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.
President George Washington died at Mount Vernon on December 14, 1799. Here’s an article about the nation’s mourning for our first President.
The Congress, in session at the capital of Philadelphia when Washington’s death was announced, immediately adjourned. The House of Representatives assembled the next day and resolved to shroud the Speaker’s chair in black and have members wear black during the remainder of the session. On December 23, John Marshall speaking for the joint committee of both houses, presented five points that became the foundation for the United States’ first “state” funeral. Resolutions structured mourning events around public commemorations that fostered unity and a sense of national identity among grieving Americans.
Echols County, Georgia was created by the Georgia General Assembly on December 13, 1858.
President William McKinley addressed the Georgia General Assembly on December 14, 1898.
On December 14, 1939, a parade was held through downtown Atlanta with stars from Gone With the Wind and the Junior League held a ball that night. The next day, December 15, 1939, Gone With the Wind held its world premiere at Loew’s Grand Theater in Atlanta.
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.
On December 14, 2020, early voting began for the January 5, 2021 Runoff elections in which incumbent United States Senator David Perdue lost his seat and gave away the GOP Senate majority to Democrat Jon Ossoff.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Lula City Council members voted to remove Council member Gene Bramlett from his office, according to AccessWDUN.
The Lula City Council and members of the public were present for the public hearing, citing that Gene Bramlett had previously shared information about a potential Assistant City Manager position with members of the public earlier this year.
The allegations brought before the council stated that Bramlett had leaked information about city personnel and hiring decisions to the media following a July 10, 2023 executive session.
Bramlett’s defense stated that the information that was shared wasn’t confidential since other members of the public reportedly knew about it already.
This defense fell flat to the council, as the prosecution noted that it isn’t Bramlett’s sole decision to declassify information, regardless of the public already knowing any aspects of that information.
“I’ll make a motion for the removal of Mr. Bramlett on the following grounds as indicated in the charge documents,” Cornett said. “Item one: incompetence, misfeasance or malfeasance in office pursuant to section 2.17, A-1, and item number two, pursuant to section 2.17, A-4 for knowingly violating section 2.163, by disclosing confidential information concerning the government and affairs of the governmental body without proper legal authorization, and using such information to advance the private interests of yourself.”
A parade of hearses in Albany will highlight the impact of violent crime, according to the Albany Herald.
Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler has invited area church ministers and the public to gather for a program at the Government Center at about 2:40 p.m. on Tuesday when the hearses arrive at their destination.
The number of hearses corresponds to the 20 homicide victims slain so far in 2023, plus one for Nigel Brown, a 9-year-old who was slain in his bed during an Aug. 8, 2021, nighttime drive-by shooting in which he was an unintended victim. Each hearse will bear the name of one of the victims.
The last such procession was held in 2017, and about 400 people attended, the coroner, who is also a minister, said on Tuesday.
“The big impact was riding down the road with all those lights on, bringing awareness to the city,” he said.
Of the 20 2023 slayings in the city through Tuesday, 19 were black-on-black violence and nearly all were committed with firearms, the coroner said.
“To date, we have less than 100,000 people in Albany and we stand neck-and-neck with cities much larger than ours with 20 people who have died by another person taking their lives, senselessly,” Fowler said.
Albany’s homicide rate is 26 for every 100,000 people – that’s more than cities like Philadelphia, Washington DC, even Chicago. Albany has had one fewer homicide than Zone 5 in Atlanta — which covers the downtown area.
“It’s senseless killings. A person dies prematurely who was not supposed to die, then another child is going to wind up going to jail. So in a sense, you took two lives,” Fowler said. “This is serious. When you see a hearse coming down the road — that many hearers coming down the road, I hope it makes a child think twice.”
Governor Brian Kemp and Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to end to the “water wars,” according to a Press Release.
Governor Brian P. Kemp of Georgia and Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama announced today that they have reached an agreement with the United States Army Corps of Engineers expected to end a lawsuit brought by Alabama while assuring both states’ citizens who live and work in the Mid- and Lower Chattahoochee River Basin of sufficient minimum water flows during times of drought.
