APR’s review of Ethics Commission records showed that John Wahl’s required annual Statement of Economic Interests was not listed electronically by the April 30 deadline. Wahl filed the form electronically Wednesday morning, and the issue does not appear to affect his candidacy for lieutenant governor.
Wahl, the former chairman of the Alabama Republican Party and a candidate for lieutenant governor, said he mailed both his 2024 and 2025 SEI forms and does not know what may have gone wrong in the process.
APR identified the issue earlier Wednesday during a routine review of candidate and public official disclosure records. Wahl filed the SEI electronically around 10:30 Wednesday morning after learning that the filing was not reflected on the Ethics Commission website.
The annual filing was required because Wahl serves as chairman of the Alabama Public Library Service Board. Public officials covered by the state ethics law are required to file an annual Statement of Economic Interests with the Alabama Ethics Commission by April 30.
Candidates for public office are also generally required to file Statements of Economic Interests shortly after qualifying. But according to an email from Alabama Ethics Commission Executive Director Tom Albritton, Wahl had already satisfied that requirement because he had a current statement on file at the time he qualified.
“[Y]ou had a current SEI on file when you qualified, so you satisfied the filing requirement as a candidate,” Albritton wrote in an email to Wahl that was shared with APR. “You have now filed your SEI for filing year ’25 so you are in compliance with the SEI statute as a public official.”
Wahl said he acted quickly once he learned the filing was not reflected on the Ethics Commission website.
“I am a strong advocate for transparency and have always made my SEI filings a priority,” Wahl said. “I sent both my 2024 and 2025 forms by mail. The moment I heard my SEI was not listed on the Ethics Commission website, I immediately made sure they had all of my information. If anyone checks my history, they can plainly see that I have always filed on time, and that is why any confusion on this bothers me so tremendously.”
“There appears to have been a breakdown in communication or the mailing process, but I’m not sure where,” Wahl said. “However, the moment I found out about it, I made sure it was corrected. I appreciate the Ethics Commission for accepting my filing and recognizing that I am currently in full compliance and was in full compliance when I qualified for lieutenant governor.”
The Ethics Commission has previously removed candidates from the ballot for not filing required SEI forms in a timely manner. Those cases involved candidates who were not current public office holders and who did not already have an SEI on file at the time they qualified.
In Wahl’s case, the Ethics Commission’s response indicates that the filing issue does not affect his candidacy for lieutenant governor.
