Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for April 14, 2021

The first American society advocating for abolition of slavery was founded on April 14, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Benjamin Franklin would later serve as President of the organization.

On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln as the President attended a showing of Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theater, seven blocks from the White House; Lincoln survived nine hours before dying the next day.

RMS Titanic hit an iceberg just before midnight on April 14, 1912. Among those losing their lives was Major Archibald Butt of Augusta, Georgia, who had served as a military aide to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.

“Captain Smith and Major Archibald Butt, military aide to the President of the United States, were among the coolest men on board. A number of steerage passengers were yelling and screaming and fighting to get to the boats. Officers drew guns and told them that if they moved towards the boats they would be shot dead. Major Butt had a gun in his hand and covered the men who tried to get to the boats. The following story of his bravery was told by Mrs. Henry B. Harris, wife of the theatrical manager: ‘The world should rise in praise of Major Butt. That man’s conduct will remain in my memory forever. The American army is honored by him and the way he taught some of the other men how to behave when women and children were suffering that awful mental fear of death. Major Butt was near me and I noticed everything that he did.”

“When the order to man the boats came, the captain whispered something to Major Butt. The two of them had become friends. The major immediately became as one in supreme command. You would have thought he was at a White House reception. A dozen or more women became hysterical all at once, as something connected with a life-boat went wrong. Major Butt stepped over to them and said: ‘Really, you must not act like that; we are all going to see you through this thing.’”

“He helped the sailors rearrange the rope or chain that had gone wrong and lifted some of the women in with a touch of gallantry. Not only was there a complete lack of any fear in his manner, but there was the action of an aristocrat. ‘When the time came he was a man to be feared. In one of the earlier boats fifty women, it seemed, were about to be lowered, when a man, suddenly panic-stricken, ran to the stern of it. Major Butt shot one arm out, caught him by the back of the neck and jerked him backward like a pillow. His head cracked against a rail and he was stunned. ‘Sorry,’ said Major Butt, ‘women will be attended to first or I’ll break every damned bone in your body.’”

“The boats were lowered one by one, and as I stood by, my husband said to me, ‘Thank God, for Archie Butt.’ Perhaps Major Butt heard it, for he turned his face towards us for a second and smiled.”

Kennesaw Junior College became a senior college on April 14, 1976 by vote of the Georgia Board of Regents.

By this time, enrollment had tripled from an initial student count of 1,014 in the fall of 1966 to 3,098 in the fall of 1975. Numerous local leaders were involved in the fight for four-year status, but the two politicians playing the most pivotal roles were state Representatives Joe Mack Wilson and Al Burruss of Marietta. In time the memories of both would be honored by having buildings named for them on the Kennesaw campus

A U.S. Postage stamp bearing Georgia’s state bird and state flower was issued as part of a series including all 50 states on April 14, 1982, with first day ceremonies held in Washington and each state.

On April 14, 2010, a signature by Button Gwinnett, one of Georgia’s three signers of the Declaration of Independence sold at auction for $722,500 at an auction by Sotheby’s. About 50 examples of his signature are known to exist and six have been auctioned since 1974.

Happy birthday to former Atlanta Braves David Justice and Greg Maddux, who were both born on this date in 1966.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Congratulations and condolences to John Thomas, who won the election to Whitfield County Commission District 3 in a come-from-behind Runoff election victory. From the Dalton Daily Citizen News:

[Thomas] won Tuesday’s special election runoff to fill the unexpired term of the late Roger Crossen for the District 3 seat on the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners. The term expires Dec. 31, 2022.

Thomas, a realtor and former member of the Whitfield County Board of Education, defeated Shane Day, global sales director for Tiarco Chemical in Dalton, by 587 votes (52.98%) to 521 votes (47.02%).

Only residents of District 3 could vote in the race, which had a 6.78% turnout.

Day and Thomas finished first and second respectively in a five-person special election on March 16. Day received 467 votes (29.37%) and Thomas 430 votes (27.04%). Because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, state law called for a runoff.

Thomas received endorsements from two of the three candidates who didn’t make the runoff: Shannon Bearfield and Chad “Bubba” Young. The third candidate, Jonathan Bagley, remained neutral.

Governor Brian Kemp congratulated state and local law enforcement agencies for operations to reduce violent crimes and street racing, according to the Albany Herald.

