Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for December 4, 2024

On December 4, 1783, General George Washington told his officers he would resign his commission and return to his life at Mount Vernon.

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.

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 5, 2006, Republican Chuck Eaton won the General Election Runoff for Public Service Commission District 3, beating incumbent Democrat David Burgess. Total votes cast: 215,092.

On December 4, 2018, Brad Raffensperger won the General Election Runoff for Georgia Secretary of State and Chuck Eaton was reelected to the Georgia Public Service Commission.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Governor Brian Kemp issued Executive Order #12.03.24.01, authorizing the transfer of $10 million dollars from the Governor’s Emergency Fund to the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency.

Most Bibb County public schools were listed among the lowest-performing in the state, according to the Macon Telegraph.

Time inches closer for families to apply for the Georgia Promise Scholarship, which will provide up to $6,500 for eligible K-12 students in underperforming districts to use public funds for private school or homeschooling expenses.

Central Georgia residents and officials have weighed in on the controversial Senate Bill 233, which was signed into law in April and is intended to give public school students greater choice on where they can enroll.

The scholarship program is for students who reside in the attendance zone of a public school listed on the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement’s lowest performing 25% in the state. Over half of the 38 schools in the Bibb County School District were identified on the list, which was revised on Tuesday.

The Georgia Education Savings Authority, which will administer the scholarship, said the money will “empower families to pursue exceptional educational programs.”

But some local officials, such as Bibb County Representative-elect Tangie Herring, disagree. Herring said officials should be focused on improving outcomes at public schools, “not siphoning resources away.” Public schools in Macon currently face reduced funding, potential school consolidations and declining student enrollment.

Herring referred to the scholarships as school vouchers, which she said can drain public funds and send tax dollars to private entities that have zero accountability to taxpayers. It’s different than public schools, where test scores are public record, she added.

District 142 Rep. Miriam Paris (D) also rejected the measure, according to the Georgia Legislative Scorecard website. Opponents of SB 233 voted that “All government money comes with strings attached,” saying school vouchers expand government involvement and can potentially affect rules and curriculum.

The scholarship will cover a variety of fees at private schools, including tuition, tutoring, transportation and more.

The measure also allows students to attend a public school outside of their resident system without needing the approval of said system, according to a press release from Gov. Brian Kemp’s office.

GESA is developing an online platform for families to apply for and make payments to eligible providers and vendors from an individual student’s Georgia Promise Scholarship account.

From WSAV:

Students who are zoned for schools in the lowest performing 25% of schools in Georgia will now be eligible for vouchers worth up to $6500 per year for alternative or private schools.

Schools in several counties throughout Southeast Georgia are part of that 25%, making the students zoned for some schools eligible for this new program. Out of more than 500 schools in the state considered to be in the bottom quarter, 40 of them are located in Southeast Georgia.

Bulloch, Evans, Liberty, Long, Tattnall, Toombs and Wayne Counties, as well as Vidalia City Schools and Savannah Chatham County Public Schools are in the 25%.

A Lee County school was taken off the list, according to WALB.

After the Promise Act School list was published, Lee County School System released a statement on Facebook regarding the revised list.

“The Lee County School System noticed that this list named a Lee County school. This categorization did not align with the high performance and improved data that has been publicly released by the state of Georgia for this school…,” the school system said in a statement.

The school system later wrote that the problem had been fixed.

The school system said they do not anticipate that any Lee County School be included on the Promise School List for the 2024 school year or in the future.

Voters in Monroe and Dooly Counties elected County Commissioners in yesterday’s Runoff Election, according to 13WMAZ.

Al Turner and Mark D’Agostino were challenging each other for the District 4 commission seat in Monroe County. They were the two top vote-getters out of a field of five candidates in the Nov. 5 election, but neither of them earned enough votes to seal the race in November.

Turner took 317 votes in the runoff race – 35 more than D’Agostino’s 282 votes – and will take over the District 4 seat from incumbent George Emami. Emami announced his decision to retire back in May.

In Dooly County, a familiar face will return to his seat as District 5 county commissioner. Incumbent David Barron received 257 votes in the runoff race, beating Wayne West, who got 195 votes.

Barron was appointed to serve as chairman of the Dooly County board of commissioners in January 2021, and has served in that position ever since.

Doug Ingram was elected to Mulberry City Council District 5 in yesterday’s Runoff Election, according to AccessWDUN.

