Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for August 16, 2017

The State Highway Department was created on August 16, 1916 to comply with federal funding requirements, when Georgia Governor Nathaniel Harris signed legislation by the General Assembly.

Georgia Governor Hugh Dorsey signed legislation creating the State Department of Banking on August 16, 1919.

Georgia Governor Clifford Walker signed legislation changing the method of execution in Georgia from hanging to the electric chair on August 16, 1924.

On August 16, 1974, The Ramones played their first public show at CBGB in New York.

Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Governor Nathan Deal appointed Douglas Chalmers, Jr. to the Judicial Nominating Commission. Congratulations and concolences to Doug.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr spoke to the Athens Republican Party meeting.

Among other topics, Carr discussed his role in Georgia politics.

“It’s a little bit legal, a little policy, a little communications and awareness and a little bit managerial,” he said after being appointed in October 2016.

Carr is set to run for attorney general in the 2018 election and said that over the course of his time in the position, his main priorities are social security, concealed carry and prayer in the legislature.

Looking to the future, Carr hopes to tackle human trafficking, opioid abuse and elder abuse.

“From June 1, 2016 to June 1, 2017, 541 million illegal doses—that’s 51 illegal doses for every man, woman and child in the state of Georgia,” Carr said. “This issue is ravaging families, communities and companies.”

More than 100 people marched in Gainesville in response to Charlottesville.

Josh McCall organized the event after violent clashes in Virginia on Saturday ….

People began trickling into Roosevelt Square near the Hall County Courthouse a bit after 4:30 p.m. for the 5:15 p.m. march, called A March for Equality and Dignity.

The group was a cross-section of Gainesville, including members of both political parties, white, black and Hispanic residents, old and young, long-timers in the community and students new to the area.

Appeals to Christian beliefs bookended the demonstration by preachers and other speakers at the end of the march.

“All human beings in this country are equal,” McCall told the crowd at the beginning of the event. “Every human being in this country deserves dignity.”

McCall announced earlier this year he is running against U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, next year.

The Hall County Board of Tax Assessors appeared in the Georgia Supreme Court in a case involving ad valorem tax appeals.

Attorneys for the Hall County Board of Tax Assessors and the companies argued before the Supreme Court of Georgia in Atlanta. The case involves Westrec Properties, PS Recreational Properties, Chattahoochee Parks, March First and AMP III-Lazy Days on their 2015 tax assessments.

A law effective Jan. 1, 2016, amended the Georgia code regarding ad valorem tax assessment appeals, which must first go to the Board of Equalization for an appeal.

Within 45 days of receiving an appeal on the Board of Equalization’s ruling and “before certification of the appeal to the Superior Court, the county board of tax assessors shall send to the taxpayer notice that a settlement conference” will be held, according to the code.

The marinas’ attorney J. Ethan Underwood said his clients believed the floating and movable docks should have been taxed as personal property, leading to the initial appeal.

University of North Georgia Police Chief Justin Gaines held another Town Hall to discuss campus carry.

Gaines has done more than a dozen of the meetings over the past few months on UNG’s five campuses. Like the last one in Gainesville in June, Gaines dealt with some faculty and staff members concerned that people could walk on campus with a concealed handgun.

“Where is our rights?” asked one person who did not identify herself but said she was concerned she is not allowed to know who has a gun in her classroom.

“It’s not for me to answer,” Gaines said. “All I can tell you is what the law is.”

Gaines recommended that students and faculty take cellphones into classrooms so they could alert officials about police or medical emergencies either through a call or by using the school’s public safety app, Rave Guardian.

“It may not be a person with a gun; it may be someone seizing on the floor in your classroom that needs (attention for) a medical emergency right then and right there,” he said.

Gaines said he hopes the town halls in recent months have been beneficial to those who attended.

“The whole point of it is for voluntary compliance,” he said. “We protect and serve, but we also educate. Education is a big part of what we do. By investing the time to educate, I think it has been a benefit. Time will tell if it has been.”

Gwinnett County Magistrate Judge James Hinkle has been suspended over Facebook posting.

