Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for February 27, 2024

On February 27, 1922, the United States Supreme Court released an unanimous decision holding that the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting women the right to vote, is constitutional. The case, Leser v. Garnett, arose because of a challenge seeking to strike women’s names from the voter rolls in Maryland and asserting:

• The power to amend the Constitution did not cover this amendment, due to its character.
• Several states that had ratified the amendment had constitutions that prohibited women from voting, rendering them unable to ratify an amendment to the contrary.
• The ratifications of Tennessee and West Virginia were invalid, because they were adopted without following the rules of legislative procedure in place in those states.

It might as well have asserted that sleeping on the couch for the rest of the plantiffs’ lives would be cold and uncomfortable.

On February 27, 1962, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ralph David Abernathy were tried in Albany for charges stemming from a demonstration on the steps of City Hall.

On February 27, 1982, Wayne Williams was convicted in Fulton County Superior Court of murdering two adult males. Atlanta Police later said he was guilty of at least 23 of 29 child murders between 1979 and 1981. Williams was never indicted or tried on the allegations of child murder and maintains his innocence.

WALB looks at South Georgia entries in the famous “Green Book” for African-American travelers.

“The Green Book” first published by New York postal worker Victor Hugo [Green], became a valuable tool for black people seeking shelter, and even included some locations in South Georgia.

Not only did it serve as a venue for safety for African-American travelers’ but a social protest against what was going on during the time known as Jim Crow.

“If travelers came to this area they knew what addresses to go to in order to be able to have boarding,” Angie Jones, a local historian, said. “In 1946 one of the mottos that they added to the front cover of the Green Book was ‘take your green book with you, you might need it.’”

There were four greenhouses listed as tourist homes in Albany. Two on Mercer Avenue, one on Whitney formerly known as South Street, and one on South Jackson Street.

“The Green Book also offered as the Jim Crow era expanded, as the civil rights movement became more involved it also provided information about safe driving rules, it provided information about your rights as a citizen, as a negro citizen,” Angie replied.

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: 130,278

Republican In-Person: 83,192
Democratic In-Person: 46,951
Non-Partisan In-Person: 134
Undesignated In-Person: 1

Absentee by mail (Applications / Returned): 31,337 / 10,527

Republican by mail: 16,027 / 5,549
Democratic by mail: 14,970 / 4,980
Non-Partisan by mail: 242 / 8
Undesignated Party by mail: 140

Gwinnett County:

Republican: 4,974 (58.5%)
Democratic: 3,535 (41.5%)
Non-partisan: 22

From the Brunswick News:

Turnout was light for the first week of early voting in the Presidential Preference Primary in the Golden Isles.

Christopher Channell, director of the Glynn County Board of Elections and Registration, said competitive elections increase turnout. In this instance, some voters who normally vote in elections will not be motivated to show up to the polls.

“It depends on whether it will be competitive or not,” he said of primary elections. “We already know who the candidates (for both parties) will be. We will have a lower turnout than you would typically expect.”

Last week, 995 people cast early votes at the three polling places, and that included President’s Day, a federal holiday, and on Saturday.

Channell said 128 people showed up to the three early voting polling places on President’s Day.

From the Dalton Daily Citizen News:

As of Feb. 22, Whitfield County Registrar Shaynee Bryson said that 415 residents had voted in-person as part of the advance voting period for Georgia’s March 24 presidential preference primary elections.

At the time, the total number of ballots cast at the Whitfield County Courthouse totaled 369 for the Republican presidential primary and 46 for the Democratic presidential primary.

At the end of Thursday, the local elections office had accepted 66 absentee-by-mail ballots.

“The use of poll pads for advanced voting has significantly increased the speed and efficiency with which we can process voters at check-in,” she said. “The voters we have encountered have expressed their satisfaction with the ease and speed of the check-in process, as well as the short wait times that result from the use of these poll pads.”

At this point, Bryson said it’s difficult to compare and contrast the voting turnout so far compared to the turnout for 2020.

