Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for December 13, 2021

On December 13, 1636, the Massachusetts Bay Colony General Court organized three regiments of militia to guard against attacks by the Pequot Indians. That day is recognized as the birth of the National Guard.

Echols County, Georgia was created by the Georgia General Assembly on December 13, 1858.

Former Georgia Governor Ellis Arnall died on December 13, 1992. Arnall served in the State House, as Speaker, Attorney General, and in 1942 at the age of 35, was elected Governor.

Arnall also led the fight to outlaw the poll tax and the white primary, and is noted for making Georgia the first state to allow 18-year-olds to vote. He is further remembered for his role in obtaining a new state constitution for Georgia in 1945.

Al Gore conceded the presidential election to George W. Bush on December 13, 2000.

The late Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe will be awarded the Medal of Honor at the White House on December 16, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, a Fort Benning soldier who died after rescuing six comrades and an interpreter from a burning vehicle during fighting in Iraq, will be awarded the Medal of Honor during a ceremony Dec. 16, White House officials announced Friday. The announcement comes 16 years after Cashe’s death.

Cashe will be the first Black service member awarded the Medal of Honor for fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq.

Cashe will be awarded the Medal of Honor for the heroic actions he took Oct. 17, 2005, after a roadside bomb ruptured the fuel cell of the vehicle he was riding in during a patrol near Samarra, Iraq.

The citation written for Cashe’s Silver Star award outlined his actions that day. At the time, Cashe was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. It was based at Fort Benning before the Iraq deployment.

He made multiple trips to the burning vehicle. He pulled six soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter from the wreckage. Cashe suffered second and third-degree burns over 72% of his body, and he refused evacuation until the other wounded soldiers were taken to safety.

Cashe died from the injuries he suffered on Nov. 8, 2005, at Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He was 35.

Cashe will receive the honor alongside two other service members: Master Sgt. Earl Plumlee, a Green Beret who fought off Taliban suicide bombers in Afghanistan in 2013; and Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Celiz, who was killed while protecting a U.S. helicopter evacuating soldiers from Taliban fighters in 2018, said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

Celiz was an Army Ranger assigned to Hunter Army Airfield near Savannah, Georgia.

Cashe’s award comes after President Joe Biden awarded Columbus resident Col. Ralph Puckett Jr. the Medal of Honor earlier this year for his heroic actions during the Korean War.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Governor Brian Kemp spoke to Fox News about his reelection campaign.

I’ve been preparing for 30 years for a really tough reelection cycle, this is a battle for the soul of our state, nothing surprises me in politics these days. I’ve been in the fight to keep our economy up, to keep our kids in the classroom, to make sure our church is never closed in Georgia. I’ve been in a fight standing with law enforcement officials and our men and women on the ground every day. The other side wants to do exactly the opposite of that, that is what the fight for the soul of this state is going to be about. Them [Democrats] wanting to close down, not having our kids in school, not wanting our churches to be open, not having a great economy. Defunding the police. If anybody else is getting in that fight you have to ask them why.

David Perdue has filed a lawsuit over the 2020 election results, according to the Associated Press via WTVM.

The newly announced candidate on Friday joined a lawsuit claiming fraudulent ballots were counted in Fulton County in the 2020 general election.

Former President Donald Trump is backing Perdue in his challenge to incumbent GOP Gov. Brian Kemp, citing Kemp’s failure to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss.

The lawsuit largely repeats one dismissed in October. Perdue says he has better standing to sue because he was on the 2020 ballot.

Georgia rent increases were among the highest in the nation, according to 13WMAZ.

The survey, conducted by LendingTree service QuoteWizard, found that the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the Peach State was nearly $1,200 – up by 22% since January.

According to the survey, that puts Georgia up 27% since 2019.

The findings track with earlier reports that find steep increases in the city of Atlanta and its suburbs since the pandemic.

“Right to Farm” legislation will be pushed again during the legislative session, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Albany Herald.

“There’s no bigger issue to our organization than right to farm,” Will Bentley, president of the Georgia Agribusiness Council, told members of the Georgia House Rural Development Council Dec. 8. “It’s becoming more and more of an issue around the state.”

The Right to Farm Act would make it harder for property owners living in areas zoned for agricultural use to file nuisance lawsuits against nearby farms or livestock operations. The Georgia Senate passed the bill during the 2020 legislative session, but it fizzled in the state House of Representatives.