He got 56-percent of the vote to Michele Sims’ 44-percent.

There were 551 total votes, with 242 on election day.

Ingram got 309 of those votes, giving him the final spot on Mulberry’s council after the first four were decided on election day Nov. 5.

Atlanta voters elected Eshé Collins to City Council District 3 (at-large) in yesterday’s Runoff Election, according to the AJC.

Eshé Collins defeated Nicole “Nikki” Evans Jones in the runoff election for the Post 3 citywide Atlanta City Council seat Tuesday, with all precincts reporting in Fulton and DeKalb counties.

Collins will serve the remainder of the term vacated by former council member Keisha Sean Waites, ending Dec. 31, 2025.

Both Atlanta City Council candidates campaigned on their leadership experience in education. About 78,000 people voted for Evans Jones last month, while about 50,000 voted for Collins. Nearly 200,000 people overall voted in the five-way race last month on the same ballot as the presidential election.

The turnout was far smaller Tuesday, with only about 20,000 people voting. Collins appeared to win by double-digits.

In DeKalb County, Nicole Massiah defeated Andrew W. Bell for the southwestern District 3 county commission seat. And LaDena Bolton beat Jacqueline Adams in District 7, one of two “super districts” that divide the county in half, overlapping the regular districts. District 7 covers the eastern half of DeKalb.

In Doraville, Taylor Ray defeated Andy Yeoman for a city council seat. And with all but one precinct reporting in East Point, Shean Atkins appeared to trounce Jermaine Wright for the Ward B at-large city council seat.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ordered the Fulton County District Attorney’s office to comply with document requests related to the Trump persecution prosecution, according to the AJC.

A Fulton County judge has ordered the Fulton District Attorney’s office to turn over documents from its election interference investigation that were sent to Special Counsel Jack Smith and the U.S. House Jan. 6th Committee.

On Monday, Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ordered the DA’s office to turn over the documents to Judicial Watch, a conservative nonprofit in Washington, within five business days.

In August 2023, the DA’s office obtained a racketeering indictment against President-elect Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants, although four of them have since entered guilty pleas. The case is now on hold while the Georgia Court of Appeals considers whether the DA’s office should be disqualified because Willis had a romantic relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

On the same month the Fulton indictment was handed up, Judicial Watch filed an Open Records Act request with the DA’s office seeking records it sent to the special counsel’s office and the House committee. When the county attorney’s office said the DA’s office did not have them, Judicial Watch filed suit this past March.

In a six-page order, McBurney found that because the county attorney’s office had not met the filing deadline to respond to the lawsuit, the DA’s office must be found to have violated the Open Records Act.

Moreover, McBurney found the office is in default and must turn over to Judicial Watch any records that are not legally exempted from disclosure under the act within five business days. The act shields records from being disclosed if they are part on an ongoing investigation.

McBurney also set a Dec. 20 hearing to decide how much Fulton County must pay Judicial Watch in attorneys’ fees.

Democrat Jeffrey Canady is preparing to take office as the next Macon County Sheriff after some legal wrangling, according to 13WMAZ.

Just a week before Election Day, the Macon County Board of Elections disqualified candidate Jeffrey Canady.

His lawyer argued Tuesday the decision was “an abuse of discretion,” and Judge Richard Winegar[d]en agreed. The Superior Court ruled that Canady will be Macon County’s next sheriff.

Jeffrey Canady secured 55.93% of the vote in last month’s election for sheriff.

Judge Winegarten called the board’s decision to disqualify him “a problem,” since early voting was already underway when they declared that votes for Canady would no longer count.

Canady’s attorney Eddie Davis said the decision was based on speculation that Canady could not get POST certification from the state agency that certifies law enforcement officers.

Franklin T. Coleman representing the Board of Elections argued that the court should avoid interpreting laws that would produce an “absurd result.”

“We know for a fact he won’t be able to be certified within 6 months,” Coleman said. “The interpretation of this law about him not having to have this certification for 6 months, in this case, produces an absurd result. It would require us to swear in somebody to be sheriff for essentially 6 months.”

The Board of Elections has 30 days to appeal the decision, if they choose to do so.

Chatham County Superior Court Judge Benjamin Karpf dismissed a lawsuit challenging a Savannah statute on gun storage, according to WSAV.

A judge has thrown out a lawsuit by a Georgia gun owner who sought to challenge a Savannah city ordinance that imposes fines and potential jail time for people who leave firearms inside unlocked cars.