“2020 was a very unique year, as the presidential preference primary that year was halted, statewide, after two weeks of advanced in-person voting,” she said, “and then later combined with the May general primary.”

Bryson said she expects a large turnout for elections throughout the 2024 cycle.

“We do not have any specific numbers that we have considered, but we always prepare as if we will experience the highest turnout possible,” she added.

“The May general primary will also include the Whitfield County Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax question and multiple federal and state-level elected positions,” she said. “The city of Tunnel Hill has also included a ‘Sunday sales by the drink’ question for their eligible voters.”

That so many local races are contested by multiple candidates, Bryson said, bodes well for greater turnout numbers this spring — “as the candidates campaign and rally voters to show up to vote.”

Under the Gold Dome Today – Legislative Day 27

8:00 AM HOUSE MOTOR VEHICLES – 606 CLOB
8:00 AM HOUSE ECON DEV AND TOURISM – 506 CLOB
8:00 AM HOUSE Appropriations Sub Public Safety – 415 CLOB
8:00 AM HOUSE INSURANCE – 406 CLOB
8:00 AM Cancelled – Senate Economic Dev – 450 CAP
8:30 AM Senate Finance – 450 CAP
9:00 AM HOUSE CREATIVE ARTS & ENT – 406 CLOB
9:00 AM HOUSE RULES – 341 CAP
10:00 AM HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD27) – House Chamber
10:00 AM Senate Floor Session (LD 27) – Senate Chamber
1:00 PM UPON ADJ – HOUSE Public Safety Dean Greene Sub – 506 CLOB
1:00 PM Senate Children & Families – 307 CLOB
2:00 PM HOUSE PUBLIC HEALTH – 606 CLOB
2:00 PM HOUSE RETIREMENT – 406 CLOB
2:00 PM UPON ADJ HOUSE JUDICIARY CIVIL – 132 CAP
2:00 PM HOUSE HEALTH – 403 CAP
2:00 PM HOUSE GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS – 506 CLOB
2:30 PM Senate Education & Youth – 450 CAP
3:00 PM HOUSE ENERGY, UTILITIES & TELECOMS – 403 CAP
3:00 PM HOUSE DEFENSE & VETERANS AFFAIRS – 506 CLOB
3:00 PM HOUSE STATE PLANNING & COMM AFF – 415 CLOB
4:00 PM HOUSE SPECIAL RULES – 415 CLOB
4:00 PM Cancelled- Senate Regulated Industries – 450 CAP

Governor Kemp set expectations for the prosecution of the man suspected of killing an Augusta University student on the UGA campus, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp issued a stark warning Monday to Athens area District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez in the case of 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal immigrant charged with murder and other offenses in the death last week of 22-year-old Laken Riley.

Asked Monday following a breakfast speech to the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce whether he had confidence in [Western Judicial Circuit District Attorney Deborah] Gonzalez’ ability “to bring this case, this suspect, to justice,” Kemp had a terse five-word response.

“Well, she best do that,” Kemp, an Athens native, told a group of reporters at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education.

State Rep. Houston Gaines, R-Athens, whose district borders the area where Riley’s body was found, added that there is an effort underway seeking alternatives to having Gonzalez handle the case.

“I have a real concern about her ability to handle this case,” Gaines told reporters Monday. “She’s not ready to handle this case.”

Since her election in 2020, Gonzalez, a Democrat and the first Hispanic woman to be elected as a district attorney in Georgia, has faced criticism regarding a poor prosecutorial record, combined with concerns over understaffing and apparent legal procedural errors.

Gonzalez did not immediately return a Monday phone call seeking comment on the governor’s ultimatum and Gaines’ lack of faith in her ability to successfully prosecute Ibarra.

From the Associated Press via the Statesboro Herald:

The killing of 22-year-old Laken Riley revived a theme — migrants committing violent crimes — that is animating the 2024 elections as Trump seeks a return to the White House. Trump famously launched his 2016 presidential bid with these words about Mexicans: “They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

The focus now is on migrants who have arrived in the country during the Biden administration, with Republicans blaming Biden for migrant flows even as Democrats attack Republicans for sinking proposed legislation that could have toughened border enforcement. That conflict is only likely to escalate this week with Biden and Trump planning dueling trips to the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas on Thursday.

