Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for August 27, 2019

Advertising in the rights of way of state roads and placing signs on private property without the owner’s approval were prohibited in the first Georgia law regulating outdoor advertising, which was signed by Governor Richard Russell on August 27, 1931. Over the years, both practices would become enshrined in Peach State political strategy.

Former Georgia Governor Lester Maddox was nominated for President on the American Independent Party ticket on August 27, 1976, making the race probably the only one to ever feature two former Georgia governors. During the campaign, Maddox described Jimmy Carter as “the most dishonest man I ever met.”

On August 27, 1982, Oakland Athletics outfielder Rickey Henderson broke the record for stolen bases in a season, nabbing number 119 against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Georgia Governor Zell Miller addressed the Democratic National Convention on August 27, 1996. In 2004, Miller would address the Republican National Convention, likely becoming the first Georgian to address both major parties’ national conventions. Congressman John Lewis and Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney also addressed the ’96 DNC. That day, President Bill Clinton signed a Welfare Reform bill, called the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.

On August 27, 2008, Barack Obama became the Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, the first African-American nominee of a major United States political party.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Governor Brian Kemp ordered flags on state buildings and properties to fly at half-staff on Wednesday, August 28, 2019 in memory of the late Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Goss.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has ruled the death of Judge Goss a suicide, according to the Rockdale Newton Citizen.

Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler said the death of Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Goss has been determined to be a suicide.

Goss’ body was sent to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab, where an autopsy was performed at 7:30 a.m. on Monday morning. Fowler announced the results of the autopsy in a midday news conference.

Fowler stated clearly that special care was taken to investigate the incident thoroughly.

“I would like for (the public) to trust the investigation,” the coroner said. “We did not rush through this. We took our time and went through it. It is a suicide; it is not a homicide. I just think we need to keep the family in prayer.”

“I would not put something out there that is not true.”

“Judge Goss was a man who brought so much dignity and compassion to the delivery of justice all across this great state,” Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton said upon learning of Goss’ death. “He was a national figure, known for his work on mental health and substance abuse treatment programs. His legacy is as great as our sense of loss.”

“Our Court and this state’s judiciary express our profound condolences to the Goss family.”

Governor Kemp spoke to MerionWest about his governing strategy.

So now moving on to some of the more expressively economic things—when you spoke with us during the interview during the campaign, you described how you were running into various regulations when you were in construction and that a priority for your office would be to, “look into ridiculous and redundant or outdated government regulations.” And now you’ve been doing this with this Four Point Plan and looking to cut, “obsolete and unnecessary hurdles.” So could you talk about some of the regulations you’re looking at considering and how they might help to promote this pro business climate in Georgia? I see outside your office that picture on the wall of the various companies coming here, and that gets a lot of press—how do you see that intersecting with your effort at looking at regulations?

BK: We’re very proud of Georgia’s economic climate and our business environment. We’ve been the number one state in the country for six years in a row from a site selection standpoint. CNBC just moved us up a notch—from number seven to number six on best states for business. So we have a lot of great things going on here, but I ran for office the first time back in the early 2000’s because I was frustrated with government, and I’ve been in the private sector as a small business person for over 30 years, including today. So we’re still dealing with taxes, we’re dealing with insurance, we’re dealing with regulations and bureaucracy and red tape. And also being in government—on the government side—I’ve seen how that hinders people that we were trying to give better service to. And I did a lot to make that better when I was Secretary of State: tackling issues in our call centers to make more efficient use of private sector technology. We train people to manage that. We used information technology and IT services to do a better job—to do more work with less people. When you think about corporate filings, we changed the whole system in the Secretary of State’s office—our voter registration system, which started doing more work for the county election officials without more people and saving them work. That is the kind of things that we’ve done to cut bureaucracy, cut red tape, and make government more efficient. So as promised, during the campaign, I signed an executive order the first day I was in office at this desk right behind us here and created the Georgians First Commission.

