Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for January 19, 2022

Robert E. Lee was born on January 19, 1807 at his family home, Stratford Hall, Virginia.

Delegates to the Secession Convention in Milledgeville voted 208-89 in favor of seceding from the United States on January 19, 1861.

On January 19, 1871, Savannah, Georgia became the first city to recognize Robert E. Lee’s Birthday as a public holiday.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

State Senator Burt Jones is on television with the above ad, according to the AJC.

Under the Gold Dome Today

Joint Budget Hearings, 9 AM in 341 CAP, Hybrid.

Governor Brian Kemp issued Executive Order #01.18.22.01, renewing the State of Emergency for Continued COVID-19 Economic Recovery.

Governor Kemp and his budget officials discussed the state’s overall economy and budget, according to the AJC.

“We’ve got a lot of good things to talk about this year,” Kemp said at a joint meeting of the Georgia House and Senate Appropriations committees as they began a week of reviewing his proposals. “I have never been more optimistic about our state.”

Kemp’s budget plan — which he released last week — includes pay raises and bonuses for teachers, school staff and state employees; a refund for income tax payers; $600 million for new prisons; and hundreds of millions more for health care and mental health programs.

[S]ales and income tax collections have been on the rise since mid-2020, after the economy reopened. The record income produced a $3.7 billion state surplus in the fiscal year that ended June 30, and collections continued to soar as the state’s economy recovered.

University of Georgia professor Jeffrey Dorfman, the state’s fiscal economist, told lawmakers that personal income is up 8% from before the COVID-19 pandemic. With massive federal spending, he said, Georgians have saved an extra $75 billion since the start of the pandemic.

“That is going to support our economy going forward,” Dorfman said.

From WABE:

In a speech to legislative budget writers Tuesday, Kemp joked about “only being off $4 billion” on the state’s revenue estimate last year. The Republican governor sets that estimate, the legal limit on what lawmakers can spend. Both Kemp and lawmakers believed revenue would decline sharply during the pandemic, but federal aid not only propped up spending but fattened household savings, helping to boost tax receipts and pouring money into state coffers.

With $2.35 billion in spare cash even after filling the state’s savings account to its legal limit of $4.3 billion, Kemp wants to give $1.6 billion in tax rebates in April — $250 to every single person filing state income taxes, $375 to every single person heading a household and $500 to married people filing jointly.

“I firmly believe that when government takes in more than it needs, it’s our responsibility to the taxpayers to return those funds to them, because it’s their money, not the government’s,” Kemp said “And these funds will do more good in the pockets of our citizens than in the coffers of our state, especially when we’re dealing with an inflation rate that’s at a 39-year high.”

“Georgia consumers have a lot of money available to spend,” Dorfman said. “They spend a fair bit on Christmas this year, but they still have an awful lot left, and that is going to support our economy going forward.”

Dorfman said there’s very little chance of a recession in the next year, although he predicted the growth of the economy and state tax revenues would slow as savings are spent down before resuming a more normal growth rate next year.

From the Center Square:

Dorfman said Georgians’ personal income has increased by 8% from before the pandemic because of the support of direct payments from the federal government. Each person received $1,200 payments and $500 for each of their dependents from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The second stimulus payment was $600 for each person and $600 for a dependent child. The third payment was $1,400 per person.

The extra money has raised more revenue from sales and income tax for the state. Georgians also have saved an extra $75 billion since January 2020, making the odds of recession low.

“Consumers simply have too much money,” Dorfman said. “Spending levels are too low. I do think we will see growth slowed down more to a normal pace, but consumers have plenty of money to spend.”

Dorfman expects revenue to increase by $500 million from fiscal year 2022 to fiscal year 2023 but then grow by at least $1 billion every following year. He estimates that from fiscal year 2026 to fiscal year 2027, year-over-year revenue will increase by $1.25 billion.

“But it is important that we remember going forward that much of that increase in revenue is going to go to cover mandatory spending amounts – QBE [Quality Basic Education] formula, Medicaid, things like that,” Dorfman said.

From Fox5Atlanta:

Kemp’s budget proposal would give teachers a $2,000 raise to complete the $5,000 overall raise he promised during his 2018 campaign. The budget would also increase pay for full-time, benefit-eligible state employees by $5,000.

“I recognize that state employees have not had a cost-of-living adjustment to their salaries since before the Great Recession. This has increased turnover for state agencies creating staffing challenges and increasing costs for recruitment and training,” Gov. Kemp said.

At the same time, the governor said he plans to introduce legislation that would allow the state to increase its employer contributions to employees’ 401Ks from 3% to up to 9%, based on their length of service.

Budget hearings continue at the state Capitol through Thursday.

From WJBF:

“The governor’s letting the law enforcement officers and deputies know that they are valued,” Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Patrick Clayton told NewsChannel 6.

