Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for July 29, 2024

Vincent Van Gogh died of a gunshot wound on July 29, 1890 in Auvers-sur-Oise, France.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt made his eighth visit to Warm Springs, Georgia on July 29, 1927.

Congress passed legislation establishing the National Aeronautic and Space Admininistration (NASA) on July 29, 1958.

The Doors’ “Light My Fire” became their first #1 hit on July 29, 1967.

Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer on July 29, 1981.

Carl Lewis won his fourth consecutive gold medal in the long jump at the Atlanta Olympics on July 29, 1996.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Point of Personal Privilege: The Georgia River Network and American Whitewater released an online mapping tool to demonstrate , according to the Albany Herald.

Georgia legislators meeting later this year to solve the prickly issue of which streams in the state should be open to the public for recreation will have another tool to inform the debate, thanks to a coalition of outdoor recreation organizations.

The tool is an online map that allows river users to document which sections of rivers and streams they have boated upon in the past. Interested boaters can input their trips at https://arcg.is/1Dr95C1.

“The goal of the map is to give paddlers a way to contribute information about some of the streams and rivers that they are using,” said Kevin Colburn, the national stewardship director with American Whitewater, which created the online tool. “Georgia leaders need to know the extent to which even small streams support the state’s robust outdoor recreation and tourism economy.”

In 2022, boating and fishing were responsible for more than $1 billion in economic activity in Georgia. The state’s rivers and streams support some 70 canoe/kayak/tube outfitter businesses and countless fishing guides along with businesses ranging from outdoor retailers and manufacturers to convenience stores and hotels.

The Freedom to Float Coalition, which includes American Whitewater, Georgia Canoeing Association, American Canoe Association, Tennessee Valley Canoe Club and Georgia River Network, is urging lawmakers to preserve existing river uses and protect the public’s ability to float down these streams.

Top outdoor recreation business leaders have signed on to this initiative in a letter to legislators asking them to defend the right to boat Georgia’s rivers and streams. Some of these leaders include High Country Outfitters, Nantahala Outdoor Center, Southeast Adventure Outfitters, Outdoor Foundation, Trust for Public Land as well as Georgia-based manufacturers like Dreamboats Kayaks and Suspenz Kayak Carts & Storage.

The House Study Committee on Navigable Streams, set to meet in the coming months, grew out of controversy surrounding where Georgians have the right to boat, fish and hunt on the state’s waterways. Current state law guarantees the public’s right to access all of the state’s navigable streams, but the state’s definition of “navigable” dates back to 1863 when steamboats and cotton barges were the most common vessels seen on the state’s rivers.

That 1863 definition asserts that for a stream to be navigable, it must be capable of floating a boat loaded with freight.

“Aside from being vague — what qualifies as freight? — that definition no longer reflects how we use our rivers today,” Andrea White, community programs coordinator with Georgia River Network and a member of the American Canoe Association board of directors, said. “None of Georgia’s inland rivers currently supports boats loaded with commercial freight, but they do support hundreds of businesses that serve a robust river recreation economy.”

Whether a stream is deemed “navigable” has far-reaching implications because of the state’s property laws. Along navigable streams, property lines end at the low water mark along the bank, but state law provides that landowners along non-navigable streams own the streambed to the center line. In the 1990s, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled in two separate cases that a landowner possessing both sides of a stream can restrict the public from passing down that stream.

To date, those decisions on Ichawaynochaway Creek in southwest Georgia and Armuchee Creek in northwest Georgia represent the only two instances where the courts or the state legislature has deemed a stream “non-navigable” in the modern era, according to the FTFC.

Earlier this year, in an effort to clarify where the public can boat, fish and hunt, lawmakers introduced legislation that named sections of 64 streams and rivers as “presumed navigable.” It was met with opposition from both landowners and outdoor recreation advocates and led to the creation of the study committee on navigable streams.

Left off that “navigable” list were dozens of popular tourism destinations, including streams like Ebenezer Creek, South Chickamauga Creek and Big Cedar Creek and the Cartecay River and Upper Chattahoochee River, where outfitters provide canoe, kayak and tube rentals.