And you had mentioned that even in the campaign interview. That that was what you wanted to do the first day in office. And you mentioned that when we spoke even before the runoff of this longstanding plan.

BK: Yes, so it fulfilled that promise, and it appointed a lot of great small business folks from all over the state—a lot of different backgrounds. When you think about their businesses: an IT lawyer, innovation lawyer that’s helping startup businesses. We have a guy that owns a restaurant and is a real estate guy. We have a guy that owns hotels, and they’re from all over the state; and they’re literally going and talking to people every single day asking them, “What is it we need to be doing in state government to cut down on bureaucracy? Red Tape? Redundancy? Looking at tax environments.” Access to capital is a big issue with small business people. And so they’re moving the needle on that. They’ve got a great small business survey on their website. Just go to Google “Georgian First Commission” and you can go on and take the small business survey and give them your feedback. So those are the kinds of the kinds of things, the recommendations that they’re going to be coming back with is what we’ll be working on this session. And some of it maybe even over the next year or two to move us to build off where we are and takes to the next level and make Georgia number one for small business too.

I wanted to ask you about the state income tax, which I understand was recently lowered from 6% to 5.75%, and now there’s talks underway to bring it down further to 5.5%. And I remember there were some rumors floating around around 2015—in U.S. News and World Reports about and other [outlets]—about maybe South Carolina and Georgia looking to phase it down even further maybe towards 0%. What are your thoughts about the state income tax? Some folks like me from up north—I remember in North Carolina, for example, when I first moved down there, it was 7.75%, and they brought it down under McCory. So where do you see the debate on the state income tax in Georgia and [other Southern states]?

BK: I certainly support the tax cut we’ve had in Georgia. We’ve got another one slated for the first week in session. The legislature has voted on a resolution to further cut the tax the first week. I’m certainly supportive of that, but we gotta be able to pay for it. And that’s the one reason that we’ve taken a very conservative approach to our budgeting in the state so we can be able to fund our priorities: like tax cuts, teacher pay raise.

It’s an excellent interview that I recommend reading in its entirety.

Gov. Kemp spoke last week to the ALpharetta Rotary Club, according to the Dunwoody Crier.

Speaking at the Aug. 23 Alpharetta Rotary Club Meeting at Alpharetta Presbyterian Church, Kemp updated the capacity crowd on his latest legislative efforts and changes coming to Georgia.

“As you all know, on the campaign trail, I made a lot of promises,” Kemp said. “I talked about making Georgia No. 1 for small business, reforming state government, investing in education and keeping taxes low… Over and over again — not just myself, but also the people who have been serving with me down there in the Capitol — we have been keeping our promises.”

Education was one of the top priorities. The state not only fully funded the school district formula for the second year in the row, Kemp said, they have also passed a flat $3,000 pay raise for all certified teachers in the state to help with retention rates.

“We were losing 44 percent of our educators in the first five years that they got into the profession,” Kemp said. “It’s happening in urban areas. It’s happening in suburban areas. It’s happening in rural areas.”

“We must budget conservatively, save for a rainy day, and keep our taxes low,” Kemp said. “The time to do this is when we’re in a great economy instead of waiting for a disaster to make government more efficient. We should do this now, because it helps us fund our priorities for today and tomorrow.”

Gov. Kemp addressed President Trump’s trade policy in a meeting in Peachtree Corners, according to WABE.

He spoke in Peachtree Corners to a group of Vietnamese-American small business-owners Monday at an event sponsored by Trump’s reelection campaign. Much of the discussion revolved around contentment with the current strength of the economy, but one question asked how the tariffs flying back and forth between the U.S. and China might dampen that growth.

Kemp said he’s heard from Georgia companies that are both hurting and benefiting from the tariffs. He argued China has been “taking advantage of us” a long time and said he believes the government waited too long to “fight this battle.”

“I think we have to continue to trust the President, Senator [David] Perdue, Secretary [Sonny] Perdue, really the whole team he’s got working on that,” Kemp responded. “The one thing I have heard is most people know why we’re in the trade war.”

