Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

On July 27, 1974, the United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee approved the first impeachment article against President Richard M. Nixon.

The first such impeachment recommendation in more than a century, it charge[d] President Nixon with unlawful activities that formed a “course of conduct or plan” to obstruct the investigation of the Watergate break-in and to cover up other unlawful activities.

The vote was 27 to 11, with 6 of the committee’s 17 Republicans joining all 21 Democrats in voting to send the article to the House.

The majority included three conservative Southern Democrats and three conservative Republicans.

A bomb exploded at a free concert in Centennial Park in Atlanta on July 27, 1996.

Police were warned of the bombing in advance, but the bomb exploded before the anonymous caller said it would, leading authorities to suspect that the law enforcement officers who descended on the park were indirectly targeted.

Within a few days, Richard Jewell, a security guard at the concert, was charged with the crime. However, evidence against him was dubious at best, and in October he was fully cleared of all responsibility in the bombing.

Former Georgia Governor Zell Miller took the oath of office as United States Senator on July 27, 2000. Miller would go on to win a special election for the remainder of the term in November 2000.

On July 27, 2014, former Braves manager Bobby Cox and pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, along with former White Sox player Frank Thomas, who was born in Columbus, Georgia.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Stockbridge Mayor Jayden Williams is suing the city after council members voted to curtail his authority, according to the AJC.

Stockbridge Mayor Jayden Williams is suing his own city, contending he was improperly stripped of his authority before the completion of an investigation into allegations he misused city funds and his office.

The move comes after the City Council last week restricted his access to city property and suspended his city-issued purchasing card amid an ongoing review. In an amended complaint filed Friday in Henry County Superior Court, Williams seeks to void the council’s resolution and also asks the court to restore his access to the mayor’s office, official email, records and other property to perform his duties as mayor.

Attached to the complaint, a letter from the city attorney to the mayor also sheds light on the scope of the city’s investigation, saying it includes a review of more than $4,000 spent on donations and purchases at restaurants and stores.

“The issue is not whether Council may investigate alleged misuse of City property, City funds, purchasing cards, fuel cards, vehicles, or other resources. The City may conduct a lawful investigation,” the mayor’s suit states. “The issue is whether Council may, before completing that investigation and before providing the hearing required by the Stockbridge Charter, impose restrictions that operate as a constructive suspension of the Mayor’s office. The Charter does not authorize that action.”

The lawsuit, filed just six months after Williams was sworn in as the city’s youngest mayor, follows the City Council’s July 17 vote to suspend his purchasing and fuel card, take away his city vehicle, restrict his access to nonpublic areas of city buildings and require any communications with staff to run through the city manager. The suspension was put in place pending the outcome of an “independent investigation,” the city said in a news release.

City Attorney Quinton Washington’s letter to Williams, attached to the mayor’s Friday complaint, lists a total of just over $4,000 of spending under review.

The letter describes a $2,398 donation to the Henry County Schools Foundation for school lunches, an amount that included a $398 “processing fee” with “no corroborating documentation” or council authorization on file.

The review also will examine a series of restaurant charges made since late February, including at Nova Kitchen and Cocktail Bar, Red Room Bistro and Longhorn Steakhouse, which Williams’ purchase forms describe as team meetings, a scholarship banquet and “Mayor AI training,” according to the letter.

Additional purchases at a Polo Factory Store and a bookstore at Clark Atlanta University, where Williams studied political science, are also listed.

Griggs said the City Council does not have the ability to strip the mayor of his duties before the investigation is done. A removal hearing has also not been held, the complaint notes.

“There’s absolutely no power under Georgia law for them to remove him prior to completing an investigation. We just look forward to arguing this in court, and I think we’ll be successful,” Griggs said.

Stonecrest Mayor Jazzmin Cobble is at odds with her city council, according to the AJC.

The city of Stonecrest has asked the Georgia Municipal Association for help in investigating an incident involving Mayor Jazzmin Cobble and the city’s finance director that became so heated that police were called before a City Council meeting earlier this month.

The City Council, which is considering censuring the mayor, asked for assistance because the city’s Human Resources director wasn’t available at the time, according to Mayor Pro Tem Tara Graves.

The incident under review happened June 25, and involves an allegation by city finance director Keisha Franklin that Cobble became “verbally aggressive” toward her during a dispute over a check for the mayor’s hotel accommodations for a conference in Savannah, according to a police report.