“In these locations, if the stream is presumed ‘non-navigable’ a single property owner could shut down businesses that have operated for decades,” Dan MacIntyre, the river access chairman with Georgia Canoeing Association, said. “The legislature needs to preserve these existing uses and protect the right to float or pass down these streams regardless of whether they meet the state’s outdated definition of navigability.”

The FTFC is urging citizens to contact their legislators about this issue. Additional information and links to action alerts can be found at https://garivers.org/protect-our-freedom-to-float-georgia-rivers/.

Georgia River Network is a statewide nonprofit river advocacy group with the mission to connect people with and protect Georgia’s rivers. GRN is Georgia DNR’s nonprofit river recreation partner coordinating the statewide water trails program and created the Georgia River Guide free mobile app.

Governor Brian Kemp issued Executive Order #07.26.24.01, extending the deadline for the three-member Commission charged with recommending action after the indictments of Hall County Solicitor General Stephanie Woodard. According to the E.O., the Commission requested a 14-day extension, and their report is now due August 9, 2024.

Last week, Woodard’s lawyer filed to quash seven of the twenty-four charges.

From AccessWDUN:

The committee is being asked by the governor to make their recommendation based on whether or not the indictment “relates to and adversely affects the administration duties by Ms. Woodard such that the rights and interests of the public are adversely affected.”

Woodard filed earlier this week in Hall County Superior Court to try to quash seven of the 24 charges, claiming they are past the statute of limitations. The charges allege Woodard stole thousands of dollars of public money for personal uses between 2018 and 2022.

The committee appointed by Kemp consists of retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia Harold Melton, Stephens County Solicitor General Ann Pickett and Fulton County Solicitor General Keith Gammage.

Vice President Kamala Harris (D-CA) will campaign in Atlanta on Tuesday, according to WRDW.

Harris will be in Atlanta on Tuesday, marking her sixth appearance in the Peach State this year. But this week’s visit will be her first as the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee after President Joe Biden dropped a political bombshell last Sunday when he announced he is ending his 2024 reelection bid.

Harris has previously appearing at events focused on topics like gun safety and economic opportunity. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has endorsed Harris, as have all Georgia Democrats in the state House and Senate and much of Georgia’s congressional delegation.

Biden is the first sitting president since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968 to end his reelection bid. He is also the first presidential candidate in modern political history to withdraw from the race after winning virtually all of his party’s delegates.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D) auditioned campaigned in Metro Atlanta for the Kamala Harris campaign, according to the USA Today via the Savannah Morning News.

In deep red Forsyth County, Georgia, about 500 Democratic volunteers and organizers came together on a hot, muggy Sunday morning with one goal in mind: Electing Vice President Kamala Harris as president this November.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, one of Harris’ most prominent potential running mates, channeled his own victories in the Bluegrass State to encourage the group.

“People ask me and I’m sure they ask you too: How do you do it? How do we win?” the Democratic governor told attendees at the opening of a new campaign office in Forsyth County. Harris was not at the gathering.

Beshear won his first gubernatorial race in his deep-red home state in 2019 by less than half a percentage point and his second in 2023 by 5 percentage points – victories he said came down to the hard work of on-the-ground campaigning.

The Harris campaign is vetting him along with several other candidates, including Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Govs. Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Tim Walz of Minnesota. She is expected to choose her vice presidential candidate by Aug. 7.

“She is tough and she is smart, and that’s going to make her a good president,” Beshear said at the campaign event. “But she’s kind and she has empathy, and that’s going to make her an absolutely great president.”

The crowd wasn’t deterred by the odds. Jennifer Ambler, who attended the office opening and is running for state representative in north Georgia’s District 100, told USA TODAY that “Having a governor specifically from the South is a great idea. He would be a great choice to really be competitive in the South.”

Georgia is considered a swing state in this presidential election, though it leans Republican. The state chose Biden by just .2 percentage points – just under 12,000 votes – in 2020, and by around 5 percentage points in 2016.

From another story by USA Today, via the Augusta Chronicle:

Ursula Mather, a life-long Democrat from “beet-red” Forsyth County, Georgia, says she will “do anything” to ensure Democrats win in 2024. The 75-year-old hopes Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, will champion reproductive rights.

