Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for February 20, 2024

On February 20, 1792, President George Washington signed the Postal Service Act, creating the United States Postal Service.

The act allowed for newspapers to be included in mail deliveries and made it illegal for postal officials to open anyone’s mail.

On February 20, 1970, Georgia ratified the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote. The Amendment states:

Section 1. The right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Seriously. 1970. Luckily ratification occurred when Tennessee approved adoption of the Amendment on April 18, 1920.

Interestingly, the only case in which the United States Supreme Court has addressed the Nineteenth Amendment arose in Georgia. Breedlove v. Suttles was a suit brought in Fulton County Superior Court concerning the poll tax. Here’s an excerpt:

The tax being upon persons, women may be exempted on the basis of special considerations to which they are naturally entitled. In view of burdens necessarily borne by them for the preservation of the race, the state reasonably may exempt them from poll taxes.

The laws of Georgia declare the husband to be the head of the family and the wife to be subject to him. To subject her to the levy would be to add to his burden. Moreover, Georgia poll taxes are laid to raise money for educational purposes, and it is the father’s duty to provide for education of the children. Discrimination in favor of all women being permissible, appellant may not complain because the tax is laid only upon some or object to registration of women without payment of taxes for previous years.

Privilege of voting is not derived from the United States, but is conferred by the state and, save as restrained by the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments and other provisions of the Federal Constitution, the state may condition suffrage as it deems appropriate.

It is fanciful to suggest that the Georgia law is a mere disguise under which to deny or abridge the right of men to vote on account of their sex. The challenged enactment is not repugnant to the Nineteenth Amendment.

Bless their hearts.

On February 20, 1974, Reg Murphy, an editor for The Atlanta Constitution was kidnapped and held until managing editor G. James Minter delivered $700,000 in ransom. I’m not sure if they’d pay 700 cents to get any employee back nowadays.

DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond has written a book about Georgia Founder James Oglethorpe and his opposition to slavery in the colony, according to the Associated Press via WRDW.

Thurmond, a history aficionado and the only Black member of a Georgia delegation visiting the founder’s tomb outside London, knew Oglethorpe had tried unsuccessfully to keep slaves out of the colony. Historians widely agreed he was concerned for the safety and self-sufficiency of white settlers rather than the suffering of enslaved Africans.

Could Georgia’s white founding father possibly have been an ally to Black people in an era when the British Empire was forcing thousands into bondage?

“It was stunning,” Thurmond recalled. “Initially, I was consumed by disbelief. I didn’t believe it was true.”

Thurmond would grapple with questions raised by that visit for the next 27 years, compelled to take a closer look at Oglethorpe. Now he has written a provocatively titled book: “James Oglethorpe, Father Of Georgia — A Founder’s Journey From Slave Trader to Abolitionist.”

Published this month by the University of Georgia Press, Thurmond’s book makes a case that Oglethorpe evolved to revile slavery and, unlike most white Europeans of his time, saw the humanity in enslaved Africans. And while Oglethorpe’s efforts to prohibit slavery in Georgia ultimately failed, Thurmond argues he left a lasting — and largely uncredited — legacy by influencing early English abolitionists.

“He is shining a spotlight on the part of Oglethorpe’s life that most people have kind of thought was just periphery,” said Stan Deaton, senior historian for the Georgia Historical Society. “I think he’s thought deeply about this. And let’s be honest, there have not been many African-Americans who have written about colonial Georgia and particularly about Oglethorpe.”

Though this is Thurmond’s third book about Georgia history, he’s no academic. The son of a sharecropper and great-grandson of a Georgia slave, Thurmond became an attorney and has served for decades in state and local government. His 1998 election as state labor commissioner made Thurmond the first Black candidate to win statewide office in Georgia without first being appointed. He is now the elected CEO of DeKalb County, which includes portions of Atlanta.

In its early years, Georgia stood alone as Britain’s only American colony in which slavery was illegal. The ban came as the population of enslaved Africans in colonial America was nearing 150,000. Black captives were being sold in New York and Boston, and they already outnumbered white settlers in South Carolina.

Oglethorpe used slave labor to help build homes, streets and public squares in Savannah, the colony’s first city. Escaped slaves captured in Oglethorpe’s Georgia were returned to slaveholders. Some colonists angered by the slave ban made unproven accusations that Oglethorpe had a South Carolina plantation worked by slaves.