The ruling by Chatham County Superior Court Judge Benjamin Karpf did not address the civil lawsuit’s argument that the Savannah ordinance violates a Georgia state law that broadly prohibits local governments from regulating guns.

Instead, the judge dismissed the case on Nov. 22 after finding that gun owner Clarence Belt lacked legal standing to sue the city. Belt isn’t a Savannah resident and hasn’t been cited for violating the city’s gun ordinance.

More on the challenge by Republican State House District 128 candidate Tracy Wheeler from 13WMAZ.

Tracy Wheeler (R) ran against incumbent Mack Jackson (D) for the State House of Representatives District 128 seat. Jackson won by 48 votes.

Now, Wheeler says she has “serious concerns about the validity of the election.”

13WMAZ got a copy of the complaint her lawyer filed in the Washington County Superior Court.

The Georgia Secretary of State’s office says the race between Wheeler and Jackson received a total of 27,804 votes. After the state certified the results last month, Jackson won by only 48 votes – less than 0.2% of the total count.

Wheeler’s complaint names Mack Jackson, but also the board of election offices in Baldwin, Glascock, Hancock, Mcduffie, Warren and Washington counties.

Among other things, she claims the six county election boards wrongfully rejected votes, accepted votes from voters outside the district, turned away qualified voters at the polls and rejected absentee ballots.

13WMAZ called the Secretary of State’s office and they said while Wheeler can challenge the results, she will need to show there was an error of at least 48 votes.

It will be up to a judge to decide whether her complaints are valid.

The Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce heard from state legislators, according to WTOC.

The Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce welcomed local businesses, non-profits, and state lawmakers to the Westin Savannah Harbor for its annual Biscuits and Bills Legislative Breakfast.

One of the biggest issues the chamber hopes to bring back to the capital is lowering the cost of insurance.

“Number one on our agenda is tort reform. Insurance costs have gone way up for businesses, for families. We would love to see the legislature address that and help lower those insurance costs for our businesses and for our residents. So, those issues affect our members every single day. And so, we need to be engaged,” said President and CEO of the Savannah Chamber, Bert Brantley.

The crowd was made up of people from across party lines, all aiming to bring changes locally, and state-wide.

Both state legislative chamber leaders want to ban transgender students from gender-separated sports, according to the AJC.

Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones wants the Georgia Senate to ban transgender girls from competing in women’s school sports next year. At a seaside retreat this week, House Speaker Jon Burns made clear a similar measure is atop his to-do list in 2025.

Burns told House Republicans gathered in Sea Island the chamber is “committed to ensuring we pass measures that protect the integrity and fairness of girls’ sports at every level here in Georgia” next year.

“As a grandfather to four young women, there is nothing more important to me than ensuring the opportunity for girls across the state to compete on a level playing field is not hindered,” said Burns, a Newington Republican.

…Republicans in both chambers are expected to seek to put that policy into law during next year’s legislative session, along with a debate over implementing similar restrictions in collegiate sports. A Senate committee that has been studying the issue is poised to release its recommendations this month.

Also: Burns said he wants to use the GOP’s 100-80 edge in the chamber to pass other measures to further reduce the income tax rate, bolster school safety and expand access to health care.

And he said the caucus is now focusing on recruiting candidates to claw back some of the seats that Democrats captured in November.

The Georgia State Senate Study Committee on Artificial Intelligence met yesterday, according to WTOC.

Agriculture remains the biggest industry here in the peach state, and leaders say Al could benefit how soil samples are done, pesticides, even measuring correct water levels for certain crops.

At the same time agriculture is a national security issue, so they want to be smart about the way they go about utilizing it.

State leaders also believe Al will impact the manufacturing industry—expanding and growing some jobs, and changing others.

“That includes a comprehensive data privacy bill,” said said Sen. John Kennedy, Majority Caucus Chair, District 18 (R). “An updated deep fake law. We already have some of that on our books, but obviously that has evolved considerably over the last couple of years with the advancement of generative AI.”

“As well as adding full transparency and disclosure of how we’re utilizing AI,” said Kennedy. “Adopting a statewide definition. We talked about that. that needs to be put into law because it will be referenced that way.”

Senators will discuss AI issues further— and move forward with legislation.

Tuesday’s meeting was to mainly discuss regulations, privacy and data protection and equity surrounding it.