“I remain hopeful that a lot of this that’s gone on recently is just posturing. And the president said over the weekend they were back to the negotiating table,” he said. “I’m very optimistic about where we are, and we’ve just got to continue to fight on through until they get a trade deal done.”

Members of Georgia’s Congressional delegation are questioning dock fee hikes by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to the AJC.

U.S. Reps. Doug Collins, Jody Hice and Barry Loudermilk are not satisfied with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ explanation for plans to increase dock fees by up to $660 at bodies of water including Lake Lanier and Lake Allatoona.

Lakefront residents, including Collins, first learned about the planned increase in letters sent by the Army Corps in June. Since 2006, new five-year permits have cost $400 and renewals have cost $175 on seven Corps-managed Georgia lakes. The agency announced in its letter to dock owners that new and renewed permits would both go up to $835 as of Jan. 1, 2020.

Collins, Hice, Loudermilk and three fellow congressmembers sent the Army Corps a letter in June asking the agency to explain the increases. Brig. Gen. Diana Holland, commander for the corps’ South Atlantic Division, responded, saying the cost was determined by calculating administrative costs and passing those costs on to dockholders.

The group of congressmembers send Holland a follow-up letter Monday, saying their initial questions were “not sufficiently answered.” The letter also asks why residents were not asked or warned in advance of the rise in fees. The congressmembers charge that this could violate a federal statute that requires agencies to publish notice of plans to change a rule or make a new rule.

Hundreds attended an Atlanta City Council meeting to discuss banning e-scooters, according to the AJC.

The meeting, held in city council chambers, was called after four people died in electric scooter accidents since May. One of those deaths occurred outside the city limits.

As complaints, injuries and e-scooter-related deaths have mounted, city officials have turned to various measures for help. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has issued executive orders prohibiting new permits and banning their use after 9 p.m.

The city is considering further regulations that would limit the number of scooters and how to create protected bike lanes with temporary barriers.

“Our streets are too dangerous,” said Councilwoman Jennifer Ide. “It’s tragic that it has taken people dying to get this point.”

Democrat Sarah Riggs Amico will run for the United States Senate in the wake of her company filing for bankruptcy, according to the AJC.

Sarah Riggs Amico entered the race for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, making her the third Democrat to challenge Republican David Perdue in a contest that could help determine control of the chamber.

Amico is launching her run less than a year after she lost the race for Georgia lieutenant governor, and weeks after the car-hauling business she led filed for bankruptcy protection.

In an hour-long interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Amico said her company’s financial struggles clinched her decision to challenge Perdue, a first-term incumbent and ally of President Donald Trump.

Democrats consider Georgia crucial to regain control of the U.S. Senate, though they’ve lacked a big-name candidate since Abrams decided against a run.

Instead, two lower-profile Democrats have announced challenges: Clarkston Mayor Ted Terry and former Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson. Jon Ossoff, who raised $30 million for his unsuccessful run in the 2017 special election for the 6th District, is also considering a bid.

Perdue’s allies immediately drew a line between the bankruptcy and Amico’s candidacy. John Burke, head of the pro-Perdue Georgia Action Fund, said Amico “ran her company into the ground but now she’s asking Georgia families for a new job.”

“Amico mismanaged her family business into bankruptcy and legal jeopardy, she can’t be trusted to be an advocate for the people of this state in the nation’s most important deliberative body,” he said.

Cohutta will have municipal elections in November and no one qualified on the first day, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen.

The seats held by J. Shane Kornberg and Shelia Rose are up for election.

Qualifying continues Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the office of the city clerk in the Town Hall. There is a $75 qualifying fee.

Alto in Habersham County will reopen qualifying for Town Council Post 2 after nobody stepped forward to run, according to AccessWDUN.

At the request of the Town of Alto, Habersham County Elections Superintendent Laurel Ellison has reopened qualifying for the vacant Post 2 seat on the town council.