Thurmond’s book openly embraces such evidence that Oglethorpe’s history with slavery was at times contradictory and unflattering. That makes his case for Oglethorpe’s evolution even stronger, said James F. Brooks, a University of Georgia history professor who wrote the book’s foreward.

“He founded slave-free Georgia in 1733 and, 100 years later, England abolishes slavery,” followed by the U.S. in 1865, Thurmond said. “He was a man far beyond his time.”

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Polls are open for Early Voting in Person for the March 12, 2024 Presidential Preference Primary, according to WTOC.

Voters in Chatham County and across Georgia are deciding which candidates they want to see on the November ballot.

Chatham County elections officials describe a slow turnout on the first day of early in-person voting.

The people who did come out say they wanted to be among the first to cast their ballots.

Georgia is an open primary state meaning voters can choose either a Republican or Democratic ballot.

Statewide, officials report no lines at voting centers and say more than 20,000 absentee ballots have already been mailed out to voters who have requested them.

Early in-person voting ends March 8.

Election Day is March 12.

From 13WMAZ:

In Georgia, primary voting is open — meaning you can request either a Democratic or Republican ballot.

Also, under a new provision in Georgia law, workers can take two hours of paid leave to go vote — though it must be arranged with your employer and cleared.

February 19: First day of early voting
February 24: First mandatory Saturday early voting
February 25: First optional Sunday early voting day
March 1: Last day to request absentee ballot for primaries (Remember, if you vote absentee, there is no “deadline” for when you have to mail it in — rather, the deadline applies to when it needs to arrive: You have to make sure you send it in early enough that it arrives by the times polls close on Election Day.)
March 2: Second mandatory Saturday early voting day
March 3: Second optional Sunday early voting day
March 8: Final day of early voting

From AccessWDUN:

City of Oakwood voters will also vote to fill the Post 4 City Council seat, which was left vacant after the Sept. 2023 passing of late Councilman Dwight Wood. Voters will have the option of voting for Rhonda Wood or Volley Collins in that race.

Hall County will hold early voting at seven locations on weekdays from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. from Monday until March 1. Extended hours will also be provided March 4 – 8 from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.  Saturday voting will be held Feb. 24 and March 2 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In nearby Forsyth County, voting will take place from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on weekdays through March 8. Saturday voting will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Feb. 24 and March 2. Additionally, early voting will take place Feb. 25 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Information on early voting in other area counties can be accessed by calling their respective election offices.

From the Rome News Tribune:

Although former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley is currently the only GOP candidate contesting the frontrunner, former president Donald Trump, nine other candidates who have suspended their campaigns will still be on the ballot. The Democratic Party ballot will include two candidates’ names other than the frontrunner, President Joe Biden.

Over 100 people cast a ballot in the primary Monday, according to Floyd County Elections Supervisor Akyn Beck.

A majority of incumbents have gone on the record saying they’re running for reelection this cycle, with the exception of Floyd County Commissioner Wright Bagby and Clerk of Court Barbara Penson.

Under the Gold Dome Today

TBD Senate Rules: Upon ADJ –  450 CAP
8:00 AM HOUSE WAYS & MEANS – 406 CLOB
8:00 AM HOUSE MOTOR VEHICLES – 606 CLOB
8:00 AM Senate Appropriations – 341 CAP
9:00 AM HOUSE RULES – 341 CAP
10:00 AM HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD23) – House Chamber
10:00 AM Senate Floor Session (LD 23) – Senate Chamber
10:30 AM Senate Conf. Comm. : HB 514 – 450 CAP
1:00 PM HOUSE Education Sub Policy – 515 CLOB
1:00 PM UPON ADJ- HOUSE JUDICIARY CIVIL – 132 CAP
1:00 PM HOUSE Govtal Aff State & Local Sub – 415 CLOB
1:00 PM Senate Children & Families – 307 CLOB
1:00 PM Senate Banking & Financial Inst – 450 CAP
1:30 PM HOUSE W&M Sub Income Tax – 403 CAP
1:45 PM UPON ADJ INCOME TAX – HOUSE W&M Sub Ad Val – 403 CAP
2:00 PM HOUSE RETIREMENT – 406 CLOB
2:00 PM HOUSE HEALTH – 506 CLOB
2:00 PM HOUSE PUBLIC HEALTH – 606 CLOB
2:00 PM HOUSE Education Sub Curriculum – 515 CLOB
2:00 PM HOUSE Govtal Affairs Elections Sub – 415 CLOB
2:00 PM UPON ADJ OF AD VAL- HOUSE W&M Sub Sales Tax – 403 CAP
2:00 PM Senate Reg. Ind.: Hemp Reg Sub– Mezz 1 CAP
2:30 PM UPON ADJ SALES TAX- HOUSE W&M Sub Pub Fin & Policy – 403 CAP
2:30 PM Senate Education & Youth – 307 CLOB
3:00 PM HOUSE ENERGY, UTILITIES & TELECOM – 403 CAP
3:00 PM HOUSE Judy Non-Civil Leverett Sub – 132 CAP
4:00 PM UPON ADJ OF LEVERETT SUB – HOUSE JUDY NON-CIVIL – 132 CAP
4:00 PM HOUSE DEFENSE AND VETERANS AFF – 506 CLOB
4:00 PM Senate Education & Youth: Sub – 307 CLOB
4:00 PM Senate Reg. Ind. & Utilities – 450 CAP
5:00 PM Senate Agriculture & Consumer Affairs – Mezz 1 CAP
5:00 PM Senate Science & Technology – 310 CLOB
6:00 PM Senate Transportation – 450 CAP

