a difficult pregnancy. This was in no way an effort to hide any of my personal financial information from the public – I was simply distracted by my wife’s medical condition and the birth of our son Jack, who is now two months old.”
Bauman said the late filing undermines Stoj’s credibility as a candidate.
“It is inconceivable that Mr. Stoj has neglected to file this very simple form that discloses his financial assets and fiduciary positions and is intended to inform the public of possible conflicts of interest of our elected officials,” Bauman said. “He is represented by professional political consultants and claims business and financial expertise. It’s really quite simple, Mr. Stoj should play by the same rules as the rest of the Council candidates and file his form and pay his fines. The public has a right to know if he is hiding something that would be relevant to their decision on election day.”
Election Day is Nov. 5 and in addition to Stoj and Bauman, the candidates are Sonja Tonpea, Patty Berkovitz and Jennifer Steele.