The man charged with murder in Riley’s beating death, Jose Ibarra, is a Venezuelan citizen who immigration authorities say unlawfully crossed into the U.S. in September 2022.

U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement says Ibarra, 26, was detained by the Border Patrol on Sept. 8, 2022, after entering from Mexico near El Paso, Texas. He was released for further processing, according to ICE. It’s unclear if Ibarra applied for asylum.

According to ICE, Ibarra was arrested by New York police on Aug. 31 and charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation. Ibarra was released before ICE could ask New York officials to hold him until immigration authorities could take him into custody, ICE said. New York officials said Sunday they had no record of the arrest.

Kemp told reporters after a breakfast speech on the university campus to the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce that “we just have a nightmare in this country with mass migration.”

“That is a failure of our system on multiple levels and at multiple times and it has resulted in a young woman’s death,” Kemp said during his speech. “That is inexcusable in any absence of any real effort by the Biden administration to step up and address this crisis, as they continue to ignore the calls for meaningful policy change that governors like me had made for well over two years.”

Georgia Democratic Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler called the Republican response to Riley’s death “appalling,” saying the GOP is to blame for scuttling a bill in Congress that would have toughened immigration enforcement.

“Our border crisis continues because Donald Trump has convinced one party that the only thing that matters is putting Donald Trump first no matter the cost,” Butler said in a speech on the state Senate floor.

Another Democrat, state Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes, said the characterization of migrants as “criminals and thugs” following Riley’s death was xenophobic. “As Georgia mourns the life of Laken Riley, we must not succumb to tribalism and bigotry,” she said.

Kemp’s emphasis on immigration could help mobilize Republican voters in the South’s foremost swing state. That could aid Kemp if he has future ambitions, such as running for U.S. Senate or president. It would also effectively support Trump even though Kemp continues to be cool toward Trump’s renomination after Trump tried and failed to derail Kemp’s 2022 reelection.

From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Albany Herald:

“If this thug had not been in Athens, Georgia, illegally, Laken Riley would still be with us today,” Sen. Shelley Echols, R-Gainesville, told her Senate colleagues Monday. Echols has a daughter who is a sophomore at UGA.

“This could have been prevented,” Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, who represents the Riley family in the Senate, said.

Senate Democrats objected to Republicans using a violent crime allegedly committed by one illegal immigrant to demonize all of the millions of people who have entered the U.S. illegally.

Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes, D-Duluth, said statistics show immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born Americans.

Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, blamed Biden for failing to enforce existing laws aimed at illegal immigration.

“On Day 1 of his administration, he relaxed the immigration laws in this country,” Dolezal said.

Monday’s Senate debate over illegal immigration came after Gov, Brian Kemp and Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, responded during the weekend to the murder in Athens by criticizing the Biden administration for failing to enforce the laws.

“Laken Riley’s tragic death struck the hearts of Georgians everywhere and has rightfully sparked national outrage,” Kemp said. “As I have said many times before: Every state is now a border state because of Joe Biden’s inaction, and today I am again demanding answers and information from the Biden administration that will help us protect our citizens when the federal government will not.”

From WALB:

Governor Brian Kemp spoke in Athens Monday morning stating how deaths as such could be avoidable if President Joe Biden would secure the border, “This is just a tragic situation. There are people mad like I am that this happened because it was preventable. Because we have a nightmare in this country with mass migration, and then we have people that are here illegally breaking are laws and they’re not telling anybody or reporting this to us.”

With Athens being a sanctuary city, that means they limit or deny cooperation with the national government when enforcing immigration law.

WALB interviewed Attorney General Chris Carr who says he 100% agrees with what Governor Kemp is stating, “When you see policies and cities and counties around the country embrace a sanctuary city law, where you’re just going to ignore certain laws that have been passed by state legislators or Congress, it creates dangerous situations. So I would just say let’s be aware, but let’s also do the things that we need to do to keep this state and our nation safe.”