Franklin told police the mayor used an expletive when shouting at her: “Print me a check now or find another … job.” Franklin said she felt threatened during the encounter and attempted to lock herself in her office, but the mayor did not relent, blocked her door and continued yelling from the outside, the police report says.

Stonecrest City Manager Cathy Turner read a statement from Franklin during a July 2 meeting, at which the council discussed potentially censuring the mayor. The statement said Cobble told Franklin police couldn’t do anything to her because she was the mayor, and this is “her city.”

Cobble also read a statement during the meeting — from her attorney, Bryan Tyson. That statement said the city shouldn’t censure the mayor because the city charter requires a formal investigation before considering the action, or discussing the matter publicly.

Voters in the Thirteenth Congressional District go to the polls tomorrow for a Special Election, according to the Savannah Morning News.

The special election is Tuesday, July 28 and, if a runoff is needed, it will be Aug. 25.

The candidates for governor, senator, and other major Georgia races still have a few months before it’s time to hit the polls. But there’s once race that has just left days left: The special election to pick a new representative in the U.S. House for District 13 following David Scott’s death.

• Caesar Gonzales (Republican)
• Fayth Elizabeth Park (Republican)
• Carlos Eugene Moore (Democrat)
• Everton “EJ” Blair, II (Democrat)
• Marcye Michelle Scott (Democrat)
• Tony Michael Brown (Democrat)

The 13th congressional district includes parts of Clayton, Henry, Rockdale, Newton, Gwinnett, and DeKalb counties in the metro Atlanta area.

Scott was a Georgia state representative 1975-1982, a state senator 1983-2002, and a U.S. House representative from 2003 until his death on April 22 at age 80.

The Rick Jackson campaign made an $87 million dollar media buy, according to Atlanta News First via WRDW.

Rick Jackson wasn’t afraid to dip into his vast fortune – amassed from his health care staffing agency – during the Republican gubernatorial primary and ensuing runoff election that he would go on to win. And it appears that won’t change in the general election cycle, already in full swing.

The Jackson campaign tells Atlanta News First that the GOP nominee for governor is spending $87 million on television and digital ads, the largest general election buy of this race.

“This is the largest general election buy of this race, and it reflects exactly how seriously we take the job of earning every vote in every one of Georgia’s 159 counties,” said Jackson campaign spokesman Garrison Douglas. “Rick Jackson has spent this campaign showing up in places candidates usually skip, and this buy makes sure all 11 million Georgians hear the same thing the people in those rooms have heard, which is that he is running to fight for them.”

The campaign says the ads will start running on August 1, Voters will see the digital ads on their screen statewide, but not every Georgia television will see the broadcast spots.

Jackson spent an astounding amount out of his own fortune to win the gubernatorial primary last month. The billionaire founder and CEO of Jackson Healthcare stunned Georgia’s political establishment by not only entering the race late but seeding it with $50 million of his own personal fortune, including a $40 million ad buy.

Throughout the primary election cycle, Jackson spent over $100 million of his own money to win despite his opponent, Lt. Governor Burt Jones, carrying the favor of President Doanld Trump.

Atlanta News First political analyst Dr. Ben Taylor says not only is this the largest ad buy of the current election cycle, it may be the largest in state election history.

“This is a massive campaign expenditure, and it looks like Jackson will spare no expense in this race,” said Taylor. “In a year that looks generally bad for Republicans, to fight that tide you’d need something like this.”

The Democratic Party of Georgia announced their coordinated campaign, according to the AJC.

The Democratic Party of Georgia today announced it will have 30 field offices open by early August along with 60 full-time field organizers and more than 100 coordinated campaign staffers — the biggest operation the party has ever had at this stage of a campaign.

It’s the kind of build out U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff had in mind when he pushed to overhaul the state party after President Donald Trump recaptured Georgia in 2024 and boasted that he would help field the largest grassroots organization the state has ever seen.

Republicans are taking a different route. GOP nominee for governor Rick Jackson has built a sprawling turnout machine separate from the state party. Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon said recently that he hadn’t heard from Jackson since the billionaire won the nomination.

U.S. Senate nominee Mike Collins is more closely aligned with the state GOP, but he also brings his own network of “Convoy Captains” spanning all 159 counties.

Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Charlie Bailey said the “unprecedented organizing effort” will augment the campaigns that Ossoff, gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms and other contenders are assembling.

They plan to show off the party’s muscle at a state convention on Saturday in Savannah.

“We’re reaching voters in every corner of the state to hold Republicans accountable between now and Election Day,” Bailey said.

The candidates for Ninth Congressional District spoke about ICE operation in Athens, according to AccessWDUN.

