Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for February 9, 2021

From the Macon Telegraph:

The entire project will consist of a 6,890-mile fiber network. This brings improved electric service and increased reliability through smart grid capabilities, and will provide high-speed internet access to all 80,000 of the two EMCs’ members within the next four years. Work on it could begin as early as June of this year.

The two EMCs will own the fiber and lease left over fiber to Conexon.

Conexon will serve residents with fiber-to-the-home internet speeds up to 1 gigabit per second. The internet service will be powered by fiber, but Conexon will provide the retail service.

The State House Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee‘s subcommittee on Energy heard testimony on House Bill 150 by State Rep. Bruce Williamson (R-Monroe). From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post:

Sponsored by state Rep. Bruce Williamson, R-Monroe, the bill would block city and county governments from prohibiting service connections to local houses and businesses “based upon the type or source of energy or fuel to be delivered.”

It is identical to a separate bill introduced Monday in the General Assembly’s other chamber by state Sen. John Kennedy, R-Macon.

Monday’s debate in a House Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications subcommittee set up a battle between city, county and state leaders over what building-code rules local officials can pursue to reduce harmful future climate change caused by fossil fuels like oil and natural gas.

Williamson, the bill’s sponsor, said it would “put the brakes” on local governments from blocking energy sources to free up consumer choice for fuel consumption and possibly lower prices for fuels like natural gas.

“This measure would give Georgians a resilient path for low energy pricing,” Williamson said. “It gives Georgia consumers freedom of choice … as energy sources are kept low by the competitive forces at work.”

State Rep. Chuck Martin, R-Alpharetta, who chairs the subcommittee, said the bill will likely get a vote later this week before potentially moving to the full committee and the House floor.

The Georgia Secretary of State’s Office opened an investigation into the now-infamous Trump phone call, according to the Associated Press via the Savannah Morning News.

Walter Jones, a spokesman for Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, confirmed the investigation.

“The Secretary of State’s office investigates complaints it receives. The investigations are fact-finding and administrative in nature. Any further legal efforts will be left to the Attorney General,” Jones wrote.

The investigation by the secretary of state’s office stems from a complaint by George Washington University Law School professor John Banzhaf III, according to the investigative case sheet.

In an emailed press release sent Jan. 4, Banzhaf said he had filed a complaint with the secretary of state’s office requesting “that this matter be fully investigated, and action be taken to the extent appropriate.” The complaint suggests Trump may have committed one or more violations of Georgia law, including conspiracy to commit election fraud, criminal solicitation to commit election fraud and intentional interference with the performance of election duties, the release says.

Investigators will present their findings to the state election board, which will then decide how to proceed. If the board believes there’s evidence that a crime occurred, it could take action ranging from issuing a letter of reprimand to referring the case to Georgia’s attorney general.

United States Representative Nikema Williams (D-Atlanta), the Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, will hold a press conference about the 2018 elections, according to the AJC.

The Democratic Party of Georgia is already suing both Gov. Brian Kemp and his former spokeswoman, Candice Broce, over a 2018 election-eve allegation from Kemp that the Democratic Party had hacked the state’s voter registration system.

On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams will headline a press conference about the lawsuit that the Democratic Party filed against the governor in November. Williams continues to lead the state party, even after being elected to Congress in 2020. (Kemp did not comment on the lawsuit when it was filed in November).

The lawsuit not only attempts to hold Kemp responsible for the 2018 allegations, but has the added benefit for Democrats of reminding voters of Kemp’s controversial role as secretary of state before he became a far less controversial governor.

The Georgia Department of Labor received an award from the American Institute for Full Employment, according to the Albany Herald.

Amid an unprecedented economic shutdown, a specialized state of emergency enabled a robust COVID-19 response by the GDOL, which addressed massive layoffs, optimized online services and more quickly connected claimants to employment. The department’s rapid action helped mitigate the economic impacts on workers and employers of the most devastating economic crisis since the Great Depression.

The Full Employment Award is given each year to one or more states or individuals demonstrating a commitment to excellence in helping job seekers become re-employed.

Hall County is considering condemning several properties it needs to complete an inland port, according to AccessWDUN.

At Monday’s county commission work session commissioners heard a request from Hall County Attorney Van Stephens that would authorize him to take whatever steps are necessary to acquire the property in a timely fashion including condemnation.

Just over two years ago the Georgia Ports Authority named Gainesville as a site for its newest inland port location and told Hall County it would be responsible for acquiring some of the land needed for the project. Time is running out for the county as 2021 is the date given for completion of the project.

The four parcels being sought by the county are adjacent to Hillcrest Drive, sandwiched between Cagle and White Sulphur Roads and will be used for an entry road into the 104-acre port facility, a facility that will provide access to a direct rail route from the Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal.