“We fought for abortion rights. To have them taken away is just terrible,” Mather says, her voice breaking. “It’s awful what they’re putting women through. I was a nurse for 44 years, so I can feel their pain.”

For Mather, the partnership between Harris and Beshear – both strong advocates for abortion access – makes sense.

Jennifer Ambler, a Democratic candidate for the Georgia House of Representatives, was in the crowd at the rally. She calls abortion her top issue for the 2024 election.

“I want my reproductive rights back. That’s the bottom line,” said Ambler, 41.

Ambler told USA TODAY that abortion access was among the issues that motivated her to run for office.

“I was so angry when the six-week ban passed. I think a lot of voters were shocked,” said Ambler, who bills herself online as a former tax preparer and political comedian. “But now they have a choice – are they going to vote for someone who is going to restore reproductive rights or take them away?”

Randye Dugan, a public school teacher in Georgia, is the Democratic nominee for state representative for District 24. Though Dugan has no prior experience in politics, she was motivated to enter the race because of her six-year-old daughter.

“I decided to run to save her rights,” Dugan says. “I couldn’t stand by any longer and let the men in power take away her rights, especially with Georgia’s six-week abortion ban. You have to stand up. You can’t complain anymore. You have to take action.”

From the AJC:

“If you don’t know me, I’m the guy that last November beat Mitch McConnell’s hand-picked candidate,” he said of his reelection victory over the Senate GOP leader’s choice. “And I’m the guy who beat Donald Trump’s hand-picked candidate.”

The second-term Democrat could soon have another calling card. With Harris’ lightning-quick ascension to the top of the ticket last week, she now has days to select a running mate. And Beshear is one of a handful of leading candidates for the post.

To Beshear’s backers, he can appeal to blue-collar workers, as well as rural voters who have long scorned national Democrats. Beshear has twice won the top job in Kentucky, a state so solidly Republican that Joe Biden only captured two of its 120 counties in 2020.

It’s one reason the campaign deployed him Sunday to Forsyth County, a quintessential Republican stronghold where Democrats have struggled to make inroads. Many locals said they’ve never seen such a crowd at a Democratic event here.

At first blush, Forsyth County, 40 miles out from downtown Atlanta, might seem a strange place to open a Democratic campaign office — and bring a marquee speaker like Beshear.

It’s a reliably Republican county that no Democratic nominee has carried since Jimmy Carter was in the White House. Biden couldn’t capture a third of the vote here four years ago.

But Democrats have made marginal gains in Forsyth and other fast-growing exurban areas over the last decade, capitalizing on demographic shifts as liberal-leaning voters from Atlanta and beyond push toward the metro region’s outer limits.

Trump captured 71% of the county’s vote in 2016 and about 66% in 2020. Local Democrats say they aim to keep him closer to 60% in Forsyth this November, part of a strategy to narrow the margins in other deep-red counties across the state.

Middle Georgia local politicians held their own event in support of VP Harris, according to the Macon Telegraph.

Speakers at the event, held at the Harriet Tubman African American Museum, included Georgia District 26 Sen. David Lucas; his wife, Macon-Bibb County Commissioner Elaine Lucas; Macon native and State Rep. Miriam Paris, and Carlos Brooks, local chapter president of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers union.

David Lucas compared former President Donald Trump’s track record as a convicted felon to Harris as a former attorney general for California.

“Are we for real? The Supreme Court makes it where the president can do anything he wants, and then you tell Black folks that we ought to be proud of him …” David Lucas said.

Lucas criticized racist and misogynistic attacks made by Republicans against Harris, the de facto Democratic presidential nominee. U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tennessee, called Harris a “DEI vice president,” in a post on the social media platform X. DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion.

“Let’s represent the people of this country, and Vice President Kamala Harris. She’s not a DEI, she is a person who understands the law,” David Lucas said.

David Lucas emphasized voters, regardless of race or age, should vote for Harris to avoid seeing roots of segregation.

“What I’m hoping is young folks as well as older folks who knew what segregation was all about … we get a sense of pride that we got to get up, get out of bed, and go do what we got to do. And that’s what this election is about,” David Lucas said.

Paris said there are multiple issues at stake in the coming election.