After staying quiet during this year’s session, groups including the agribusiness council, the Georgia Farm Bureau, the Georgia Forestry Association and the Georgia Poultry Federation are vowing to renew their campaign in support of the measure during the 2022 session.

“Trial attorneys can put farms and agribusiness out of business,” state Rep. Robert Dickey, R-Musella, chairman of the House Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee, said. “That’s what we’re trying to prevent.”

But supporters of updating the Right to Farm Act say new farming operations are most in need of protection from nuisance suits because Georgia is running out of sparsely populated areas where residential encroachment has not occurred.

The Georgia State Senate Study Committee on Nonpartisan Elections for Local School Board Members heard from interested parties, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post.

More than 100 of Georgia’s 180 elected school boards are already nonpartisan, and a bill introduced in the Senate during the recent special session would switch the Gwinnett County Board of Education from a partisan to a nonpartisan board.

The Gwinnett parents who testified at the state Capitol Friday complained that the local board has become more partisan since the last election, when the board shifted from entirely Republican to majority Democrat.

Quarrels over mask mandates and curriculum have taken attention away from quality education, said Michael Rudnick, a North Gwinnett parent.

“Our school system has been hijacked by politics. It’s very divisive,” he said. “If we can take partisanship out of it, we could be more focused on success for our children.”

The study committee will hold a second meeting next Thursday at Gwinnett Technical College in Lawrenceville.

Click here to view video from the meeting.

Two Augusta-area state legislators will hold a joint district meeting, according to WJBF.

Representative Jodi Lott and Senator Max Burns will participate in an event they are calling “An Hour” on Wednesday, December 15.

The event will be a live forum discussing up-to-date information on their bills and current affairs.

It will take place at 6 p.m. at Mi Rancho Restaurant at 4100 Gateway Blvd, #1 in Grovetown.

State Rep. Tommy Benton (R-Jefferson) announced he will not run for reelection in 2022, according to the Jackson Herald Today.

Benton has represented most of Jackson County in the Georgia House of Representatives for nearly two decades.

Speaking on his decision not to seek reelection, Benton said he “felt like it was time.”

State Senator Michelle Au (D-North Fulton) will run for State House after her Senate district became more Republican, according to the AJC.

State Sen. Michelle Au, a Johns Creek Democrat, said she made the practical decision to switch races and run for the House seat now held by Democratic state Rep. Angelika Kausche, who isn’t seeking reelection.

“I compare it to getting a bad diagnosis,” said Au, who is a physician. “You eventually say, ‘This is what we’re working with and now we’re going to have to move on.’”

“We look at what our goals are. I realize that my goal in doing any of this is to keep doing the work. It’s not about ego, it’s not about the title, which seat you’re sitting in, which desk you’re at. It has to be about doing the work.”

House District 50, which Au declared her candidacy for on Friday, will continue to be a safely Democratic district, according to analysis by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The new Senate District 48 includes parts of north Fulton County and swaps voters from Democratic Gwinnett County for more conservative voters in Forsyth County. The AJC’s analysis shows voters in the district swing from supporting Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 to voting for Republican Donald Trump.

But Au said that when she studied the results of local races, Democratic candidates fared even less well than Biden in the new district.

“In down-ticket races, it’s a far more Republican seat than it even appears,” she said. “My assessment after a lot of consideration — and I agonized about this — is I don’t think that seat is winnable for a Democrat, at least not in the short term.”

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has trained more facilitators for its Victim Offender Dialogue Program, according to WTVM.

The board’s Victim Offender Dialogue program has been in the state for about 10 years. Their Office of Victim Services has 29 facilitators throughout the state and recently finished training an additional 10.

This program gives victims of a violent crime a chance to sit down with offenders face to face.

Trained facilitators meet with both parties for months, separately, in preparation. The offender must agree to the meeting and acknowledge the crime they committed.

“It is one of the most impactful programs that the board supports through our Office of Victim Services,” said Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles Public Affairs Director Steve Hayes. “I think some of the feedback has been that victims feel like their voice is finally being heard and that’s probably most what they take away from it, that they were able to express their grief and the impact of the crime.”

The Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education set new rules and procedures for the restart of in-person meetings, according to the Savannah Morning News.

“This is our first time to be back in person with the public here and I think it is fiercely important that we as a board affirm what our standing on rules and regulations for appearances and attendance at our meetings,” said Board President Joe Buck.