“This agreement is a win-win for our states, with neither side sacrificing what is important to them,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “The Chattahoochee River is the lifeblood of southwest Georgia, and this proposal would give citizens and businesses certainty about the flow of water they need for business and leisure alike. Just as significant, adoption of this proposal would end the current issues related to water supply for metro Atlanta at Lake Lanier, which is crucial to the future of our State. As we put this chapter behind us, I’m thankful for the diligent efforts of Attorney General Chris Carr; my Executive Counsel David Dove; John Allen, Shelly Ellerhorst, and the entire team at KMCL Law; and so many others whose work has made our state proud.”
“I agree with Governor Kemp that this is a win-win solution for both Alabama and Georgia,” Governor Ivey said. “Alabama and Georgia have a lot in common. But we have spent a lot of time — and a lot of money on attorney fees — fighting in court over water. This proposal is a big deal for Alabama as the Corps has never before set minimum water-flow objectives in the parts of the Chattahoochee that affect us. It would provide Alabama with long-term assurances that, in times of drought, our citizens will be protected, and our stakeholders will know how much water is coming their way.”
Under the agreement, the Corps of Engineers will begin formally considering a first-of-its-kind proposal to operate its dams and reservoirs to achieve minimum water-flow objectives at Columbus, Georgia, and Columbia, Alabama on the Chattahoochee River along the States’ border. The proposal also provides that the Corps would continue to maintain the necessary minimum elevation at Lake Seminole, located in southwest Georgia, approximately twenty miles southwest of Bainbridge.
The proposal is being made to resolve litigation Alabama brought challenging the Corps’ operations in the region, including the Corps’ policy allowing Georgia to make water-supply withdrawals near Atlanta. Although this specific case was filed in 2017, litigation between the parties over these issues has been in the courts since 1990.
The Corps’ consideration of the proposal will be subject to a public-comment period and environmental review that could last several months. If the Corps adopts the proposal, Alabama will dismiss its appeal in this matter following a one-year review period, and the litigation will end. If the Corps does not adopt the proposal, Alabama’s lawsuit will resume.
Both governors thanked and commended state officials who have been essential to bringing about this agreement — Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, as well as officials in the Alabama Office of Water Resources and the Georgia Department of Environmental Protection. The governors also thanked the Corps of Engineers for its willingness to initiate the formal process of considering this proposal.
This agreement represents a spirit of cooperation that both Governors Ivey and Kemp hope to continue as we seek the best outcomes for our shared river basins.
From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Athens Banner Herald:
If the Corps adopts the agreement following a public-comment period, Alabama will drop a lawsuit it brought in 2017 challenging the federal agency’s operations in the region, including the Corps’ policy allowing Georgia to make water-supply withdrawals near Atlanta.
While this specific lawsuit is only 6 years old, the so-called tri-state “water wars” between Georgia, Alabama, and Florida date back to 1990.
The agreement announced Tuesday is the most significant since September 2022, when representatives of water supply systems in Gwinnett, Forsyth and Hall counties finalized an agreement with the state of Georgia guaranteeing them water from Lake Lanier through 2050.
Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Georgia in a lawsuit brought by Florida over water allocation from the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Basin. Steps water planners in the Atlanta region have taken during the last two decades to reduce water consumption figured into that ruling.
“As leaders in water stewardship, we are gratified the parties have come together on an agreement that both protects metro Atlanta’s water supply and provides the downstream flows Alabama requested,” said Katherine Zitsch, senior water policy advisor at the Atlanta Regional Commission.
Tuesday’s agreement is not the end of water wars litigation. Alabama is continuing to pursue a legal challenge to the Corps’ 2021 decision to meet metro Atlanta’s water-supply needs from Allatoona Lake, part of the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin.
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie pandered shamelessly called himself a “Brian Kemp Republican,” according to the AJC.
“I’m proud to be a Brian Kemp Republican. I was with Brian Kemp in 2018 when he ran the first time. I was with him in the primary in 2022 and obviously in the general election as well,” Christie said during the program on WABE. “That’s the kind of Republican that can win in the state of Georgia.”