From State Affairs:

The Senate Study Committee on Artificial Intelligence released nearly two dozen recommendations Tuesday on how Georgia should deal with the rapidly growing, widespread technology.

The nine-member bipartisan committee unanimously passed the 185-page report at its final meeting at the Capitol on Tuesday. The report sets guidelines and guardrails to help various fields — from education to Georgia’s $4 billion entertainment industry — deal more effectively with AI.

Key recommendations include focusing on AI’s ethical use, governance, risk management, transparency, human oversight and education.

Specific areas addressed were public safety, health care, mental health and agriculture.

“We need to adopt state legislation,” committee chair Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, said. “This is definitely an ongoing process. My goal is to continue another study committee, probably in perpetuity, as we continue to watch this evolve.”

As AI advances and more industries use it, state legislators are looking to create policies that promote AI’s growth, but safely.

Earlier this year, a Georgia bill that would have outlawed the use of generative AI to interfere with elections and defraud voters stalled in the state Senate after passing the House by a large margin.

Georgia leaders created the committee to look into AI’s impact on the Peach State. The committee spent the past five months visiting Georgia Tech and other education centers, Trilith Studios in Fayette County and the University of Georgia’s Iron Horse Plant Sciences Farm in northeast Georgia to get a sense of AI’s impact on education, entertainment, agriculture, transportation and other industries.

“It was eye-opening,” committee member Sen. Sheikh Rahman, D-Lawrenceville, said Tuesday.

From Georgia Recorder:

Roswell Republican Sen. John Albers, chair of the Senate Study Committee on Artificial Intelligence, signed off on the report after a unanimous vote. A House committee is set to release its own report later this month.

“The report you see has got a lot of different action items,” he said. “They don’t actually call on any specific bill at this point, but you can certainly see that coming, and that will be done in a myriad of ways. Some of that will be things such as data privacy and protection, which we’ve worked on in the past. Some things would be things such as deep fakes, which we’ve worked on in the past. Other things might be edicts from the governor’s office, where he and his staff may want to do certain things for certain agencies.”

The report calls for each state agency, as well as all 538 Georgia cities, 159 counties and 181 school systems to track their AI usage and monitor for safety and efficiency. It also calls for the creation of a new state board of artificial intelligence.

Albers and other Republicans on the committee emphasized that their intention is to provide what they called guardrails on the new technology while not stifling innovation.

“As we approach these kinds of things, we’re not approaching this with a regulatory mindset,” said Acworth Republican Sen. Ed Setzler, who chairs the Senate Science and Technology Committee. “We’re approaching this as a thing that, sometimes, government does best when it does least, so we don’t start with a framework that this is something we need to regulate.”

Several industries could expect targeted AI benefits. The report calls for expanded incentives for Georgia-based entertainment projects that incorporate “AI innovation” in an attempt to keep Georgia’s film and entertainment creators from moving their operations overseas.

Lawmakers could create a grant program for small farmers to adopt AI technology, which can allow real-time insight into soil conditions and predictive insights for crop yields, but can be too cost-prohibitive for mom and pop farms.

“Many of us saw movies years ago, and we think of, you know, ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ or ‘Terminator,’” Albers said. “All those different movies that embedded these things into our heads. And while there’s truly a healthy fear, we should make sure we’re working to put those guardrails in place.”

From the AJC:

“We have a great opportunity to embrace AI as a state government — to become more efficient, to become better — but doing that in a way that we all feel comfortable,” Albers said.

One of the committee’s recommendations is similar to last session’s House Bill 986, which aimed to regulate the use of AI-generated likenesses of opponents in political campaign ads. The bill passed the House but stalled in the Senate.

The legislation would have made it a felony to broadcast or publish deceptive information within 90 days of an election with the intention to influence a candidate’s chance of being elected, causing confusion about the election or influencing the results.

“As deepfakes have become increasingly more real, what was done in the past was not quite what it is today,” Albers said. “We want to make sure that that’s not interfering with elections. It’s doing something awful to an individual.”

The study committee recommended legislation on data privacy similar to a bill that missed the finish line last year, Senate Bill 473, which sought data protection for Georgia consumers. Albers said the goal of such legislation would be to allow individuals to control the use of their online data.

“You don’t want folks to just take folks’ information and broadly sell it and utilize it,” he said.