“After reviewing the Facebook posts brought to my attention this morning, I suspended Judge (James) Hinkle effective immediately while I consider the appropriate final action,” Chief Magistrate Judge Kristina Hammer Blum said.

Hinkle reportedly called protesters concerned about Confederate monuments in Charlottesville “snowflakes.”

“As Chief Magistrate Judge, I have made it clear to all of our judges that the Judicial Canons, as well as our internal policies, require judges to conduct themselves in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity, impartiality and fairness of the judiciary,” she said. “I consider any violation of these principles and policies to be a matter of utmost concern.”

From the AJC:

“Another compelling argument to not engage in social media,” longtime Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said of Hinkle’s posts. “I think that the comments could raise questions about the judge’s impartiality, and I think [Chief Magistrate Judge Kristina Hammer Blum] did exactly the right thing suspending him immediately upon learning of the posts.”

Joe Sawyer will run for Peachtree Corners City Council Post 4 this November.

The Lowndes County Board of Education adopted the rollback millage rate for property taxes.

The City of Dalton will keep the same millage rate as last year, which under state law must be advertised as a property tax increase.

Augusta Commissioners voted 10-0 to allow small breweries and distilleries in business districts.

The Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission approved an application for a “beer garden.”

The Society Garden at 2367 Ingleside Ave. plans to sell beer and wine and have occasional live entertainment, according to co-owner Megan Evans.

It also will offer gardening supplies, plants and outdoor furniture for sale, said Evans and co-owner Andrew Collier.

“It will have a very small retail (space) with some small, easy-to-pick up things,” she said, addding that she wanted to get the beer garden portion opened first.

The business will not prepare any food on site except for popcorn and Popsicles, the staff report said.

The Varnell City Council has become my favorite soap opera. From the Chattanooga Times Free Press:

In the middle of a city council meeting Tuesday night, an elected official stood up to leave, blocking any further votes.

“I’m calling this meeting,” Varnell City Councilwoman Ashlee Godfrey told the crowd at a local gym. “There is no longer a quorum developed. No more city business can take place. Thank you.”

In the bleachers, a crowd of about 100 people rose and cheered as Godfrey walked outside, ending the meeting just as the council’s two other members planned to vote to put a referendum on the Nov. 7 ballot. Councilmen Jan Pourquoi and David Owens want residents to decide whether to eliminate the city’s police department.

At the same time, voters would also decide whether to eliminate property taxes, which sit at about 2.4 mills. But Godfrey and Mayor Anthony Hulsey objected to the wording on the potential referendum, as did some residents who spoke during the meeting. They feel as though the councilmen should not tie the elimination of the police department to the elimination of taxes.

“It’s kind of like a bribe,” Hulsey said.

In Varnell, the council needs three members present to conduct public business. In the last two months, two other council members have already resigned. This means all three current members have to appear. On July 25, when Pourquoi and Owens tried to vote on this same referendum, Godfrey did not show up, canceling the meeting.

Savannah’s Coastal Center for Developmental Services hosted Labor Commissioner Mark Butler and Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black.

“Our mission is very simple,” CCDS executive director Ken Boyd told the group assembled for lunch. “It’s to place individuals with developmental disabilities into community-wide employment. The more we can assimilate individuals into the community, the better.”

CCDS works with 132 employers in the area and currently has approximately 225 individuals working either full-time or part-time in the community or training with CCDS in anticipation of community employment.

“One of the biggest advantages for an employer is that we provide an on-site job coach, so that when the individual goes out on a job, one of our job specialists is with them, making sure they are fully aligned with the needs and requirements of the job,” Boyd said.

For Butler and Black, Tuesday’s program provided an eye-opening look at the potential and abilities of people who are “differently abled.”

“It’s clear that there is opportunity for everyone, but we have to make people aware of this,” Black said, adding he’d like to explore the application of CCDS’s approach to agricultural employers down the road.

“But certainly there are opportunities in food processing and retail …,” he said. “We just have to recognize that there is opportunity for everyone, if we are just willing to invest in them.”

Butler said he had visited many similar programs around the state and called CCDS “one of the best I’ve seen in both organization and effectiveness.