“I don’t know how much more losing that Donald Trump has to do in Georgia to prove to folks that he can’t win here. That he won’t win here,” Christie said. “And there’s no path for a Republican candidate for president who can’t win the state of Georgia.”
“Eight years ago, the Iowa caucuses were led by Ben Carson. I’m still waiting for the Ben Carson administration. Polls that happen this far out are pretty meaningless. And in the end, what’s going to matter in a general election in Georgia is someone who is going to appeal to independent suburban voters. We’ve seen that over and over again. Brian Kemp was able to appeal broadly to independent voters … while at the same time the Trump-backed candidate, Herschel Walker, lost the Senate seat.”
“Gov. Kemp knows that I would love to have his support. We speak regularly. Usually I speak to him once every week or 10 days to update him. … I don’t think he’s in any rush to make a decision. My sense is, knowing Brian Kemp, he wants to see people vote before he’s going to make any decision on what he’s going to do with any endorsement.”
Plaintiffs who sued over redistricting lines objected to the newly-drawn maps, according to the Associated Press via AccessWDUN.
The people who sued to overturn Georgia’s congressional and state legislative districts on Tuesday attacked plans that Republican state lawmakers claim cure illegal dilution of Black votes while preserving GOP power, calling them a “mockery” of federal law and a “total failure of compliance.”
The three sets of plaintiffs in the case filed briefs with the federal judge who ruled in their favor in October, urging him to reject Georgia’s proposed maps and draw new voting districts himself in time for 2024’s legislative and congressional elections.
U.S. District Judge Steve Jones has scheduled a Dec. 20 hearing on whether he should accept the plans. The state is supposed to file its defense of the plans next week.
“The inescapable conclusion is that the proposed plans do not come close to following the court’s order,” wrote lawyers for one of two sets of plaintiffs challenging state legislative districts. “Putting eyes on the 2023 proposed plans confirms the total failure of compliance.”
“The General Assembly’s attempt to minimize and zero out minority voting opportunity in a purported ‘remedy’ to the state’s Section 2 violation is precisely the sort of gamesmanship Section 2 was meant to stamp out,” wrote lawyers for plaintiffs challenging the state’s congressional map.
The state has signaled that it plans to argue that only districts made up of one nonwhite group, like Black voters, are legally protected, saying that earlier claims of protection for a coalition district rest on indefensible legal foundations. But the plaintiffs argue that protections for minority districts are law in Georgia, writing that “so long as different minority communities cohesively support the same candidates, they can be counted together.”
Attorneys representing Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity on Tuesday filed objections to Georgia’s newly drawn political maps, saying they don’t create more opportunities for Black voters to choose candidates for Congress and the General Assembly.
Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically Black fraternity that’s been active in civil rights causes, and other plaintiffs successfully sued the state over the 2021 maps.
“The 2023 proposed plans fail to address the vote dilution found by this court after (the) trial. They instead perpetuate it,” attorneys wrote in their complaint.
U.S. District Judge Steve Jones scheduled a Dec. 20 hearing on the new district lines while lawmakers were still debating the maps last week. Jones said the maps drawn in 2021 failed to provide adequate opportunities for Black voters, whose population has surged since 2010 while the number of white residents declined.
Republican leaders say they followed Jones’ order, which required them to create one new majority-Black congressional district, two new majority-Black state Senate districts and five new majority-Black state House Districts. But Democrats said during debate on the district lines that the GOP’s maps fall short of the judge’s order because they move around voters in a way that still denies Black voters representation.
If Jones rules that the latest Republican redistricting continues to discriminate against Black voters, he could appoint a mapmaking expert to redraw the state’s maps again. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court could ultimately decide the case.
Georgia election officials have said that districts must be finalized by sometime in January in time to prepare for next year’s elections.
I’m beginning to think we may see changes in the 2024 Primary Election dates due to this kerfuffle.
The Georgia Joint Defense Commission visited Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, according to The Brunswick News.
Former Secretary of Navy William Ball, who served in the 1980s under the Reagan administration, said the visit to Kings Bay was the commission’s final stop during its tour of the state’s military bases. It’s also the first time the commission has visited Kings Bay since it was created by former Gov. Nathan Deal.