Governor Brian Kemp promises to recruit the state’s finest in his latest budget proposal. He announced his plans to have the Technical College System of Georgia add law enforcement and criminal justice degrees to high-demand career initiatives, offering free tuition to more than 1,000 Georgians in that field. That plan would build on an already existing CSRA partnership between Augusta Technical College and agencies such as the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.

“When you consider that 65 percent of millennials, like one of their number one needs in the workplace, is self development,” Chief Deputy Clayton shared of several surveys.

“More educated officers, there’s less use of force incidents,” he said.

Governor Kemp’s campaign filed an ethics complaint against former United States Senator David Perdue, according to the AJC.

Gov. Brian Kemp’s reelection campaign filed an ethics complaint Tuesday against its Republican rival, David Perdue, alleging that the challenger’s effort to oust the incumbent is getting an illegal boost from a new fundraising committee.

But Kemp officials said the website for the Georgia Values Fund asks donors to provide cellphone numbers to get Perdue campaign alerts, updates and news, and it instructs donors to mail contributions to Perdue’s campaign, giving them a mailing address for where to send checks.

“From shady stock trades to blatant campaign finance law violations, David Perdue has a long history of breaking the rules to benefit himself,” Kemp campaign spokesman Cody Hall said. “The Perdue campaign’s actions are clearly against the law and directly reflect the repeated lack of ethical conduct of Perdue himself.”

From 11Alive:

The complaint, which 11Alive obtained an advance copy of as it is being filed with the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, alleges that directions for donating directly to Perdue’s campaign, Perdue for Governor, Inc., on the WinRed website of the Georgia Values Fund, an independent committee, violate state campaign financing laws.

On the bottom of the Georgia Values Fund page, there are directions for making a donation by mail, which says “please send a personal check made payable to ‘Perdue for Governor, Inc.’” Additionally, there is language at the bottom of the site soliciting cell phone numbers to “opt-in to Perdue for Governor campaign alerts, updates and news.”

The complaint states “Georgia Values Fund’s webpage contains express advocacy in support of David Perdue. Moreover, given the disclaimer language seeking donor mobile phone numbers, referenced contribution limits of Perdue for Governor, and directions for donors to mail contributions to Perdue for Governor, it appears that the webpage was established with the cooperation or consent of David Perdue, his agents, or authorized committee.”

The complaint is asking the state ethics commission for a “full investigation into all communications between Perdue for Governor, including Mr. Perdue’s agents, and Georgia Values Fund and its agents… in addition to investigating the mobile numbers collected by Georgia Values Fund for Perdue and any contributions mailed to Perdue for Governor as a result of Georgia Values Fund’s WinRed webpage.”

Governor Kemp will speak at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas, according to the AJC.

The big draw will take place Wednesday afternoon when Kemp plans to join eight other Republican governors in a panel discussion.

He’s sure to mention the 74 firearms manufacturers in Georgia, along with recent expansions by Taurus and Remington Firearms that have quietly made Georgia one of the largest producers of guns in the nation.

Gwinnett County Commissioners voted to hire a consulting firm to develop a transit plan, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

County commissioners voted Tuesday to award a nearly $1.49 million contract to Washington D.C.-based Foursquare Integrated Transportation Planning Inc. to conduct work on the plan. This plan will replace the Connect Gwinnett plan that was the basis for two failed referendums on transit expansion in 2019 and 2020.

“This contract is for professional services to advance a new transit development plan to improve the accessibility, connectivity and mobility of transit throughout the county and the region,” Gwinnett Transportation Director Lewis Cooksey said.

The transit development plan is separate from the Gwinnett comprehensive transportation plan that has been put out for a request for proposals. The comprehensive transportation plan looks at all forms of transportation while the transit development plan looks solely at transit systems, ranging from local bus service routes to paratransit, microtransit, express services into Atlanta and bus rapid transit.

Legislators representing parts of Gwinnett County will meet online to discuss redistricting for the Board of Commissioners and Board of Education, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Democrat Anne Westbrook will run for the State House District 63 seat being vacated by Rep. Derek Mallow, who is running for State Senate, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Westbrook lost the 2020 race for the same position to Mallow by just 19 votes.  This time, Westbrook says she’s ready to get some face time with constituents to hear their concerns, a campaign strategy dampened by COVID-19 the last time she ran.

Westbrook, a Savannah native, has been an attorney at Johnson Kraeuter, LLC, since 2013. She earned her undergraduate degree from Hollins College in Virginia and her law degree from the University of Georgia’s School of Law.

Previously, Westbrook worked as the state legislative lead for the Georgia Chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Additionally, Westbrook was a commissioner on the City of Savannah’s Cultural Affairs Commission.

Westbrook currently serves as a legislative aid to Georgia House 165 Rep. Edna Jackson (D-Savannah).

Westbrook says she’ll be running on a platform of expanding access to health care, ending Georgia’s maternal mortality crisis, promoting public safety through sensible gun laws and protecting and expanding quality public education.

