Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for February 26, 2024

On February 26, 1868, the Atlanta City Council offered use of the combined City Hall and Fulton County Courthouse as a temporary capitol if the Constitutional Convention meeting in the city would designate it the capital city.

On February 26, 1877, Governor Alfred Colquitt signed legislation calling a June 1877 election of delegates to a state Constitutional Convention to be held in July of that year.

Johnny Cash was born on February 26, 1932.

The World Trade Center in New York City was bombed on February 26, 1993, killing six and causing half-a-billion dollars in damage.

Colquitt County celebrated its 168th birthday yesterday, according to WALB.

The county was created on Feb. 25, 1856, as an act of the Georgia General Assembly, according to the city.

In honor of this occasion, the city of Moultrie posted five fun facts about the county:

• Colquitt County was named after Senator Walter Terry Colquitt.
• The county was carved from what was Thomas and Lowndes Counties, which were originally Irwin County.
• The county has the most attractive courthouse in Georgia. The courthouse is possibly the most stunning in the United States, according to the city of Moultrie.
• Colquitt County is Georgia’s 115th county. There are a total of 159 counties in all of Georgia.
• Colquitt County spans a total of 556.6 square miles.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Early voting in the March 12, 2024 Presidential Preference Primary is ongoing, with the following results as of the latest SOS file:

Early In-person: 108,986

Republican In-Person: 68,992

Democratic In-Person: 39,890

Non-Partisan In-Person: 103

Undesignated In-Person: 1

Absentee by mail: 29,080

Republican by mail: 14,952

Democratic by mail: 13,780

Non-Partisan by mail: 209

Undesignated Party by mail: 139

Gwinnett County:

Republican: 4,323

Democratic: 3,085

Non-partisan: 6

Early voting has begun for a Special Election to Oakwood City Council, according to AccessWDUN.

Early voting is now underway for a special election for the Post 4 seat on the Oakwood City Council following the passing of late Councilman Dwight Wood in September 2023.

The election is set for March 12, the same day as Georgia’s Presidential Preference Primary, and seeks to fill the remainder of Dwight Wood’s term.

Both candidates, Volley Collins and Rhonda Wood, have personal family ties to the Oakwood City Council.

Legendary convenience store chain Wawa is breaking ground on several Georgia locations, according to WSAV.

Wawa will hold ground-breaking ceremonies in Brunswick and Jesup on March 7 with company executives, local officials and VIP customers.

Plans are also in place to expand to Pooler and Hinesville, though further details will be announced in the coming months.

Wawa owns over 1,000 stores in six states and Washington, D.C., offering food, fuel and convenience services.

From WTOC:

The convenience store Wawa is officially coming to Georgia for the first time.

The popular chain started in Pennsylvania and has since grown up and down the east coast.

To this day, I can’t see a packet of Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets without picking them up to take home to Mrs. GaPundit, who grew up in the land of Wawa.

The suspect charged in the death of AU student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus was previously arrested for being in the country illegally and released, according to WRDW.

[Jose Antonio] Ibarra faces malice and felony murder charges among multiple other counts in the killing of Laken Hope Riley, who was found dead on the UGA campus Thursday.

Ibarra, a citizen of Venezuela, was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Sept. 8, 2022, after unlawfully entering the U.S. near El Paso, according to Williams.

“He was paroled and released for further processing,” Williams said.

Then on Sept. 14, 2023, Ibarra was arrested by the New York City Police Department and “charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation. He was released by the NYPD before a detainer could be issued,” Williams said.

Ibarra was arrested Friday in connection to the death of Laken Riley. Authorities said his brother, Diego Ibarra, was also arrested and charged with possessing a fake green card.

A UGA spokesperson said Diego Ibarra used a fake green card to get hired for a temporary position as a dishwasher in Bolton Dining Hall in February, but was soon fired after he “failed to submit further documentation required to keep the job” and was never paid by the university.

After his arrest Friday, ICE lodged a detainer on Jose Ibarra, Williams said.

