Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for April 27, 2020

German scientist Johannes Kepler dated the creation of the universe to April 27, 4977 BC(E).

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

Richard B. Russell, Sr. was born on April 27, 1861 near Marietta, Georgia. Russell served in the Georgia House of Representatives, on the Georgia Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, and ran for Governor, Congress, and United States Senate. His son, Richard B. Russell, Jr. served in the Georgia State House, including a stint as Speaker, as Governor of Georgia, and in the United States Senate.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Some Chatham County absentee ballots appear to have omitted a school board race, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Voters who applied for absentee ballots for the June 9 primary should look closely at their ballots, which are starting to arrive by mail. The District 7 race for the Savannah-Chatham County School Board is missing.

School board member Michael Johnson notified media outlets Saturday afternoon, April 25, after his wife opened her absentee ballot and noticed the District 7 race was missing. Johnson said in an email Saturday evening that his wife requested an absentee ballot, but he did not.

Johnson is facing Savannah resident Leonard K. McCoy for the seat.

“I feel this is a major issue. I have spoken to someone at the Chatham County Board of Elections as well as the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office,” wrote Johnson in an email sent to media outlets around 4 p.m. Saturday, April 25. “They [the Secretary of State’s Office] say they are working on it; however I am now worried that people have already sent in their ballots, or won’t look closely enough to their ballots and it might be missed. This needs to be put out there so the public knows what is going on.”

The omission appears to be in every precinct of SCCPSS District 7.

“There are seven precincts in the 7th District,” Johnson wrote in a follow-up email around 8 p.m. Saturday. “I have heard from those whom I serve that it is not just my precinct and that it is left off of the Republican and Democrat Party ballots.”

The race is nonpartisan and must be included in every ballot.

Governor Brian Kemp and the usual suspects will hold a 4:30 briefing on the COVID-19 situation.

At the Georgia State Capitol, Governor Kemp, Georgia Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey, Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency Director Homer Bryson, and Georgia National Guard Adjutant General Tom Carden will give a briefing on COVID-19.

WHO: Governor Brian P. Kemp; Dr. Kathleen Toomey, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Public Health; Homer Bryson, Director, Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency; Adjutant General Tom Carden, Georgia National Guard

WHEN:Monday, April 27 at 4:30 PM

WHERE: Liberty Plaza

The briefing will be live streamed at facebook.com/GovKemp or gpb.org/coronavirus.

At 10 AM today, Governor Kemp hosted an online Statewide Day of Prayer at the Capitol, and live broadcast on Facebook.

Governor Kemp announced that Covid 19 testing will be available via mobile lab, according to The Brunswick News.

A mobile COVID-19 testing unit will begin rotating between the Augusta area, Milledgeville and Tifton starting Monday, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Sunday.

““Serving Augusta, Milledgeville, Tifton, and the surrounding regions, this mobile unit will be a game-changing step in our efforts to ensure access to COVID-19 across Georgia,” the governor said. “Increased testing is critical as we continue the measured process of safely reopening parts of our state.”

Chris Clark, President and CEO of the Georgia Chamber makes some points that might seem familiar to GaPundit readers. From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Athens Banner Herald.

The shelter-in-place order Kemp issued early this month allowed all other businesses – including those in the retail sector – to remain open, subject to a lengthy list of restrictions aimed at preserving social distancing. The restrictions include screening employees for illness, disinfecting the premises, requiring employees who come into close contact with customers to wear masks and requiring at least six feet of space between workers and between workers and customers.

Clark suggested allowing the approximately 20,000 businesses throughout the state that were shut down by law [gyms and fitness centers, dine-in services at restaurants, theaters, bowling alleys and the close-contact personal care shops] to reopen is a matter of fairness.

“These are small mom-and-pop [businesses], most of which ran out of capital 14 days ago,” Clark said last week. “Many of them are minority- and immigrant-owned businesses. Most of them are sole proprietors. … They’re really struggling.”

The shelter-in-place order Kemp issued early this month allowed all other businesses – including those in the retail sector – to remain open, subject to a lengthy list of restrictions aimed at preserving social distancing. The restrictions include screening employees for illness, disinfecting the premises, requiring employees who come into close contact with customers to wear masks and requiring at least six feet of space between workers and between workers and customers.

