Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for August 22, 2017

The sale of Coca-Cola Company from the Candlers was announced in the Atlanta Constitution on August 22, 1919.

N/S Savannah, the first nuclear-powered merchant ship, visited the Port of Savannah on August 22, 1962. Savannah was named after S.S. Savannah, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. N/S Savannah is moored at the Port of Baltimore and designated a national historic landmark.

More than 3000 demonstrators disrupted the Democratic National Convention on August 22, 1968.

In 1972, it was the Republicans’ turn, as demonstrators struck outside the Republican National Convention.

Nolan Ryan recorded his 5000th career strikeout against Rickey Henderson of the Oakland A’s on August 22, 1989.

McNeel Marble Company in Marietta created many of the Confederate stautes under fire.

Two generations ago, [Morgan McNeel’s] kin founded the McNeel Marble Co. in Marietta and grew it into one of the nation’s most prolific Confederate monument makers. Often using Georgia granite and Italian marble, they built more than 140 Confederate monuments, of which dozens are in Georgia.

Gould Hagler, a Dunwoody man who wrote the book “Georgia’s Confederate Monuments,” said McNeel made more of the state’s monuments to the Confederacy — 42 — than any other company. And McNeel prospered, eventually opening offices in Birmingham and New York.

Experts agree that demand for Confederate monuments spiked twice: at the turn of the 20th century and about the time of the civil rights movement.

Advertisements from the early 1900s show campaigns to sell monuments to communities for the 50th anniversary of the Civil War.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Governor Nathan Deal nominated Robert “Bo” Hunter III as a judge in Richmond County State Court.

The governor called Hunter with the news Monday afternoon, Hunter said. “I talked with (Chief Judge David D.) Judge Watkins and Judge (Patricia Booker) and they want help as soon as possible,” Hunter said. Solicitor Omeeka Loggins told Hunter she already has a team together for him.

Hunter said he hopes to be able to close out his law practice in a week or so. He said he has asked the governor to swear him in when that is finished.

“I hope to bring good changes working with my colleagues,” Hunter said.

Hunter will complete [Judge Richard] Slaby’s unfinished term. The judgeship is up for election in 2019.

Hunter ran for a State Court judgeship vacated in 2016 when Judge John Flythe chose to run for a Superior Court judgeship. Although Hunter was the top vote-getter in the March election, Kellie McIntyre won the runoff.

First Lady Sandra Deal visited new parents at Piedmont Henry Hospital.

Deal, a mother of four, met with new parents to stress the importance of immunizations, not only for their children, but for themselves and future caregivers. She also passed along information that has been updated since she was a new mother nearly 50 years ago.

“Every mother wants her child to grow up healthy and strong,” Deal said. She said that new research has changed parenting these days.

For example, sleeping babies should be on their backs rather than their bellies. When Deal was a new mother, she said the advice was the opposite.

“Things have completely changed,” Deal said. “A child is a precious gift and parents want to take the very best care of them they can, and we want to help.”

Piedmont Henry Hospital CEO Deborah Armstrong said its a privilege to host Deal at the hospital.

“She’s clearly passionate about getting moms on the right foot,” Armstrong said. “We appreciate her visiting with us.”

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will visit the National Detector Dog Training Center in Newnan on Thursday.

The 18-acre facility is in the International Industrial Park off Ga. Hwy. 34. The training center provides a state-of-the-art learning environment for training detector dogs and their handlers to help safeguard American agriculture by preventing pests and agricultural diseases from entering the United States through airports, international borders, postal facilities and cargo areas.

Perdue, Georgia’s previous governor and a former veterinarian, will tour the facility. During the tour, he will watch a demonstration of how the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service canines and handlers demonstrate how they locate and eradicate invasive or diseased foreign plants that have crossed America’s borders.

South Georgia may have new help at the Capitol, as a new lobbying group forms to focus on non-agriculture issues.

For 25 years [Franklin] Richards has led Second Harvest Food Bank of South Georgia in Valdosta, which gets food to low-income people in a nearly 13,000-mile region that includes 30 counties.

Richards said the focus has mostly been on issues tied to the Farm Bill, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program also known as “food stamps” or SNAP.

But Richards and other leaders of Second Harvest are now planning a separate organization called the Rural America Initiative (RAI) that will primarily focus on advocating for a broad set of rural interests on a state and federal level.

“We’re not in the business of just always feeding hungry people. Our long term goal is to put ourselves out of work,” Richards said. “We cannot do that until we make changes in … everything that affects these rural communities, and that’s what we want to do. We want to be at the table saying, ‘OK, if this is what you’re looking at doing, let us tell you how that’s going to affect rural America.'”

He rattled off a number of sensitive issues for rural areas where RAI might try to influence policy: water, natural resources, healthcare, jobs, broadband and other infrastructure.

DeKalb County is seeing more mosquitoes infected with the West Nile Virus.

The DeKalb Board of Health reported recently that the virus has been seen in five times the number of mosquitoes they normally see it in, according to local media. A map released by the health board shows virus-positive mosquitoes in a number of cities in the area, including Decatur, Chamblee, Pine Lake, Brookhaven, Clarkston, Tucker and Doraville.

