Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for June 7, 2016

On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced a resolution before the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia calling for American independence from Great Britain.

Lee’s resolution declared: “That these United Colonies are, and of right out to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; that measures should be immediately taken for procuring the assistance of foreign powers, and a Confederation be formed to bind the colonies more closely together.”

Four weeks later, Georgia’s members of the Continental Congress – Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton — voted for a version written by Thomas Jefferson of Virginia and called the Declaration of Independence.

The first successful ascent of Mt. McKinley, also called Denali, in Alaska, the highest mountain in North America, was completed on June 7, 1913.

On June 7, 1942, Japanese troops occupied American territory in the Aleutian Islands off Alaska.

Ronald Reagan became the Republican nominee for Governor of California on June 7, 1966.

Today is “Prince Day” in Minnesota under a proclamation issued by Governor Mark Dayton. Prince was born on this day in 1958. Governor Dayton missed his chance to begin a proclamation with “Dearly beloved, we are gathered together today….”

The AJC has a story about the time the first African-American Georgia State Senator, Leroy Johnson, helped Muhammad Ali get a boxing license so the champ could fight again.

He was in his west Atlanta law office one day when he got a call from Harry Pett, who believed he could get a license for Ali if he could find a city that would allow him to fight again.

“To my utter surprise, there was no law in Georgia at that time,” he said. “It was up to the municipality to determine whether to grant a boxing license.”

Johnson assured him his staff had checked the law. It was up to Atlanta’s mayor and City Council.

Days later, Johnson and Pett met and drew up a contract; Johnson then began lobbying members of the City Council to get them behind the idea.

It’s a fascinating story worth reading in its entirety.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

The Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that a dog owner whose pet dies because of a third party’s negligence may seek to recover the market value of the dog, plus the cost of veterinary care, according to ABC News.

The state Supreme Court ruled Monday that when a pet is injured or killed by someone else’s negligence, the owners may also try to collect costs incurred trying to save the animal.

The unanimous Georgia Supreme Court opinion written by Chief Justice Hugh Thompson acknowledges the case deals with a subject “near and dear to the heart of many a Georgian in that it involves the untimely death of a beloved family pet,” and how to measure damages when the pet is hurt or killed because of negligence.

Under Georgia law, Thompson wrote, the owners can’t seek damages based on the sentimental value of the animal to its owner. He said “the unique human-animal bond, while cherished, is beyond legal measure.”

But he also cited a 19th century Georgia Supreme Court opinion involving the injury or death of animal. It says that if an animal is injured through negligence and dies as a result of those injuries, the owner can seek the animal’s market value, plus interest and “expenses incurred by the owner in an effort to cure the animal.”

Newt Gingrich has probably fallen off the list of potential Vice Presidential candidates on the Trump ticket. From the Associated Press,

Donald Trump said Monday it was “inappropriate” for Newt Gingrich to demand he drop the subject of an American judge’s ethnicity and start acting like “a potential leader of the United States.” But Trump let stand widespread scolding from other Republican leaders who want him to lay off the jurist — a sign that the GOP presidential candidate doesn’t want to blow up the fragile truce he has struck with the party establishment.

A day earlier, Gingrich said Trump’s focus on Curiel’s ethnic background was “inexcusable” and Trump’s “worst mistake.” He was one of several Republicans who publicly demanded that the presumptive GOP candidate move on and unite the party. Across the Sunday talk shows, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that he “couldn’t disagree more” with Trump’s statements about Curiel’s impartiality, adding that “we’re all behind him now” — an implicit warning that such unity might not be the case for long.

WALB in Albany has an interview with State Rep. Ed Rynders, who was elected as a delegate to the Republican National Convention.

Rynders is the only one of 31 delegates elected at the annual state convention in Augusta who is from the Albany area. “I’m pleased to be able to represent the 2nd Congressional District,” Rynders told us.

He wouldn’t say whether Donald Trump was his first choice for president, but here’s what he said when asked if he is excited to cast a vote for Trump at the RNC next month: “I am. He’s our nominee.”

Rynders says the fact that Trump won the Republican nomination shows this is no normal political year. “I’m surprised Trump’s the nominee, and I’m surprised Sanders is sticking around as long as he is. That really tells us about what’s going on in America.”

Rynders says many voters, both liberal and conservative, are angry and want major changes in Washington.  But as surprising as this campaign has been, he believes the core of the general election campaign will be pretty simple. “Where the people on the left are going to say Trump’s a bully, and we’re gonna sit there and remind people you can’t trust Hillary.”

Rynders admits you can never be sure just what Donald Trump might say, but he says that’s better than the alternative. “We know the Clintons lie,” he said.

State tax revenues for May were up 4 percent over May 2015.

As has been the case since last summer, a large chunk of the revenue increase has come from tax reforms and new tax legislation, particularly the state’s reconfigured gas tax, that went into effect last July. Transportation revenue generated last month totaled $72.7 million, which is up 9.2 percent from a year ago.