This joint effort by several metro Atlanta law enforcement agencies targeted violent crimes in specific areas and addressed the growing issue of street racing in the city of Atlanta. This enforcement detail was a collaborative effort between the Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Department of Natural Resources, Atlanta Police Department, Fulton County Sheriff’s Department, and the city of South Fulton.

“I greatly appreciate the leadership of Colonel Chris Wright of the Georgia State Patrol, along with the men and women of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources for their tireless efforts over the weekend — in coordination with many dedicated local law enforcement officers and agencies — to make the streets of our capital city safer,” Kemp said in a news release. “I directed Col. Wright to develop and coordinate this effort to ensure the state is doing everything in its power to tackle crime in Atlanta. In the days ahead, we will continue to leverage state resources in order to accomplish this critical mission.”

Governor Kemp also announced that economic development projects produced more than $8.4 billion in economic impact in the last three quarters, according to a press release.

Governor Brian P. Kemp, in conjunction with the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), today announced that more than 24,000 jobs were created across all regions of the state by economic development projects in Georgia during the first three quarters of fiscal year 2021. These projects total over $8.43 billion in new investments, representing a 67% increase in new investments compared to the first nine months of the previous fiscal year. Likewise, job creation is up 49% over the same period during fiscal year 2020.

“Creating high-paying jobs for hardworking Georgians – no matter their zip code – has been a key priority of mine since day one,” said Governor Kemp. “These numbers show that our continued, targeted investments in K-12 education, workforce development, and innovative partnerships are doing exactly what they’re supposed to – delivering opportunities to Georgians in every corner of the Peach State.”

During the third quarter of the fiscal year between January and March 2021, Georgia also further solidified its position as an internationally recognized tech hub and data center region with game-changing commitments from Airbnb, The Adecco Group, and Google. Microsoft also announced plans to build on their existing Georgia footprint to develop one of the company’s largest hubs in metro Atlanta. The company will also establish new data centers in Fulton and Douglas counties. Georgia’s significant fiscal year-to-date totals do not include complete details on the expected investments and job creation totals from Microsoft or Airbnb.

Georgia business expansions accounted for 68% of all projects and total investments as companies chose the state as the best locations for growth. New locations to the state accounted for 58% of new jobs in economic development projects from July 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021.

Food processing, manufacturing, and logistics and distribution industries in the state continued their robust pace of development, accounting for 63% of jobs created by economic development projects. Georgia’s automotive and information and technology industries also continued to flourish, accounting for nearly 5,000 new jobs generated three-quarters into the fiscal year.

A few examples of newly announced projects across the state include Freshly opening their first Southeastern U.S. facility in Cobb County, Sailfish Boats expanding in the southwest Georgia city of Cairo, and Feit Electric investing in their first East Coast distribution facility in McDonough. Brake pad supplier KB Autosys selected Meriwether County in west Georgia for their first U.S. automotive manufacturing facility, near customers in the region, such as Hyundai, Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, and General Motors.

“Georgia’s economy is diverse, promising, and continuing to gain momentum,” said GDEcD Commissioner Pat Wilson. “One year ago today, we faced an extremely volatile and uncertain economic future. I extend my thanks to all of our private and public sector partners for the incredible amount of resilience they have shown and for helping us maintain Georgia’s position as the No. 1 state to live, work, and raise a family.”

Democrat Jen Jordan, who represents the 6th District in the state Senate, will run for Attorney General in 2022, according to the AJC.

Democratic state Sen. Jen Jordan entered the race against Attorney General Chris Carr on Wednesday with a scathing attack framing the Republican incumbent as out-of-step with Georgia voters because of his support for anti-abortion laws and other conservative policies.

The Sandy Springs attorney launched her campaign with a video that opens by invoking her much-watched Senate speech objecting to sweeping abortion restrictions before tracing her path from rural Dodge County to the University of Georgia’s law school to the Georgia Capitol.

And she took direct aim at Carr, who she said has “done just about everything he can do to deny Georgians their basic rights” by opposing Medicaid expansion, supporting abortion limits and leading a GOP group that urged Republicans to march to the Capitol ahead of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

But Jordan would first have to win a competitive Democratic primary. Charlie Bailey, a former anti-gang prosecutor, announced a second bid against Carr just days after the Jan. 5 runoffs. Bailey narrowly lost to Carr in 2018, finishing with about 48.7% of the vote, and entered the 2022 campaign with the backing of former Gov. Roy Barnes and U.S. Reps. Hank Johnson and Lucy McBath.