“(Harris) is the best-qualified to prosecute the case, or should there be cases, against Donald Trump,” she said, subliminally referring to the 34 felony convictions against Trump in New York for fraud, election subversion and obstruction.

Elaine Lucas referred to Trump running mate J.D. Vance’s stance on making abortion illegal nationally.

“Vance opposes exceptions for rape and incest, and said he would like abortion to be illegal nationwide,” she said. “He even suggested women should stay in violent marriages, can you imagine that?”

“We have the opportunity now to elect somebody that feels like we do, that can associate with us and talk to us out on the street, not in a closed room,” David Lucas said. “That’s the opportunity we have as a nation — to talk about democracy.”

Kamau Marshall of Columbus, Georgia will serve as a senior adviser to the Harris campaign, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

Columbus man Kamau Marshall was picked for the role less than a week after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, and Harris gained enough support from Democratic delegates to become the party’s presumptive presidential nominee.

Marshall was previously a senior adviser in the U.S. Department of Education after serving almost two years in the White House as the deputy assistant U.S. trade representative for media and public affairs.

The Carver High School alum was also the director of strategic communications for President Joe Biden’s campaign in 2020. He said working for Biden from the early days of the 2020 campaign and the administration was one the biggest honors of his life. He expressed pride in Biden’s administration over the last four years.

“President Biden’s track record of achievements is unparalleled in modern history,” Marshall told the Ledger-Enquirer. “Undoubtedly, he is one of the most extraordinary leaders of our time.”

Going forward, Marshall is excited and enthusiastic about joining the Harris campaign, he said.

“I’m here ready to win, ready to work,” Marshall said. “Just like I’ve done for President Biden, I will do the same thing for Vice President Kamala Harris.”

The smaller Georgia cities like Columbus, Macon, Augusta, Albany and other others will play a key role in winning the state, he said. Atlanta, as the biggest city, is important, but the entire state of Georgia will play a role.

“I think a lot of folks saw that in 2020 surprisingly,” Marshall said. “And it was way better than what folks expected. Cities like Columbus will be taken seriously.”

Marshall’s presence in Harris’ campaign will help the campaign reach younger, Black and male voices Rep. Jasmine Crockett told ABC News about his appointment as a senior adviser.

The Trump campaign trained poll watchers, according to Atlanta News First via WRDW.

This was one of 17 similar events hosted by the Trump campaign in states across the country.

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene spoke to the group of volunteers, emphasizing the importance of election integrity.

“We have American citizens, especially here in the state of Georgia showing up and getting engaged in this election process,” she said. “They’re making sure election integrity is completely upheld. This is the best thing that we can see happen.”

The Trump Force 47 is also trying to target new voters.

As they trained the volunteers to come in contact with low-propensity voters – mainly registered Republicans – and persuade them to vote for the former president.

“My home state of Georgia, I’ve lived here all my life, it’s hard to believe they call it purple,” Taylor Greene said. “I believe it’s ruby red and I think we’re going to prove that in November.

For what it’s worth, there is no such thing as a Registered Republican voter in Georgia.

Governor Brian Kemp noted the death of the Chair of the Georgia Department of Corrections Board, , according to 13WMAZ.

Along with six others, the Georgia Department of Corrections Board chairman died in a plane crash in Wyoming on Friday, according to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

A statement by the governor also highlighted the three members of an Atlanta family gospel group, The Nelons, who died in the crash.

Gov. Kemp said chairman Larry Haynie’s “impact on our state will not be forgotten.” The statement continued by asking the public to pray for the loved ones of those lost in the crash and the gospel music community.

Haynie was the pilot of the plane, according to a statement by The Nelons’ management group. His wife, Melissa Haynie, also died in the crash.

Gov. Kemp’s full statement said:

“Marty, the girls and I are truly saddened to learn of the tragic death of Larry Haynie and his wife, Lisa, along with all those lost in this horrible plane accident. As chairman of the Georgia Department of Corrections Board and through a career of valued service in public safety, Larry’s impact on our state will not be forgotten. We will continue to hold his memory and that enduring commitment to his fellow Georgians in our hearts and memories. Our entire family is asking everyone to join us in praying for those who have been lost, for their loved ones and communities, and for those throughout the gospel music community who have lost dear friends in this heartbreaking accident.”