On Saturday, February 24, Governor Brian Kemp posted a letter to “X” addressed to President Joe Biden, calling for his administration to be more transparent with illegal border crossings after the death of an Augusta University nursing student on the University of Georgia campus.

In Gov. Kemp’s letter, he says, “These tragedies are not unique to Georgia. While we will continue to support Texas with National Guard resources as we have since 2019, federal action to secure the border is the only way to wholistically address this ongoing crisis and ensure Laken Riley’s horrible fate is not replicated across the country.”

Republican state legislators are expected to draft new immigration legislation in response to the killing, according to the AJC.

Senior Republicans are considering several still-evolving proposals, such as more stringent requirements that local governments cooperate with federal immigration authorities and stiffer penalties for illegal immigrants convicted of crimes.

House Speaker Jon Burns, Senate President Pro Tem John Kennedy and other legislative leaders have indicated they will back new immigration-related measures in response to Riley’s killing. They’ll face a tight deadline with just weeks to go in the 2024 legislative session.

Gov. Brian Kemp, who will address an Athens business group early Monday, is said to be receptive to state-level immigration measures.

He has ratcheted up calls for President Joe Biden to shut down the U.S. border with Mexico and take other steps to deter uncontrolled migration. Earlier this month, he outlined plans to deploy more Georgia National Guard troops to Texas to patrol the border.

“Every state is a border state. We are beyond frustrated,” Kemp told Fox News on Sunday, adding: “This is a federal issue. This is an issue that the president can take action on.”

“If Republicans truly cared about border issues, they’d have passed recent bipartisan immigration reform instead of pandering to Trump,” said state Sen. Nikki Merritt, D-Gwinnett. “The hypocrisy is unreal.”

[Republican Insurance Commissioner John] King, a native of Mexico, urged lawmakers to ban illegal immigrants charged with violent crimes from receiving bond “under any circumstances.” He also said legislators should block illegal immigrants who are convicted of a crime from being eligible for parole or early release.

“This is a logical, long overdue step that will keep criminal aliens behind bars where they belong and save lives,” King wrote in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution op-ed. “The time to act is now, before another tragedy strikes another family, and we must get it done.”

Others advocate for new restrictions on so-called “sanctuary” cities. Georgia law has banned cities and counties from adopting a “sanctuary policy” for nearly 15 years. But some local governments, including Athens-Clarke County, have limited their cooperation with federal immigration officials.

Athens-Clarke authorities say they check the criminal history of detainees to hold anyone with outstanding warrants but don’t keep undocumented immigrants jailed if they have no criminal history.

Under House Resolution 978, this weeks legislative schedule is:

Monday, February 26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 26
Tuesday, February 27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convene for legislative day 27
Wednesday, February 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . committee work day
Thursday, February 29. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Crossover) convene for legislative day 28

Under the Gold Dome – Legislative Day 26

TBD Senate Rules: Upon Adjournment – 450 CAP
8:00 AM HOUSE Insurance P&C Sub – 406 CLOB
8:00 AM HOUSE JUDICIARY – 132 CAP
8:00 AM JOINT APPROP CONF COMMITTEE – 403 CAP
8:00 AM Senate Conf Committee: HB 915 – 403 CAP
8:30 AM HOUSE Reg Ind Occup / Profl Lic Sub – 506 CLOB
8:30 AM AGRICULTURE & CONSUMER AFF – 606 CLOB
8:30 AM Senate Econ Dev & Tourism – 450 CAP
9:00 AM HOUSE RULES – 341 CAP
9:00 AM Senate Retirement – 307 CLOB
10:00 AM HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD26) – House Chamber
11:00 AM Senate Floor Session (LD 26) – Senate Chamber
1:00 PM HOUSE Education Curriculum Sub – 506 CLOB
1:00 PM HOUSE TRANSPORTATION – 406 CLOB
1:00 PM HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS – 606 CLOB
1:00 PM HOUSE BUDGET & FISCAL AFF OVERSIGHT – 506 CLOB
1:00 PM Senate Agriculture & Consumer Affairs – 450 CAP
1:00 PM Senate Transportation – Mezz 1 CAP
1:30 PM Hong Sub of Judiciary Non-Civil – 132 CAP
2:00 PM HOUSE REGULATED IND – 606 CLOB
2:00 PM HOUSE HEALTH – 403 CAP
2:00 PM HOUSE EDUCATION – 515 CLOB
2:00 PM HOUSE  Nat Res & Envt Envtal Quality Sub – 415 CLOB
2:00 PM Senate Government Oversight – 307 CLOB
2:00 PM Senate Health & Human Services – 450 CAP
3:00 PM HOUSE GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS – 406 CLOB
3:00 PM HOUSE Insurance Life & Health Sub – 415 CLOB
3:00 PM Senate Finance – Mezz 1 CAP
3:30 PM HOUSE JUDY NON-CIV UPON ADJ HONG SUB – 132 CAP
4:00 PM HOUSE INTERSTATE COOPERATION – 403 CAP
4:00 PM Senate Judiciary Committee – 307 CLOB

