Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for August 16, 2018

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 announced that Jaguar Land Rover Classic will create 75 jobs in Chatham County.

The new operations hub in Savannah will be Jaguar Land Rover Classic’s first facility in the U.S.

“Georgia’s business-friendly climate and world-class logistics infrastructure continue to attract industry leaders like Jaguar Land Rover Classic,” said Deal. “I applaud the leadership of Jaguar Land Rover Classic for recognizing the strength of Georgia’s automotive sector and for creating high-wage jobs for our deep talent pool. By choosing Savannah for its first facility outside of Europe, Jaguar Land Rover Classic will enjoy the benefits of close proximity to the Port of Savannah while streamlining services for American customers. We appreciate Jaguar Land Rover Classic’s investment in the Chatham County community and look forward to the growth of this partnership in the years to come.”

Jaguar Land Rover Classic’s new facility will be located near Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport and the Port of Savannah, the largest single container terminal in North America. Construction of the new facility will begin in autumn.

“Creating a dedicated facility in the U.S. – one of the largest markets for classic car enthusiasts – is an important and exciting step for Jaguar Land Rover Classic. We’re delighted to bring the future-proofing classic expertise and support we’ve nurtured in the UK direct to US clients,” said Jaguar Land Rover Classic Director Tim Hannig. “The Savannah site is the perfect location for us: a charming setting combining a passionate community and excellent transport links that will make it easier for US clients to benefit from the authentic services and expertise Jaguar Land Rover Classic provides.”

The new facility, Jaguar Land Rover Classic’s first facility outside of Europe, will provide access to a range of authentic Jaguar and Land Rover Classic cars, services, parts and experiences. The facility will also include a state-of-the-art 42-bay workshop for comprehensive vehicle health checks, service and repairs for all Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles out of production for a decade or more.

“Today Jaguar Land Rover Classic, a world-class company with a renowned reputation, chose Savannah to produce world-class products,” said Trip Tollison, president and CEO of the Savannah Economic Development Association (SEDA). “The high-wage jobs and investment they will bring to the Savannah region will make an immediate impact on our region. The success of securing this project could not have been possible without the help of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) and our many other partners. We are excited to win this project and cannot thank Jaguar Land Rover Classic enough for their decision and vote of confidence.”

GDEcD Logistics, Energy, Agribusiness and Food Team Director Wylly Harrison represented the Global Commerce Division in partnership with SEDA and Georgia Power.

“Jaguar Land Rover Classic is joining a league of automotive companies that have found a home in Georgia,” said GDEcD Commissioner Pat Wilson. “Georgia’s automotive sector is one of our strongest, and we are thankful that this industry continues to see substantial growth. Jaguar Land Rover Classic has made an incredible decision by choosing Savannah.”

Robins Air Force Base will add 1200 jobs in logistics, according to the Macon Telegraph.

The new jobs were created because of new work that’s come to the base during the past year, Brig. Gen. John Kubinec, Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex commander, said in a news conference held on the base’s flight line.

“Just over a year ago they rolled out the very first Global Hawk we did here,” he said. “We have inducted our very first J-STARS aircraft for (programmed depot maintenance). We have brought in our first Marine Corps C-130 for overhaul.

“I would say that this has been the most consequential year for new workload growth at Robins in over a decade.”

Paper ballots for the November election could cause chaos in polling places, according to the AJC.

The upcoming general election in Georgia will be “plunged into chaos” if a federal judge grants a request to immediately switch the state to paper ballots, according to attorneys for Secretary of State Brian Kemp.

The court filing Tuesday came in response to a lawsuit that is trying to prevent Georgia from using its 27,000 touchscreen voting machines, which the plaintiffs say are vulnerable to hacking.

But imposing paper ballots less than three months before the Nov. 6 election would create more problems than it would solve, according to the attorneys for Kemp, former Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes and John Salter. Kemp is a Republican candidate for governor against Democrat Stacey Abrams.

“There is no ‘paper-ballot fairy’ who, with magic wand at ready, can save plaintiffs’ half-baked ‘plans’ from devolving into a fiasco,” according to their response.

The Lowndes County Board of Elections is hiring poll workers for the November elections, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.

The Georgia Rural Development Council is considering how to attract investment and new jobs to rural Georgia, according to the Moultrie Observer.

Lawmakers are now looking at other ideas for spurring economic growth, such as revamping the state’s tiered jobs tax credit program that some say causes confusion for companies and puts counties at odds with one another. They are also considering incentives that would nudge cities and counties toward adopting a regional approach to luring industry.

“You will have a community that has everything going for them,” said Amy Carter, a former state representative who now works for the state Department of Economic Development. “They’re sitting right on an interstate. They have rail. They have a thriving downtown. It is a great place to live.

“But you have a city and county that cannot get along. Y’all, it kills it,” she said. “The sooner we get all of our cities and counties to understand that, the better off we’ll be.”

“There has been some frustration in rural Georgia that we don’t know what will work and what will move the needle, so we’ve been throwing stuff at the wall and hoping that something sticks,” [State Rep. Jay] Powell said to the state’s economic development officials.

Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez spoke in Doraville yesterday, according to the New York Times.

The head of the Democratic Party insisted Wednesday that allegations of domestic abuse against his second-in-command would not hurt his party ahead of this fall’s midterm elections.

DNC Chairman Tom Perez addressed the situation directly only when pressed by reporters as he campaigned Wednesday in Georgia.

The DNC boss said he takes “very seriously” any accusation of domestic abuse, but downplayed the political fallout.

“Democrats have been winning everywhere,” Perez said. “That, I think, continues.”

The allegations from Ellison’s ex-girlfriend, Karen Monahan, are testing Democrats’ resolve at a delicate moment. The party is relying on strong support from women, particularly in America’s suburbs, to fuel their bid to seize the House majority this November. But after being quick to seize on allegations of Republican misconduct in the #MeToo era, Democrats have, so far at least, adopted a wait-and-see approach in a case that involves a senior DNC leader competing to become Minnesota’s chief law enforcement officer.

Gwinnett County Schools Superintendent Alvin Wilbanks delivered a State of the School System address to the Gwinnett Chamber, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Superintendent Alvin Wilbanks talked at length about the district’s new “performance-based awards” during his State of the School System Address to the Gwinnett Chamber on Wednesday. The new program is part of the district’s efforts to address a national issue of district’s struggling to retain teachers.

But, one thing is clear: Wilbanks does not want to hear the awards referred to as “merit pay.”

“It’s not merit pay, it’s not a bonus,” the superintendent said after his speech. “It’s a performance award for being recognized as being a good teacher.”

“The salary schedule, that’s where we need to make sure we’re competitive with Forsyth, Fulton, DeKalb (and) Walton, but this is for the purpose of recognizing those teachers that are really doing a great job,” Wilbanks said. “It has nothing to do with the degree that you’ve got or the years of experience.”

Floyd County Commissioners plan to meet with Sheriff Tim Burkhalter to discuss dealing with mental health calls, according to the Rome News-Tribune.

Floyd County Commissioners came back from a statewide mental health summit with a list of initiatives aimed at keeping people with mental illnesses from ending up in the jail, over and over again.

“Justice Boggs said we have ‘a moral and fiscal responsibility’ to take action,” Commissioner Allison Watters noted.

Georgia Supreme Court Justice Michael P. Boggs was among the speakers at the summit in Macon. Hancock, Watters, McCord and Commission Chair Rhonda Wallace were among more than 200 city and county leaders attending.

[County Manager Jamie] McCord said the board has already taken some steps. He cited the new mental health and drug courts, the addition of mental health screenings at the jail after a 2016 spike in suicides, and plans to bring community leaders together as a task force.

“The big thing is verifiable data, to see if what you’re doing is working,” McCord said. “We need to develop a plan that has some measurable goals we can track.”

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources solicited bids to salvage or relocate a home lived in by songwriter Johnny Mercer, according to the Savannah Morning News.

The state had acquired the Robert Mercer Cottage in 1978 when it acquired the nearby Ossabaw Island Heritage Preserve. On June 27, the Board of Natural Resources adopted a resolution seeking an executive order from the governor to demolish the house, which had fallen into a dilapidated condition that the state agency attributed to years of damage from wind, fallen trees and most recently Hurricane Irma. The Department’s Historic Preservation Division had previously determined the house is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, but DNR staff determined it was cost prohibitive to repair the structure.

The bid request comes after the HSF joined the Ossabaw Island Foundation and Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation in raising concerns about DNR’s demolition plan due to the cottage being one of the original Vernon View structures, its architectural style and connection to Johnny Mercer.

Swainsboro City Council member Johnny Ray Stafford is under fire from the NAACP, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

The president of the Emanuel County NAACP is calling for the resignation of Swainsboro City Councilman Johnny Ray Stafford after Stafford allegedly made a racially offensive statement at a council retreat.

When Mayor Pro Tem Rita Faulkner asked at the retreat to find “something for the kids to do,” Stafford’s response was “let them go pick cotton,” according to chapter NAACP President Al Huston.

Stafford, a local realtor, said he planned to “make an apology” but would not step down from the council.

“I don’t remember saying anything out of the way to anybody,” Stafford said. “If I did it wasn’t directed to anybody and I apologize for any inconvenience it caused anybody.”

Newnan City Council adopted a millage rate higher than the full rollback rate, according to the Newnan Times-Herald.

The 6-0 vote took place during Tuesday’s city council meeting, during which the third public hearing discussing the rate adjustment was held.

Last year, the city’s tax digest increased $33 million from reassessments of current property, and $58 million from new construction for a total digest of $1.4 billion. That’s a 6.5 percent increase in the digest, according to City Manager Cleatus Phillips.

“It’s good growth, but I was hoping for more, considering we have projects like CTCA and Healthsouth with tax abatements,” Phillips said. “But overall, it’s a solid number.”

The Gulfstream G600 has entered flight testing, according to the Savannah Morning News.

“We continue to make steady progress toward certifying the all-new G600 later this year and beginning customer deliveries in 2019,” said Mark Burns, president of Gulfstream. “With the exceptional performance we’re seeing from the five flight-test aircraft in this program, I am highly confident our clients will be impressed with the aircraft we deliver. Its high-speed range, superior comfort and unmatched efficiency have already exceeded our expectations.”

Burns said that the G600 is already proving to be a star.

“Even at this stage in its development, the G600 is garnering attention, with its award-winning interior and seats, increased range capability and performance at high speed,” Burns said. “The recent type certification for the G500 is added motivation and inspiration for us to bring the G600 across the finish line and into the hands of our customers.”

The Gulfstream G500 earned FAA type certification and its production certificate on July 20. Customer deliveries of the aircraft will begin later this year.

Donalsonville Hospital has received $625,000 in donations under a state tax credit plan, according to the Albany Herald.

Donors from all over the state of Georgia have chosen the Seminole County hospital as their rural hospital of choice through the tax credit program. Officials said the donation amount is 412 percent more than in 2017.

“Thanks to these generous donors from all over the state of Georgia, including our local community, we can begin plans for upgrading diagnostic equipment, improving our communication tools and continuing to expand hospital services,” hospital Administrator Chuck Orrick said of the money raised.

Donors hailed from as far away as Atlanta, Macon and Albany, and there were supporters in Donalsonville, Decatur and Leesburg. The Georgia Heart tax credit program allows donors to offset their tax liability and choose where their money is donated.

While the credit limit has been reached for this year, Georgia Heart will begin taking pre-applications at 9 a.m. on Oct. 1 for the 2019 tax year. Donors are encouraged to apply early to take advantage of the 100 percent tax credit.