The Georgia State Election Board meets Tuesday, according to Georgia Recorder.

According to the notice and agenda for the recently scheduled State Election Board’s virtual meeting on July 30, the five-member panel will confirm the business conducted during the meeting on July 9 and move any unfinished business to the Aug. 6 meeting. The state board’s virtual meeting is set for Tuesday at 3 p.m.

Tuesday’s meeting is set in the wake of a lawsuit filed by American Oversight on July 19 against conservative appointed election board members Rick Jeffares, Janice Johnston, and Janelle King alleging they failed to provide timely public notice for the July 12 meeting that did not have enough board members present. Those three board members say they are unsure or don’t accept that President Joe Biden was the winner of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election.

During its regularly scheduled meeting On July 9, the board advanced several rules, moving forward changes that require public notification for 30 days before final adoption at a subsequent meeting. The three members who are unsure of Biden’s 2020 victory rushed to call a meeting later that week to push through more changes in a way that the Georgia Attorney General warned violated the state public meeting laws.

The three approved guidelines for local election officials to certify voting results, changing the process from an administrative duty to an investigative one that could include digging into records and the way votes are counted. With Georgia’s vote in the 2024 presidential election looming this November, the changes would need to be expedited to take effect before early voting begins in mid-October.

The meeting on Tuesday could provide more clarity on the future two election certification rules advanced during an emergency July 12 meeting and whether they will be pushed ahead for discussion during August board meetings.

Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones (R-Butts County) appointed Jackson EMC Gainesville District Manager David Lee to the Georgia Mountains Regional Commission, according to AccessWDUN.

The term will last for two years after his appointment by Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones on Friday.

The GMRC is a public sector non-profit planning agency serving the 12-county Georgia Mountains region.

Their stated mission is “improving the quality of life through economic development, community planning, information technology, and workforce development” for the region.

Each county has three representatives within GMRC in addition to two governor appointed roles and one lieutenant governor appointed role, which Lee now fills.

Tomorrow, the Georgia State Preservation of Georgia’s Farmlands Study Committee, chaired by Sen. Billy Hickman (R-Statesboro) meets in Statesboro, according to Grice Connect.

This committee’s mission is to dig into the conditions, needs, and challenges facing Georgia’s farmlands and figure out what actions or legislation might be needed to preserve them.

I’m not sure why, but I love this headline: City Council meeting starts with approvals, ends in public apology, in the Valdosta Daily Times.

The Valdosta City Council meeting Thursday covered various topics, from community-focused projects to administrative matters — and ended with resolution to an ethics complaint.

The meeting concluded with the council considering the recommendation of an Ethics Complaint Board that met July 16 and 23.

Anetra Riley, the neighborhood development and community protections manager, had filed the complaint against Councilwoman Vivian Miller-Cody May 21. While presenting evidence to the ethics board July 16, Riley described multiple encounters with Miller-Cody dating back to 2021 that Riley perceived as threatening, breaking of protocol, and unjust assumptions of fund misappropriation.

The board determined all but one of the allegations were frivolous. Miller-Cody’s allegation that Riley had misappropriated funds, however, was inappropriate, the board decided. It recommended a private reprimand for the councilwoman.

The mayor and board broke off in an executive session at the end of Thursday’s meeting to discuss the ethics board’s recommendation. They returned, stating that it would instead be a public reprimand, with Miller-Cody issuing a formal apology to attendees.

“I can certainly assure you that we will not meet again in this form regarding anything of this nature again,” Miller-Cody said. “I have learned that when things go wrong in your command, start searching for the reason in an increasingly large surface around your desk.”

United College Park is seeking the recall of College Park City Council member Jamelle McKenzie, according to the AJC.

The political action committee United College Park is seeking to recall the election of Councilwoman Jamelle McKenzie, for numerous alleged actions that they say violate the oath of office.

On Monday, resident Mose James IV filed the application with the city clerk’s office for the recall of the Ward 1 councilwoman. United College Park is working to get 900 signatures within 30 days to recall McKenzie and prompt a special election to replace her.