“We have to do a better job of highlighting these types of programs, because we have a lot of employers who aren’t aware of them,” he said. “These are individuals who are getting the training, and the soft skills will make them the kinds of workers that employers are looking for.”

Savannah will accept applications for citizen members of several boards and commissions.

Congressman Austin Scott (R-Tifton) met with local farmers to hear their needs.

The congressman, who represents the 8th Congressional District that includes Macon-Bibb County, said he wanted to hear farmer’s concerns ahead of the new farm bill that’s in the works.

The average age for a Middle Georgia farmer is 60 years old, said Andrew Bahrenburg, policy director for the National Young Farmers Coalition.

“As the U.S. farm population rapidly ages … there’s a great deal of farmland that’s ready to transition and will need a new farmer,” Bahrenburg said. “It’s estimated that a 100 million acres of farmland will transition over the lifetime of this upcoming farm bill, so over the next five years.”

About half of the farmers invited to sit on the panel with Scott were first-generation farmers.

Julia Asherman, who operates Rag and Frass Farm in Jeffersonville, said a shift in paradigm is to be expected, but the agriculture industry should “expect and invite people you don’t expect” to farming.

Broadband internet was also a concern for farmers, which often work in rural areas.

Bobby Losh-Jones and his wife, Chelsea, said they need internet to operate their boxed farm food subscription.

The Georgia Public Service Commission has instructed Georgia Power to answer a series of questions regarding nuclear construction at Plant Vogtle.

Georgia’s utility regulating agency voted Tuesday for an action intended as a show of support for the struggling Plant Vogtle.

This vote today sends a message to the company, the company’s partners, ratepayers, and Wall Street that the commission continues to be supportive of this project – provided it can be done economically,” Stan Wise, chairman of the Georgia Public Service Commission, said in a statement.

In addition, the PSC voted Wednesday for an action that requires Georgia Power, the primary owner of Plant Vogtle, to state in its next Vogtle monitoring report whether or not it intends to proceed with Vogtle’s construction. The PSC expects that report to be filed on Aug. 31. Wise sponsored the action.

Wise’s action includes an amendment that enables the PSC to revise or rescind any future PSC action if Plant Vogtle is abandoned. PSC Vice-Chairperson Tim Echols sponsored the amendment.

Wise’s measure cites 14 issues that must be addressed in the upcoming report. They include:

“Should the commission approve revisions to cost and schedule?
“What is the company’s new estimate to complete the project and what is the new schedule for commercial operation of the two units if the commission decides to go forward with one or both units?”

“This information will help us in deciding the appropriateness of whether this project should go forward or not go forward,” Wise said.

2018 Elections

Tom Crawford writes that 2018 may see a Democratic Primary that tears the party apart.

You could easily have a situation where Abrams wins the primary by energizing black voters, but in the process turns off white voters who don’t bother to vote for her in the general election.

Similarly, if Evans were to win a bitterly contested primary race over Abrams, that could result in demoralized black voters staying at home during the general election.

We’ve seen this kind of division tear apart the Democratic Party before.

Back in 2006, the party’s two major candidates for governor were Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor and Secretary of State Cathy Cox (both of the candidates were white).

It became a political bloodbath between two candidates who clearly had a deep personal dislike for each other. Cox and Taylor both aired hard-hitting commercials that accused each other of lying and double-dealing. Taylor’s campaign, for good measure, also filed two civil lawsuits against Cox and her aides.

Taylor eventually prevailed in the slash-and-burn primary, but it was an empty victory. The nastiness of that campaign turned off quite a few Cox supporters who either sat out the general election or voted for the Republican incumbent, Sonny Perdue.

Healthcare

Georgia’s state Medicaid chief, Linda Wiant, has left the Department of Community Health.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded a $2.3 million dollar grant to Georgia health centers.

The 32 centers receiving the funds will look to improve performance in the following categories: improving quality of care; increasing access to care; enhancing delivery of high value health care; addressing health disparities and achieving patient-centered medical home recognition.

The recipients include centers in Albany, Athens, Marietta, Palmetto, Ringgold and Swainsboro.