Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for December 22, 2021

James Edward Oglethorpe was born in London, England, on December 22, 1696. He was elected to Parliament, where he worked on prison reform and had the idea of a new colony where “worthy poor” Brits could be sent. In 1732, Oglethorpe was granted a charter to create a colony of Georgia in the new world.

On December 22, 1775, the Continental Congress created the Continental Navy.

On December 25, 1776, Continental forces under General George Washington began crossing the Delaware River and the next day launched a surprise attack on Hessian soldiers at Trenton, New Jersey.

Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony premiered on December 22, 1808 in Vienna, Austria.

The War of 1812 ended on December 24, 1814 with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, Belgium by British and American representatives.

Happy Birthday to Columbus, Georgia, founded on December 24, 1827 when Gov. John Forsyth signed legislation incorporating the new town.

Governor George Gilmer signed legislation that prohibited teaching slaves or free African-Americans to read or write on December 22, 1829.

Wesleyan College in Macon was chartered on December 23, 1836, becoming the first college chartered specifically to grant degrees to women.

Martha Bulloch and Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. were married at Bulloch Hall in Roswell, Georgia on December 22, 1853. Their son, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. would later be elected President of the United States.

On December 22, 1864, General William T. Sherman wired to President Abraham Lincoln from Savannah, Georgia,

His Excellency President LINCOLN:

I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about 25,000 bales of cotton.

W.T. Sherman,
Major General.

On December 23, 1864, the Georgia General Assembly passed a resolution specifying that the Senate chamber should be lit by electricity for the next Session. That is the last time the legislature sought enlightenment before passing laws.

On December 25, 1868, President Andrew Johnson issued an unconditional pardon of all Confederates.

President Calvin Coolidge lit the first National Christmas Tree on the White House grounds on December 24, 1923.

U.S.S. Atlanta was commissioned on December 24, 1941 at the New York Navy Yard as the lead ship of a new class of Light Cruisers. USS Atlanta (CL-51) was sponsored by Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone With the Wind.

Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as President of the USSR on December 25, 1991, signalling the end of the Godless Communist regime.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for December 24, 2021

Governor Brian Kemp this week proposed a proposal to boost food banks in the state, according to a press release.

Governor Brian P. Kemp yesterday joined the Georgia Department of Agriculture, the Georgia Department of Human Services, members of the Georgia General Assembly, the Georgia Food Bank Association, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, the Georgia Farm Bureau, the Georgia Agribusiness Council, and the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association to announce a proposal which will benefit Georgia farmers and food banks.

“At a time when demand for Georgia food bank services has increased, we are proposing legislation to support and leverage an underutilized law that combats agricultural waste and addresses fresh produce shortages in regional food banks,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “Together, we will continue to fight hunger and support our farm families.”

Regional food banks currently receive funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). At the state level, funds have not been appropriated to a complementary program since its inception in 1998. Governor Kemp is proposing legislation which will improve the applicable Georgia code and provide a more clear path for the implementation of this program at the state level.

To complement legislative updates, Governor Kemp will also include funding in his budget proposal to support this program. Ultimately, these actions will allow more farmers to enter the market and be compensated at a level equal to input costs plus half of appreciation for unsold produce rather than wasting 4-5 million pounds of surplus produce, as has been the case in recent years.

This program also helps food banks by giving them more resources to purchase Georgia Grown fresh produce, open the market for increased bartering, and better serve their clients. By opening this market, food banks can stretch program funding over more purchases. Additionally, implementation of this program will increase the amount of matching funds Georgia is eligible for under the TEFAP.

Two Georgia women are suing Rudy Giuliani over election fraud claims, according to CNN via the Gwinnett Daily Post.

The election workers, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, say in a new lawsuit that they became the victims of political lies as the pro-Trump media universe spread accusations that they had miscounted ballots during the presidential vote count in Georgia.

In her complaint, Freeman said that because of the election fraud accusations, the FBI advised her to leave her home from January 6, when a mob surrounded it, through the presidential inauguration later that month. She received hundreds of harassing emails, texts and calls — even a Christmas card that said, “You deserve to go to jail, you worthless piece of sh*t whore.”

Moss claims strangers sent unwanted pizzas to her grandmother’s house to harass her and came to the house twice to attempt to make a “citizen’s arrest.”

“Both women are afraid to live normal lives,” the lawsuit says. “Ms. Freeman is fearful when she hears her name called in public; Ms. Moss now fears risking even a visit to the grocery store and must get her groceries delivered instead. Defendants have inflicted, and continue to inflict, severe and ongoing emotional and economic damage.”

The Biden Administration has rejected Georgia’s Medicaid waiver that was approved by the prior administration, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post.

The Biden administration Thursday rejected Georgia’s bid to make a limited expansion of Medicaid subject to a work requirement.