House Bill 161 by State Rep. Michelle Au (R-Johns Creek) would hold parents responsible if their kids access guns without supervision, according to WSAV.

House Bill 161 also known as the Pediatric Health Safe Storage Act says that family members of children under 18 must have loaded firearms secured by placing the firearm in a locked container or temporarily making the firearm inoperable by a trigger lock. A violation of this code will be a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature when the child discharges the firearm and causes death or serious bodily injury.

News 3 spoke to [Chatham County] Sheriff Wilcher about the proposed legislation; he thinks a different issue involving guns and young people is more urgent.

“When people leave guns in their cars and their cars are unlocked and juveniles or young adults steal them that’s where your violence is right there,” Wilcher explained.

There are exceptions to the bill like if a child is being supervised by an adult for hunting or sport shooting, if the child stole the gun in a robbery, or if the child shot someone in lawful self-defense. Wilcher said that gun safety starts at home and that’s the only thing that can prevent unexpected tragedy.

If the bill passes, parents could face possible jail time or a fine up to $5,000.

House Bill 986 by State Rep. Brad Thomas (R-Holly Springs) would prohibit and criminalize use of “deepfake” AI in campaigns, and passed the House, according to the Capitol Beat News Service.

House Bill 986, which passed 148-22, creates the crime of fraudulent election interference. Anyone who knowingly perpetrates a political deepfake within 90 days of an election would face two to five years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.

“We want to protect good political free speech,” Rep. Brad Thomas, R-Holly Springs, the bill’s chief sponsor, said on the House floor before Thursday’s vote. “But fraud is not protected speech.”

The legislation applies to “materially deceptive” video or audio deepfakes but carves out exceptions including satire, parody, artistic expression and journalism. It also allows deepfakes to be used in campaign ads as long as they acknowledge the candidate is being impersonated and the events depicted may not have occurred.

Nonetheless, the bill drew objections that it would violate free speech rights. Rep. Charlice Byrd, R-Woodstock, compared it to the Patriot Act Congress passed in 2001 following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C.

“This bill is an affront to our First Amendment rights,” Byrd said. “In the process of providing security, you abolish liberty.”

But the measure’s supporters said deliberately spreading false information during a political campaign is not protected by the U.S. Constitution.

“How can we have election integrity without knowing what the candidates are truly saying?” said Rep. Todd Jones, R-South Forsyth, chairman of the House Technology and Infrastructure Innovation Committee, which approved the bill last week. “Don’t we want truth in advertising?”

Republicans are looking for a candidate to run against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D), according to the AJC.

With a deadline to qualify for office approaching, Republicans are searching for a formidable candidate to run against the first-term district attorney. She also faces the potential of a longshot challenger from her own party.

Willis will be the odds-on favorite no matter who files paperwork to run by March 8. Fulton County is a Democratic stronghold, and she is one of the most recognizable political figures in the state, if not the nation. She has the advantage of incumbency and amassed a small fortune in her campaign account.