From the AJC:

Georgia law has banned cities and counties from adopting a “sanctuary policy” for nearly 15 years, and lawmakers in 2016 required local governments to certify they’re complying with federal immigration policies involving undocumented immigrants to receive state funding.

But some local governments have limited their cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. Athens-Clarke County authorities say they check the criminal history of detainees to hold anyone with outstanding warrants but don’t keep unauthorized immigrants jailed if they have no criminal history.

State legislators agreed on a mid-year budget reconciliation that adds $5 billion in spending, according to the AJC.

The Georgia House and Senate approved a record midyear budget Monday that includes money for major renovations on Capitol Hill, a new medical school at the University of Georgia, roads, rural airports, local water and sewer projects, and rural economic development programs.

The chambers backed most of the spending hikes Gov. Brian Kemp proposed in January, even though state tax collections have been slow for much of the past year and are not projected to improve anytime soon.

But with $16 billion in “rainy day” and undesignated reserves, Kemp and lawmakers see the midyear budget — which runs through June 30 — as a chance to allocate money for big construction and infrastructure projects that will both better prepare the state for the future and put more Georgians to work.

The House passed the budget 169-2, and the Senate 52-1, sending the spending plan to Kemp for his signature.

The state spent about $26.6 billion — excluding federal funding — in fiscal 2020, the last budget plan approved before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Last year, it was more than $32 billion, and the midyear plan would spend almost $38 billion for fiscal 2024.

“There is much to be proud of in this, and much good is being done with it,” said House Appropriations Chairman Matt Hatchett, R-Dublin.

The budget covers a range of major infrastructure and education projects, including a new medical school at UGA, a new dental school at Georgia Southern University, large-scale computer system upgrades, more money for sewer improvements and massive spending on building roads. The state would spend an additional $1.5 billion alone on road building and maintenance.

A late add was nearly $400 million to build a new legislative office building and renovate the state Capitol. That was made possible by Kemp deciding revenue collections will be better than originally expected in the first half of 2024. Lawmakers can’t budget more money than the governor estimates will come in.

State legislators approved more than $436 million for construction of a new state prison that’s underway, according to 13WMAZ.

Construction on a new state prison in Washington County is underway and, on Monday, the legislature sealed the deal on $436.7 million for the project. Now, the bill is heading to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk for final approval.

According to Washington County Sheriff Joel Cochran, construction on the project has been ongoing since the fall, and the facility is being built right down the road from the existing Washington State Prison in Davisboro.

The infusion of funds into the project comes in a mid-year amendment to the state’s original budget for the year. The bill, House Bill 915, was sent to the governor’s desk on Monday after a 52-1 vote in the state Senate.

Back in October 2023, the Georgia Department of Correction confirmed to 13WMAZ that they were building a new facility in Washington County. A resolution from the Georgia Board of Corrections approved the project on June 1, 2023.

However, the House Budget Office offered a glimpse at what the project’s final state will look like.

“Designed with both correctional officer and inmate safety in mind, the new facility features a separate staff mezzanine for access and observation, precast cells, and rear pipe chases to prevent the introduction of contraband and weapons,” according to highlights from the House Budget Office.

Since the GDC already has a facility in the county, the GDC also says it simplifies the process of getting the facility up and running due to its “already established GDC workforce,” the Department of Corrections said.

When construction is complete, they say the new facility will essentially replace Washington State Prison, which was opened back in 1991. Because of that, it is unclear how many new jobs the facility would create.

House Bill 882 by State Rep. Roger Bruce (D-Atlanta) would restrict the pre-conviction release of mugshots, according to the Georgia Recorder.

“An 18-year-old committed suicide because they did not have the money to get the mugshot removed, and he could not get a job,” said Tyrone Democrat Rep. Derrick Jackson.

Georgians who have not been convicted of a crime have lost their jobs and reputations because of their posted mugshot. Those with criminal records have unemployment rates at 27% according to the Prison Policy Initiative. For something as minor as a parking ticket, websites take these mugshots from the sheriff’s department’s website and memorialize them for profit.

