“The allegations appear to have merit.”
(UCBJ) – An investigation into an alleged campaign ethics violation involving the current County Clerk for Putnam County and candidate for Putnam County Mayor, Wayne Nabors, has concluded that “the allegations appear to have merit,” according to documents obtained by the Upper Cumberland Business Journal from the Bureau of Ethics & Campaign Finance (BECF).
According to documents, The Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury (TCT) office received allegations Monday, March 2, 2026 that “the current Putnam County Clerk (PCC), Wayne Nabors, required PCC employees to perform work in the PCC’s office during regular business hours for his campaign for the Putnam County Mayor election.”
An exhaustive online search for “open-source intelligence (OSINT)” followed, and the investigation found that “Nabors’s campaign hosted a “Meet the Candidate” event on Monday, March 2, 2026, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Central at the Cookeville Community Center.”
The investigator noted that the “Wayne Nabors for Putnam County Mayor 2026” Facebook page included a direct link to www.putnamcountytn.gov/county-clerk. Over the following two days, the investigator visited the Putnam County Clerk’s office, interviewing employees and speaking directly with Nabors while being given a tour of the facility.
“Nabors stated that 16 of his 22 employees were “out there last night,” referring to his employees’ volunteer efforts at his campaign “meet and greet” event. During the tour, the investigator noted two stacks of campaign signs in the “old marriage room,” a room near the front lobby, off to the side of the primary workspace for deputy clerks. The investigator also noted a larger campaign sign attached to two tall wooden posts lying on the ground in the primary basement of the building (downstairs, on the “drive-thru window” floor),” according to official documents.
The investigator also spoke with 20 employees. Here are the findings from those conversations:
- Fifteen employees confirmed they volunteered for a Monday evening campaign event after staff were asked to assist.
- Two of those employees expressed discomfort with the circumstances, but stated they were not expressly required to participate.
- Two employees who did not volunteer stated they felt pressure to sign up.
- Each reported that April Proffitt, Chief Deputy Clerk, questioned them about their inability to attend.
One of the two employees who did not volunteer further stated she believes she may be experiencing adverse treatment for declining to volunteer, noting a change in her routine workplace interactions with Mr. Nabors.
“One of the two employees believes she may be experiencing consequences for not volunteering, and explained that Nabors usually speaks to her every day, but he has not spoken to her at all this week,” according to documents.
One employee declined to continue the interview after learning participation was voluntary while two additional employees were on leave during the week and unavailable for interview, according to documents. Employees say “downtime” is rare at the Clerk’s office and that staff will often work on “dealer work,” putting stickers on license plates, putting stamps on envelopes and other “smaller” office tasks if no customers are present, according to findings.
Documents further reveal that “several PCC employees” said Nabors asked for help assembling campaign signs.
“… However, all of the employees that helped work on the signs insisted they asked for the task of putting the signs together after completing their regular work,” according to documents.
Employees also described regular “Monday morning meeting(s)” where Nabors discussed his campaign event and several said he “needed help with the event.” According to findings, one employee who operates a side business making shirts said Nabors asked her to produce campaign shirts.
“The employee stated that she charged for the shirts, and he paid for the shirts,” according to documents.
Based on the findings, the investigator recommended that the allegations be referred to the Comptroller’s Division of Local Government Audit (LGA) and/or the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance (TN BECF / TEC) unless additional information or documentation becomes available.
Internal emails indicate that neither the Registry of Election Finance nor the Ethics Commission believes it has jurisdiction over the matter, stating it is “outside our realm.” One BECF official added, “Misconduct by public officials of this type is covered by Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-401 et seq., and it appears that all of those charges are criminal in nature. The matter is better handled by Attorney General Bryant Dunaway’s office.”
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