Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for August 24, 2018

On August 25, 325, the Council of Nicea adopted the Nicene Creed.

General Charles Lee of the Continental Army told Congress that Georgia’s value to the young nation required more forces to defend against the British on August 24, 1776.

On August 25, 1864, Union troops stopped artillery bombardment of Atlanta and withdrew from fortifications around the city. On the same day, in Virginia, Confederate forces attacked Federals under Gen. Grant at Ream’s Station.

On August 26, 1864, having withdrawn from trenches and fortifications outside Atlanta the previous day, U.S. General Sherman sent most of his forces westward around Atlanta and toward the south of the city. Sherman’s forces tore up 12 miles of railroad between Red Oak and Fairburn on August 29, 1864.

On August 25, 1877, delegates to the state Constitutional Convention approved a new post-Reconstruction state Constitution, the seventh in state history, to be submitted to the voters on December 5, 1877.

On August 26, 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted. Ratification took place on August 18, 1920, as the Tennessee House of Representatives adopted it, but adoption became official on August 26, when United States Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the Amendment. It reads:

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

The all-time highest score in a professional baseball game was recorded on August 25, 1922, as the Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies by 26-23.

On August 24, 1931, the Georgia General Assembly adopted a joint resolution appointing a committee to work with the Governor in planning a bicentennial celebration to be held in 1933.

Paris was liberated from German army control on August 25, 1944.

On August 26, 1939, the first televised major league baseball game aired, as the Brooklyn Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds split a doubleheader in Ebbets Field.

On August 24, 1945, the United States Postal Service held a first day of issue ceremony in Warm Springs, Georgia for the release of a stamp bearing the images of Franklin D. Roosevelt and The Little White House.

On August 25, 1950, President Harry S. Truman ordered the seizure of the nation’s private railroads by executive order.

On August 26, 1961, the 718th Engineer Light Equipment Company of Fort Valley and the 210th Signal Base Depot Company of Augusta were called up to take part in the American response to the crisis in Berlin.

President Lyndon B. Johnson was nominated for President by the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey on August 26, 1964.

On August 26, 1965, Sonny & Cher were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘I Got You Babe’, the duo’s only UK No.1. Sonny Bono was inspired to write the song to capitalize on the popularity of the term “babe,” as heard in Bob Dylan’s ‘It Ain’t Me Babe.’

On August 25, 1973, the Allman Brothers of Macon, Georgia released “Ramblin’ Man” as the first single from the album “Brothers and Sisters.” From the Wall Street Journal,

Dickey Betts: In 1969, I was playing guitar in several rock bands that toured central Florida. Whenever I’d have trouble finding a place to stay, my friend Kenny Harwick would let me crash at his garage apartment for a few days in Sarasota. One day he asked me how I was doing with my music and said, “I bet you’re just tryin’ to make a livin’ and doin’ the best you can.”

Then one day in 1972, I was sitting in the kitchen of what we called the Big House in Macon, Ga.—where everyone in the band lived—and decided to finish the lyrics.

My inspiration was Hank Williams’s “Ramblin’ Man,” from 1951. His song and mine are completely different but I liked his mournful, minor-chord feel.

Except for Kenny’s line, the rest of the lyrics were autobiographical.

The WSJ article is worth reading in its entirety if you’re a fan of the Allmans.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

The Randolph County Board of Education will vote today on consolidating voting precincts, according to the Statesboro Herald.

County officials have said they’re considering closing polling locations that are inaccessible to voters with disabilities, and argued they cannot afford to make the buildings compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. But critics say the closures will disenfranchise the county’s electorate ahead of an election in which Stacey Abrams is attempting to become the country’s first black female governor. Another black woman, Democrat Joyce Barlow, is running for a state legislative seat in an attempt to oust a white conservative who is a 35-year incumbent and a native of the area.

Abrams and her Republican opponent, Secretary of State Brian Kemp, have opposed the measure.

On Wednesday, two days before the board of elections vote, residents gathered at the Stonehouse Restaurant to rally against the measure. Volunteers scrambled to collect 400 signatures — 20 percent of registered voters in the county — needed to block the vote. The ACLU of Georgia is threatening to sue, arguing that the burden of driving to the remaining polling places will fall disproportionately on black residents.

On Thursday, leaders of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus strongly urged the county not to go forward with the proposal.

Valdosta State University professor Tom Hochschild wants his billboard promoting the impeachment of President Donald Trump replaced after it was taken down by the billboard company, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.