Atlanta Democratic Rep. Roger Bruce is trying to do something to change all of that.

Bruce proposed House Bill 882 this year, legislation that would restrict sheriff’s offices from posting mugshots until the person has been convicted. If someone had been proven or assumed innocent, they could request their mugshot to be taken down. If the website doesn’t comply, they get a $500 fine every day until the photo is deleted.

Some Gwinnett County voters will decide whether to incorporate a new City of Mulberry, according to the AJC.

With Gov. Brian Kemp’s recent signing of Senate Bill 333, which calls for a referendum on incorporating a city of Mulberry, it will now be up to voters to decide what happens next. If the “Yes” votes come out on top, Mulberry will become Gwinnett County’s 17th city.

It will also be the largest city in the county by geographic size and the second largest in terms of population, with about 41,000 people living inside the proposed city limits.

It would also be Gwinnett’s most affluent city, with a median household income of nearly $121,200.

“This is an exciting opportunity for residents in northeast Gwinnett to gain local control over planning and zoning decisions without imposing a city property tax,” House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration, R-Dacula, said in a statement on Feb. 15.

“As a resident of this proposed city, I have been an enthusiastic supporter of the cityhood effort and plan to remain involved in expressing support for Mulberry when it appears on the ballot.”

The Mulberry cityhood referendum will appear on ballots in northeast Gwinnett as part of the May 21 general primary election. That means proponents and opponents will have to spend the next three months trying to get voters on their side on an issue that no one knew they’d be voting on six months ago.

Mulberry would be governed by a five-member city council. The council members would select one of their own to serve as the city’s mayor for two years rather than letting the residents vote for a mayor.

But state Sen. Clint Dixon, R-Buford, says it would be worth it to create a new city that it designed to give more local control to residents in northeast Gwinnett. Dixon filed the cityhood bill that Kemp signed into law.

“I am confident that the incorporation of the city of Mulberry will return power and local control to the citizens of Gwinnett County,” Dixon said in a statement. “Again, I would like to extend my thanks to House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration for his continuous support and work on this measure. I look forward to putting this initiative before my constituents in the coming months.”

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled that Trump prosecutor Nathan Wade’s law partner must answer questions about the relationship between Wade and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, according to the AJC.

Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee’s chambers notified attorneys in the case by email late Monday that certain communications Terrence Bradley had with Wade are not protected by attorney-client privilege, according to numerous people who read the email. Bradley could be compelled to testify as soon as Tuesday afternoon. McAfee’s decision followed a closed-door meeting between the judge and Bradley on Monday that lasted nearly an hour and 20 minutes.

Defense attorneys are seeking to disqualify the entire DA’s office because of what they have called an “improper” romantic relationship between Willis and Wade. The defense attorneys say Willis benefitted financially by hiring Wade because he paid for trips they took together with money he earned from the case.

Willis and Wade have testified they split the cost of travel roughly equally. And they said their relationship began months after she hired him to oversee the case in November 2021.

Bradley’s testimony could be damning for Willis and Wade. McAfee has already heard testimony from a former friend and employee of Willis who said the romance began long before Willis hired Wade. Defense attorneys have suggested Bradley can also testify that Willis and Wade were romantically involved before she hired him.

A second witness contradicting Willis and Wade could provide further evidence to support the defendants’ assertion that Willis and Wade lied under oath at the recent hearing. The defendants also are seeking to introduce cell phone records they say are evidence that the romantic relationship began sooner than Willis and Wade have admitted.

The line of the week comes from an AJC story about the costs of gambling.

“When people ask me who’s most addicted to gambling I say, ‘It’s the government!’” Jeffrey L. Derevensky, Director, International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High Risk Behaviors at McGill University, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “States are very much addicted to the tax revenues from gambling.”

Georgia stands to profit from making sports betting legal here. Supporters estimate it could bring anywhere from $30 million to $100 million in revenue to the state each year, although critics say the revenue could be much less.