Governor Brian Kemp announced appointments to the Georgia Court of Appeals, Columbia Judicial Circuit Superior Court, and Solicitors General for Effingham County and Coweta County, according to a Press Release.

Governor Brian P. Kemp [on Monday] announced the appointment of two judges and two solicitors general across the state. The governor has appointed J. Wade Padgett to the Court of Appeals vacancy created by the removal of Court of Appeals Judge Christian Coomer on August 16, 2023. Judge Padgett’s appointment to the Court of Appeals creates a vacancy in the Columbia Judicial Circuit that will be filled by the appointment of J. Grady Blanchard. Governor Kemp has also appointed Spencer Tyson as the Solicitor General of Effingham County and Amy Godfrey as the Solicitor General of Coweta County.

J. Wade Padgett has served as Superior Court Judge in both the Augusta Judicial Circuit, and in the newly-created Columbia Judicial Circuit. Prior to his 2009 appointment to the Augusta Circuit Superior Court bench, he served as Chief Magistrate Judge of Columbia County and maintained a solo law practice, J. Wade Padgett, P.C. He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and the Augusta Bar Association, and serves as chair of new judge training for the Council of Superior Court Judges. Active in his community, Judge Padgett is the creator and presenter of Teenage Years 101, an educational program for teens and parents. Judge Padgett holds a J.D. from Georgia State College of Law and a B.A. in History from the University of Georgia. He and his wife have two children and attend Wesley United Methodist Church.

J. Grady Blanchard currently serves as Chief Judge for the Municipal Courts of Waynesboro and Louisville and is a solo practitioner with the Blanchard Law Firm. He previously served as an Associate Judge for the Magistrate Court of Columbia County and an Associate Judge for the Municipal Courts of Grovetown, Wrens, and Stapleton. Judge Blanchard is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the Augusta Bar Association, and the Council of Municipal Court Judges. He holds a J.D. from John Marshall Law School and a B.A. in Criminal Justice from Augusta State University. He and his wife have one child and attend Abilene Baptist Church.

Spencer Tyson is an associate attorney at Taulbee, Rushing, Snipes, Marsh and Hodgin, LLC in Statesboro, Georgia. He previously worked as an assistant district attorney for the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit and as a law clerk for the district attorney in the Towaliga Judicial Circuit. He is a member of the Bulloch County Bar Association and the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Tyson received his J.D. from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University and his B.A. in Political Science from Mercer University. He is an avid golfer and outdoorsman.

Amy Godfrey has served as acting solicitor of the Coweta County Solicitor General’s Office since January of 2024. She previously served as Chief Assistant Solicitor, a position she has held since January of 2012, and as an assistant solicitor. Before joining the Coweta County Solicitor General’s Office, she served as Town Solicitor for the Tyrone Municipal Court and as an associate attorney in the Law Office of Daniel M. King. Godfrey is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and Newnan-Coweta Bar Association, having served as past president of the latter. She holds a J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law and a B.S. from Charleston Southern University. Godfrey and her husband, Isaac, have two children and attend Crossroads Church.

 

House Bill 1152 by State Rep. Beth Camp (R-Concord), called The Georgia Homegrown Solar Act of 2024, would allow some sales of solar power by entities other than Georgia Power, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Under House Bill 1152, customers could subscribe with community solar providers for projects producing no more than six megawatts of power. Because the measure calls for the amount of credit on bills community solar customers would receive to be determined by the state Public Service Commission (PSC), it would be limited to Georgia Power customers since the state’s other utilities are not regulated by the PSC.