The state proposed the work requirement as part of a demonstration waiver from provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The waiver was approved by the Trump administration last year.

“Georgia’s work requirements significantly compromise the state demonstration’s effectiveness in promoting coverage for intended beneficiaries,” the agency stated in a news release. “The lingering health consequences of COVID-19 infections further exacerbate the harms of these barriers to coverage for people with low income.”

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp rolled out Georgia Pathways, the state’s alternative to the ACA, two years ago. The program would provide health coverage to Georgians who work or volunteer at least 80 hours per month.

From WTOC:

The Trump administration had approved the work provision. [The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services] cited the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in part for its decision, saying work requirements would significantly compromise the effectiveness of Georgia’s plan to boost coverage. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s office said it planned to fight the decision in court.

From the AJC:

Kemp’s office blasted the decision to nix the work requirement, which was greenlit by President Donald Trump’s top health official in 2020, and vowed to fight the decision in court.

“We are disappointed the Biden administration chose to turn its back on a bipartisan group in the Georgia General Assembly that came together to help create a fair and balanced health care framework that increases options and lowers costs,” Kemp spokeswoman Katie Byrd said.

“Though they attempted to hide behind the holiday in announcing two days before Christmas, we plan to challenge their misguided — likely political — decision in a court of law,” she said.

House Speaker David Ralston was among the Republicans who assailed the White House for both the decision and the timing of its announcement.

“It is shameful that President Biden has denied thousands of Georgians healthcare coverage,” he said. “Like the Grinch, he has stolen hope away from so many families who need it — right at Christmas.”

Cobb County Superior Court Senior Judge Stephen Schuster dismissed an indictment of State Rep. Trey Kelley (R-Cedartown), according to the Capitol Beat News Service.

Kelley was charged with reckless conduct, a misdemeanor, for failing to call law enforcement immediately after Ryan Dover, the driver charged in the accident, contacted Kelley to inform him of the crash.

In a 12-page ruling Tuesday, Senior Judge Stephen Schuster noted that Kelley was not directly involved in the crash. In addition, the judge wrote that the indictment, even if true, did not accuse Kelley of any actions that constitute a crime.

“There is no authority either through statutory enactment or the common law, that imposes a duty on a non-driving and non-present third party to call the police upon learning of a potential automobile accident,” Schuster wrote.

The prosecution is considering whether to appeal Tuesday’s ruling.

Brunswick Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Stephen Scarlett ordered Camden County not to close on a real estate purchase for the Spaceport Camden, according to The Brunswick News.

A temporary restraining order to prohibit Camden County from closing on a deal to purchase the site for a proposed spaceport has been granted until a hearing is held Jan. 5 at the Camden County Courthouse in Woodbine.

Brunswick Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Stephen Scarlett will hear arguments from lawyers representing James Goodman and Paul Harris, two Camden County residents who are asking for the purchase of the site from Union Carbide to be banned until voters get a chance to decide the issue in a referendum.

A petition has been delivered to a Camden County Probate Court judge, who will call a special election within 90 days if there are enough valid signatures by registered voters to determine if county officials will be allowed to purchase the Union Carbide property.

The (non-Space) Port of Brunswick will receive a $14.6 million dollar federal grant, according to WSAV.

The Brunswick port — the nation’s second-busiest for Ro/Ro cargo import and export — will see $14.6 million to build a fourth berth for ships. According to the Department of Transportation, the funding will add needed capacity and more efficiently accommodate the larger vehicle carrier vessels.

“U.S. maritime ports play a critical role in our supply chains,” the secretary stated. “These investments in our nation’s ports will help support American jobs, efficient and resilient operations, and faster delivery of goods to the American people.”

“One of the reasons we are here is we think what the Georgia Ports has done could be a model for other places around the country,” he said last Friday at the Garden City Terminal.

Savannah City Aldermen voted to reprimand a colleague, according to WTOC.

Alderman Palumbo called for a formal reprimand of Alderwoman Gibson-Carter for calling him “racist” during a council discussion, and Tuesday, the majority of council voted in favor of that disciplinary measure.

A reprimand, according to Mayor Van Johnson, is recognition of inappropriate behavior, that’s all. It’s actually less formal than a censure of a council member.

“The action that I’m being accused of has not been formally presented to me. So by virtue of the fact that due process was not afforded to me in a formal process, I am acknowledging that this all is null and void and should not be used on this platform of precious time,” said Alderwoman Kesha Gibson-Carter, At-Large Post 1.

Alderwoman Gibson-Carter went on to say she believes there are more pressing matters to address instead, like crime and homelessness. Alderman Palumbo also offered a statement, revealing Gibson-Carter actually referred to him as a racist twice, the first time without being picked up on a mic.

[T]he formal reprimand was approved in a six to three vote, with no more action taken.