“Georgia has a mission in nearly every function of the military,” Ball said. “Our role is to determine what the state can do to support their missions.”
Retired Vice Adm. Al Konetzni, who helped oversee the construction of Kings Bay in its early days, discussed his experience with Kings Bay and the strong relationship the base has with Camden County.
“It’s the closest community I’ve ever seen,” he said.
Capt. Chris Bohner, commanding officer at Kings Bay, explained his role in managing operations on the base to support the six ballistic missile and two guided missile submarines home ported at the base.
Kings Bay is home to 700 Marines, 250 Coast Guardsmen, 6,000 Navy personnel and three Army soldiers. The base also employs 4,000 Department of Defense civilian workers and 3,000 contract employees.
Camden County is also home to 9,000 military retirees, including Konetzni, one of the commission’s newest members.
Warner Robins City Council member Charlie Bibb was present in a voting precinct at which he does not vote on the day of the runoff election he won by a single vote, according to 13WMAZ.
The Houston County Board of Elections Investigation Committee said they believe Councilman Charlie Bibb “was present” at an open polling precinct on election night, according to investigation documents.
As a candidate, Bibb cannot be inside a polling place during an election unless he’s there to vote, according to Georgia election law. The polling place Bibb was accused of being at, Mossy Creek Middle School, was not his polling place.
When the board announced at a public meeting on Dec. 5 and announced they were sending their investigation to the state, they did not clarify if they believed the allegations against Councilman Charlie Bibb were true.
Today, the records reveal the investigation committee does believe Bibb “was present” inside the Mossy Creek Middle School and Houston Health Care Pavilion precincts at different times on election day “before polls closed.”
The conclusion continues, “Such is supported by video evidence and poll manager/worker statements.”
The investigation committee did not, however, believe wore his campaign shirt into the polling location.
Floyd County Commissioners elected Allison Watters to another term as Chair, according to the Rome News Tribune.
Floyd County Commission Chair Allison Watters will serve in that position again in 2024, following a vote by the five-member board. Vice Chair Larry Maxey also was returned to that role.
Watters is up for election next year, along with Commissioner Wright Bagby. Maxey and Commissioners Rhonda Wallace and Scotty Hancock were re-elected in 2022 to four-year terms.
Bulloch County Commissioners set qualifying fees for offices to be elected in 2024, according to the Statesboro Herald.
Candidate qualifying fees for Bulloch County offices and board posts up for election in 2024 range from $72 for seats on the Board of Education and $100 for county surveyor to almost $2,800 for sheriff and more than $4,100 for State Court solicitor-general.
As part of a unanimous “consent agenda” vote on several items during the Dec. 5, 2023 meeting, the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners formally set the qualifying fees for nine countywide offices and seven districted board seats that will be up for election beginning with the May 21, 2024, party primaries and nonpartisan general election. But would-be candidates won’t actually be able to pay those fees and file the required paperwork until the March 4-8 qualifying week.
Under Georgia law, candidate fees are generally based on 3% of the salary for the particular office. For some offices – clerk of superior court, sheriff, tax commissioner and magistrate – the law prescribes a fee that is 3% of the minimum salary for the office, not including supplements, cost-of-living raises or longevity pay.
Two local judgeships that (at least for counties of Bulloch’s population size) do not require judges to be law school graduates will be up for election in 2024. For Magistrate Court judge, the qualifying fee is $2,474.18. For Probate Court judge candidates, the fee is $2,425.67.
When the qualifying window opens, March 4-8, candidates for the party primaries will need to qualify with the county Democratic Party or Republican Party committees, while nonpartisan candidates qualify at the county elections office.
The fees for the partisan offices are split 50-50 between the party organizations and the county government to help fund elections. But fees from candidates for the nonpartisan seats go entirely to the county, Bulloch County Elections Supervisor Shontay Jones stated in an email reply.
Meanwhile, the first election of 2024, Georgia’s March 12 presidential preference primary, has a deadline of Feb. 12 for people who aren’t registered to vote to do so and for those already registered to update their address or name. This can be done online though the statewide My Voter Page, https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/ or in-person at the Bulloch County Board of Elections and Registration office in the County Annex, 113 North Main St., Suite 201, Statesboro.