Georgia’s 9th Congressional District candidates have released statements amid reports of increased U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in Athens.

Incumbent Republican Andrew Clyde gave WUGA a statement on Friday, saying the agents are “welcome” in Athens and every Georgia community.

“The brave men and women of ICE are American heroes who deserve our full support, appreciation, and respect. ICE agents are welcome in Athens—and every Georgia community for that matter—as they work tirelessly to protect American citizens and prevent tragedies, like the brutal murder of Laken Riley, from ever happening again,” Clyde told the Athens radio station.

In response, Democrat Challenger Caitlyn Gegen released a statement to Access North Georgia, saying she “refuses” to allow Clyde to excuse ICE’s atrocities in Laken Riley’s name.

“Georgia families deserve better than this. We love our neighbors and are committed to protecting them, regardless of where they came from. Every person in the United States is guaranteed due process and deserves to have their human rights respected and protected,” Gegen said. “My opponent tried to invoke Laken Riley’s tragic death in his statement, but I refuse to allow him to excuse these atrocities in her name.”

Gegen went on to say immigrants should be held accountable for their actions, and added that ICE has shown a “blatant disregard” for due process and a “disdain” for human rights.

“The expedited hiring process of ICE agents has also resulted in agents not being properly vetted or trained. Putting untrained officers in the community further endangers our citizens, and they do not belong in any city in Georgia in their current state,” Gegen continued. “At least 11 people have been shot by ICE agents and at least 52 people have died in ICE custody in Trump’s second term. ICE does not have the jurisdiction to act as judge, jury, and executioner, and we cannot accept their actions.”

The general election is slated for Nov. 3.

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Jackson) spoke about allegations of anti-semitic speech by other people, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Nearly a week after a CNN report accused Georgia Representative Mike Collins of supporting a white supremacist influencer, Collins has commented.

The influencer, who CNN identified as Collins’ son-in-law, shared anti-Semitic memes, made white supremacist comments on videos and promoted groups like the Patriot Front for years online, building a significant following.

The July 16 CNN report not only questioned the social media presence of his son-in-law, but brought past controversial posts and messages from Collins himself back into the spotlight.

Now, in comments made to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution’s Tia Mitchell, Collins responded to the report, but did not denounce his son-in-law’s rhetoric.

According to a post shared by Mitchell on July 21, Collins responded to questions about his son-in-law by saying “nobody speaks for me, and I don’t speak for anybody else.”

He continued to say “I think it’s pretty clear on where I’ve always stood with Israel.”

Mitchell said she asked if Collins found it harder to speak out given the accusations are against a family member, and Collins said “you know it always is. You love your family.” He also called the decision to remove a photo that included his son-in-law from his campaign website a “personal decision.”

In a statement made to CNN by a Collins campaign spokesperson, Collins’ team defended his record and denied the representative was anti-Semitic.

“Rep. Collins’ lifelong support for Israel is unquestionable and backed by his consistent record in Congress of standing up for Israel and her people,” the spokesperson said.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) named Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp a World Heritage Site, according to WSAV.

The decision to name the wildlife refuge a World Heritage Site was made during the UNESCO World Heritage Committee’s 48th session, which was held in Busan, South Korea, from July 19 through July 29.

This decision has been 40 years in the making, as The Okefenokee was first identified as a potential World Heritage Site back in 1982.

Rena Ann Peck, Executive Director of Georgia Rivers, released the following statement in response to the decision:

“The Okefenokee has always been one of Georgia’s seven natural wonders; now it’s recognized as a globally-significant wonder! It’s been a long journey, and hopefully this World Heritage Site designation will bring more people to the swamp,” said Rena Ann Peck, “Once you’ve experienced the swamp you can’t help but be in awe. The result is more swamp lovers and advocates. We can’t wait for people across the globe to come paddle with us on the Okefenokee Wilderness Canoe Trail!”

As a result of this decision, the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge becomes Georgia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the first national wildlife refuge in the United States to receive the recognition.

From the Associated Press via WTOC:

The Okefenokee Swamp is regarded as one of the world’s largest freshwater ecosystems, encompassing a vast network of wetlands that supports exceptional biodiversity and serves as the source of two major rivers. Its largely undisturbed peat beds preserve a 5,000-year record of environmental change, making the swamp both a globally significant natural habitat and a valuable source of information on long-term environmental change, according to a UNESCO description.

In a statement, Gov. Brian Kemp dubbed the swamp “an important part of our state’s heritage and economy.”