Online sports gambling took off in the U.S. in 2018, after the Supreme Court decided states have the right to legalize sports betting. Around the same time, Americans began placing bets on non-U.S. websites and apps. States have argued that legalizing sports betting can keep revenues in the U.S., and benefit their jurisdictions.

Yet in many instances, Derevensky and other experts told the AJC, states aren’t setting aside enough money to educate people about the addictive nature of gambling nor the risks of using free credit to try sports gambling apps. They say Georgia should set aside funds to treat those who will inevitably become addicted if it lifts the sports betting ban.

“We can comfortably predict that in the state of Georgia, if sports betting were legalized, 1 to 2% of people will become problem gamblers,” Derevensky said. “The problem is, every problem gambler negatively impacts seven people — spouses, children, extended family, workplace colleagues. Impact rises to 10% of society.”

Allow me to recommend some supplemental reading: The Wall Street Journal writes about a psychiatrist who became addicted to online gambling.

She started with $750 and hit a hot streak last summer that stretched over six days. She played round after round of online casino games until her winnings hit $500,000. The windfall would make up for every bad bet and pay off all she owed.

Fischer, a 41-year-old mental-health professional and suburban homeowner with two boys, was by then in debt by six figures from online gambling losses. For nearly a year, she lost again and again, complaining to at least one gambling company that she had a problem but couldn’t stop. As a psychiatrist familiar with human impulses and addiction, Fischer knew better than most what she needed to do.

Yet she was up against an industry skilled in the art of leveraging data analytics and human behavior to keep customers betting. Gambling companies tracked the ups and downs of Fischer’s betting behavior and gave bonus credits to keep her playing. VIP customer representatives offered encouragement and gifts.

After her six-day hot streak, Fischer made several requests to start withdrawing the half-million dollars from the PointsBet gambling app. But she kept changing her mind and plowed the money back into play.

Within a day, she lost nearly all of it. “There’s nothing in your brain that says, ‘OK, stop now, you’re done. You’ve won your money back, you can put this behind you,’” Fischer said. “There was just something in my brain that made me keep going.”

DraftKings and other gambling companies doled out tens of thousands of dollars in credits that kept Fischer playing long after she wanted to quit.

Casinos have always wooed their high-rollers with special treatment, but online-betting has intensified industry tactics. Companies closely track betting habits 24 hours a day, collecting such data as how much time each customer spends on an app, how much money they gamble, what kind of bets they place and how much they lose.

Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) may open earlier than planned, according to the Savannah Morning News.

HMGMA’s press release stated, “The official start of production has accelerated to the fourth quarter of 2024 with the grand opening celebration targeted for the first quarter of 2025.”

The news came as part of an event at the Georgia State Capitol that featured Gov. Brian Kemp, First Lady Marty Kemp, and José Muñoz, president and global COO of Hyundai Motor Company and president and CEO of Hyundai and Genesis Motor North America. The Georgia general assembly also passed a resolution commending Hyundai Motor Group’s (HMG) dedication to the State of Georgia and recognized Feb. 26, 2024, as Hyundai Day.

Other officials who attended the event earlier Monday included Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and House Speaker Jon Burns, Department of Economic Development Director Pat Wilson, local elected and economic officials from the Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority (JDA), including Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) President Trip Tollison.

A recent Center for Automotive Research study suggests that Hyundai’s investments in Georgia could create approximately 40,000 jobs and generate a potential $4.6 billion in individual earnings every year. The study also states that, “In Alabama, California, and Georgia – the states that received 97% of all new investments in 2021 – Hyundai and its independent dealers have created or contributed to 22,200, 19,200, and 9,600 jobs and generated $3.06 billion, $2.36 billion, $868 million in total earnings, respectively.”

Tybee Island City Council is moving forward with a proposal to revise the Short Term Vacation Rental Ordinance, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Council member Nick Sears proposed an ordinance earlier this month that would reduce the number of short-term rentals in residential districts by terminating their permits upon sale of the home, in residential areas R-1, R-1-B and R-2. The proposal came up in a previous meeting for discussion only.