“As we’ve learned, it literally touches every Georgian every day,” said Sen. Max Burns, R-Sylvania. “And so it is essential that we craft policy that protects Georgians but promotes AI and promotes its effective and appropriate use.”

Georgia’s legislative session starts in January.

The Georgia Department of Education announced their 2025 legislative agenda, according to WRDW.

The Georgia Department of Education announced its 2025 legislative priorities, which will guide state school superintendent’s conversations with lawmakers in the upcoming legislative session, along with the agency’s work during the session and beyond.

“We are at a critical moment in Georgia public education,” state Superintendent Richard Woods said.

“Building on the investments made by the Governor’s Office and General Assembly, and the work of the Department of Education and local districts and schools, we have the continued opportunity to ensure all schools can prepare all students for life,” he said.

Here are the 2025 legislative priorities:

• Safe – Securing a safe learning environment for all and a standard of safety across our state.
• Successful – With historic graduation rates, beating the nation in SAT and ACT, and rising test scores.
• Supported – We must continue to support those who have answered the call to support our students – in difficult times and by setting them up for future success.

“Our legislative priorities this year focus on steps we can take to ensure a safe, successful, supported education system – from enhancements to school safety to funding for ongoing literacy initiatives. I look forward to working with our partners in the General Assembly to pursue legislation that will benefit the students of our state,” Woods said.

From WABE:

Many of the recommendations come in light of the Barrow County school shooting in September, during which an Apalachee High School student allegedly shot and killed two students and two teachers, injuring others.

The safety priorities that the state education department is lobbying for include funding a school resource officer in every school. School resource officers, or SROs, act as members of law enforcement by monitoring the campus for suspicious activity and responding to safety concerns and threats.

United States Representative David Scott (D-Atlanta Metro-ish) wants to keep his seat on the House Agriculture Committee, according to the AJC.

Scott’s absence during the two weeks Congress was in session last month sparked renewed concerns from fellow Democrats that his age and health made him unable to continue his duties. Two of them, Reps. Angie Craig of Minnesota and Jim Costa of California, announced they would try to unseat the 79-year-old as the top-ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee.

Scott, of Atlanta, said Tuesday that he will not bow out of the bid for the committee position.

“It’s all in God’s hands,” he said as he exited the Capitol after holding court on the House floor for about 30 minutes.

Scott returned to Congress as promised after the Thanksgiving break after spending time at a rehabilitation hospital last month instead of returning to his congressional duties with other lawmakers.

“I tell you,” he said, “it’s good to be back.”

Dalton City Council members voted unanimously to adopt an FY 2025 budget without a property tax increase, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen News.

The Dalton City Council voted 4-0 Monday to adopt a 2025 budget that does not anticipate a property tax increase.

The City Council had recently held a public hearing on a budget proposal that contained a slight tax increase, but council member Steve Farrow asked city staff members to take another look at the numbers.

Dalton Chief Financial Officer Cindy Jackson told the council members Monday she now has about four more months of revenue data than she did when doing her first revenue projection. Based on that, she said additional revenue from other sources will offset the need for any property tax increase.

Effingham County honored suspended County Commissioner Reggie Loper, according to WTOC.

Commissioner Reggie Loper was honored as his term nears its end.

It comes just months after he pleaded guilty to simple battery and was arrested last year in a child molestation case.

The gathering at the Effingham County’s Administration Complex was to recognize both Loper and Board of Commissioners chairman Wesley Corbitt.

Loper was not in attendance and there was no mention of his legal troubles during today’s remarks.

Earlier this year, Loper was indicted on one count of sexual battery against a child under 16 and one count of sexual battery.

According to an executive order from Gov. Brian Kemp in April, Loper voluntarily authorized his suspension from Effingham’s Board of Commissioners while the case played out.

Then in August, court records show Loper entered an Alford plea to simple battery, a misdemeanor, meaning he pleaded guilty but still maintains his innocence.

Several of Loper’s fellow commissioners spoke highly of him.

“In light of some of the allegations he faced toward the end of his term, how do you think honoring him today landed with some of your constituents in the county who might have a different view of commissioner Loper?” asked a WTOC reporter to Board of Commissioners Chairman Wesley Corbitt.

“I’m not going to give any comment to that. The slander that has gone towards him is not worth addressing. He’s a quality guy. He served well. He deserved to be recognized for his service to this community,” Corbitt said in response.