In accordance with OCGA 21-2-32(c)(3)(B), Ellison said Monday afternoon that qualifying was open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday.

No one qualified for the Post 2 seat last week.

That seat, left vacant by the resignation of John Closs, has been open for about 2.5 years with no qualifiers during several Special Elections to fill it, Ellison said.

Canton City Council voted to leave a seat vacant until March, according to the Cherokee Tribune.

The Gainesville Times spoke to candidates for Gainesville City Council in the November 5 elections.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency proposed a delay on requirements for environmental controls on pilot boats, according to the Savannah Morning News.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced a proposed rule that gives Savannah’s harbor pilots more time to comply with required pollution controls on their boats.

When the national marine diesel engine program was approved, regulators didn’t realize the impact on smaller critical vessels like pilot boats that transport the local maritime pilots to and from the container ships they pilot into and out of the port, said EPA Region 4 Administrator Mary S. Walker. Also impacted are lobster fishing boats.

“Given that there are not that many pilot boats and lobster boats being produced, manufacturers really needed the time to design a vessel and an engine that would work together to provide the needed emission controls with the power y’all need,” Walker said at a roundtable discussion at Georgia Ports Authority headquarters Monday.

At the roundtable discussion, U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-District 1, who pushed for the delay, said the bar pilots were in need of a new boat but there wasn’t a manufacturer who could meet the new requirements. For pilot boats the pollution control requirements would be delayed until 2022.

“When we talk about the cargo out here getting ship to shore it really does take a whole team,” he said. “And the bar pilots play an important role in that making sure the ships get into dock and making sure they get in there safely. They have to have the equipment to make sure they do that.”

Opioid prescription numbers are falling in Georgia, according to the Associated Press.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports new figures released by the state Public Health Department show prescriptions for opioids fell 13% from 2016 to 2018.

Preliminary numbers show opioid-related overdose deaths of Georgia residents dropped by 12% between 2017 and 2018, falling from 996 to 873. Opioid deaths dropped 2% nationwide.

Laura Edison, an epidemiologist at the state’s Public Health Department, says reducing prescription helps cut addiction and illicit resales. She notes Georgia’s requirement that physicians and dentists check a state prescription database before prescribing new drugs.

“Getting these drugs off the street and keeping people who have alternatives to opioids from using opioids to manage their pain is going to help prevent addiction and overdose,” Edison said.

One statistic that could indicate addiction — the number of patients who got such prescriptions from five or more doctors, dispensed at five or more pharmacies — fell by more than half from 2016 to 2018. That number is now 12.2 people per 100,000, down from 30.8.

The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office will spend $1.9 million dollars on the federal 287(g) program, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

The Sheriff’s Office was one of several departments which presented their 2020 business plans to the citizens budget review committee. There wasn’t much mention of the 287(g) program — the presentation instead focused heavily on the 95 new positions, including 79 sworn deputies, that Sheriff Butch Conway wants in the budget — but a few slides did show it will continue to have a presence in Gwinnett next year.

One of the slides, which outlined the areas of the Sheriff’s Office’s proposed $104.9 million 2020 operating budget showed Conway is planning to spend $1.94 million on participation the 287(g) program next year. After the presentation ended, Chief Deputy Bill Walsh said the money covered the salaries and benefits for about 18 deputies at the jail who deal with 287(g) cases.

“That’s salaries for the deputies and it’s really important to state that they’re deputies assigned to 287(g), that does not preclude them from doing other jobs within the facility, providing security and assisting in admissions,” Walsh said. “Their primary duty is (287(g)) but they’re still a deputy sheriff and if they’re asked to, they can perform other duties.”

Commissioners have previously said that while they can set the amount of money allocated to Conway’s office in the county’s annual budget, the fact that the office of sheriff is a constitutional office in Georgia means they do not have the ability to tell him how he can spend the money he receives in the budget.

While the commissioners have, in the past, voted on renewing participation in 287(g) as a formality, Conway opted to forego that route and renewed it himself earlier this year.