“This is a fitting recognition for the Okefenokee that will further strengthen rural communities that surround it,” he added. “Congratulations to the partners whose dedication and leadership have brought us to this historic moment.”

The designation makes the swamp Georgia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s also the first National Wildlife Refuge in the United States to become a World Heritage Site.

While the World Heritage designation places the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge alongside iconic U.S. landmarks such as the Grand Canyon, some locals have opposed the listing, fearing it would increase U.N. involvement in managing the site.

“We accept this inscription not as a finish line, but as a commitment to keep the Okefenokee wild, resilient, and thriving for generations to come,” said Kim Bednarek, executive director of the nonprofit Okefenokee Swamp Park that’s worked with the U.S. government on the refuge’s nomination package.

From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Athens Banner Herald:

Fresh off the world stage with the departure of FIFA World Cup fans, Georgia is back in the limelight with the listing of the Okefenokee Swamp as an international treasure.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization announced Saturday that it had decided to add the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge to its World Heritage Site List.

The decision, reached during the 48th World Heritage Committee session in Busan, South Korea, makes the swamp the first such site in Georgia and the first listed national wildlife refuge in the United States, which already has more than two dozen listed sites.

“Receiving World Heritage status affirms what those of us who know and love the Okefenokee have always believed: this place is special,” Kim Bednarek, executive director of Okefenokee Swamp Park, said in a statement while attending the committee session.

Tracie Revis, a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, delivered a statement on behalf of Chief David W. Hill, in the languages of her two tribes, Muscogee and Yuchi. She said in a phone interview from Busan that she expressed excitement for both the natural wonder of the Okefenokee and for the lives of her ancestors who lived there before they were forcibly removed from the land.

The designation “gives us a larger platform to showcase not just the biological side of things, but the cultural side of it,” Revis said.

Okefenokee advocates say the designation also will put South Georgia on the global map as a tourist destination, boosting the regional economy.

Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement that it was “a fitting recognition for the Okefenokee that will further strengthen rural communities that surround it.”

A 2024 study said a World Heritage listing would draw 800,000 tourists a year, doubling visitation and creating about 750 long-term jobs and about $60 million in annual economic impact.

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff said in a statement that the designation “will help protect this renowned natural treasure for generations to come, promote tourism, and support Southeast Georgia’s economic growth.”

The Okefenokee is the first U.S. natural World Heritage Site added in more than three decades and brings the number of World Heritage sites in the country to 27.

Other natural sites include the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Yellowstone in the United States, and the Great Barrier Reef, Mount Kilimanjaro and the Galapagos Islands beyond.

Sites can also have cultural value, such as the Statue of Liberty, the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal.

The swamp’s mass of floating peat deposits makes an unstable surface for walking. It led to the swamp’s name, often translated as “land of the trembling earth” from the Muscogee language.

It also played a role in UNESCO’s decision, according to Bednarek’s group, which said the World Heritage Committee recognized the swamp for its ecology, biodiversity and the scale of its subtropical freshwater peatland ecosystems.

A group called Georgia Rivers said it facilitated a study of carbon storage in the peat that established the “Outstanding Universal Value” required to support a World Heritage bid.

Rena Ann Peck, executive director of Georgia Rivers, attended the committee session in Busan with Bednarek. She said she hoped the designation would encourage more swamp visitors.

The swamp has the largest undisturbed peat deposit on the North American Coastal Plain. It is also home to more than 1,200 species of animals and plants.

And it has mineral wealth that industry would like to tap.

For years, a threat loomed at the edge of the swamp, as a company called Twin Pines Minerals sought to mine titanium dioxide. Then, last year, that threat was neutralized when a group called The Conservation Fund assembled about $60 million to purchase the nearly 8,000-acre property.

But other properties nearby could also host a mine.

Researchers at the University of Georgia released findings late last year that showed how harmful this could be to the swamp.

Mining requires significant amounts of water. The mines would draw it from an aquifer deep below the swamp, under the assumption that an intervening layer of clay separates the swamp from the aquifer.

The UGA research found otherwise, tracing water isotopes and discovering that water from the swamp appeared to be draining into the aquifer. Their conclusion: mining would drain the swamp.

Meanwhile, political pressure was building to protect the Okefenokee.

Ossoff, a Democrat, and others from Georgia’s congressional delegation, urged the Department of the Interior to pursue the World Heritage designation.