Thomson Mayor Benji Cranford was found not guilty on charges of Furnishing Prohibited Items to Inmates and Criminal Attempt to Commit a Felony and is reinstated to office after previously being suspended, according to WJBF.

Thomson Mayor Benji Cranford has been found not guilty on criminal charges following a jury trial on Tuesday, Dec. 3.

Cranford, who was arrested and charged on one count of Furnishing Prohibited Items to Inmates and one count of Criminal Attempt to Commit a Felony back in August, was accused of putting a bottle of gin in a ditch along Cobbham Road in McDuffie county, near where a Jefferson County inmate crew was working.

Cranford was suspended in October after a review commission decided that the charges affected his duties to the public.

The order from Governor Brian Kemp’s office stated that Cranford would be suspended from office immediately until a final deposition of the case or until his term expires, whichever were to come first.

WJBF NewsChannel 6 reached out to the governor’s office on Cranford’s reinstatement. According to Press Secretary Garrison Douglass, there is no additional process required to reinstate a suspended official upon an acquittal or dropping of charges.

From WRDW:

Mayor Benji Cranford had been suspended by the governor after his arrest, but with his acquittal, the suspension was automatically lifted.

He was accused of buying a bottle of gin on June 3 and then driving across the street and intentionally stashing it in a ditch where an approaching prison work crew could find it as the inmates picked up trash.

His attorneys claim the gin – which he bought as a malaria remedy – fell out of his car when he stopped to make a technologically clumsy attempt to reconnect his Bluetooth.

The verdict clearing him of both counts came after testimony of the final prosecution witnesses on Tuesday and after jurors heard from the mayor himself.

Cranford was indicted by a grand jury and arrested in August by GBI officers who led him away from city offices in handcuffs.

He said he bought the gin because a doctor friend told him about a remedy involving the liquor.

“If you drink gin, you won’t get malaria,” he testified the doctor told him.

“Look he is my friend. I drink his alcohol, he drinks my alcohol,” he testified.

A quick search of the internet shows gin on its own does not prevent malaria. Quinine – the active ingredient in tonic water, a frequent gin mixer – does prevent malaria. However, you’d have to drink nearly 70 quarts of it to get enough quinine to prevent the mosquito-transmitted disease.

Cranford and his attorneys asserted in the trial that stopping the car on the side of the ditch was all part of his effort to reconnect his Bluetooth.

Richmond County school superintendent Kenneth Bradshaw is leaving at the end of the year, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

Dr. Kenneth Bradshaw’s last day on the job is Dec. 31, according to the Richmond County School System.

“Serving the Richmond County School System has been one of the greatest honors of my career,” Bradshaw said in a statement. “This decision did not come lightly, as my time here has been one of the most fulfilling chapters of my professional life. While I have enjoyed serving the Richmond County School System, I believe now is the right time to step away to be closer to the Atlanta metropolitan area and my family.”

School Board Chairman Charlie Walker said that the board is “committed to ensuring a seamless transition and finding the right leader to continue building on the strong foundation he has helped establish.”

Tifton Judicial Circuit District Attorney Bryce Johnson has died, according to the Tifton Gazette.

The Tifton Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office announced earlier today that Johnson passed away unexpectedly Dec. 2 as a result of a sudden medical emergency.

Johnson, first elected to the position of district attorney in 2020, served the counties of Irwin, Tift, Turner, and Worth. He was recently reelected unopposed to a second term.

Out of respect for his passing, Governor Brian Kemp released a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

“Please join Marty, the girls, and me in praying for the family and loved ones of District Attorney Bryce Johnson as they mourn his passing,” Kemp wrote. “DA Johnson faithfully served the people of Irwin, Tift, Turner, and Worth Counties, and we are thankful for his contributions. Our thoughts and prayers are with the southwest Georgia community during this time.”

Patrick Warren, chief assistant district attorney for the office, as appointed by Johnson, will step into his vacant position as acting district attorney until a successor can be established.

“It is a privilege and an honor to have worked with Bryce for so long,” Warren said. “While this is a time of change for our office, I am confident in the strength and dedication of the team Bryce built. Together, we will continue to serve our community, and we are committed to upholding the values and mission set forth by our District Attorney.”

The Tifton Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office has asserted it will continue its regular proceedings of prosecuting cases and advocating for victims amid this interim period.

The Tifton Judicial Circuit comprises Irwin, Tift, Turner, and Worth Counties.