Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for August 7, 2020

The first printed copy of the Declaration of Independence arrived in Savannah on August 8, 1776 and was read publicly for the first time on August 10, 1776.

General George Washington created the Purple Heart on August 7, 1782. Click here for an interesting history of the award.

On August 7, 1790, a delegation of Creeks met with the United States Secretary of War and signed the Treaty of New York, ceding all land between the Ogeechee and Oconee Rivers to Georgia.

On August 8, 1863, General Robert E. Lee offered his resignation in a letter to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, following the Battle of Gettysburg.

Theodore Roosevelt, who served as President from 1901 to 1909, was nominated for President by the Progressive Party, also called the Bull Moose Party, on August 7, 1912.

Herman E. Talmadge was born on August 9, 1913, son of Eugene Talmadge, who later served as Governor. Herman Talmadge himself served as Governor and United States Senator from Georgia.

On August 8, 1925, Georgia Governor Clifford Walker signed legislation outlawing the brazen act of dancing publicly on Sunday.

On August 8, 1929, Georgia Governor Lamartine Hardman signed legislation placing on the ballot for Fulton and Campbell County voters a merger of the two.

The old Campbell County Courthouse still stands in Fairburn, Georgia.

On August 7, 1942, Marine forces landed at Guadalcanal.

Voters ratified a new version of the State Constitution on August 7, 1945. Among the new features was the establishment of the State Board of Corrections to ensure humane conditions.

The board was directed to be more humane in its treatment of prisoners and abolished whippings, leg irons, and chains. Until 1945, prisoners in Georgia could expect to have heavy steel shackles put on by a blacksmith upon arrival. They were then taken out to work under severe conditions.

The caravan bearing 43 ounces of Dahlonega gold to be used in covering the Georgia State Capitol dome reached the Capitol and delivered it to Governor Marvin Griffin on August 7, 1958.

On August 7, 1964, Congress passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which would be used as the legal basis for U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew were nominated for President and Vice President by the Republican National Convention on August 8, 1968.

On August 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon resigned, effective at noon the next day.

On August 9, 1988, President Ronald Reagan announced his nomination of Dr. Lauro Cavazos as Secretary of Education, succeeding William Bennett. Cavazos was the first Hispanic to serve in a Presidential Cabinet position. Interestingly, he was born on the King Ranch.

On August 9, 1990, voters in the City of Athens and Clarke County chose to unify the two governments into Athens-Clarke County government.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Legislators are questioning Governor Kemp’s statement about calling a Special Session, according to the AJC.

“Fixing the error could easily happen within an hour or so, and could easily happen on day one of the 2021 session in January,” said state Rep. Teri Anulewicz, D-Smyrna.

“Best I can tell,” she said, “the tracking error is a pretext for convening a special session to consider a likely laundry list of issues the governor wants to attempt while he’s sure his party still holds the majority.”

Kemp said he had little other choice but to scramble for a swift update of House Bill 105, which includes a tax break for federal payments for victims of the storm. He said the bill is “far too important to our state to leave room for a legal challenge on its legitimacy.”

Rick Ruskell, the General Assembly’s legislative counsel, said in an interview that he doesn’t believe a fix is needed.

“It had no impact on the bill that was duly passed by both legislative chambers. I don’t see any problem with the legislative process of the bill,” he said. “I’m confident that the bill as passed was clear.”

State House Speaker David Ralston and Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan issued a joint statement:

Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan and Speaker of the House David Ralston issued the following statement regarding Governor Kemp’s suggestion of calling a Special Session of the Georgia General Assembly:

“While we respect Governor Kemp’s opinion, we disagree that the manner in which HB 105 was passed leaves the legislation vulnerable to a legal challenge. However, we are prepared to convene a special session, if called, to perform our constitutional duty to address his concerns and consider other important measures like House Bill 991, which provides critical oversight to taxpayer dollars.”

House Bill 991 was vetoed by Gov. Kemp, who wrote in a veto statement:

to ensure that members appointed to the Healthcare Transparency and Accountability Oversight Committee do not violate the separation of powers as delineated by the Constitution and laws of this state, I VETO HOUSE BILL 991.

Governor Kemp earlier this week signed legislation designed to narrow the broadband accessibility gap, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Tribune Ledger News.

Under House Bill 244, the state Public Service Commission will decide how much EMCs can charge telecommunications providers for broadband attachments to their utility poles. Some residents in Cherokee County are served by Cobb EMC and others by Sawnee EMC.

High pole attachment fees have been a key obstacle to extending broadband technology into underserved rural communities in Georgia. According to a state broadband service map, large portions of northern Cherokee County are without broadband service.

“The EMCs eagerly look forward to working with the Public Service Commission as an integral partner to expand access to broadband in rural Georgia, while keeping our neediest and most vulnerable citizens from shouldering the burden of that progress,” Dennis Chastain, president and CEO of Georgia EMC said Wednesday.

Georgia’s Secretary of State was initially rebuffed when he requested a Primary Runoff ballot in early voting, according to WSB-TV.

“I went to vote, and they said there’s nothing here to vote for, there’s only a Democrat election,” Raffensperger said.

Shortly after that, Raffensperger said other Republican voters in Fulton County called his office with the same problem.

They said they were told by poll workers there’s only a Democratic runoff.

“We’ve been getting reports of that from other people who’ve been going and actually leaving because they don’t think they can vote in any election,” Raffensperger said.

For the state’s top election official, the problems continued after he convinced the poll worker to let him vote.

“I went to the voting machine. What popped up was the Democrat ballot,” Raffensperger said. “My concern on that actually is I do not want to vote on a Democrat ballot. I’m a Republican, and so this is their runoff election. We want to make sure Republicans aren’t voting in Democratic races.”