McKenzie said that she has been aware, for months, of a plan to recall her election, adding that accusations against her are “false,” and “laughable.”

“As an elected official I’m built for it,” McKenzie said. “I can take criticism. I can understand if people do not agree with my decisions. However, I do take it seriously when people say that I have committed illegal acts that I have not done.”

Details on the recall application accuse the councilwoman of creating a toxic work environment at City Hall that has led to the resignation or firing of 17 employees and contractors.

McKenzie issued a statement on the attempted recall, saying: “We recognize that this is all part of the process and part of living in a divided country where acts of policy disagreement are treated as actions by an enemy. We can’t control the agenda, thoughts or signatures of others. I have and will continue to do good work for the people of Ward 1 and all of College Park.”

Dom Kelly, chair of United College Park, said the recall application is part of an overall effort to replace McKenzie and councilmembers Joe Carn and Roderick Gay when they run for reelection next year.

Georgia students demonstrated post-pandemic gains on the Milestones standardized tests, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post.

The 2023-24 results showed scores increased or held steady in 10 of 13 assessments in English/language arts (ELA), science, and social studies. Because math assessments were updated to align with the new K-12 mathematics standards first implemented during the school year just ended, Milestones math scores won’t be released until this fall.

“I am proud of Georgia’s students and educators for their continued hard work, which has led to consistent improvements in student performance over the last several years,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “There is certainly still work to be done, but I am confident we are on the right path.”

The DOE is placing full-time literacy coaches in elementary schools throughout the state, focusing on the lowest-performing 5% of schools.

State Sen. Billy Hickman, R-Statesboro, a leading advocate for improving literacy in Georgia, said the state has invested $6 million to hire literacy coaches for school districts that can’t afford the cost on their own. The new program — Let’s READ, Georgia! — was launched on Thursday during a ceremony in Warner Robins.

“The bigger school districts are doing a good job,” Hickman said. “(But) rural systems don’t have the people or the financial resources to implement this. This is going to be a great thing.”

The Athens-Clarke County Courthouse remains closed due to a bedbug infestation, according to the Athens Banner Herald.

The Athens-Clarke County Courthouse is remaining closed for two additional days as a pest control company continues to deal with the presence of bed bugs in the 325 E. Washington St. building in downtown Athens.

The courthouse had originally been scheduled to reopen Monday, after being closed since July 22 to address the bed bugs. But on Monday, a county government news release announced that the building will remain closed until 8 a.m. Wednesday. The ongoing closure is in place “… out of an abundance of caution to re-treat two areas for bed bugs and evaluate the remainder of the building,” according to the news release.

The continued closure was put in place after “… employees working on Sunday evening reported the possible presence of bed bugs,” according to the news release.

The Brunswick City Commission’s finance committee will hear requests for property tax abatements, according to The Brunswick News.

City Hall’s finance committee will consider on Monday two requests for 10-year tax abatements and low-interest loans for two businesses.

In other business, the finance committee will consider two applications for property tax discounts and business fee waivers.

The Brunswick DDA voted to recommend the city commission approve both requests last month.

The finance committee is made up of Brunswick Mayor Cosby Johnson, City Commissioner Felicia Harris and the city’s finance director. It does not have the final say on financial matters but makes recommendations to the full city commission.

Finance committee members will also consider accepting two grants totaling $2.3 million to pay for drainage improvements on Albany Street. The rest of the funding for the $3.6 million project will come from SPLOST 2022 revenue.

Brad “Cap” Capitosti is running as a write-in candidate for Burke County Sheriff, according to WRDW.

Brad “Cap” Capitosti will be running against incumbent sheriff Alfonzo Williams, he announced in a news release.

Capitosti will be a write-in candidate due to the late withdrawal of the previous republican candidate, according to the news release.

“Though my name will have to be written in on the ballot, I know Burke County voters are excited for the opportunity to have a capable, approachable, and persistent sheriff in office,” said Capitosti.

“We’ll make sure they know to write ‘Brad Capitosti’ on Election Day.”

“Winning an election is a challenge, and being a write-in is just one more obstacle for us to overcome. We’re going to have to work hard to make sure voters know exactly how to ensure their vote for Capitosti counts,” he said.