Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for January 8, 2024

Lyman Hall, one of three Georgians who signed the Declaration of Independence, was elected Governor on January 8, 1783.

President George Washington delivered the first “State of the Union” on January 8, 1790.

On January 8, 2007, R.E.M. was announced as an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Here’s REM at their induction into the Rock Hall.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Under the Gold Dome Today

TBD – Senate Rules Committee: Upon Adjournment 450 CAP
10:00 AM – HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD1) House Chamber
10:00 AM – Senate Floor Session (LD 1) Senate Chamber
1:00 PM – Cancelled – Senate Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee 450 CAP
1:00 PM – Cancelled- Senate Transportation Committee Mezz 1 CAP
2:00 PM – HOUSE REGULATED INDUSTRIES 606 CLOB
2:00 PM – Senate Health & Human Services Committee 450 CAP
2:00 PM – Senate Government Oversight Committee 307 CLOB
3:00 PM – Cancelled- Senate Finance Committee Mezz 1 CAP
4:00 PM – Senate Judiciary Committee 307 CLOB

The General Assembly convenes today for the 2024 Session, according to 11Alive via 13WMAZ.

Tyler Harper is Georgia’s Commissioner of Agriculture. He said he’s putting farmers at the forefront.

“Most Georgians don’t even know the role that the department plays in their life,” Harper said. “And it’s important that we have the resources we need at the department to do that.”

Harper said there are a few issues he wants to put on the minds of legislative leaders. For example, most of North Georgia is in a severe drought. And Harper wants to ensure the protection of farmland in the state of Georgia.

“We saw a 90% loss in our peach crop this past year,” Harper added. “So, there’s always those weather-related issues that we’re working to address to help ensure that our farmers can bounce back stronger than ever before.”

“We need to make sure that Georgians feel safe, that our police officers know that they’re supported,” [House Majority Leader Rep. Chuck] Efstration said.

“I was the author of the Hate Crimes Law, which passed several years ago,” Efstration said. “And anti-Semitism is the next step. We need a  Georgia law to clarify the definition of anti-Semitism so that these crimes can be properly identified, prosecuted, and punished accordingly.”

“Early childhood education and literacy continue to be major issues we’re focused on,” Efstration said.

Efstration also mentions the issue of Georgia’s fiscal strength. He’s focused on making sure Gov. Brian Kemp’s tax cut proposal is passed.

“I think it’s going to be a great, very productive legislative year,” Efstration said. “I think all Georgians will be proud of the work that we’re doing here at the Capitol. And I can’t wait to get started tomorrow.”

From the Associated Press via WRDW:

Republican House Speaker Jon Burns of Sylvania said he wants to explore the idea, and Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones said he is willing to consider it. Gov. Brian Kemp, the state’s top Republican, has championed a more limited expansion of coverage.

Because it’s the second year of the two-year legislative term, all the measures that didn’t pass last year are still alive. That means things can happen fast, especially for bills that got close to passage. For example, many people expect a quick resolution on a push to create new educational vouchers.

Kemp has said he wants to make it harder for people to file lawsuits and win big legal judgments. He has said Georgia’s high insurance rates are among the harms of such lawsuits.

Georgia lawmakers capped noneconomic damages including pain and suffering in a 2005 tort reform law, but the state Supreme Court overturned such caps as unconstitutional in 2010.

Top Senate Republicans plan a bill to remove the requirement that the Georgia Supreme Court approve rules for a new commission to discipline and remove state prosecutors. The court in November ruled that it lacked authority to do so, which meant the commission could not begin operating. A House Republican also has promised a quick fix.

House members made a big push in 2023 for a bill that would recruit more mental health workers, help people who bounce between hospitals, jails and homelessness, and study other needs. That measure faltered in a broader House-Senate dispute.

Georgia could join other states requiring children younger than 18 to get their parents’ permission to create social media accounts. Republican Sen. Jason Anavitarte of Dallas said in August that he would push such a proposal.

From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Macon Telegraph:

But the biggest difference this year is that Georgia is sitting atop a $16 billion budget surplus and another $11 billion undesignated funds. What to do with that unprecedented pile of cash likely will dominate the 40 days under the Gold Dome.