But a a GOP contender might relish the opportunity to turn the race into a proxy fight over her racketeering case that charged Trump and 18 others with conspiring to overturn President Joe Biden’s narrow 2020 victory in Georgia.

And a challenger could also bring more scrutiny to her personal relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade that’s at the center of efforts by Trump and several of his co-defendants to remove her from the case.

Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler has led the push to draft a conservative attorney to challenge Willis. She called the November vote a “rare opportunity to restore balance” in the office.

Gwinnett County Commissioners plan to raise the Chair’s pay by nearly 56%, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

The chairman of the Gwinnett County Commission may take home more money starting next year.

Nearly 56%, or $50,882, more money than current Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson takes home, to be exact.

County commissioners will vote on Feb. 27 on a proposal to raise Hendrickson’s annual salary to $141,803, according to a legal notice that recently ran in the Daily Post.

The chairwoman makes about $89,721, plus a $1,200 supplement, according to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ 2023 elected official salaries report.

The proposed raise would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, when the winner of this year’s chairman’s race begins their term.

Pembroke needs to add more housing stock as the Hyundai metaplant comes online, according to the Savannah Morning News.

[W]ith Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America expected to have more than 8,000 employees by 2031, an increase in housing in the Pembroke area seems inevitable.

The city’s comprehensive plan emphasizes the need for smart planning as Hyundai’s presence will “create demand for residential development in the northern parts of Bryan County.”

The plan also says the city needs to “be mindful of the development pressures and needs of existing neighborhoods” and that the city may consider annexing areas “north-east and east of the city.” The county’s comprehensive plan echoes those concerns.

[City Manager Chris] Benson said ideally, the city needs to add 150-200 rooftops a year.

Benson said although they have “limited housing stock”, the city is open to looking at everything from affordable housing to townhomes.

Cottages are another form of housing listed as a possibility in the comprehensive plan and could be anywhere between 600-1,000 square feet. If the city chose to take that route, Benson pointed to the benefits of constructing them near the center of the city, saying it would encourage walkability and foster a sense of community.

“Those would be your two-bedroom, one-bathroom homes, maybe an open kitchen style,” said Benson. “The concept of cottage housing is where you don’t necessarily have your own front yard. You might share a courtyard or a tiny green space in the middle and then the cottages kind of surround those.”

Statesboro Police made more arrests in 2023 despite officer shortages, according to the Statesboro Herald.

The number of homicides inside the city limits, four, was up from three the previous year but did not return to the peak of nine homicides – killings of people by other people but not all necessarily murders – reported in Statesboro during the 2020 pandemic year. Some other violent crimes, namely robberies and aggravated assaults, increased in 2023 after a previous drop. And a drop in the number of reported rapes may not be such a good thing as it appears at first glance, he said.

[Police Chief] Broadhead delivered the SPD’s 2023 Annual Report, with a summary slideshow, to the elected officials during a work session Feb. 20.

“Last year we handled a little over 43,000 calls for service,” he said. “Citations were up, warnings were up, crashes were down and arrests were up. One reason I’m particularly proud of the fact that citations and arrests (were up) – it’s not that it’s just all about enforcement – we spent most of last year between 25 and 30 percent short on staffing, operationally.”

Last fall, the Statesboro Police Department reported a 17-officer shortage in its budgeted force of 79 officer positions. Broadhead said at the time that the “operational” shortage was greater because the roster included several officers on medical leave and a few recruits still at the academy or in field training.

Former Chatham County Sheriff’s Deputy Kevin Burns is running against incumbent Sheriff John Wilcher, according to the Savannah Morning News.

In November’s general election, Burns aims to supplant his former boss, current Sheriff John Wilcher, who replaced six-term sheriff Al St. Lawrence, who died in office in 2015. Seven months after winning a special election for the seat, Wilcher was elected to a full term and re-elected in 2020. Wilcher intends to run for re-election. Richard Coleman, a former law enforcement officer who has served in multiple departments throughout Georgia, also is vying for the post of Chatham County Sheriff.