A study of the effects of opening casino gambling in Atlanta makes the proposal look like a bad gamble. From Scott Trubey of the AJC.

The report concluded that the majority of visitors would be locals, not tourists, and that spending in casinos could “cannibalize” spending that might have gone to nearby restaurants, museums or concert halls and in turn undercut other state and local tax collections.

The study was commissioned by Central Atlanta Progress, a downtown business coalition, in an attempt to provide independent data as lawmakers weigh the issue in the months ahead, said the group’s CEO, A.J. Robinson.

The CAP report found Georgia’s casino market could be about $2.2 billion to $2.5 billion per year and that more than $570 million is spent each year by Georgians in out-of-state casinos. The out-of-state spending figure is actually higher than a widely circulated report from casino interests.

The CAP report said a proposed 20 percent casino tax rate that emerged late in this past legislative session could produce $320 million to $400 million a year in revenue for the state. Casinos would likely reduce Georgia Lottery revenues some, but that would likely be made up by tax revenue from the resorts.

The report said Georgia casinos would capture some of gambling dollars leaving the state, but legalized gambling would not likely broaden the city’s tourism appeal. Robinson said a flood of new hotel rooms from a resort downtown could also hurt the margins of existing hotels.

Pete Corson of the AJC looks at how ride sharing services Uber and Lyft might affect traditional transit in Atlanta.

The impact of ride-sharing is already being discussed internally by MARTA, which is gearing up for a $2.5 billion referendum to expand Atlanta’s transit options.

“We fully understand that transportation is evolving rapidly,” Keith T. Parker, MARTA’s general manager and CEO, said Monday in an emailed statement. “Instead of denying that these changes are coming, MARTA is identifying new partnerships and new opportunities that will enable us to do a better job of serving our customers now and in the future. In fact, we’re looking forward to helping to drive those changes.”

ride-sharing could bring more riders to transit stations, solving what it calls the “last-mile problem” of getting more people to and from existing transit stations. Another plus — creating an alternative to car ownership for many riders. And as another recent study by the American Public Transit Association also noted, ride-share users also tend to use transit more frequently.

MARTA spokesman Lyle Harris noted that as part of a pilot project last year, MARTA and Uber collaborated on a partnership in which the transit system included a link to the service on its “On-The-Go” real-time app. Customers who used a special code that MARTA promoted received a one-time, $20 discount on their first Uber ride. Although the promotion has ended, Uber customers can still book their trips directly from MARTA’s app.

A third possible “synergy” between ride-sharing and public transit would be building fewer transit stations. The idea here is that if the “last-mile” problem is solved, public transit stations could be spaced farther apart. Fewer stations would mean faster train times and presumably less public money spent on building stations.

Speaker David Ralston appointed members to two study committees.

State Commission on Petroleum Pipelines
Bill Hitchens – Co-Chair (R-Rincon)
Barry Fleming (R-Harlem)
Al Williams (D-Midway)

House Study Committee on Regional Transit Solutions
Christian Coomer – Chair (R-Cartersville)
Chuck Martin – Vice Chair (R-Alpharetta)
John Carson (R-Marietta)
Chuck Efstration (R-Dacula)
Mike Glanton (D-Jonesboro)
Calvin Smyre (D-Columbus)
Tom Taylor (R-Dunwoody)

The Marietta City Council is considering expanding leave for new parents who are employed by the city.

Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren will hold a free firearm safety course on June 9 from 6 to 8 PM at the Ben Robertson Community Center, located at 2753 Watts Drive in Kennesaw.

Clermont City Council will vote at its 7 PM meeting tonight whether to hold a Special Election on November 8th to fill a vacancy after Ward 1 Council Member Eric Thomas resigned. If approved, it will be the third special election in the city this year.

If the ordinance is approved as is, the election will take place 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Concord Baptist Church, 640 Main St.

And qualifying will be set for Aug. 1-3 at Town Hall, 109 King St., with candidates required to live in Ward 1, according to the ordinance. The qualifying fee is $43.20.

The winner will serve the rest of Thomas’ four-year term, or from Nov. 14 of this year through Dec. 31, 2019.

Some police chiefs received training in compliance with the Open Records Act, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.

Democratic ballots in the Third District will be recounted once voting totals are certified to ensure the correct sacrificial lamb candidate ends up in the General Election against the winner of a Republican Primary Runoff between State Senator Mike Crane and former LaGrange Mayor Drew Ferguson.

“They won’t certify until at least Monday,” said Coweta Elections Superintendent Jane Scoggins. Once the election is certified, a candidate has five days to request a recount.

Tamarkus Cook, who lost the May 24 Democratic primary to Angela Pendley by a mere 53 votes out of 12,939 total votes, requested a recount days after the election.

Coweta’s results were certified May 27, but some other counties have needed more time. There has to be time for any military ballots to arrive, and both Carroll and Fayette had to upload their election results by hand on election night.