On December 3, 1775, the Grand Union Flag, comprising the Union Jack with thirteen red-and-white stripes was raised for the first time by Lieutenant John Paul Jones over the USS Alfred, a colonial warship. The flag would be used by Continental forces thorugh 1776 and early 1777.
On December 3, 1776, General George Washington wrote Congress that he had moved most of his army across the Delaware River from Trenton, New Jersey to Pennsylvania.
On December 4, 1783, General George Washington told his officers he would resign his commission and return to his life at Mount Vernon.
On December 3, 1864, Union forces under the command of Gen. William T. Sherman skirmished against Wheeler’s Confederate cavalry at Thomas’ Station in Burke County, Georgia. The Battle of Waynesboro, Georgia was fought between Wheeler’s Confederate cavalry and Kilpatrick’s federal troops on December 4, 1864.
On December 5, 1887, Georgia voters approved a new State Constitution and voted to keep the state capital in Atlanta instead of moving it back to Milledgeville.
Governor William Northen signed legislation placing on the statewide ballot a constitutional amendment to increase the number of Georgia Supreme Court Justices from 3 to 5 on December 4, 1893.
On December 4, 1932, a 12-foot tall statue of Tom Watson, former state legislator, Congressman, and United States Senator from Georgia, was placed on the State Capitol Grounds.
On December 5, 1933, Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment, repealing the 18th Amendment and ending prohibition. Earlier that day, Pennsylvania and Ohio had ratified the Amendment. Georgia never took action on the Amendment.
On December 4, 1945, the United States Senate voted to approve full U.S. participation in the United Nations. Georgia’s Senators voted in favor.
On December 5, 2000, the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou was released.
On December 4, 2018, Brad Raffensperger won the General Election Runoff for Georgia Secretary of State.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Democrat Stacey Abrams spoke about her upcoming campaign for Emperor Governor, according to Fox5Atlanta.
“I think Georgia has amazing opportunities ahead, but we need real leadership to get there,”” said Abrams. “Leadership that actually plans to invest in all of Georgia and all Georgians and that is not the leadership we have in the Governor’s Mansion right now.”
“My mission is to tie us all together and to build a better Georgia together. ‘One Georgia’ means that we serve everyone whether they agree with us, whether they look like us, whether they come from the places we come from, we should all be headed in the same direction and that is success,” Abrams explained.
One of the major issues currently facing the state is violent crime. Abrams said she would address that by working hand-in-hand with law enforcement to make sure they have the resources they need, as well as the underlying issues like education and economics.
“Corollary to that is gun violence,” said Abrams. “Part of that is the fact that Georgia has weakened its gun laws under Brian Kemp, and we have seen an erosion of safety for our communities. That is not something that should be sustainable in this state. Gun safety does not mean taking away a single person’s weapon or their right to own. I believe in the 2nd Amendment, but I also believe in gun safety.”
Abrams also said she would implement a more “aggressive” vaccination program in the state and allow local communities to build their virus responses.
“Rather than picking fights with mayors, which is what the governor has spent the last two years doing. Instead of picking fights, he needs to be picking these better battles and that means working with local communities to understand their needs, to understand their hesitation, to understand their access and actually investing,” Abrams explained.
“If we want to improve the lives of rural Georgia in particular, pouring resources in to improve access to healthcare and to anchor communities so they can attract new jobs. Jobs don’t come to places where you can’t find doctors. We have to make certain that rural Georgia and all of Georgia has the full bevy of opportunities and that means Medicaid expansion,” said Abrams.
“I believe in Georgia,” Abrams said. “In this state, I’ve watched communities fight back against pandemics, against storms, but they’re also fighting back against a government that’s not paying attention to its needs. I want to be governor because I want to lead the state forward.”
Kemp beat Abrams by roughly 54,000 votes three years ago, and he thinks he can beat her again.
“It’s why I’ve been working so hard on our fundraising, having a record first quarter,” Kemp said. “Going to be a record second quarter. We’re just going to be in the fight and looking forward to it.”
Kemp said he’s proud of his record as governor, and how the state and the state’s economy weathered the pandemic. He plans to remind voters of that.
“I believe that when they understand that, I will be reelected as the next governor, and we’ll continue to have Georgia to be the best state in the country to live, work, and raise our families, which I believe it is,” Kemp said.
John King will be sworn in as Insurance Commissioner today, according to WSAV.