“We are concerned,” Juanetta Willis, the arbovirus coordinator, told WAGA-TV. “So we want, not to alert people, but to make people aware that they really need to be taking the precautions. Most people infected with West Nile Virus are infected during August, September and in October. So, even though the kids are back at school, I need you to keep using the repellent and dumping the water.”

A Brookhaven resident was diagnosed with West Nile virus in early July. The results come from a notification from the DeKalb County Board of Health, the city said.

“In an abundance of caution, we are working with the DeKalb County Board of Health and redoubling our efforts to minimize any exposure to the West Nile virus in Brookhaven,” City Manager Christian Sigman said in a news release. “We are comparing our stormwater drainage maps with the Board of Health maps, to ensure every storm drain is treated with a larvicide which is safe for humans, but interrupts the life cycle of mosquitoes. This includes all of our parks and ponds in the City.”

Grayson City Council approved a $1.26 million dollar budget for FY 2018, which includes keeping the millage rate at the same level as last year.

Pooler City Council will consider creating a municipal stormwater utility.

Warner Robins City Council voted to create the position of City Administrator.

The Warner Robins City Council approved a city administrator position Monday, despite a request from the Chamber of Commerce that it be put on the ballot in November.

Councilman Mike Davis cast the lone dissenting vote, with Councilman Clifford Holmes abstaining. Holmes said he was not opposed to an administrator but supported having it on the ballot for voters to decide.“I think this is a major decision where we are trying to change our form of government and I think it ought to be the people’s right to have a say,” Davis said before the vote was taken.

Mayor Randy Toms did not comment. He has previously said he has a plan to turn the city clerk’s job into an administrator’s position by giving the clerk more authority.

April Bragg, president and CEO of the Robins Regional Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber’s board of directors supports putting the issue on the ballot for voters to decide.

Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker qualified for another term.

“We have worked as a team to successfully build the nicest city with the highest standards and best quality of life available in Georgia,” Bodker said Monday.

Johns Creek is also widely touted as the safest city “with the lowest crime rate of any city of its size, anywhere,” he added.

“We enjoy the best schools, an extremely low unemployment rate and growing parks and recreational programs for families,” he continued. “These successes don’t happen by accident. They are the result of mature leadership that also looks out for taxpayers.”

Bodker’s re-election bid won’t be a cakewalk, however. Local businessman Alex Marchetti has indicated he will also run for the office of mayor in the Nov. 7 general municipal elections.

“With one more term, I will be able to complete the mission that we started out to do when we first incorporated our city,” Bodker continued. “I want to work to make sure our traffic relief plans are implemented, new sidewalks are put in and all neighborhoods are repaved. I want to work to keep taxes down, and want to focus on keeping Johns Creek moving forward rather than going backward.”

Milledgeville opened qualifying for municipal offices.

Milledgeville City Council incumbent Alderman Steve Chambers was the first to qualify on opening day, according to Milledgeville City Clerk Bo Danuser.

Chambers, a longtime member of city council, represents District 6.

Another longtime member of city council qualified a few minutes later. Jeanette Walden, who has served on city council for the past 20 years, is seeking re-election to another four-year term as the District 2 representative.

Other candidates who qualified Monday for seats on city council and mayor included: Mary Parham Copelan, a political newcomer, qualified later in the day to seek the office of mayor. Copelan is a retired captain with the Georgia Department of Corrections, and has never held public office.

Marietta City Council member Philip Goldstein will not run for reelection, though his 23-year old son qualified for his seat.

Warner Robins municipal qualifying saw an early stampede of candidates.

Joe Musselwhite, the city’s former public works director and runner-up in the last mayoral election, was the first to qualify Monday. Later in the morning, Mayor Randy Toms qualified to run for re-election to a second term. City Councilman Chuck Shaheen said at the last council meeting he plans to run for mayor, but he did not qualify Monday.

Qualifying continues through Friday.

Jim Taylor, a parks activist who works for Warner Robins Building Supply, qualified to run for Shaheen’s at-large Post 1 seat. Jeffery Walker, a previous unsuccessful council candidate, qualified to run for Shaheen’s seat.

The mayors of Centerville and Perry, as well as council posts in each, are up for re-election. No incumbents in those cities had drawn challengers as of late Monday afternoon, while all of the incumbents qualified.

Matt Evans qualified to run for Dalton Board of Education.

Rome Mayor Jamie Doss qualified for another term, and Commissioner Windy Davis is running for another term.

Lowndes County municipalities continue candidate qualifying.

Positions up for election are:

— Valdosta City Council Districts seats 2, 4 and 6

— Hahira City Council District seats 1, 4 and mayor

— Dasher Post 1, 2 and mayor

— Lake Park two seats at-large

— Remerton City Council three positions open

— Valdosta Board of Education District 5 and 6.

The Gainesville Times reviews municipal posts up for election this year.

Lula City Council member Lamb Griffin was hospitalized after being hit by a car.

The Rev. Joseph Lowery has endorsed Democrat Stacey Abrams in the 2018 election for Governor.