Hall County Commissioner Shelley Echols said during Monday’s discussion, “I just want to say in public that this is one of these deals where the state has told us to do this and we’re just doing what the state has asked us to do.”

Stephens said after the work session, “We’ll either acquire them through negotiation and purchase and have a Warranty Deed, or if we can’t arrive at a price it’ll be through a condemnation action.”

Glynn County Tax Commissioner (and former State legislator) Jeff Chapman wants the car tag system revamped, according to The Brunswick News.

First up on the list are vehicle registration renewal decals — the little stickers for which drivers shell out $20 to place on the bottom right of their license plates.

It’s a primitive system, Chapman said, given Georgia taxes 90,000 vehicles a year. Some states are already trying to do away with the annual renewal system. He cited Texas, in which a state representative recently introduced legislation that would expand access to digital license plates to regular drivers.

Currently, Texas law only allows commercial and government fleet vehicles to have the plates, which authorities can scan to determine whether a vehicle’s registration is valid.

Similar to the Texas model, Chapman’s idea would eliminate the renewal sticker — and the annual $20 fee — for anyone who paid their car taxes under the title ad valorem tax, TAVT, model adopted by Georgia in 2013. Anyone still paying the “birthday tax” in use before 2013 would not be affected.

Ideally, residents would never have to pay the state another fee for their vehicles after paying the TAVT.

A former state senator, Chapman said he understands such drastic changes do not always come quick. For the near term, he said he’s going to work to get the state to give citizens the option to renew their registrations on a two-year basis instead of every year.

Jeff Shoemaker was sworn in as Chief of the Cleveland Police, according to AccessWDUN.

It Isn’t Easy Being MT Greene

https://youtu.be/rRZ-IxZ46ng

CNBC harrassed asked financial supporters of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Extreme Northwest Georgia) about whether they still support her.

The controversies and the House’s disciplinary action don’t appear to be making a dent in her fundraising apparatus and could even boost her chances of getting reelected in 2022.

“She stands by the conservative values we all have and will not compromise,” said donor Pamela Reardon, a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty, who gave Greene’s campaign over $3,000. “She is the same person today as she was 3 or 4 years ago.”

“AMERICA FIRST,” Reardon added in a text message, repeating a key theme of former President Donald Trump’s campaigns.

Greene told the Washington Examiner that Democratic lawmakers were actually helping her campaign. Greene told the publication that she recently raised over $300,000.

Greene, herself a wealthy businessperson, loaned her campaign more than $900,000 during the last cycle. Yet a group of business leaders gave her committee big checks and helped her raise over $2.5 million, according to data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. She won the race for Georgia’s 14th Congressional District with an overwhelming 74% of the vote.

Thomas Beckwith, the CEO of Florida-based Beckwith Electric, gave two separate $2,800 checks to Greene’s campaign during the runoff for the GOP primary and later general election, records show. Beckwith responded “yes” over a LinkedIn message when asked whether he would support Greene again and did not respond to follow-up questions for comment.

The Rome News Tribune writes about potential challengers to Rep. Greene.

Only just over a month in office, several potential candidates have said they’ll seek her post in Congress next year.

So far, this time around, there already have been at least two Democrats, and potentially more, seeking to run.

Brittany Trambauer-Smith from Dallas has filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission. Another Democrat, Marcus Flowers from Bremen, told 11 Alive News that he also has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to explore a campaign for the seat.

There also have been rumblings from the Republican side. Her former runoff opponent Rome neurosurgeon Dr. John Cowan has been been active politically and in the media.

He’s given a number of interviews to national and international media organizations regarding the district recently, but would only say he was “undecided” when asked on Monday if he would run again.

A big factor concerning the seat is up in the air — what the 14th District will look like after redistricting takes place later this year.

Several Republicans are demanding that Democratic Speaker of the U.S. House Nancy Pelosi pay fines for bypassing metal detectors, according to the New York Post.

Hours after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi docked $5,000 each from the pay of two GOP congressmen for flouting her new metal detectors, a group of Republican pols demanded she pay the same fine for the same offense.

GOP members of the Committee on House Administration made the tit-for-tat demand Friday night, claiming Pelosi had been seen on Thursday entering the House Chamber without going through the metal detectors she herself had ordered installed after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

“Yesterday at approximately 9:59 a.m. multiple members observed the Speaker of the House entering the House Chamber without completing security screening,” the members wrote to House acting sergeant at arms Timothy Blodgett.

“We are demanding she face the same fines as every other member of Congress,” the GOP members of the committee tweeted Friday night, along with a copy of the letter.

That last story has more relevance to Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Athensish) than MTG herself.

Bizarrely, an op-ed in the Washington Post diagnoses all the problems of the world as being caused by “white women” like MTG.