John King will be formally sworn in as insurance commissioner on Friday by Gov. Brian Kemp, even though King actually took the full powers of the office when [his successor] was convicted in July. Kemp appointed King, a Republican who is seeking a full term in 2022. If elected, he would be Georgia’s first statewide elected Hispanic official.
King was running the office on an interim basis before the conviction.
David Estes will be sworn in as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
David H. Estes will be sworn into office by Chief U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall at 2 p.m. Friday at the U.S. Attorney office in Augusta.
Estes has been the acting U.S. Attorney since February 2021 following the resignation of Bobby Christine, a Trump appointee. Estes joined the staff in January 2018 as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District.
Glynn County Commissioners voted to adopt new district lines, according to The Brunswick News.
Elections Supervisor Christopher Channell said some of the lines were unavoidable because they were part of a census data block and any changes to the new boundaries, already tentatively approved by state officials, would be problematic.
Channell said residents who are now in a new district will be sent cards notifying them of the change. Everybody in the county will continue to go to the same polling place next year, regardless of where they are in a different district.
Commissioner David O’Quinn made the motion to approve the map and send it to the county’s local legislative delegation to bring to the Georgia General Assembly for passage and approval by Gov. Brian Kemp when the legislative session begins in January.
The Conasauga Circuit Domestic Violence Court aims to prevent re-offending, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen News.
Closing a revolving door of multiple domestic violence victims by the same offender is one of the goals of an expanded Conasauga Circuit Domestic Violence Court that is serving as a model for the rest of the state.
“We’ve had Domestic Violence Court in a less formal, totally unfunded form since 2014,” Judge Cindy Morris said before cutting a ribbon to officially open the facility, located in the Accountability Court Building at 301 W. Crawford St., “but this grant allows us to get the funding to hire staff, do drug testing, get the education we need, and really take it to the next level as an accountability court.”
Citing the “overwhelming need” for such a program, the judge said domestic violence is a “very prevalent” problem in the community, but fortunately “the community has already done a lot to address it.”
The judge praised accountability court administrator Jennifer Phillips for writing her first federal grant, calling it a “very competitive, vigorous process, and she brought it home for us.”
Morris also cited the help of the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners, who voted unanimously to accept and match the grant.
Speaking at the open house, board Chairman Jevin Jensen admitted he had grown up “very sheltered” and didn’t realize how many people domestic violence impacted until several years of service on the United Way panel that helps fund agencies like the Family Crisis Center.
The Conasauga Judicial Circuit serves Murray and Whitfield Counties.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice alleging failure to respond to FOIA requests, according to WALB via WTOC.
In a release, Raffensperger said he is suing the department for “any contact the federal agency may have had with prominent liberal groups regarding the Biden Administration’s quest to overturn Georgia’s common-sense election reforms, such as adding a photo-identification requirement for election.”
“Considering how blatantly political the Biden lawsuit against Georgia’s commonsense election law was from the beginning, it’s no surprise they would stonewall our request for basic transparency,” said Raffensperger. “I will always fight for truth and integrity in Georgia’s elections.”
In August, Raffensperger said he filed a Freedom of Information request to the Department of Justice. The release states he requested “any communications discussing Georgia’s new election law or the Biden lawsuit against the law between the Biden DOJ and 62 specifically identified outside individuals and entities, and members of Congress or their staff.”
The lawsuit claims the Department of Justice is “depriving plaintiffs and the public of vital information needed to determine the extent to which and by what methods the government is colluding or conspiring with outside entities to carry out a political agenda.”
An audit of Georgia’s need-based student loan program identified issues, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Rome News Tribune.
About 31% of borrowers participating in the Student Access Loan program default within three years of entering repayment, the Georgia Department of Audits & Accounts concluded in a report issued late last month.
That’s more than three times the default rate of federal student loan participants.
“Borrowers were more likely to default if they were enrolled in a technical college (vs. a four-year institution), were eligible for the federal Pell Grant, did not receive HOPE or Zell Miller aid (with the exception of the HOPE Grant), or did not earn a postsecondary credential prior to repayment,” according to the audit.
“We also found that on average defaulted borrowers earned approximately 40% less than those who remained in good standing.”
Burke County High School is closed today after a threat was received, according to WRDW.
The sheriff’s office says the high school had received two threats in the last few days. The most recent came in an email warning the principal of a plan to shoot up the school Friday.
The school has already increased campus security while they investigated threats made against the school on the social media app Yik Yak earlier this week.