A billboard with the word “Impeach” above a photo of President Donald Trump was put up along St. Augustine Road Thursday, Aug. 16. The billboard was paid for by the Facebook group Georgians for the Impeachment of Donald Trump.

[T]he sign was removed by the company less than 24 hours after it was initially put up.

Hochschild said he showed up at the Roger Budd Company office the next day to pay a $400 deposit to keep the billboard up for a month when he learned it had already been removed. He had paid $430 for the billboard design and posting it.

“Basically, we just want them to fulfill their contract,” Hochschild said. “It doesn’t even have to be that billboard. We want our billboard up for the original 30 days we agreed upon.”

The Dalton Daily Citizen spoke to Gov. Deal and U.S. Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ranger) about the opening of an inland port in Murray County.

Democrat Stacey Abrams campaigned at Valdosta State University, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.

“I intend to spend a lot of time down here,” Abrams said. “It’s important for us to recognize not only how large the state is physically but how diverse it is. That means paying attention to South Georgia.”

Speaking to a crowd of more than 100 students, faculty and Valdosta residents, Abrams said bringing businesses to South Georgia — particularly in the health-care sector — means Medicaid must be expanded.

She said Medicaid expansion would prevent rural hospitals from closing and bring doctors to those same communities.

“It’s important to strengthen our health-care system if we really want industry to return to South Georgia,” Abrams said. “That means expansion of Medicaid as an economic driver and drawing those big companies back here.”

Greg Bluestein of the AJC contextualizes Abrams’s swing through South Georgia.

Abrams’ strategy to win Georgia’s race for governor in November depends on energizing Democratic voters who rarely cast ballots in midterm elections, and that means mining for votes in rural counties like the one surrounding Fitzgerald that have long been Republican strongholds.

She visited a handful of those ruby-red areas this week as part of an ongoing jobs tour across the state, and at each one she stuck to broader economic themes she hopes will mobilize voters. She pledged to bolster the healthcare system, boost public school funding and increase jobs training programs.

[Republican Brian] Kemp’s campaign aims to win troves of votes in these rural areas, which Trump won by dominating margins. He’s touted the president’s endorsement at every turn, and said his pledge to cut taxes, limit state spending and cut regulations would help revitalize struggling communities.

He’s also tried to remind Republicans in those areas of her progressive stances on social issues, such as her call for new gun restrictions and her pitch to amp up healthcare, which he said will inevitably lead to higher taxes.

Congressman Rick Allen (R) spoke to the Augusta Chronicle about his reelection campaign.

Asked about Republican chances in November, Allen said several state races are likely to draw “tremendous money,” including the governor’s race and several U.S. House races, while his seat is safe.
“We’re not targeted here, but there are two members that are targeted in our Congress from Georgia,” Allen said.

Allen faces Statesboro Democrat Francys Johnson on the Nov. 6 ballot and has a significant fundraising advantage over the attorney and pastor. In campaign filings, Allen has raised $758,566 to Johnson’s $116,035, and the 12th District is drawn to favor Republicans.

To boost his chances, however, Allen announced Thursday that Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who was seriously wounded when a gunman opened fire on Republican congressmen practicing baseball, will appear at a breakfast on his behalf in Augusta next week. The fundraiser costs $1,000 per couple or more to serve as host or sponsor.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Savannah Police Department hosted a summit on youth suicide prevention, according to the Savannah Morning News.

A crowd gathered in the third floor ballroom of the Civic Center to attend the forum, which offered statistics about youth suicide in Georgia, as well as ways to recognize the symptoms displayed by at-risk children.

GBI has investigated 144 youth suicides within the last three years. Last year, there were 42 suicides in Georgia for youth 8 to 17 years old. So far this year, there have been 24.

The youngest suicide investigated in the last year was a six year old.

“This is a grade school student who has gone home and committed suicide, and my goodness, look how devastating that is,” [GBI Director Vernon] Keenan said. “A six-year-old child committed suicide.”

GBI urges anyone who notices the signs of suicide to call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Hotline, which can be reached at 1-800-273-8255.

Savannah is seeking online public input on a new arena to be built, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Valdosta City Council adopted a property tax millage rate lower than originally advertised, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.

After the Valdosta City Council voted down a motion to increase property taxes Thursday, council approved a motion to lower the millage rate to 7.916.

The vote came after multiple public hearings to increase property taxes by keeping the millage rate of 8.001 from last year.