In October 2022, the council passed an ordinance that stopped the issuance of short-term rental permits in residential areas.

Sears issued a two-part motion for the ordinance on Thursday. The motion included a direction to the city attorney to draft the proposed ordinance in proper form, with particular attention to the provisions for enforcement and a request to distribute the first draft to the council for review and comment by Feb. 29, in time to include in the agenda for the first council meeting on March 14.

“There are a number of incorrect rumors floating about this ordinance,” Sears said. “I have heard it would result in an immediate shutdown of all STRs in the city. That’s not true. While ultimately this ordinance would reduce the number of STRs in residential districts to zero, this would only occur over a long period of time.”

Outside of being concerned for their property rights, many cited the loss of tourist revenue as another reason why the ordinance shouldn’t pass.

Savannah is expected to add nearly 25% of its population by 2060, according to the Savannah Morning News.

The state’s planning and budget projects Chatham County’s population will increase to 375,339 by 2060. That’s about a 25% increase starting from 2022.

Given the area is already at a near 10,000-unit housing shortage, a central question facing local leaders is how to shrink the gap amid a booming population. Housing Savannah Inc., the nonprofit supporting Savannah’s Affordable Housing Fund, gathered local leaders last week to discuss Chatham County’s housing needs and potential solutions.

A panel of those leaders ― Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce President Bert Brantley, Savannah Housing Authority Deputy Director Kenneth Clark, Chatham County Manager Michael Kaigler, Savannah City Manager Jay Melder, and Georgia Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Christopher Nunn ― dished on affordability, density and developers.

Rome City Council adopted a 6-month moratorium on new vaping and gaming stores, according to the Rome News Tribune.

The Rome City Commission unanimously approved a resolution setting a 6-month moratorium on new permits for stores that house coin operated amusement machines and sell vape projects, effective immediately.

The resolution states that the commission wants to establish the moratorium for purposes of regulating through zoning.

“There are between 60 and 80 stores offering COAM machines in Rome,” Mayor Craig McDaniel said. “This is why we need to take this time to study the issue.”

Republican Susan Lee announced she is running for Glynn County Board of Education Post 2 (At-large), according to The Brunswick News.

It was Lee’s 30-plus years in education that inspired her to run for a seat on the Glynn County School Board. She’s been assigned to Oglethorpe Point and Burroughs-Molette elementary schools, and Glynn and Jane Macon middle schools and taught evening classes at Glynn Academy. She also served for a time as the 21st Century After School Program’s project manager. In that role, she managed six schools’ after-school programs.

Qualification for the 2024 general election is March 4-8. The deadline to register for the party primaries is April 22 and early voting runs from April 29 to May 17. Primary Election Day is May 21. Currently, the deadline to register for the general election is Oct. 7 and early voting runs from Oct. 15 to Nov. 1. Election Day is Nov. 5.

Gwinnett County Board of Education District 1 candidate Leroy Ranel Jr. is hosting a meet and greet in his campaign to unseat BOE Vice Chair Karen Watkins, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

The Gwinnett County Association of Educators endorsed Shana White for Board of Education District 3, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

The group announced on Tuesday that it will endorse veteran teacher Shana White in the school board District 3 race. The announcement comes a month after the group endorsed Leroy Ranel and board member Tarece Johnson-Morgan in the school board Districts 1 and 5 races, respectively.

“Not only does Ms. White’s campaign provide an opportunity for this community to elect someone sincerely dedicated to public service and improving our public schools, we also have the rare opportunity of electing someone with recent teaching experience in GCPS classrooms,” GCAE President Brian Westlake said. “Ms. White’s platform is clearly informed by her recent experiences as a GCPS teacher, and these experiences and her perspective will be invaluable to our community when she joins the board.”

White is not the only candidate who has picked up an endorsement in the District 3 race. Murphy has endorsed Yanin Cortes while U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick has endorsed Steven Gasper.

There are three other candidates running for the District 3 seat in addition to White, Cortes and Gasper. They are Domonique Cooper, Kirk Buis and Demetrius Nelson.