Wayne Carr, a builder from Gulfport, Mississippi, and candidate for South Mississippi Public Service Commissioner has filed a second ethics complaint against Southern District PSC Commissioner Dane Maxwell. In this latest complaint, Carr revealed an additional $3,000 of allegedly illegally obtained campaign donations from entities that Maxwell is supposed to be regulated at the PSC. This follows yesterday’s admission by Maxwell that he had illegally received $4,000 and subsequently refunded an engineering firm that worked for Central States Water Resources.

According to the complaint, two Mississippi Gulf Coast water company owners each donated $1,500 to Maxwell’s campaign, but this violated Mississippi Code § 77-1-11. The code explicitly prohibits sitting Public Service Commissioners from accepting any gifts, money, campaign contributions, or other financial benefits from individuals or entities under the jurisdiction or supervision of the Public Service Commission.

Previously, Wayne Carr detailed that Maxwell had received multiple illegal donations totaling $15,000. Although the matter is before the Mississippi Ethics Commission, Maxwell swiftly acknowledged that $4,000 of the alleged donations were unlawful. With this new revelation, the total of illicit contributions attributed to Maxwell has risen to $18,000, surpassing the amount he had received in campaign donations throughout the entire year of 2023.

Carr stated, “Dane Maxwell must return all these illegal campaign contributions. His reckless disregard for Mississippi election law shows that he refuses to do it when it comes to following the law and upholding the highest standards of public integrity. Mississippi voters must tell him to ‘Stop the Steal’ and replace him in the upcoming August 8 Republican primary.”