However, the legislature’s Republican majorities aren’t likely to abandon a long-running reputation for fiscal frugality to satisfy state agencies and special interest groups with long lists of uses for tax dollars.

“The world is full of ideas for spending other people’s money,” Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, said.

On the other hand, Tillery acknowledged the toll inflation has taken on core government services.

“We’re probably going to have to spend more to do what the government needs to do,” he said.

Gov. Brian Kemp already has identified some of his spending priorities. Early last month, the Republican governor announced he will ask the General Assembly to accelerate the state income tax cut the legislature approved two years ago.

Kemp signaled last summer during a speech at a Georgia Chamber of Commerce-sponsored event that tort reform would be one of his top priorities for the 2024 General Assembly session.

One of the first things Republicans did in 2005 when the GOP took control of both legislative chambers for the first time in modern history was pass a bill setting a $350,000 cap on non-economic damages in lawsuits. But the state Supreme Court overturned the law in 2010.

“The cost of defending itself against one bogus lawsuit could be enough to put a small business out of business,” said Hunter Loggins, director of the Georgia chapter of the National Federation for Independent Business.

Another issue lawmakers debate virtually every year but have yet to act on is legalized gambling. Of several forms of gambling that have been proposed, supporters say sports betting should be the easiest to pass because it could be done without amending Georgia’s Constitution, which requires two-thirds votes of the House and Senate.

But not everyone buys that legal argument. State Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, said he will introduce a constitutional amendment early in the session to legalize not only sports betting but casino gambling and pari-mutuel betting on horse racing.

If it passes, the amendment would land on the statewide ballot in November for Georgia voters to decide.

Legislative Republicans also are expected to renew efforts to repeal or at least streamline the state’s Certificate of Need (CON) law governing hospital construction. After years of failure on the CON front, GOP leaders have signaled a willingness to talk about expanding Medicaid coverage in Georgia – a longstanding priority for Democrats – in exchange for CON reform.

Under a Medicaid expansion model adopted in heavily Republican Arkansas, individuals with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty line are eligible for coverage. Georgia Pathways, the limited Medicaid expansion that took effect in Georgia last summer, sets the income limit at 100% of the poverty line.

From the AJC:

With daily sermons, speeches by visiting politicians and presentations of “special guests” (high school football championship teams, 4-H groups, beauty queens associated with various Georgia crops, etc.), the first half of the session can seem devoid of action. But a lot is happening in committee meetings on Capitol Hill and strategizing behind closed doors. Much of the most important stuff — the final passage of bills, budgets and resolutions — happens in March, but the buildup often begins much earlier.

Still, with a March presidential primary and candidate qualifying on their minds, electoral politics will be at the forefront, early and often. As will the state’s ever-expanding budget ($32.4 billion likely heading to $33 billion-$34 billion), the likelihood that lawmakers will speed up a cut in the income tax rate, consider crime legislation, and possibly propose more anti-abortion, gaming and voting bills.

Gov. Brian Kemp and state legislative leaders will discuss at least part of their agenda for the 2024 session at the annual Eggs & Issues Breakfast sponsored by the state’s business lobby, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, on Wednesday morning. The next day Kemp will give the State of the State address.

While the schedule hasn’t been publicly released, the General Assembly typically goes home before the week of the Masters golf tournament in Augusta. For those of you keeping track — and many lawmakers and lobbyists certainly are — that’s April 8-14 this year.

Butts County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wilson held against plaintiffs seeking the removal from office of Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones (R-Jackson), according to the AJC.

A Georgia judge rejected a long-shot bid Friday to disqualify Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones from serving in office because of his role in former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 defeat.

Butts County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wilson’s four-page ruling found the four left-leaning plaintiffs “are not entitled to relief” under state law and “cannot introduce evidence” to prove their claims.

Wilson telegraphed his ruling at a December hearing, when he described the challenge as “far-fetched.” Wayne Kendall, the plaintiffs’ attorney, said the decision “doesn’t surprise me at all” and that he planned to appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court.

Jones accused Democrats of “trying to use the legal system to overrule the will of the voters,” and he tied the challenge to the Colorado case and a recent decision by Maine’s Democratic secretary of state declaring Trump ineligible to appear on the ballot.