Additionally, voting rights issues have a prominent spot in Westbrook’s platform. She pointed to the changes in S.B. 202, Georgia’s controversial, Republican-passed voting law, noting the restrictions it brought to the absentee ballot process.

Two Democrats have announced campaigns for State House District 97 in Gwinnett County, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Ruwa Romman and Jonathan “JT” Wu each announced bids for the seat, which is largely made up of the current House District 95, although the western part of that district was moved into the new state House District 48. District lines were moved as part of legislative redistricting, which goes into effect with this year’s election cycle.

The district is made up of Berkeley Lake as well as parts of Duluth, Peachtree Corners and Norcross. State Rep. Beth Moore, D-Peachtree Corners, is the representative for House District 95, but she has announced plans to run for the new Senate District 7 seat this year.

The Georgia Republican Party nominated Janice Johnston to the State Board of Elections, according to the AJC.

Johnston joins two other Republicans on the five-member State Election Board: Ed Lindsey, who was nominated this month by House Speaker David Ralston, and Matt Mashburn, whom the state Senate confirmed last year. The Democratic Party of Georgia nominated Sara Tindall Ghazal to the board last year.

The fifth seat on the State Election Board is vacant since Georgia’s voting law removed Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger last year. The majority-Republican General Assembly has the authority to appoint someone to fill that seat during this year’s legislative session.

An interesting look at the “Suburban Women Problem,” from State Rep. Jasmine Clark, (D-Lilburn) via the AJC.

The shorthand of lumping suburban women into one homogenous group really got started during the 1996 presidential elections, when the New York Times pegged “Soccer Moms” as “the most sought-after voters of the campaign season.” They were white, affluent, married, “comrades in the minivan brigades.”

Soccer moms became “security moms” in 2004 and eventually simply the “suburban women” shorthand campaigns and the media use today.

By any name, those women have long been assumed to be the same kind of suburban dweller — white, married, with children, and maybe or maybe not employed outside the home.

“The suburbs are not a homogenous sea of white people. That’s what people think of, but it is actually very diverse and dynamic,” Clark said.

“We have over 100 languages spoken, lots of different cultures and traditions, races and ethnicities, all right here, and I’m just talking about my neighborhood, not all of Gwinnett.”

Glynn County Commissioners are holding a series of Town Hall meetings in support of a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Eax (SPLOST), according to The Brunswick News.

Glynn County Superior Court Judge Anthony Harrison will rule on a request to delay removal of a Confederate statue , according to The Brunswick News.

Bennie Williams, commander of the local chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, said the restraining order, if granted, would last until all the appeals by other municipalities trying to remove their own Confederate monuments in the state are resolved in the courts.

Plaintiffs in the case contend removal of the monument would be in violation of a state law protecting publicly owned monuments recognizing military service, including those in the Confederacy. Removal of the monument would cause injury, they argued.

In August, however, a judge ruled an injury must be “actual and imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical,” clearing the way for its removal.

Statesboro City Council will hear a proposed alcohol ordinance that would allow package sales of liquor, according to the Statesboro Herald.

But one significant added provision of the city ordinance, as drafted, calls for at least half of the excise tax revenue from liquor stores to go to nonprofit organizations that benefit youth and provide other social services in Statesboro.

The provision directing revenue to youth programs and social services reflects instructions Mayor Jonathan McCollar gave the city attorney at the previous work session on the liquor store ordinance, Dec. 21.

“I want added that 50 percent of the revenue goes toward youth and social services,” McCollar said. “So we want that language written and have it ready and a part  of this  for the first reading  in January.”

Asked that day how much revenue the addition of liquor stores to the city’s excise tax sources is expected to produce, Mayor McCollar said city officials have heard “everything from $300,000 on up.”

Columbia County Commissioners are also considering alcohol ordinance revisions to conform to state legislation, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

The county’s Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to pass a resolution not to accept new “applications for off-premises consumption of distilled spirits” for 180 days or until “the commission acts upon the proposed ordinance revision,” whichever happens first.

Hammering out changes to the ordinance is expected to take about two months instead of the entire six, said Columbia County Deputy Manager Matt Schlachter.

“In order to protect the safety and welfare of its citizens, the board has determined that the recent number of off-premise consumption of distilled spirits applications in close proximity of each other warrants careful consideration,” according to Section 1 of the resolution.

Athens-Clarke County Police Chief Cleveland Spruill announced his retirement effective March 10, according to the Athens Banner Herald.

“It has been a privilege to work with the Athens-Clarke County community and the fine men and women of the Athens-Clarke County Police Department. However, I have decided to end my law enforcement career and move home to Maryland to spend time enjoying retirement with family and friends,” Spruill said in a news release.

County Manager Blaine Williams, who hired Spruill in February 2019, announced he will appoint an interim chief in coming weeks until a permanent replacement is hired. He did not specify a target date for the hire.