Deputies responded to Burke County High School Wednesday to this active shooter threat. The school district and sheriff’s office sent out information to parents saying they will continue having a law enforcement presence at the school.
Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson will run for reelection, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.
Columbus residents will head to the polls in 2022 to elect the city’s mayor.
The election will be held May 24. Runoff races would happen June 21, if needed.
The mayor’s race will appear on the ballot alongside elections for Columbus Council Districts 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9.
Skip Henderson will seek a second term. He was first elected in 2018, winning the race without a runoff. He garnered more than 56% of the vote. His nearest opponent, Zeph Baker, collected 32% of the ballots cast.
Columbus businessman John Anker told the Ledger-Enquirer that he will challenge Henderson for the mayor’s seat in 2022.
Flowery Branch will hold a Special Election for City Council, according to AccessWDUN.
the Post 2 seat held by mayor-elect Ed Asbridge needs to be filled. Asbridge stepped away from active duty on the city council when he decided to run for mayor in August. Asbridge was elected to the mayor’s spot in November and now the city can seek a replacement to fill his vacated seat.
Two years remain on Asbridge’s vacated seat and that term will run through December 31, 2023.
If the ordinance as written is approved the special election will be held Tuesday, March 15, 2022, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. The lone place to vote that day will be Flowery Branch City Hall on Pine Street.
A qualifying period for those interested in running for the post will begin Monday, February 14, 2022, and extend for two days during normal City Hall hours, ending at 5:00 p.m. on February 16, 2022. Qualifying may be accomplished in the office of the City Clerk, Shelia Cooper, who serves as the city’s Election Superintendent.
Flowery Branch City Council appointed Tonya Parrish as City Manager, according to the Gainesville Times.
Parrish, who was city manager of Waycross in South Georgia, was announced as the sole finalist for the position at the City Council meeting Thursday, Nov. 18. Parrish, who is a CPA, was selected from among 40 applicants, City Attorney Ron Bennett said.
Gwinnett County Commissioner Kirkland Carden wants to pay library workers a minimum of $15/hour, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
“Nearly 20% of Gwinnett County Public Library employees currently earn less than $15 an hour,” Carden said. “I want to make sure Gwinnett’s 2022 budget funds the library up to a level that ensures all GCPL employees will earn a living wage of at least $15 an hour.”
Carden’s proposal is to allocate $1 million in the county budget to cover the cost of raising the salaries for library workers. Commissioners approved a 4% pay increase for county employees in October, but Carden wants the budget to include money to let the Gwinnett County Public Library system raise salaries for its employees by 4% as well.
The library system receives 90% of its funding from the county’s budget, but the library system’s employees are not directly employed by Gwinnett County government they are therefore not eligible for the raises approved this fall.
Muscogee County School District COVID cases are rising again after ten weeks of declines, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.
After 10 straight weeks of declines, then remaining the same as the previous week, the number of positive COVID-19 tests among students and employees reported to the Muscogee County School District has increased.
From Nov. 15-19, MCSD received reports of 21 coronavirus cases (13 students, eight employees), compared to nine (four students, five employees) Nov. 8-10, according to the district’s news release.
MCSD didn’t conduct classes Nov. 11 because of Veterans Day, and the Nov. 12 classes were conducted virtually to keep remote-learning skills ready in case of a weather emergency or needing a long-term shutdown.
From Nov. 15-19, MCSD had 56 people (46 students, 10 employees) in isolation or quarantine, compared to 32 (26 students, six employees) from Nov. 8-10, according to the district’s data.
Georgia DOT will demolish the Exit 2 bridge over I-75 beginning next week, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.
Demolition will clear the way for the contractor to build new spans in the same spot, replacing the bridge that was built in 1961, state traffic officials said in a statement.
The total cost of the project is approximately $49.3 million, which includes preliminary engineering, right of way acquisition and construction.
Whitfield County Tax Commissioner Danny Sane is asking taxpayers to use the mail or online portal to pay, due to limited parking, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen News.
Sane said if people can pay their property tax by mail or online he would appreciate it.
“I know there are some people who like to pay in person,” he said. “I also know that there are people who have heard about this new building and want to come out here and see how their tax money has been spent. But it would be better for everyone at this time if they would pay online or by mail.”
Sane said he thinks the problem could become particularly bad in the final few days before the Dec. 20 deadline to pay property taxes as people rush to pay them at the last minute.
“We are going to have a traffic issue,” he said. “And it could be a big issue.”
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