The 47-page challenge against Jones was filed last month by four plaintiffs who said the lieutenant governor has “forfeited his right to hold public office and to discharge the duties” and claims he is an “oath-breaking person.”

It’s part of a coordinated legal effort to disqualify Trump and key allies by invoking Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars anyone who swore an oath to “support” the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from seeking office.

The judge kept his analysis of the case brief. In rejecting the challenge, Wilson repeatedly cited case law that found the legal claim “is not a proper remedy for misconduct committed in office.”

Jones could yet face other legal action. A special grand jury recommended that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis seek charges against Jones involving his role in the 2020 election.

Albany-area state legislators discussed the upcoming Session, according to the Albany Herald.

Legislators have approved $2 billion in income tax cuts and property tax relief, state Rep. Mike Cheokas, an Americus Republican, said.

“We want to be good fiscal stewards of taxpayer money,” he said. “We have as a matter of policy looked at ways to cut the income tax. As we have every year, we’re going to be looking at ways to cut taxes.”

Cheokas, who is chairman of the Small Business Development Committee, has proposed an increase in the amount of business property and investment that is exempt from taxation from $7,500 to $50,000.

House Speaker Jon Burns has announced that he wants to increase the timetable on cutting income tax rates, a proposal that state Rep. Bill Yearta, R-Sylvester, agrees with.

“It’s the people of Georgia’s tax dollars,” he said.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has played a role in a loss in learning for the state’s students, it is not the only factor, and going forward that should not be used as an excuse any longer, state Sen. Freddie Powell Sims, D-Dawson, said.

“We need more teachers,” she said. “Our education programs are suffering because we don’t have enough teachers. We need more teachers, and we need them to be prepared for the students they are encountering today. We need strength in our school boards, and we need strength in our superintendents.”

Another issue likely to come up during the 2024 session is tort reform, state Rep. Gerald Greene, R-Cuthbert said

“It’s come up many years,” he said. “It will be something introduced this year that has chambers (of commerce) and small businesses pushing for. We’ll see what’s going to be introduced there.”

State Rep. Gerald Greene (R-Cuthbert) is “Dean” of the General Assembly, having served longer than anyone else, according to the Albany Herald.

Monday’s start of the 2024 Georgia legislative session marks state Rep. Gerald Greene’s 42nd year as a member of the Georgia House.

Serving under five Georgia governors and seven House speakers, Greene, R-Cuthbert, earned the title “dean” of the Georgia House — the longest-serving member — for his more than four decades of political service. He said his tenure has been marked by his dedication to meeting the needs of his district and his love for his constituents, and that those are the primary factors that keep him going back to Atlanta.

He represents House District 154, which includes Baker, Calhoun, Clay, Early, Miller, Quitman, Randolph and Seminole counties as well as portions of Dougherty County. Greene was elected to the House in 1982 and serves as chairman of the State Properties Committee, co-chairman of the House Rural Development Council and vice chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Economic Development.

“It’s tough serving an area with so many cities, so many counties, so many needs,” he said. “Each and every week, there’s somewhere I can be in the district, meeting the constituents, serving … and I enjoy it. There’s just not enough of me. I wish they could clone me.”

“You’ve got to remember who sent you to the legislature,” he said. “You meet their needs. Sometimes you can’t help them, but you try.”

The representative switched his political party from Democrat to Republican in 2010, a further display of his commitment to meeting the needs of his constituents. He said he chose to be a member of the majority party so that he could enhance his position and get more done for District 154.

“It has worked out well,” Greene said. “I don’t think people look at me as a Republican or a Democrat. I don’t think they care, as long as I serve their needs.”

“I have good people in every one of these districts that help me and give me ideas as to what’s going on,” Greene said. “They know who I am, and they can call me. They know if there’s a way, I’m going to help them.”

Greene said he spends the weeks in Atlanta during the legislative session, but he makes it a priority to get home each Friday so he can make it to Springvale Baptist Church on Sunday, where he’s served as the only deacon and Sunday school teacher for about 40 years, he said.

A lawsuit challenging Georgia’s election system begins Tuesday in federal court, according to the Associated Press via WRDW.