Citizens are welcomed to speak, Buck said, but they will have to be civil.

“More importantly, I’m acutely aware of the increased interest in public school boards across the nation,” he said. “In the past several months, we’ve had visitors to our meetings who use the meeting as a means to express that anger and their unhappiness.”

The new rules stipulate that “all comments shall be made in a professional manner that is not disruptive to the meeting” and that “guests should avoid name-calling toward staff/board members and should avoid using profanity.”

Buck said as president of the board he will not allow anyone from the public to scream, yell or exhibit rude behavior in the boardroom, and he reserved the right to call anyone out of order who violates the rules.

Hall County Commissioners are considering streamlining some meeting procedures, according to AccessWDUN.

Hall County will now require only one reading and one public hearing prior to a vote on a resolution or an ordinance, simplifying the handling of many of the items brought before the Hall County Commission for consideration.

“It’s just easier to pass things. Most local governments don’t have a double reading requirement.” Bill Linkous, Deputy Hall County Attorney, said after Thursday’s county commission meeting where the resolution making the change was read for the required second time.

“So this is the second reading that says we only need one reading?” Commissioner Billy Powell asked rhetorically with a smile.

Whitfield County Commissioners will vote on redistricting maps, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen News.

Whitfield County residents will have an opportunity to view and ask questions about proposed new districts for members of the Board of Commissioners when the commissioners meet Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Stage 123, 123 W. Gordon St. in Dalton.

Commissioners are scheduled to vote to approve the new district lines and send them to the state legislature for final approval.

A map of the proposed districts has been posted at the county website, www.whitfieldcountyga.com.

“I’ve been given a copy of the map,” said Commissioner Barry Robbins. “I want to examine it a little more closely, see more details of the boundaries. I want to make sure that the districts are pretty equal in population. But I am comfortable with what I have seen. It looks good, and I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t hold up under a closer examination.”

Floyd County Commissioners will appoint members to a newly-constituted Board of Elections, according to the Rome News Tribune.

In November, Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill into law that dissolved the former three-member board and replaced it with a new five-member board.

The law sets up the structure and method of appointment. Commissioners get lists of candidates from the local Republican and Democratic parties and choose two from each roster. The fifth member will be the nonpartisan chair, chosen by the county commission.

Terms are for four years, beginning Dec. 1. However, initially one each of the partisan appointees will serve just through 2022, to set up a staggered system going forward.

Tuesday’s agenda also includes the second and final public hearing for the Floyd County 2022 budget.

The budget includes a pay plan increase for all county employees ranging from $1,200 to $3,900. The higher end of the range will be for Floyd County jail officers who needed a major pay scale correction, County Manager Jamie McCord said.

Gwinnett County will train “Navigators” to help residents with county issues, according to the AJC.

The navigators are part of the OneStop 4 HELP program, which helps residents with needs including hunger, health and housing, according to a news release. Residents can complete assistance request forms at GwinnettOneStop.com. The program helps with employment, food, shelter, legal consultation, mental and behavioral health, substance use, transportation, utilities and other issues.

The navigators identify which groups can best help each resident and provide the appropriate contact information. They talk residents through the process of getting help, assist with applications if necessary and follow up.

They can be reached by phone at 770-822-8850 or email at OneStopHelp@GwinnettCounty.com. According to the county, they can soon be visited in person at the OneStop facilities in Buford, Centerville and Norcross.

“People who need help are often at wit’s end, exhausted or intimidated by the processes necessary to get the help they need,” said Regina Miller, deputy director of Gwinnett’s community services department, in the news release. “Having someone to assist residents through the system will help them get back on their feet again. A little personal help early in the process will pay dividends in the end.”

Clarkesville City Council member Steven Ward died, according to NowHabersham.

Ward was first elected to the Clarkesville City Council in 2017. He was re-elected to a second term this past November.

In a statement on the city’s Facebook page, Clarkesville officials expressed their “deep sorrow” in announcing Ward’s death. “His service and deep devotion to the City of Clarkesville will be missed,” it says.

“Steven served the city with a willing spirit and a keen financial mind,” Mayor Barrie Aycock tells Now Habersham. “He will be greatly missed by all of us at the city.”

The Rome News Tribune profiles three Democratic candidates who are lining up to ~~serve as tribute~~ lose the 2022 General Election for the 14th Congressional District to Republican incumnent Marjorie Taylor Greene.