Gray contacted Fulton County about the issue. They sent him a statement, saying:

“Fulton County understands that its responsibility is to provide experienced prepared poll workers throughout the election process. This includes making sure that our team of poll workers receive the necessary and required in-person training.”

The Golden Isles Republican Women will host a lunch Monday, according to The Brunswick News.

U.S. Senate candidate Kandiss Taylor and Glynn County Schools Superintendent Scott Spence will speak at the Golden Isles Republican Women’s Monday lunch.

Taylor, of Baxley, is one of 21 candidates running in the November special election for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Kelly Loeffler. Loeffler was appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp to replace former Sen. Johnny Isakson upon his retirement.

Due to state public health guidelines, attendance will be limited to 50 pre-registered guests.

No walk-ins will be admitted.

Fani Willis, Democratic candidate for Fulton County District Attorney, says her opponent and former boss, incumbent DA Paul Howard, will be indicted before the end of this year, according to 11Alive.

“I think it’s a choice actually between integrity and corruption, good and bad. I think it’s a classic fight,” Willis said. “We have a district attorney now that works for his own self interest and seems to care about the things that benefit him and not the community.”

Former prosecutor Fani Willis said Paul Howard took for himself nearly $200,000 that former Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed transferred to a nonprofit designed to help fight crime in underserved communities.

Howard told 11Alive News it was always intended for his bank account.

“I met with the mayor (Kasim Reed) asking him for a salary supplement from the city of Atlanta,” Howard told 11Alive’s Neima Abdulahi. “What I did was what Americans do all the time, which is ask for pay raises. Pay increases. And that’s what I asked for. That’s what the city of Atlanta sent over based upon the work I had performed for the city.”

“What he did was enrich himself. It’s really horrible,” Willis accused. “It’s not a pay raise. He can call that all he wants. But it’s a violation of (state law, OCGA 45-11-5), and it’s a criminal offense.”

“I believe he’ll be arrested for it and ultimately prosecuted … before the year is out,” she predicted.

Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler says unemployment claims are declining, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

First-time unemployment claims in Georgia fell by 11,053 last week to 73,931, the state Department of Labor reported Thursday.

Georgia Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler said 92% of all valid claims submitted in the last 19 weeks have been paid. However, more than 135,000 other initial unemployment claims have been filed by Georgians who have not worked in the last 18 months and are, thus, ineligible for unemployment benefits, he said.

“Unemployment insurance is not a guaranteed benefit,” Butler said. “Each claim has to be thoroughly reviewed for eligibility and verified before payments can be issued.”

“A claimant may not be granted benefits if they have not worked and earned insured wages in the past 18 months or were fired for cause or quit a job of their own accord. Many times, the employer and employee have different versions of what happened, and that takes even longer to gather information for a complete decision.”

Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis predicts empty bunkers for the Masters Golf Tournament, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

“The PGA Championship begins at Harding Park without fans, and that’s likely what will probably happen in Augusta,” Davis said of the tournament that started Thursday in San Francisco without fans.

Should patrons be allowed to attend, Davis said the club likely has the resources to slow the spread of COVID-19.

“Augusta National can do it better than anybody, and they have the wherewithal to test all patrons who show up at and the course and if you have a fever, they can tell you to go get in the car,” the mayor said.

Lester Miller and Cliffard Whitby met in two forums for runoff candidates in the race for Mayor of Macon-Bibby County, according to the Macon Telegraph.

Five Cherokee County schools are now subject to partial quarantines, according to the Tribune Ledger News.

Columbia County schools now have a fourth COVID case, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

The Boys & Girls Club of the Chattahoochee Valley will host a camp for children during the online-only portion of school reopening, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

Because local COVID-19 cases have surged, the Muscogee County School District changed its plan and will open its fall 2020 semester with online-only classes from Aug. 17 through at least Sept. 9.

Among the 169 parents or guardians who responded to MCSD’s survey in June, 20% said they didn’t have access to resources and teachers to help their children succeed with remote learning. A similar survey of students, with 167 responses, said 19% don’t have such access.

“The staff will be there to support the instruction,” she said. “. . . We’ve been hearing a lot of thank-yous, a lot of appreciation.”

The staff at the YMCA of Metropolitan Columbus also will use a similar experience to supervise students during their online-only classes.

My sincere appreciation to the Boys & Girls Club of the Chattahoochee Valley and the YMCA of Metropolitan Columbus for showing how private organizations can support parents and families.

Chatham County has lower homeless numbers, but that may changes as a wave of evictions is predicted, according to the Savannah Morning News.

The 2019 number was 4,590, down from the 4,641 for 2018, the annual count showed. Included in the new totals were 271 homeless veterans.

“This count does not reflect any homeless activity for January to present, 2020,” Kelley said. “We anticipate higher numbers for 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis and expected evictions for many.”

Athens-Clarke County Commissioners have decided how to spend $6.6 million in federal COVID aid, according to the Athens Banner Herald.

The money must be obligated by Sept. 1 and spent by the end of the year, Athens-Clarke Manager Blaine Williams told commissioners in a Tuesday meeting.

Nearly $1.5 million is already spent, including more than $1 million for sick pay, according to documents prepared for Tuesday’s commission meeting. The police department submitted requests for more than $1 million in sick pay, and the airport requested a smaller amount..

About $200,000 will go for digital access points in parks and other places, Mayor Kelly Girtz said in a virtual Athens Area Chamber of Commerce community update Wednesday morning. Overall, the spending plan includes about $560,000 in expenditures to “provide wifi access to facilitate distance learning.”

County officials expect an additional $15.5 million in a second phase of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) funding, but will have more time to work on that spending plan.