During a trial set to start Tuesday, activists plan to argue that the Dominion Voting Systems touchscreen voting machines are so flawed they are unconstitutional. Election officials insist the system is secure and reliable and say it is up to the state to decide how it conducts elections.

Georgia has become a pivotal electoral battleground in recent years with national attention focused on its elections. The election system used statewide by nearly all in-person voters includes touchscreen voting machines that print ballots with a human-readable summary of voters’ selections and a QR code that a scanner reads to count the votes.

The activists say the state should switch to hand-marked paper ballots tallied by scanners and also needs much more robust post-election audits than are currently in place. U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg, who’s overseeing the long-running case, said in an October order that she cannot order the state to use hand-marked paper ballots. But activists say prohibiting the use of the touchscreen machines would effectively force the use of hand-marked paper ballots because that’s the emergency backup provided for in state law.

The trial set to begin Tuesday stems from a lawsuit that long predates those claims. It was originally filed in 2017 by several individual voters and the Coalition for Good Governance, which advocates for election integrity, and targeted the outdated, paperless voting system used at the time.

Totenberg in August 2019 prohibited the state from using the antiquated machines beyond that year. The state had agreed to purchase new voting machines from Dominion a few weeks earlier and scrambled to deploy them ahead of the 2020 election cycle. Before the machines were distributed statewide, the activists amended their lawsuit to take aim at the new system.

They argue the system has serious security vulnerabilities that could be exploited without detection and that the state has done little to address those problems. Additionally, voters cannot be sure their votes are accurately recorded because they cannot read the QR code, they say. And the voting machines’ large, upright screens make it easy to see a voter’s selections, violating the right to ballot secrecy, they say.

During a hearing in May, a lawyer for the state told the judge physical security elements recommended by CISA were “largely in place.” But the secretary of state’s office has said a software update from Dominion is too cumbersome to install before the 2024 elections.

Georgia’s Secretary of State will not be required to testify in that lawsuit, according to the AJC.

Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger won’t be required to testify during an election security trial this month, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday.

The appeals court shielded Raffensperger from having to take the stand to answer questions about Georgia’s voting system and a breach in Coffee County in January 2021.

High-ranking officials such as Raffensperger aren’t compelled to testify about their reasons for taking official actions unless there are “extraordinary circumstances,” according to the decision by a three-judge panel.

“The plaintiffs have not identified any information that is both essential to their claims and that cannot be gleaned from other witnesses,” the three-page ruling states. “Although the plaintiffs point to public statements the secretary has made about the litigation, the secretary’s public statements do not in themselves create an extraordinary circumstance that requires his personal testimony.”

The three judges on the 11th Circuit panel, all of whom were appointed by President Donald Trump, overturned U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg, an appointee of President Barack Obama who had ordered Raffensperger to testify. On the panel were Circuit Judges Andrew Brasher, Robert Luck and Kevin Newsom.

Senate Bill 163 by State Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome) would revise the state’s alcohol sales rules for beer, according to WALB.

SB 163 would give brewers control of how their beer will be distributed and eliminate a limit on sales made elsewhere.

“If you look across Georgia at these real towns, many of them have developed around breweries. We have a couple of restaurants in the local area that want to have our beer on draft, we’ve called local distributors but they haven’t called us back, but that’s what we really need to make this thrive,” said [Frog Rock Brewery Owner Robert] Friess.

Without a distributor, he can’t sell to restaurants, bars, or liquor stores. Customers can only buy beer at his brewery.

“Efforts to change distribution laws will weaken a system that offers safeguards for our youth, provides more than 5,000 jobs statewide, ensures a consistent revenue stream to state and local government, and, most importantly, guarantees thousands of choices of good beer on store shelves, at bars and in local breweries,” the Georgia Beer Wholesalers Association said.

State Rep. Chuck Efstration (R-Dacula) will introduce legislation to allow the incorporation of a new City of Mulberry, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Late Friday afternoon, Georgia House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration, R-Auburn, and state Sen. Clint Dixon, R-Buford, released the proposed legislation as well as a study looking at the feasibility of what would be Gwinnett’s second largest city if it is approved by legislators and voters.

The bill calling for a cityhood referendum will be filed in the Georgia House of Representatives on Monday.