Carr, meanwhile, is preparing for a re-election bid even as he weighs a potential challenge to Warnock. A former top aide to U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, Carr has enjoyed a burst of attention from the GOP base for his defense of the sweeping new election law that includes new absentee ballot restrictions.

Georgia Senate Bill 100, which would permanently put Georgia on Daylight Saving Time, will not become effective unless the federal government changes the law, according to the Savannah Morning News.

This session, the Senate voted 45-6 to put Georgia on daylight saving time permanently, but Senate Bill 100 can’t go into effect unless the federal government allows states to make that change. Currently, Congress only allows states to shift to year-round standard time.

Two competing bills were tossed around by lawmakers this year: one would put the state on standard time — dark earlier in the evening, more light in the morning; the other, which passed, would put the state on daylight saving time — dark in the morning, more light at the end of the day.

Sen. Ben Watson, R-Savannah, and Rep. Wes Cantrell, R-Woodstock, were the sponsors of the two bills. Watson said “competing” was a strong term to use. Both daylight and standard time have pros and cons, but the goal is to keep time from changing twice a year.

Watson cited studies that the time change, especially the “spring forward” change, caused more heart attacks, and even made for “grumpy judges” who doled out more severe sentences following the March time change.

Watson said he and Cantrell were looking to “stir the pot to get to people to talk about it,” especially Congress.

“I don’t think the feds are going to do anything until somebody takes the stand and changes their time zone,” Watson said.

There’s a good deal of additional history on the scourge of DST in that Savannah Morning News article, and it’s worth reading in its entirety.

The University System of Georgia Board of Regents voted to keep tuition and fees the same level as the previous year, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Athens Banner Herald.

The University System of Georgia Board of Regents voted Tuesday to hold the line on tuition during the 2021-22 school year. It’s the fourth time in the past six years that the system has not increased tuition.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic was a key factor in the decision, Tracey Cook, the system’s executive vice chancellor for strategy and fiscal affairs, told board members before Tuesday’s vote.

“Holding tuition flat … recognizes the financial hardships faced by many of our students and parents during the pandemic,” she said.

“USG over the past several years has remained committed to making public higher education as affordable as possible for students and their families, while maintaining results that rank our campuses among some of the best in the nation,” system Chancellor Steve Wrigley added.

Augusta has seen nearly 100 overdoses related to counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

The Georgia Department of Public Health sent an alert out last week about a cluster of overdoses linked to pills sold on the street as Xanax or Percocet that actually contain fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is up to 100 times stronger than morphine.

The overdose cluster began in January and ran through mid-March, but the investigation is ongoing, said Jonathan Adriano, district program manager for the East Central Health District in Augusta.

While 125 cases have been in the 13-county East Central district, with 99 in Richmond County, cases have also popped up in Chatham County, the Coastal Health District and a few other spots around Georgia, said State Epidemiologist Cherie Drenzek.

“And in talking to the partners, that’s when they told us that several of their clients were reporting that there are these pills out there,” [East Central Health District program manager Jonathan Adriano] said. “That coincided with a report from the sheriff’s office that there was a big drug bust with pressed pills. These pressed pills, anything could be in them. They look like manufactured pills, like Percocets and Xanaxs (but in reality) could be fentanyl, could be heroin, could be methamphetamine. So it’s a big problem and it is even more dangerous for those buying street drugs because they are not getting what they think they are getting.”

The national pause on the use of the J&J one-dose COVID vaccine will impact plans for the Athens-Clarke County jail, according to the Athens Banner Herald.

The jail had planned to provide the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine to any inmate who wanted it. However, the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday called for pausing use of the J&J vaccine amid an investigation into cases of unusual blood clots linked to the shot.

Williams said the jail’s medical staff and Innovation Health of Athens had recommended the J&J vaccine because it is a one-dose shot. The other two vaccines require two doses.

Williams noted there could be an issue with tracking some inmates for a second dose if they had been released from jail.