Early in-person voting in the presidential primary will be available Feb. 19-March 8, including Saturday voting Feb. 24 and March 2.
The period to apply for an absentee paper ballot to be mailed to your address of record in the county or to an address outside the county actually begins this year, spanning Dec. 25, 2023-March 1, 2024.
“Yes, the 25th of December is the earliest we can start accepting absentee applications for March 12th, 2024, (presidential primary),” Jones said. “Our office will be closed; however, voters may still submit request electronically, such as online, email, or fax.”
Gwinnett County Commissioners also voted to set 2024 qualifying fees, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Gwinnett County commissioners approved the 2024 qualifying fees on Tuesday for county commissioner seats, county commission chair, school board, sheriff, tax commissioner, clerk of Superior Court, chief magistrate, Probate Court judge and State Court judge seats.
Several county seats, as well as the district attorney and several Superior Court judge seats, are set to up for election in 2024.
Since the district attorney and Superior Court judge seats are state offices, the qualifying fees for those offices are not set by the local county governments. They are instead set by state officials in accordance with state law.
District attorney and Superior Court seats are considered state offices because, while they are single-county jurisdictions in Gwinnett and other metro counties, those offices — in more rural parts of Georgia — have jurisdictions that cover several counties.
Some elected officials joined citizens in a protest against a lumbering process, according to the Statesboro Herald.
On the Riceboro City Hall steps, a crowd of more than 60 people turned out to echo opposition to a permit before the state Environmental Protection Division that if approved would allow a timber company to use a highly toxic substance on logs before shipping them overseas.
“We’re here to let Weyerhaueser know we are opposed to this development,” said Rep. Al Williams (D-Midway). “Secondly, we’re here to let the Environmental Protection Division of Georgia know that we are opposed to this.”
Weyerhaueser, which was granted a rezoning for a log processing operation, has asked for an expedited permit from the EPD to use methyl bromide, which is toxic. The group 100 Miles, an organization that seeks to protect Georgia’s 100 miles of coastline, found out about the permit, Liberty County Commission Chairman Donald Lovette said, and got in touch with Riceboro Mayor Chris Stacy.
Williams said the project did not come through the Liberty County Development Authority, where he is vice chairman, and said he would have voted against it had it done so. Williams cited the location’s proximity to residences and potential runoff that could further damage the local fishing and shrimping industry in neighboring McIntosh County.
“This is just not the project for this part of Georgia,” he said.
“We are going to have to make sure that our voices are heard,” Williams said. “I think there is pretty much a consensus this a no-no for this community and it would be terrible to locate it in this community. Somebody else might want it — but they need to know we don’t.”
The Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) announced Anna Chafin as President and CEO of their regional workforce coalition, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Chafin has spent the last 10 years as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Development Authority of Bryan County. In 2022, she received the Georgia Economic Developer’s Association Rip Wiley Award for Professional Excellence. She has also been an integral partner in the Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority (JDA) made up of economic development groups from Bryan, Bulloch, Chatham and Effingham counties.
According to SEDA’s Workforce Study, released in November, the multi-county coalition will “facilitate messaging for human resource (HR) guidelines relative to the region’s HR best practices for recruiting and retaining employees, address childcare as well as establish programs and initiatives that improve labor supply.”
As far as how many counties will make up the coalition, Chafin said that remains unclear. “We have a general idea based on the results of the study, but we’re going to dig deep into that in January/February timeframe to identify who we think are the best partners for the organization in terms of counties.”
The coalition is SEDA’s answer to some of the sobering findings from its recently publicized workforce study. “There will probably be 12 to potentially 20 counties that might be included in this because that’s the impact area of all the jobs in terms of industrial jobs that are coming to the region over the next 10 years.”
Forsyth County Schools Superintendent Jeff Bearden announced he will retire in November 2024, according to AccessWDUN.
Democrat Ashwin Ramaswami announced he will run against Republican State Senator Shawn Still, according to the AJC.
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