“After receiving feedback and community input at five meetings and town halls in my district over the past several months, I’m excited to introduce legislation on Monday that will help give my constituents the local control over planning and zoning they’ve been seeking,” Efstration said.

“I look forward to working with partners in the House, Senate and local community to fight back against the out of control growth and traffic congestion issues plaguing northeastern Gwinnett.”

The proposed city of Mulberry was first brought up in response to a proposal from a developer who wanted to build a 700-unit apartment complex overlooking Seckinger High School at the intersection of Hamilton Mill Road and Sardis Church Road last year.

The city would be bordered by Braselton and Hall County to the north, Auburn and Barrow County to the east and just north of Dacula. In all, Mulberry would be home to about 41,000 residents if voters approve it in a referendum that would be held in November.

Mulberry would also be Gwinnett’s most affluent city with an estimated median household income of nearly $121,200, according to the feasibility study.

It would provide three services, according to the feasibility study. These include planning and zoning, stormwater management and code enforcement.

“If the City of Mulberry is created, zoning decisions in our region will be made by locally elected city council members who will each answer to less than 8,000 residents — dramatically increasing the ability of residents to make their voices heard by elected officials.” [said Sen. Dixon]

The proposed city of Mulberry would be governed by a five-member city council and members would have to live in the city for at least one year before they can be eligible to serve on the council, according to the legislation. They would also be limited to two consecutive terms in office.

The five council members would select one of their own to serve as mayor after each city election.

The legislation also states that the city motto would be “Non Sibi Sed Aliis,” [which] is Latin for “Not for Himself, but for Others.”

Governor Brian Kemp appointed John Fervier as Chair of the State Election Board, according to a Press Release.

Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced that John Fervier has been appointed as the new Chair of the State Elections Board, effective immediately. He fills the vacancy created by the resignation of the William Duffey, Jr.

“I am grateful for John’s willingness to serve our state in this role,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “His dedication to the well-being of Georgia and its people will be a great asset in this role in the days ahead. I am confident that under his leadership, Georgians will be able to trust in the integrity of one of our great responsibilities as citizens – the right to vote.”

John Fervier has worked for Waffle House, Inc. for over 35 years and is currently the Vice President of Risk Management and Security. His management responsibilities include Risk Management, Workers’ Compensation, Safety, Group Health Insurance and Benefits, Wellness, and Security. Prior to his employment at Waffle House, Fervier served in the U.S. Army as a Signal Company Executive Officer and Platoon Leader.

Fervier currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Subsequent Injury Trust Fund. He is a member of the Chairman’s Advisory Council of the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation, serving on the Rules Committee, and also serves as Secretary and Treasurer on the Board of Directors of Kid’s Chance of Georgia. Fervier also previously served as Chairman of the Georgia Self Insurers Association.

Fervier received his undergraduate degree from Berry College in Rome. He and his wife, Sarah, reside in Norcross.

Former United States Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-Atlanta) rolled out new campaign tools, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Macon Telegraph.

On the GOP side, former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., announced Friday the national rollout of a technology company she has founded to support conservative candidates. RallyRight LLC deployed new technology platforms across several states during the last election cycle, including Georgia.

“As a candidate in 2020, it was clear that Democrats held a significant infrastructure advantage,” Loeffler said Friday. “While the Left has spent years investing in technology to improve their fundraising and voter contact operations, I saw the need to innovate and build technology for the conservative movement.”

RallyRight’s two campaign technology platforms include DonateRight, designed to help candidates with fundraising, and FieldRight, which helps candidates reach and mobilize voters.

Not to be outdone, Georgia Democrats announced Friday a plan to recruit enough Democratic candidates to make sure no Republican goes unchallenged this year up and down the ballot.

Part of a national campaign, the program will use text messages, coaching calls and in-person organizing to identify and mobilize Democrats to run for local office, focusing on areas outside of major cities where a high percentage of Republicans typically go uncontested.

“Georgia Democrats are committed to competing up and down the ballot all across our state, without discounting or taking for granted a single county – including rural and non-metro areas,” said Tolulope Kevin Olasanoye, the Democratic Party of Georgia’s executive director.

Richmond County schools suffer a shortage of bus drivers, according to WJBF.

The impact from a national shortage of school bus drivers is still being felt in the CSRA. In Richmond County, it means some students are arriving late to school, missing class time and kids are getting home late.

Richmond County does have an app for parents to track their child’s bus- but Taylor claimed that it is almost never accurate.

We reached out to Richmond County schools about the situation and they replied with the following statement.

“The Richmond County School System transports 20,000 students each day and for most of this school year, we have been operating with 40 fewer drivers. When the number of active drivers that report for a shift will cause delays, parents are notified via email, text message, and a recorded voicemail message explaining drivers will be completing multiple routes and the drivers may not be familiar with the routes they are driving. While we remain vigilant in transporting students who are entrusted to us, there are times when the routes from one school may not be close to each other and delivery times exceed parents’ expectations. In an effort to respond to our families’ needs for information, our Transportation Department Call Center is staffed until all students are home.”

Floyd County Commissioners will unveil their proposed budget, according to the Rome News Tribune.

A public hearing is set for the proposed 2024 budget at Tuesday’s meeting of the Floyd County Commission. The board will adopt the spending plan before the end of the month.

Finance Director Susie Gass has been working on a balanced budget to present at the meeting. On the whole, general fund revenues decreased in 2023 to a greater extent than expenditures. The county is expected to draw from its savings in 2024.

Augusta City Commissioners meet today to discuss changing the alcohol ordinance, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

The special-called commission meeting is 11 a.m. during which commissioners may change the only Sunday Augusta bars can be open this year from Super Bowl Sunday to Cinco de Mayo. The committee meetings will follow at about 1 p.m. and some of the items include an update on the Augusta Boathouse, a discussion on slumlords, and info on replacements needed at Charles B. Webster Detention Center.

Forsyth County Commissioners elected a Chair and other officers from amongst their number, according to AccessWDUN.

A press release from Forsyth County said District 1 Commissioner Kerry Hill was elected to serve as vice chairwoman and District 5 Commissioner Laura Semanson was elected as secretary.

Alfred John, who serves as District 2 Commissioner, was elected on Nov. 2 as the Board’s chairman for 2024 for the third consecutive year.

Five people living in a specific district and elected by their district to serve four-year terms make up the board of commissioners.

Nicky Gwinnett was sworn in as Mayor of Brooklet and Keith Roughton as a new Council member, according to the Statesboro Herald.

Gwinnett has known he would be mayor since last August, when he was the only candidate to qualify for the nonpartisan office after previous Brooklet Mayor Joe Grooms III decided not to seek re-election.

Roughton will now occupy Brooklet Council Seat 1, which Gwinnett vacated to become a candidate for mayor. All five Brooklet council members are elected citywide, and Roughton won a three-candidate race that concluded with the Nov. 7, 2023, election day. Now 53, he recently retired after 30 years employment at Georgia Southern University where he was an athletic administrator and also taught some classes.

Pooler swore in their Mayor and most of City Council, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Pooler held their inauguration of the new mayor and council to a packed room of family, friends and loved ones. Of the guests present was U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, who grew up in Port Wentworth before eventually serving on Pooler city council and as mayor himself.

He took a moment to thank Stevie Wall and Rebecca Mayor, who were both on council when he was mayor, and both had served the City of Pooler for 26 years.

He also highlighted Michael Carpenter and Wesley Bashlor, who couldn’t make it due to illness. Both are newcomers to council.

Councilmembers Tom Hutcherson, Shannon Valim, John Wilcher, Aaron Higgins and Carpenter and Mayor Karen Williams were all sworn in before each giving a speech, thanking the residents, their friends and families, and urging them to participate in the future of Pooler.

Tybee Island Mayor Brian West and three councilmembers were sworn in, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Of the guests present was Congressman Buddy Carter, who attended Pooler’s inauguration earlier that night.

Carter highlighted the first female mayor of Tybee, Shirley Sessions who was in the audience and congratulated West, Kathryn Williams, Tony Ploughe, Nick Sears and Bill Garbett, who won the special election for the seat Brian West gave up when he decided to run for mayor.

Earlier in the program it was mentioned that Tybee has high voter participation, especially during the last election. Almost 1,500 people voted for mayor, and 4,201 votes were cast in the general election for city council. In the special election 1,451 votes were cast. Tybee has a permanent population of about 3,000.

