Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for April 27, 2016

On April 27, 1773, the British Parliament enacted the Tea Act, granting a monopoly on selling tea to the American colonies.

On April 26, 1866, the Atlanta Ladies’ Memorial Association held a Confederate memorial observance at Oakland Cemetery for the first time.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Yesterday, Governor Nathan Deal signed Senate Bill 168, designating the “Adoptable Dog” as the Official State Dog of Georgia in a brief signing ceremony in his office.

Gov. Deal also signed House Bill 941, which reforms privileges for law enforcement personnel in front of grand juries.

Police will no longer be present in the entire grand jury proceeding, listen to all the evidence against them and make a statement at the end that can’t be challenged or questioned. Georgia was the only state that allowed this broad special treatment for police officers facing possible criminal charges.

Yesterday, Carl Gilliard won the Special Runoff Election in House District 162 by a 73.5-26.5 margin over Alicia Blakely. The election was to serve the remainder of the term of the late Rep. Bob Bryant and the two candidates will meet again at the ballot box on May 24th for a full term in office.

The Georgia Supreme Court upheld the Governor’s power to appoint judges to newly-created seats on the Georgia Court of Appeals.

The Georgia Supreme Court issued an opinion Tuesday upholding Gov. Nathan Deal’s right to appoint three lawyers to fill newly created judgeships on the state Court of Appeals in lieu of having the positions filled by a statewide election.

Former Macon City Councilman Henry Ficklin and state NAACP President Francys Johnson Jr., along with three other men, filed a petition last year in Fulton County Superior Court challenging the constitutionality of the appointments. A judge ruled in December, denying the petition. Tuesday’s decision by the state Supreme Court affirmed that decision, according to a case summary prepared by a court spokeswoman.

The term for the appointed judges will end in December 2018. They must win re-election to hold their posts.

Tim Gaylor, a Republican candidate for Bryan County Commission Chair has pledged to donate his first year’s salary if he wins.

“When elected chairman, I will donate my entire first year’s base salary, with the assistance of tax attorney, Jeffrey L. Williamson, to establish a scholarship fund to benefit graduates of the Bryan County school system. My wife, Lori Gaylor and I are a both small business owners in Bryan County and this is just one way to thank the school system that has educated our children and helped us build successful lives here in Bryan County. I believe that this donation will inspire future donations and positively impact all of Bryan County.” Gaylor said.

“To me this job is about service and doing what is right for the taxpayers of Bryan County. While I’m happy that my financial contribution will help students from Bryan County achieve goals and dreams, I believe it’s more important that the voters elect a chairman that is anchored to transparency, fiscally conservative, and uses a common sense approaches when putting new policies into place,” Gaylor said.

The DeKalb County NAACP has come out in opposition to the County schools’ plans for an E-SPLOST election without a list of specific projects to be funded by the tax proceeds.

The next Macon-Bibb County SPLOST, which will appear on November ballots, could raise as much as $240 million.

“The voters are the ones who will be approving this, so there has got to be something for everybody,” Commissioner Larry Schlesinger said. “We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that we’re not the decision makers.”

The County Commission outlined nine types of projects Tuesday they consider “must do” for a future SPLOST. They include money for blight, debt, public safety, economic development, roads, landfill closure and courthouse improvements.

Also on the list was the completion of various recreation projects and upgrades to the stormwater system. The previous SPLOST had about $39 million dedicated to recreation facilities, and county officials had pledged to complete the second phases of various projects with the next SPLOST.

County officials have yet to decide how much money will be dedicated to each project, although a preliminary list of the “priority” projects had an estimated cost of $348 million.

The Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission approved a zoning to allow Starbucks to serve alcohol at an existing store at 4640 Forsyth Road in Macon.

“This is part of Starbucks’ evening program where at a certain time of the day they will convert to an evening menu and have some small plate dinner options, and if approved, start serving craft beers and wine,” said Macon attorney George Greer, representing Coffee House Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Seattle-based Starbucks Corp. “The general time for converting to the evening menu is at 2 p.m.”

Fighting Human Trafficking

Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens yesterday held a press conference to announce a PSA campaign aimed at raising awareness of human trafficking in Georgia. From the Gainesville Times,

With Atlanta as one of the largest centers of sex trafficking in the country, Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens announced Tuesday a campaign to target the buyers.

“When I was first elected, one could be convicted of trafficking and serve a year,” Olens said, adding it has since been increased to a minimum 10-year sentence.

The statewide campaign is called “Unmasked,” an effort to prosecute buyers in the sex trafficking market and “show that they are not anonymous,” according to the attorney general’s office.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Keenan said the metro Atlanta area has been identified as one of the top five areas for human trafficking by the U.S. Department of Justice.

When the nonprofit Street Grace began in 2009, President and CEO Cheryl DeLuca-Johnson said the group “knew at some point the conversation would have to go to demand.”

Addressing the issue of domestic minor sex trafficking takes an entire community being aware of the issue and taking action, DeLuca-Johnson said.

“It still breaks my heart to think about what brought this team together. 12-year-old, sweet young girls, these children in our community, being sold for sex probably just miles from here. It’s shocking and horrifying, and it’s what compelled us to take action,” said Tami Oliva, group account director at advertising agency BBDO Atlanta.

Here’s the PSA: