Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for August 24, 2026

General Charles Lee of the Continental Army told Congress that Georgia’s value to the young nation required more forces to defend against the British on August 24, 1776.

On August 24, 1931, the Georgia General Assembly adopted a joint resolution appointing a committee to work with the Governor in planning a bicentennial celebration to be held in 1933.

On August 24, 1945, the United States Postal Service held a first day of issue ceremony in Warm Springs, Georgia for the release of a stamp bearing the images of Franklin D. Roosevelt and The Little White House.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Governor Brian Kemp announced he will appoint former Public Service Commissioner Stan Wise (R-Cobb) to the vacancy on the PSC created by the resignation of Commissioner Tricia Pridemore, according to a Press Release.

Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced he will appoint Stan Wise to the District 5 seat of the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC), following the resignation of Commissioner Tricia Pridemore, effective September 4. Wise previously served on the Commission for 24 years, from 1995 to 2018, and Chaired the regulatory body multiple times. Pridemore succeeded him as the District 5 representative.

“Marty and I are grateful for Tricia’s service on the Public Service Commission over the last eight years,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “During her tenure, Georgia has expanded its means of energy production and reinforced our grid while protecting the pockets of hardworking Georgians, and we are thankful for her contributions.”

Wise will serve out the remainder of Pridemore’s term on the Georgia Public Service Commission, which expires on December 31 of this year. Upon being sworn in, he will step down from the Pendleton Group, where he is currently an associate.

“We are also grateful for Stan’s willingness to return to the PSC, bringing decades of direct experience and wisdom with him,” continued the governor. “Thanks in part to his fortitude and far-reaching vision, Georgia has an incredible economic asset in the form of the first nuclear reactors built in the United States in over 30 years. That kind of courage and foresight is what is needed to keep our state the best place for opportunity.”

Stan Wise is an associate with the Pendleton Group, an Atlanta-based economic development consulting firm. He previously served as a Commissioner on the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) from 1995 to 2018, having been elected statewide four consecutive times. He also served as chairman numerous times throughout his tenure on the Commission. U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz appointed him to the National Petroleum Council in 2016, and in 2003, his regulatory peers elected him President of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.

Before being elected to the PSC, Wise served on the Cobb County Commission, the Cobb County Planning Commission, and the Board of Zoning Appeals. In addition to many other local, state, and federal boards, he was a member of the ten-county Atlanta Regional Commission from 1992 to 1994.

Wise owned and operated an insurance business in Cobb County for twenty years and served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve for six years. He earned a B.S. in Business Management from Charleston Southern University. Wise and his wife, Denise, have two married children and four grandchildren. They have been active members of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church for over four decades.

From the Savannah Morning News:

Georgia Public Service Commissioner Tricia Pridemore is resigning four months from the end of her term. In an email to Governor Brian Kemp, she said her last day will be Sept. 4.

“It has been an honor to serve Georgia in this position,” she wrote.

She declined to provide further comment on her resignation. Kemp is expected to appoint a replacement to the seat to finish her term, until the winner of November’s election is sworn in next year.

Pridemore, a Republican, was appointed to the commission in February 2018, then won election to a six-year term later that year. She was due to face reelection in 2024, but no PSC elections were held that year due to a voting rights lawsuit that was working its way through the courts at the time. Pridemore opted not to run for reelection this year, instead launching a bid for U.S. Congress in the 11th District. She finished third in the May primary.

During debates for the 11th District primary race, Pridemore took criticism from her opponents for some of her decisions as a commissioner, most notably a series of rate hikes for Georgia Power customers. Frustration over rising energy bills boiled over during the 2025 election for two seats on the commission, helping two Democrats unseat Republican incumbents and changing the makeup of a commission that had been all-Republican for two decades.

Pridemore’s seat wasn’t on the ballot that year, but it is this year.

The five-member Public Service Commission regulates utilities in Georgia, including overseeing Georgia Power, the state’s largest electric utility. The commission has final approval over how Georgia Power makes electricity and what it charges.

During her term, Pridemore voted with her fellow commissioners for a number of measures that brought increased scrutiny and criticism to the usually obscure body. The commission approved a three-step rate increase, rate hikes to pay for the new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle, and a fuel rate increase. The move raised customers’ bills six times in a three-year period. Late last year, commissioners approved a massive expansion to meet rising energy demand mostly from data centers, much of which will be powered by natural gas, a fossil fuel.

Pridemore represents District Five, which covers a swath of west Georgia from the Tennessee border down to LaGrange and Thomaston, though commissioners are elected statewide. Republican Josh Tolbert and Democrat Shelia Edwards are running for the seat.

Perp Walk: Suspended Burke County Sheriff Alonzo Williams was booked into jail and a video released of his intake, according to WRDW.

A newly released video shows the booking process for former Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams, who was arrested after being indicted on state charges.

He was booked at 3:09 p.m. Aug. 13, according to the security video obtained by News 12 through an open records request.

The video shows his booking photo being taken, among other things.

After being booked, Williams posted $25,000 unsecured bond on the state charges handed down by a grand jury.

Court documents show Williams was indicted on four felony counts:

• Two counts of making a false statement
• Two counts of theft by conversion

Those are in addition to a federal indictment.

His state bond was approved at 2:06 p.m. Aug. 13, and he’d posted it by 3:45 p.m.

A day after pleading not guilty to federal charges against him, Williams faced the grand jury indictment on state charges about two weeks ago.

Burke County commissioners named Brad Capitosto as the replacement sheriff after Williams was suspended by Gov. Brian Kemp.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency will waive summer blend gasoline requirements, according to CNN via WTVM.

The Environmental Protection Agency said it is issuing an emergency fuel waiver in an effort to lower gas prices.

Starting Sept. 1, the EPA will end summer-blend gasoline requirements early.

That will allow 10% ethanol gasoline to be sold at higher vapor pressure, boosting the nation’s fuel supply.

The waiver, announced Thursday, will be in effect through Sept. 15.

This comes as the national average for a gallon of regular gas is now $4.10, according to AAA.

AAA said August is on track to be the highest on record for gas prices.

Police Blotter: The Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested four former Savannah Police Department employees for alleged misuse of surveillance cameras, according to the Savannah Morning News.

According to GBI, Marquis Dillard, 48, of Savannah, Donald Phillips, 23, of Fleming, and Matthew Rich, 39, of Savannah, were charged with two counts of misuse of a license plate reader (LPR) system and one count of violation of oath of office. Each were employed as SPD officers at the time of their arrest. Calandic Thomas, 34, of Pooler, was with two counts of misuse of a license plate reader system. He was employed as a community service specialist at SPD.

Dillard, Phillips, Rich, and Thomas were booked into the Chatham County Jail.

The arrests come weeks after six SPD employees were fired from the law enforcement agency following Flock misuse allegations arose, accusing the employees of searching personal acquaintances and family members.

Until Friday, the employees’ names were kept secret pending the results of the GBI investigation. Who the other two employees are is currently unknown to the public.

On July 29, SPD requested the GBI to look into claims of misuse after an internal audit of the Flock Safety System suggested the six employees used the database for non-law enforcement purposes.

SPD released a statement around 6 p.m. on Friday, noting that Chief Lenny Gunther is disappointed in the officer’s actions.

“We understand that community trust must be earned and kept. There is no excuse for breaking that trust,” he said. “The actions of a few do not reflect the dedication and professionalism of the men and women who honorably serve our community every day.”

“Let this be a clear statement to everybody in our organization: improper misuse of any government tool that breaches public trust will be dealt with severely,” Savannah City Manager Jay Melder said at an early-August press conference.

The Georgia State House Blue-Ribbon Study Committee on Youth Exposure to Kratom and Retail Available Substances met in Brunswick to discuss potential legislation, according to WSAV.

Kratom is a drug found at gas stations and convenience stores, which experts say is highly addictive and isn’t approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Policymakers, doctors and community members met Friday in Brunswick to discuss the drug and whether it needs to be better regulated.

“There may be wonderful things Kratom can do, but selling it in a gas station is terrifying,” said Cammie Wolf Rice, an advocator for stricter Kratom regulations.

The FDA said it’s used to self-treat conditions like pain, anxiety, depression and more.

Community members spoke on their experiences, fighting for the drug to be better regulated.

“I started taking it regularly, assuming a natural supplement contained minimal risk,” said Hilary Tesluck, the executive director of End Kratom Addiction and a recovering Kratom addict. “Over time, tolerance set in. Within three years, I went from taking four capsules occasionally to consuming 100 capsules a day, spread across five doses of 20 capsules each.”

Members of the American Kratom Association (AKA) argued that Kratom is already regulated and should be sold in gas stations.

“Spiked Kratom products that use industrial-grade solvents are dangerous; let’s get them off the marketplace,” said Mac Hadow with the AKA. “Should you be able to buy kratom in a convenience store? Absolutely.”

Officials heavily debated the drug and whether stricter regulations need to be in place.

“I finally found a natural pain reliever which still allowed me to function and live my life to the fullest extent I can,” said Christian Warren, a Kratom user.

U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-SoWeGA) is again targeted by Republicans in the November election, according to the AJC.

In an era of larger-than-life political personalities and nationalized elections, U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, 79, is a throwback politician. The 17-term Democrat is an unapologetic centrist who carefully tends to the parochial needs of his heavily agrarian southwest Georgia district, where more than 1 in 5 residents live below the poverty line.

For years, Republicans have eyed Bishop’s 2nd District as a potential pickup opportunity. It is one of the last rural, majority-minority political seats in the Deep South and is the closest thing Georgia has to a swing seat under its heavily gerrymandered congressional map. Yet Republicans have been unable to defeat Bishop, even during GOP wave elections.

All of that could change in the wake of this spring’s blockbuster Supreme Court ruling that watered down a key portion of the Voting Rights Act. The decision makes it easier for partisan redistricting, and many Georgia Republicans are eager to maximize their 9-5 seat majority in the congressional delegation. When they do — GOP leaders shelved redistricting plans during June’s special session but are expected to revisit them after the November elections — Bishop is widely seen as the top target.

“I think that the impetus amongst Republicans is that this is too good of an opportunity to refuse,” said Chris Grant, chair of Mercer University’s political science department.

Some conservatives, however, note that GOP leaders target Bishop at their own peril. Not only is he well-liked by many farmers, agriculture groups and Republican officials, but his seniority could be helpful if Democrats regain power on Capitol Hill.

“If they draw it where it’s a super hardcore Republican district, then yeah, (Bishop is) probably going to lose,” said conservative radio commentator Erick Erickson, who is also an Atlanta Journal-Constitution opinion contributor. “But the question for Republicans in the Legislature is, do you want an ally for the farmers in South Georgia when you’re in the minority and have no sway with the majority?”

In 1992, Bishop, a Morehouse College graduate and civil rights lawyer, had already served in the General Assembly for 15 years and raised his hand to run. He became the first person of color to represent the region in Washington.

Bishop held onto his seat even after his district was drastically redrawn following a court challenge in 1996. Much of his political base in Macon and Columbus was moved into another district, and the demographics of the 2nd shifted from a slim Black majority to roughly 60% white. Bishop moved from Columbus to Albany and was reelected.

After a relatively close call in 2010, Bishop has won with mostly comfortable majorities since then, even after attempts from the Legislature to make his district more of a political toss-up. He is now the longest-serving member of the state’s congressional delegation.

Bishop is favored to win reelection in November under the current district lines. But Republicans see a real opportunity to maximize partisan gains and de-emphasize race by redrawing the state’s political maps.

Tyler Johnson, the chairperson of the 2nd District Republican Party, said the current district has been “purpose built to insulate Sanford Bishop from any real Republican challenger.”

He brushed aside the idea that a newcomer on Capitol Hill may not be able to steer the same federal benefits to farmers in the same way Bishop has as a senior lawmaker.

“A Republican representative is going to still provide everything on the agricultural level, on the subsidy level, and all of that. It’s not going to be cut,” he said. “However, the other values — life at conception, protecting our Second Amendment rights … (are) also going to be upheld. So it’s a win-win to vote for the Republican.”

Senior Superior Court Judge Richard M. Cowart of the Southern Judicial District, ruled in favor of Georgia Senate District 12 candidate Edward Brown on a qualifications challenge, according to the Albany Herald.

Senior Judge Richard Cowart sent an email notifying the parties of his decision on Friday, Brown’s attorney Chris Cohilas said. The attorney expects a written ruling to follow shortly

In that ruling, Cowart denied former Camilla Council member Corey Morgan’s challenge of Brown’s residency.

Morgan and his attorney, Maurice King of Albany, alleged that Brown was ineligible due to his casting a vote in a Nov. 5, 2024, election in Virginia.

In his response, Cohilas said that Brown had obtained a Georgia driver’s license in September 2024 as well as a residence in the city of Albany.

In the ruling, Coward said that Brown “met all state requirements to be senator (in) District 12.”

Brown won in the three-way April 19 Democratic primary election with 7,881 votes. Morgan finished second with 4,129 votes and Albany firefighter Tracy Taylor was third with 2,636 votes.

Morgan had sought to be named the winner in the contest or, barring that, called for a new election for the Democratic spot.

Prior to the May 19 primary, Terrence Fowler Sr., who filed paperwork as a Republican in the District 12 race, was ruled ineligible based on his address and his having voted in a December 2025 election in Fulton County.

In December 2023 the Georgia Court of Appeals upheld a judge’s ruling that Morgan was ineligible to seek re-election to the Camilla City Council due to his residency.

“It’s a shame and travesty that Corey Morgan wasted the taxpayers’ time and money,” Cohilas said. “Everybody knows that Edward was born in Georgia. This was just theater.

“The irony is Corey Morgan stating someone doesn’t live in the state of Georgia when he was removed from office for living where he said he doesn’t live.”

The Southern Judicial Circuit serves Brooks, Colquitt, Echols, Lowndes, and Thomas Counties.

DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Yolanda Parker-Smith is seeking a public reprimand for alleged misconduct, according to the AJC.

A DeKalb County judge accused by the state of illegally jailing an attorney and improperly threatening to jail the county’s district attorney, among other things, has admitted most of the allegations against her.

Superior Court Judge Yolanda Parker-Smith said this week she believes a public reprimand, one of the lowest available punishments in judicial misconduct cases, is an appropriate sanction. She denied acting in bad faith or with bias, insisting the misconduct was not intentional.

A judge since the start of 2021, she said the Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission’s offer to resolve its formal charges against her with a 90-day unpaid suspension is too harsh.

“From the outset, Judge Parker-Smith has approached the Commission’s inquiry with candor and cooperation,” the judge’s lawyer, Gabe Banks, wrote in a formal response to the allegations. “She has acknowledged where she made mistakes, recognized that certain matters should have been handled differently, and expressed both a willingness to accept appropriate corrective action and a commitment to avoid similar conduct in the future.”

Parker-Smith, a former public defender, faces possible punishment by the Georgia Supreme Court, including removal from the bench. She was reelected, without an opponent, in 2024 to another four-year term.

DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston is separately trying to get the judge removed from all criminal cases and other matters involving her office until the JQC’s misconduct case, filed last month, is resolved. She claims the judge is biased against her and her staff.

Parker-Smith was accused by the JQC of improperly threatening to jail Boston and two assistant district attorneys in 2023 because they were a day late in voluntarily dismissing a criminal case on her docket.

Bibb County Board of Elections members voted to add a new early voting location beginning next year, according to the Macon Telegraph.

As of late, more than 50% of voters place their ballots early, board members said.

Out of 108,111 registered voters in Bibb County during the 2024 presidential election, 45,391 — almost 42% — of voters decided to cast their ballots before election day. Georgia saw more than half of its five million votes placed in advance that election, according to the secretary of state’s website.

“When that happens, that means we need to change our paradigms of what we do and how we deliver to the public what they want,” said Mike Kaplan, president of the Macon-Bibb County board of elections.

But despite community outcry for a fourth early voting center in south Bibb County for the upcoming election, the board of elections decided to implement a new location starting in 2027.

Community members and voting advocates asked for an additional early voting location to mitigate the drive for south Bibb residents who might not have transportation or with accessibility issues.

Currently, there are three early voting locations in Macon: Theron Ussery Park, the Elaine Lucas Senior Center and the board’s main office at the Macon Mall. All three of those locations are situated above Eisenhower Parkway and south Bibb County.

Most recently, the June 16 runoff election saw 730 people turn up at the Board of Elections office in the Macon Mall on the final day of early voting.

The board of elections is also working on a project to improve accessibility for elderly and handicapped voters at the mall.

“Right now, the timing is bad and I don’t want to rush it, and I don’t want it to distract from what’s going on … with the annex in front of the mall,” he said.

Macon Water Authority Commissioner Elaine Lucas said she was disappointed in the board’s decision to not instate the new voting center sooner. She said despite the many suggestions and offers to help solve some of these problems, the board keeps dragging its feet when it comes to implementing anything.

“Your main responsibility is to facilitate elections, to facilitate easy access to voting for citizens and you’ve not done that by kicking this can down the road,” Lucas told board members.

May’s primary only saw 27.67% of voters come out to vote, but elections officials are expecting a better turnout for November’s election.

Lowndes County Board of Commissioners will consider adopting a data center moratorium, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.

If approved, the moratorium would be in place on an interim basis while the County develops a comprehensive data center ordinance for consideration and approval by the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners, the County government said in a press release Friday.

The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Commission Chambers, 327 N. Ashley St.

Dalton City Council members voted to adopt amendments to their alcohol ordinance, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen.

Members of the Dalton City Council unanimously voted to approve amendments to the city’s alcoholic beverage code during their scheduled public meeting on Monday.

As part of the meeting inside City Hall, council members approved Ordinance 26-19, which changes caterer and event center regulations. According to city officials, the ordinance effectively “streamlines the process for caterers or concessionaires to obtain alcohol licenses and lowers the cost for those licenses.”

“The gist of the ordinance is to make it easier to get a catering license,” [City Attorney Jonathan] Bledsoe said. “We’ve taken out the food requirement, we’ve made it clear that this is an add-on license, and we’ve lowered the cost of getting the license.”

During the meeting, Bledsoe also explained changes to Section 5 of the ordinance, focusing on alternative festival areas.

“No longer are festival areas just limited to C-3,” he said. “You can have them outside of C-3 with approval of the city administrator, chief of police, and other department heads. Section 6 made some clarifications to special outdoor areas and festivals, just making clear that anyone who has a valid pouring license within C-3 could sell within C-3. If it’s an alternative festival outside of the C-3, that would be restricted to licensed caterers or temporary permits that are issued to nonprofits.”

In addressing a question by Mayor Annalee Sams on the cost for a catering license Monday, Bledsoe said it will be lowered “substantially.”

“It was several thousand dollars before, now it will be $75 per category,” he said. “The categories (are) distilled spirits, wine or beer. So, if you had all three, it would be $225.”

Bibb County Board of Education members trimmed their proposed property tax millage rate hike, according to the Macon Telegraph.

The Bibb County Board of Education stopped short Thursday of the tax increase its top officials said the district needs, approving a 9.33% increase while rejecting a proposed one-mill hike that would have brought in millions more.

The board voted unanimously to tentatively maintain the district’s millage rate at 14.674 mills, rejecting a recommendation from Chief Financial Officer Eric Bush and Superintendent Dan Sims to increase it by one mill to 15.674.

Because Bibb County’s tax digest has grown, keeping the current rate would still generate about $8.34 million for the adopted FY 2027 budget, Bush said. That would cut the district’s $16.6 million deficit roughly in half to $8.2 million.

District officials had hinted in recent months that a millage increase could be necessary as they worked through a growing budget gap and rising costs.

The recommended one-mill increase would have generated about $15 million in additional revenue, or a 16.78% tax increase. Bush argued the additional money was needed to keep the district “financially feasible” and maintain the fund balance required by state law.

With the current rate, Bush warned, the district’s fund balance-to-expense ratio would fall below the state-required 8% threshold by next fiscal year.

“We don’t take this one mill recommendation lightly,” Bush said, citing years of rising costs for health insurance, teacher retirement, and state-mandated raises while Bibb repeatedly rolled back or held its millage rate. “We’ve combated pressures over the past three years by scaling back our budgets, realigning class sizes, reducing staff and exploring options that outsource employment to save benefit costs — all of which have direct impacts on teaching and learning and our operations.”

The average home value in Bibb County is $225,000. With a $7,000 homestead exemption, maintaining the current millage rate would cost homeowners about $103.92 per year, or an additional $8.66 per month, according to a district financial presentation.

Without the exemption, the estimated cost would be $112.68 per year, or $9.39 per month. The one-mill increase sought by Bush and Sims would have raised that additional cost to $202.68 per year, or $16.89 a month, for homeowners without an exemption.