“Community solar” projects are smaller than utility-scale solar projects but larger than rooftop solar panels installed by individual property owners. Community solar allows residential and business property owners who might not be able to afford rooftop solar to participate in solar energy development.

Georgia ranks among the top 10 states for utility-scale projects but in the bottom 10 for smaller “distributed generation” projects, Bryan Jacob, solar program director for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, told members of a House subcommittee Monday.

Elizabeth Van Holt, new markets director for the Coalition for Community Solar Access, said her organization has invested $10 billion to build seven gigawatts of community solar projects in 20 states.

“It’s a pro-jobs, pro-development bill,” she said of House Bill 1152. “It’s an opportunity for ratepayers to lower their bills.”

Van Holt said passage of the bill would mean Georgia wouldn’t have to import one-sixth of its energy from other states.
But representatives of Georgia Power, who spoke out against the bill, said there is no energy supply shortage in Georgia that needs to be addressed.

“The market for solar right now in Georgia right now is really vibrant,” said Wilson Mallard, the Atlanta-based utility’s director of renewable development. “There’s no shortage of opportunity for solar developers.”

Mallard also argued the legislation would result in a shifting of costs that would hurt Georgia Power’s bottom line. Customers participating in the community solar program would pay a third-party solar provider rather than Georgia Power, he said.

“We remain responsible for the reliability of the grid,” Mallard said. “But now, we’re going to short our collection of costs. That’s absolutely going to create a cost shift.”

House Bill 993 by State Rep. Alan Powell (R-Hartwell) would create a new crime of “grooming a minor for indecent purposes,” according to the Dalton Daily Citizen News.

House Bill 993 was introduced during the ongoing legislative session on Jan. 23. A House committee favorably reported HB 993 on Feb. 16, with substitutions.

All six sponsors of the bill — which includes District 6 state Rep. Jason Ridley, of Chatsworth — are Republican lawmakers.

The initial bill text defined “grooming” as “actions or behaviors used by an adult to establish an emotional connection with a minor to gain such minor’s trust for the eventual objective of sexual abuse, manipulation or exploitation.”

The original iteration of the bill listed online and in-person contacts as such actions and behaviors.

“A person over the age of 18 and no less than 48 months older than the alleged victim commits the offense of grooming when such person through a pattern of activity knowingly and intentionally performs an act in person or through a third party or uses an electronic device, a computer, social media or text messages to persuade, induce, entice or coerce a minor to engage in a sexual offense (or) trafficking of persons for sexual servitude,” the text reads.

If the bill becomes law, individuals convicted of the offense would be charged with a felony subject to a sentence of one to five years in prison.

House Bill 1260 by State Rep. Houston Gaines (R-Athens), called the Georgia Nicotine Vapor Products Directory Act, would create a state listing of legal nicotine vaping products to guide retailers, according to WALB.

The Georgia Nicotine Vapor Products Directory Act would require the Georgia Agricultural Commissioner to make a list of what nicotine vape products can be sold in stores and penalize stores if they’re caught selling something not on the list.

Right now, there is no regulatory state body enforcing what is being sold in Georgia stores.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Houston Gaines, showed Atlanta News First a vape purchased in Milton last week. The “Lost Mary” vape was banned by the FDA because of flavors marketed to children.

“You want to make sure what you’re getting has been tested and approved. THC-laced and fentanyl-laced vapes have killed young people,” said Gaines.

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported 42 cases of vaping-associated illness in Georgia, including six deaths.

The bill would require stores would get two unannounced compliance checks every year. If a business owner is caught trying to sell a product not on the list, they could face fines or have their license suspended.

Governor Brian Kemp endorsed fellow Republican former Columbia County Commissioner Gary Richardson in the Special Runoff Election for State House District 125, according to the AJC.

Gov. Brian Kemp formally endorsed former Columbia County Commissioner Gary Richardson over social media influencer C.J. Pearson in the March 12 runoff for an open House seat.

The Republican-on-Republican faceoff for the solidly conservative Augusta-based seat has fast become a test of Kemp’s political machine against Pearson’s Trump-aligned MAGA brand.

The Special Runoff Election is on the March 12, 2024 ballot.

Four candidates have announced for the March 12, 2024 Special Election for House District 139, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

The April 9 election will determine who will succeed Richard Smith as the representative of Georgia House District 139, which covers parts of Muscogee and Harris counties.