The COVID-19 situation at the jail has improved greatly in recent weeks, according to the sheriff, who began his first term in office in January just as the coronavirus pandemic took hold in Clarke County.

“Maybe every other week we have one or two positive tests, but we’ve gone a couple of weeks in a row with no positive tests at all among the inmate population,” Williams said. “Really within the last month, the sanitizing and our partnerships with community leaders has really led to an overall better situation at the jail.”

Eleven candidates applied for the position of Chief Elections Clerk for Floyd County, according to the Rome News Tribune.

The next election on the horizon will take place on Nov. 2, but will only involve two municipal elections. Interim Chief Clerk Vanessa Waddell said qualifying for those two races will take place from Aug. 16 to Aug. 20.

The municipal election will determine three of the Rome City Commission seats as well as all seven Rome school board seats.

Rome school board candidates can live anywhere within the city limits, but the City Commission candidates must live in Ward 2. That ward covers the area south of the Coosa and Etowah rivers — South Rome, East Rome and neighborhoods like Saddle Mountain and the city portion of Chulio Hills.

Both of those elections go to the top vote getters in the race. For Ward 2, it will be the three candidates with the most votes. For the school board the winners will be determined by the seven candidates with the most votes.

The Federal Aviation Administration wants more time to decide whether to permit a Camden County Spaceport, according to The Brunswick News.

The Federal Aviation Administration’s long-awaited decision about a spaceport license in Camden County will not be announced next week as originally scheduled.

The delay of more than two months is at the request of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which is asking for more time to review the potential environmental impacts rocket launches could have to state-owned marsh and waters.

The DNR set a target date of April 11 to respond but is now asking the deadline to be extended to June 30.

“DNR received approximately 1,774 comments of which 1,758 were against the spaceport project receiving DNR’s approval,” [Attorney Kevin] Lang said. “Among these comments were over 20 very substantive comment letters that raise significant legal and policy issues for DNR to consider. I believe DNR needs time to analyze the comments before they make their decision.”

The debate has been influenced by lobbyists hired by Camden County with taxpayer dollars, Lang said.

“This should not be a political decision as the decision turns on the intersection between the spaceport proposal and Georgia’s laws protecting our coastal resources,” Lang said. “If the decision is made on that basis, it is clear that DNR should withhold its concurrence.”

The county has spent more than $800,000 on lobbyists to promote the spaceport project and generate the political support needed.

“A great deal of this spending has been devoted to trying to solve real problems with the spaceport proposal using uninformed politicians to put their thumbs on the scale,” Lang said. “This is all starting to unwind on the commissioners.”

Macon-Bibb County will spend more than $3 million dollars on jail upgrades after an on-duty officer was killed by an inmate, according to the Macon Telegraph.

In the wake of a jailer’s stabbing death last week, Bibb County officials on Monday announced plans replace cell doors in a 40-year-old, interior portion of the Macon lockup to thwart inmates’ jimmying of locks as officials look to reassure deputies of their safety on the job.

While the April 6 slaying of sheriff’s deputy Christopher Knight does not appear to be connected to tampered-with locks, the planned measures come as officials said they also are looking to hire part-time jailers to alleviate staffing shortages.

Bibb Sheriff David Davis and Mayor Lester said funding for the roughly $3 million door upgrades had already been included in the coming jail budget but that the hope is to make the money available sooner.

“There is no need to wait till budget time,” [Lester said]. “We’re not gonna let money get in the way of public safety.”

The problem doesn’t present an escape risk, he said.

Albany Commission has approved a list of projects to be funded with federal infrastructure money, according to the Albany Herald.

Commissioners approved a list of projects for potential funding through proposed federal infrastructure legislation. The amount of those projects totals some $11.4 million, which would include $9.1 million in federal funding and $2.3 million in matching funds from the city.

“We have this opportunity to address health literacy in the community, specifically in response to COVID-19,” Albany-Dougherty Planning Services Director Paul Forgey said of the $4 million grant. It will entail “community education to increase the vaccination rates and make the community more resilient to future health emergencies.”

The commission handled the grant approvals during a special called meeting because of looming deadlines on the proposals. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources is expected to enhance equitable community responses to COVID-19.

If approved, the city would act as the fiscal and administrative agent and partner with Albany State University, which would be responsible for quality assurance and evaluation of research, Forgey said.