Walsh said, “This is something Sheriff Conway, and the Sheriff’s Office sees as being able to make the community safer. No one who is brought to our facility is brought there because they were walking down the street and we checked to see whether they were here legally or not. That’s one thing that’s really important.”

Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter is asking for increased staffing levels to accomodate plans to add more judges, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

A new Gwinnett Superior Court position is coming in January, and District Attorney Danny Porter told a budget review committee on Monday that he’ll need additional staff to accommodate the new seat on the bench.

Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation creating an 11th seat on the county’s Superior Court bench into law earlier this year. That act gave the county nearly year to prepare, but as county departments began making their 2020 budget requests this week, Porter said his office needs to look at staffing to get ready for the new judge.

“We are victims of forces that are beyond our control,” Porter said. “In last year’s legislature, the legislature approved an 11th Superior Court judge for Gwinnett County. You would think that that would just be the judge, but in fact you’ll hear as this budget committee goes on, not only from me, but almost every other affected department, that an 11th judge requires a support staff …”

In all, Porter is asking for nearly $1.69 million in requests for new positions and equipment — requests that are also known as “decision packages” in the business plan presentation process taking place this week. The district attorney is seeking a total proposed 2020 general budget of $19 million for his office.

The Glynn County Commission‘s Finance Committee is considering using an consultant to develop and implement an impact fee, according to The Brunswick News.

The commission will look at both countywide impact fees and fees specifically for St. Simons and Sea islands, according to a draft contract with impact fee consultant Ross Associates.

Impact fees are imposed on developers to offset the cost of the public serves or infrastructure needed to serve new development.

“Ross Associates’ services will include advice and assistance to Glynn County in general on impact fee matters, the preparation of an impact fee methodology report (including all impact fee calculations), preparation of a capital improvements element, the preparation of a final impact fee schedule for adoption, preparation of an impact fee ordinance conforming to all current state law requirements and assistance to staff in implementing the program,” the contract states.

As for the proceeds, the contract states the fees would go towards roads and bridges, stormwater drainage, flood control, bank and shore protection, parks, recreation areas and related facilities, public safety facilities and libraries, among other things.

Hall County School District adopted a new 10-year facilities plan, according to AccessWDUN.

Members of the school board unanimously approved the plan, which includes the construction of a new middle school and the replacement of some aging elementary school buildings, at a meeting Monday night.

District Superintendent Will Schofield said the plan cannot be financed, however, without the passage of ESPLOST VI and a bond referendum; both of those questions will go before Hall County voters in March 2020.

The Rome City Commission banned ATVs on public streets, according to the Rome News Tribune.

Rome City Commissioners unanimously adopted two ordinances Monday that ban fireworks and all-terrain vehicles on public property.

City Manager Sammy Rich said the regulations clarify their use.

“We all know ATVs can’t be ridden on public streets, but we had a court case thrown out recently because of an ambiguity,” he told the board.

The fireworks ordinance also makes it clear that fireworks are limited to people age 18 and older and they can’t be shot off at parks, recreation areas or other public property without a permit.

The Glynn County 2016 SPLOST Oversight Committee will hear updates for projects funded by the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, according to The Brunswick News.

Port Wentworth City Council member Debbie Johnson is suing a resident alleging defamation, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Johnson claims in the court filing from Aug. 8 that Jodi Hawks of Port Wentworth has posted defamatory statements about Johnson on Facebook.

Statements on Facebook that Johnson claims are defamatory include that Johnson has acted “illegally, is corrupt, has potentially committed a crime, and engaged in unethical behavior.”

Johnson’s complaint states that in addition to defamatory statements on Facebook, Hawks has “taken various steps to disrupt and tarnish plaintiff’s relationship with her employer.”

She claims that emails and documents requested by Hawks from her employer were an attempt to cause problems at her job.

Johnson’s complaint also states that Hawks’ conduct was malicious and has caused Johnson physical injury as well as emotional distress.