Then, last year, University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue, who had previously been the state’s first Republican governor in more than a century and a former Cabinet secretary for President Donald Trump, joined the campaign. He asked Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to seek the World Heritage designation because, Perdue wrote, it would “preserve a national treasure while also delivering incredible economic benefits to the state of Georgia.”

The group Environment Georgia noted that more than 30,000 acres adjacent to the Okefenokee remain eligible for mining.

“This World Heritage Site recognition affirms what so many Georgians already know — the Okefenokee is a natural treasure,” Jennette Gayer, the group’s Georgia director, said in a statement. “We call on our leaders to ensure this special place, a wonder of the world, is protected from the threats of mining.”

Revis predicted that placing the Okefenokee on a world stage will generate more support for protecting it, “which can sometimes add pressure if we need it down the road.”

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is investigating a former investigator for the District Attorney of the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit of Georgia, according to WSAV.

Former investigator Andrae Wright currently faces the following charges:

• Felony Violation of Oath by a Public Officer
• Felony Computer Invasion of Privacy
• Misdemeanor Stalking
• Misdemeanor Misuse of License Plate Data

Wright last worked for the District Attorney’s Office on July 9 of 2026.

The new John D. Allen Judicial Center in Columbus will be completed soon, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

The 342,000-square-foot facility includes a new Court Tower, renovated wing buildings and an underground employee parking area, according to a fact sheet provided by the Columbus Consolidated Government.

Of the $207.5 million budget, $200 million came from the 2021 SPLOST and $7.5 million came from the city’s general fund.

The facility is named after the late Judge John Allen, who served as a fighter pilot in Vietnam and as a Recorder’s Court judge, a State Court judge and a Superior Court judge. Allen died in February 2025.

The former facility, the Government Center, was built more than 50 years ago and was outdated, Director of Inspections and Code Ryan Pruett said during Thursday’s tour of the first three floors of the new building.

The Bulloch County Board of Education voted for a full rollback of the property tax millage rate, according to the Statesboro Herald.

By a 5-0 vote Thursday evening, the Bulloch County Board of Education is proposing a property tax millage that represents a full rollback to offset annual inflation in assessed values.

That does not mean the board is fully reversing last year’s roughly 2.5-mill increase in the school maintenance and operations millage. In 2024 the rate was 7.932 mills, and the 2025 rate hike made it 10.4 mills. (But at the time, that was announced as an almost 3-mill increase above what would have been last year’s rollback rate.)

Now, by adopting in full the 2026 “rollback rate” of 10.125 mills calculated by the county Board of Tax Assessors’ staff, the Bulloch County Schools leadership expects to counteract the 2025-2026 overall, average inflation in property values in regard to school-funding portion of the tax.

It will be a little more than a quarter-mill decrease, or 0.275 mill to be exact, in terms of the rate.

With that 10.125-mill levy, the net property tax revenue for the schools is projected at a little over $42.6 million, up from almost $39.3 million last year.

This was shown as an 8.55% “net tax increase” in the “current tax digest and five-year history” chart that school district Chief Financial Officer Alison Boatright showed the board and public during Thursday evening’s meeting. But that results mostly from real growth in the digest of tax values, such as from new construction and improvements to buildings, not the pure inflation to be offset by the rollback.

Colquitt County commissioners voted to audit the Moultrie-Colquitt County Airport Authority (MCCAA), according to WALB.

Colquitt County commissioners voted to move forward with an 8-year forensic audit scope of the Moultrie-Colquitt County Airport Authority (MCCAA), according to minutes from the county’s June 16 called meeting.

WALB previously reported that the Airport Authority paid tens of thousands of dollars in T-SPLOST funds to WoCo Enterprises LLC for spraying and mowing services, and that Airport Authority meeting minutes showed the board later voted to void that agreement after questions were raised about Boyd’s connection to the company.

In the last few months, airport authority members created a committee to research a potential forensic audit, with members discussing concerns about cost and how far back the review should go. It was decided that the 8-year scope would go back to the beginning of Mike Boyd’s tenor as the chairman MCCAA.

In the June 16 meeting, county clerk Melissa Lawson presented pricing from Carr, Riggs & Ingram “concerning a forensic audit investigation of the Airport Authority,” the minutes state. Commissioners ultimately approved an “eight year forensic audit scope proposal” in the amount of $45,050.

During discussion, some commissioners raised questions about whether the county commission has authority to call for an audit of the airport authority and suggested consulting the county attorney. A CPA with Carr, Riggs & Ingram, Ben Kincaid, joined the meeting by phone and discussed records retention generally and the need for cooperation from the airport authority if an audit is conducted.