The approved 7.916 millage rate is not a tax decrease, however. It means taxes for everyone in the city will remain about the same.

At each of the three public hearings, residents spoke against the proposed tax increase.

The new millage rate means the city will lose $286,000 in revenue and will need to make larger cuts to the proposed 2018-19 city budget.

The Glynn County Commission adopted to retain the 2018 property tax millage rate for FY 2019, according to The Brunswick News.

Expenses increase every year, and the county budget needs to increase to keep up with expenses, said County CFO Tonya Miller. There’s a difference of around $675,000 between taxes collected at the current millage rate of 7.383 and the rollback millage of 7.241, Miller said.

The county’s finance department usually budgets assuming a 97 percent property tax collection rate. [Commissioner Mark] Stambaugh said the Glynn County Tax Commissioner estimates this year’s collection rate would compensate for the shortfall the county would experience if it rolled the millage back.

Any extra tax money goes straight to the county’s reserves, Miller said. The county commission made it one of its priorities to replenish its reserves — which took hits after hurricanes Matthew and Irma — at a previous retreat.

Coweta County Commissioners adopted the 2018 property tax millage rate for the next fiscal year, according to the Newnan Times-Herald.

The vote was 4 to 0, with Commissioner Rodney Brooks not in attendance at Tuesday night’s meeting.

That’s the same rate as last year, but is technically a tax increase because of rising property values. Each year, taxing authorities must calculate a millage rate that will bring in the same amount of revenue on existing properties as the year before. That is known as the “rollback” rate. Anything higher than the rollback rate is considered a tax increase.

Individual property owners will only see an increase if their property value went up during the last year. And even with the rollback rate, those who saw a large increase in property values would still see higher taxes.

Coweta County is also considering adding a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for Transportation to the ballot, according to the Newnan Times-Herald.

At Tuesday night’s meeting of the Coweta County Board of Commissioners, the board voted 4 to 0 to follow the recommendation of the Joint Transportation Coordinating Committee and begin working toward at Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.

In July, members of the JTCC, which includes representatives from each of Coweta’s local governments, discussed the need for more funding for roads and other transportation projects, and the group voted unanimously to ask their governing bodies to consider moving forward with a TSPLOST.

Unlike the regional TSPLOST that failed miserably in Coweta, and most of the state, several years ago, the newest version of TSPLOST allows individual counties to put in place a sales tax to fund transportation projects. The tax can be fractional – less than 1 cent – and last up to five years. The new TSPLOST legislation doesn’t include the myriad requirements for “regionally significant” projects that went along with the first TSPLOST.

Tuesday’s vote means that the JTCC will begin working to formulate a list. Approval of a list and a call for a referendum would take place next summer.

Glynn County and the Brunswick-Glynn County Joint Water and Sewer Commission discussed projects under the 2016 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), according to The Brunswick Times.

Two healthcare insurance companies will lower premiums, according to Georgia Health News.

Alliant Health Plans’ premiums will drop by 10 percent, and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield will have a .3 percent decrease, under rates sent this week by the state regulators to federal officials for review. Approval by the feds is virtually certain.

Those two companies reduced their requested rates from proposed increases of 5.7 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively, in their initial submissions to state insurance regulators earlier this summer.

The other two health insurers in the exchange maintained their initial rates through the approval process. Ambetter of Peach State will offer premiums that are 8.8 percent higher, while Kaiser Permanente kept its original 14.7 percent premium hike for next year’s exchange.

Those increases may reflect the two insurers’ making rate adjustments after adding more customers in metro Atlanta, since competitor Blue Cross exited the exchange market for that area this year.

Berry College has added a viewing scope for watching the bald eagles that nest behind the library, according to the Rome News-Tribune.

ddie Elsberry, director of sustainability at Berry said the scope was purchased with funds generated by the B3 Branch Buddies, a Facebook group of people who are regular viewers of the nest on the Berry College Eaglecam.

He said approximately $3,000 in donations came in after one of the eaglets fell out of the nest and died when it was ten days old during the past winter nesting season.

The scope is a SeaCoast Mark 2 model manufactured in Fairhope, Alabama. Similar to a pair of binoculars, it is designed for durability and minimal maintenance. It is marketed solely as a free device and features a ten times magnification.

The Berry eagles typically return to the nest on a somewhat regular basis in late September, adding sticks to the outer bowl of the nest and bringing more pine straw in for bedding. Over the last six winters they have laid 12 eggs, 11 have hatched successfully and 10 have actually survived to fly from the nest.