“Businesses have a responsibility if they want to open to follow the guidelines, take the temperatures of their employees, disinfect and provide masks,” he said. “The governor’s not forcing any business to open that doesn’t want to.”

Bibb County Sheriff David Davis expressed concerns about business reopenings, according to the Macon Telegraph.

Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said he was concerned that Georgia is reopening too quickly.

“I guess he has his experts that he consults,” Davis told The Telegraph in a telephone interview, “and that’s his judgment. But just being out here on the street seeing it every day, I think we might have been better served to have waited just a little bit longer.

“I hate to think that Georgia is part of a grand experiment to see how reopening things will affect the virus. You might say we’re the guinea pigs. It’s sad that we’re getting so many conflicting notices and conflicting statements from the so-called experts.”

“If we get calls on it, we will go and try to educate people as best we can,” Davis said. “But we just certainly are not gonna be the barber shop police. You just can’t do it. There’s too many of them. … We will deal with the more egregious (violations).”

The sheriff’s statement added that “in the event of complaints, sheriff’s deputies will be making every effort to make contact with gatherings in excess of 10 people, where 6 feet of separation has not occurred. In such instances, deputies will be taking responsible steps to provide notice and educate individuals prior to taking any further law enforcement actions.”

Watkinsville Mayor Bob Smith, a former State Representative, seems less concerned about reopening. From the Athens Banner Herald:

Mayor Bob Smith encouraged Watkinsville residents to, “emerge from our homes and utilize smart, common-sense safe distance practices and resume our lives,” in a press release posted to social media Sunday.

Smith’s call to, “get outdoors and exercise… go to work… assemble to worship,” aligns with Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to re-open certain Georgia businesses on April 24, a decision President Donald Trump publicly disagreed with.

In Smith’s press release, he says, “…life is a gift. Let’s not waste it continuing to sit at home, looking at four walls.”

Among historical events listed in Smith’s press release, Smith cited, “brave Americans … on Flight 91 over Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001…”

The correct identification is United Airlines Flight 93. All 37 passengers, including four hijackers, and seven crew members died when the plane crashed in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, during an attempt by the passengers and crew to regain control of the airplane.

Former Governor Nathan Deal has endorsed Renee Unterman in the Republican Primary for 7th Congressional District, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Former Gov. Nathan Deal endorsed state Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, in the highly contested race to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall. Unterman is one of several Republicans running for the seat, which has also drawn several Democrats vying to win the seat.

“Renee Unterman has proven herself to be a passionate, courageous conservative fighter and I’m proud to endorse her campaign for Congress,” Deal said. “The people of Georgia deserve tough and thoughtful representatives, and I am confident Renee will deliver results for her constituents because, believe me, she never stops working.”

“As our state works to provide every Georgian with a bright future, I believe Renee is the candidate who will always do what’s right and get the job done.”

“I’m honored and humbled to be endorsed by former Gov. Nathan Deal in my campaign to take our shared conservative values to Washington,” Unterman said. “During his time as governor, his conservative leadership helped our communities emerge from the Great Recession and flourish.

Gwinnett County Commission candidates discussed budget issues in an online forum, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

If Gwinnett County’s budget revenues take a hit in 2021 because of lingering effects from the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic, candidates vying to be the county’s next commission chairman offered a variety of solutions this past week.

The candidates talked during a forum hosted by five community improvement districts on Wednesday about issues that are of interest to the CIDs, such as plans for the OFS site and Gwinnett Place Mall, as well as plans for addressing transit and transportation in general.

But, it was hard to ignore the looming COVID-19 issue outright, given that it forced the forum itself to be conducted online. One of the questions posed to candidates was how they would handle a 15% to 20% decrease in revenues in 2021 as chairman.

Several candidates outlined steps ranging from prioritizing services and making cuts to looking at raising the county government’s portion of the millage rate, which determines how much property owners pay in property taxes.

“The first thing I would do, straight out of the gate, is make a statement that public safety would not, in any way, be impacted by this,” [Gwinnett County Commission Chair Candidates Marica] Neaton said. “We’ve got to protect our first responders. They are outstanding in what they do and we cannot impede them in any way.”