“It is extremely important that we be involved, and Tybee has always taken it’s politics very seriously,” Carter said. “As you should, as we all should, because it’s up to us, folks. You can call me naive if you want, but I still believe that our greatest times are ahead of us.”

Annalee Sams will be sworn in as Mayor of Dalton, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen News.

Mayor-elect Annalee Sams will be sworn into office at the Monday meeting of the mayor and council of Dalton and the public will have an opportunity to meet her at a reception in her honor. A meet-and-greet reception will be at 5 p.m. in the City Hall lobby. Light refreshments will be served and the meeting will follow at 6 p.m.

City Council members Tyree Goodlett and Dennis Mock will also be honored at the reception before being re-sworn at the meeting. Both won reelection in November.

Sams previously served six years as a member of the City Council before stepping down last year to run for mayor. State law requires elected officials to resign before running for another elected position that would overlap with the term of their currently held office.

Chatham County Assistant District Attorney Claire Farley is leaving that office, according to the Savannah Morning News.

In a phone call, [Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook] Jones said there are currently 12 ADAs assigned to prosecute cases in the six superior courtrooms – the same number as of early May 2023, when the SMN published an investigative report detailing the high caseload of prosecutors. According to Jones, Farley was assigned to a superior courtroom with 259 active cases at the time of her resignation.

“We have room for another four attorneys,” said Jones. “In our view, the superior court caseload is covered. It would be a great help and we’re always looking to build on the four vacancies that we have, but our superior courtrooms are covered.”

“We had to be creative and learned to do more with less,” Jones continued. “Adding paralegals to help with discovery, draft plea documents, and prepare for court has made our prosecutors more nimble and responsive, making the flow of court more efficient overall. It’s helped us catch up on outstanding discovery, get plea offers out more quickly, focus more intently on each case, and improve case management allowing us to do more with fewer prosecutors. Our justice system has changed significantly since 2020, and we had to adopt and overcome to accommodate that change.”

Democrat Tangie Herring announced she will run for the redrawn House District 145 in Macon-Bibb County, according to the Macon Telegraph.

Herring had been gearing up for a primary challenge against House Minority Leader James Beverly before the court mandated redistricting by the General Assembly near the end of 2023, but the new maps approved by the court carve Herring’s home in Macon’s Beall’s Hill neighborhood out of Beverly’s seat in House District 143.

“Regardless of the district, I am in this race to represent the people of Middle Georgia,” she said in prepared comments.

Meanwhile, like Herring, Republican Robert Dickey has seen the maps shift underneath him, too.

The Crawford County resident has been drawn out of House District 145 which now sheds parts of Peach County, Crawford County and Houston County. That leaves HD 145, newly focused on western Bibb County and southern Monroe County, with no incumbent.

It’s also where Herring, a Macon native who spent 28 years working in the Atlanta Public School system, now lives.

Herring said the wide-open HD 145 presents a new opportunity to elevate the concerns of Middle Georgia under the Gold Dome.

Abigail Guzman announced she will run for a vacant seat on Gainesville City Council, according to AccessWDUN.

Former City Councilman George Wangemann announced at a Dec. 19, 2023, city council meeting that he would be resigning from his Ward 4 seat at the end of 2023 amid health concerns. Wangemann had about two years left on his term at the time of his resignation. He had served on the city council for nearly four decades.

The seat is currently vacant. A special election will soon be held to fill the seat, but an exact qualifying period and election date have not been announced. Guzman is the first person to publicly announce her candidacy in that upcoming race.

Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Ron Mullins is resigning, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

Judge Ron Mullins notified the governor he will leave his current position on Jan. 31, and asked Kemp to appoint him a senior Superior Court judge, who is semi-retired and serves only when needed in any judicial circuit in the state.

Mullins said Friday that his case load initially will be handled by a senior Superior Court judge until Kemp appoints a new judge to take it over. The timetable for that is up to the governor.

Typically the state Judicial Nominating Commission reviews candidates for the position before recommending finalists for the governor to interview, but he is not confined to those nominees, and may choose any qualified candidate.

The Harris County native has served 10 years on the bench, having been appointed by then-Gov. Nathan Deal in 2013.