District 139 voters will decide Smith’s successor among these candidates, who paid the $400 qualifying fee and submitted the required documents to the Georgia Secretary of State Office by Friday’s deadline:

Sean Knox, Republican, president of Knox Pest Control in Columbus.

Robert Mallard, independent, founding member and associate broker with Inheritance Realty Group in Columbus until November. Now, co-founder and beekeeper with Foundation Honey Company in Columbus.

Donald Moeller, Republican, oral and maxillofacial surgeon in Columbus.

Carmen Rice (not related to this reporter), Republican, human resources professional in Columbus, first female Muscogee County GOP chair.

Because this is a special election to fill a vacated seat, no primary election precedes it. So any district resident could have qualified for the ballot, regardless of party affiliation, but no Democrat qualified to run for this seat, which is in a predominantly Republican area.

The winner of the April 9 special election immediately becomes the Georgia House District 139 representative and fills the remaining portion of Smith’s two-year term, which expires at the end of this year.

Early voting for this election will start March 18.

That’s when the mailing of absentee ballots can start, but voters can submit to their local elections office a request for an absentee mail-in ballot now. The last day to submit such a request for this election is March 29.

Absentee mail-in ballots must be received by the local elections office by 7 p.m., April 9, to be counted in this election.

March 18 also is this election’s date for advance in-person voting to start. The dates are March 18-23, March 25-30 and April 1-5.

Daycare costs have risen dramatically in Georgia, according to 13WMAZ.

A new report from the Economic Policy Institute shows Georgia joins nearly three dozen other states where childcare is now more expensive than some college tuitions. According to their numbers, parents in the peach state spend an average of $8,530 dollars a year on childcare per child. That comes out to more than $700 per month. The Economic Policy Institute says it now costs $1,324 a year more for daycare in Georgia than the average in-state tuition for a four-year public college.

Georgia does offer help with childcare costs for low-income families through the Childcare and Parent Services, or CAPS, Program. There are limits, though. For example, a family of three would need a household income below $40,000 for initial eligibility.

A Bank of America Institute report says the rising costs are mostly affecting middle- and upper-income with many dipping into their savings at a faster rate.

Georgia State Parks are highlighting their work to make recreation more accessible, according to the Albany Herald.

With the recent addition of the use of All-Terrain Wheelchairs at 11 state parks and a wildlife center last year, Georgia’s State Parks also provide a number of additional offerings to make it easier for those with disabilities to get outdoors and reconnect with nature and history, explore nature trails, go fishing and attend adaptive hunts.

All-Terrain Adventure: Georgia’s State Parks & Historic Sites are breaking barriers with their commitment to inclusivity. They offer all-terrain wheelchairs, ensuring that everyone, regardless of mobility challenges, can explore the stunning landscapes and trails. These specially designed wheelchairs provide access to rugged terrains, allowing qualifying park visitors the ability to experience a sense of freedom that can be difficult to have in an everyday wheelchair. See GaStateParks.org/Accessibility/TrackChairs.

Comfortable Accommodations: The parks also boast ADA cabins, designed with accessibility in mind. These cabins are equipped with features to make the stay comfortable and enjoyable for individuals with disabilities. Visitors can experience the charm of staying overnight in the heart of nature without any compromise on accessibility.

Trails for All: Georgia’s State Parks pride themselves on their network of accessible trails that cater to various abilities. Whether an avid hiker or just looking for a leisurely stroll, these trails provide an inclusive experience for all visitors. The trails are meticulously maintained to ensure a smooth journey, allowing everyone to explore the beauty of Georgia’s landscapes. Many parks provide paved and hard-surface trail options for those who prefer to stay in their own wheelchairs. Guests can enjoy waterfalls, wetlands and the serenity of Georgia’s natural beauty all from these accessible trails. Guests can find a list of options by visiting GaStateParks.org/Hiking.

Paddle Into Accessibility: For water enthusiasts, Hard Labor Creek State Park and Jack Hill State Park now offer an ADA kayak launch that is designed and placed to provide safe, easy, stable access to and from the water, providing an opportunity for individuals with varying abilities to experience the thrill of kayaking. This initiative was accomplished thanks to an avid paddler and state park lover who was unable to launch his kayak at the park. After working with the team to secure a grant, accessible launches were added to open up new avenues for adventure, allowing everyone to connect with nature while enjoying the tranquility of Georgia’s waterways. An ADA kayak launch is also being added at Vogel State Park in 2024.