Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for July 12, 2022

John Percival, an Irish Member of Parliament who served as a Georgia Trustee, was born on July 12, 1733.

In the British House of Commons, Percival served on the committee on jails with a young member named James Oglethorpe, who shared his idea about a new colony in North America for the deserving poor. Percival, like Oglethorpe became a Georgia Trustee, and during Georgia’s first decade, with Oglethorpe in America, Percival worked harder than anyone to champion Georgia’s cause and secure its future.

The United States Army Medal of Honor was created on July 12, 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation authorizing the award.

The first U.S. Army soldiers to receive what would become the nation’s highest military honor were six members of a Union raiding party who in 1862 penetrated deep into Confederate territory to destroy bridges and railroad tracks between Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia.

Lt. Frank Reasoner of Kellogg, Idaho died in action on July 12, 1965 and was later posthumously awarded the first Medal of Honor to a United States Marines for action in Vietnam.

On July 12, 1984, Congresswoman Geradine Ferraro (R-NY) joined the Democratic ticket with Presidential nominee Walter Mondale. Ferraro was the first woman and first Italian-American woman nominated for Vice President. Mondale and Ferraro lost the General Election in the largest ever Republican landslide to Republican President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George Bush.

The greatest Vampire film of my generation, The Lost Boys, was released on July 31, 1987. The saxophone player, Tim Cappello, plays in Savannah this week, according to the Savannah Morning News.

In the 1970s, Cappello played saxophone and piano in Peter Gabriel’s band and appeared on his album “Peter Gabriel 2” (1978).

Cappello developed a reputation as a dynamo onstage through the 80s and early 90s playing in Tina Turner’s band. In a YouTube clip of a live performance of “Private Dancer” from 1993 an energetic, muscled Cappello dances, bangs on piano and percussion, and solos seductively on the sax, all while threatening to accidentally steal the spotlight from Turner.

I had no idea he has such a long and varied career. Pretty cool article.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Georgia Supreme Court Justice Mike Boggs will be sworn in as Chief Justice on July 18, according to the Albany Herald.

The Investiture Ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. in the House Chamber and will be live-streamed on the court’s website at https://www.gasupreme.us/.

Nels S.D. Peterson also will be sworn in as the new Presiding Justice. Outgoing Chief Justice David E. Nahmias will swear in both Justices, who were unanimously selected by their colleagues in March 2022.

The Chief Justice, who serves a four-year term, leads Georgia’s judicial branch. The Chief Justice is the spokesperson for the Supreme Court, as well as for the entire state judiciary. He presides over the court’s oral arguments and the court’s deliberation of cases, although he has only one vote, as does each of the eight other Justices.

The Chief Justice also chairs the Judicial Council of Georgia, the policy-making body for the judicial branch that includes the State Bar President and 26 judges who represent the appellate courts and all classes of trial courts in the state. The Presiding Justice serves in the Chief Justice’s absence and is the vice-chair of the Judicial Council.

United States Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) will be required to testify in the Fulton County Grand Jury investigating former President Trump, according to WRDW.

Graham is set to testify about two phone calls he made in November 2020 to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. During those phone calls, Graham reportedly asked Raffensperger to reexamine “certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump.”

Graham said previously that he would fight a subpoena and he still has the ability to do so if he so chooses.

Graham’s attorneys say that the probe by the Democratic district attorney, Fani Willis, is politically motivated.

Graham was ordered to testify before the Special Purpose Grand Jury on Aug. 2. The petition also states that the State of Georgia will pay all reasonable and necessary travel expenses and witness fees requited to secure his attendance and testimony.

United States District Court Judge J.P. Boulee ruled that Georgia may prohibit third parties mass mailing absentee ballot applications to some voters, according to the AJC.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee leaves in place restrictions on sending absentee ballot request forms after voters were swamped with repeated solicitations during the 2020 election year. Some voters complained that they kept receiving letters imploring them to apply for absentee ballots, even after they had already done so.

The decision arrived as several lawsuits are challenging the voting law passed last year, Senate Bill 202, which also limits ballot drop boxes, requires additional ID to vote absentee, allows state takeovers of county election boards and bans handing out food and water to voters waiting in line.

Boulee said groups can still mail absentee ballot applications, but the law prevents them from sending forms to Georgians who have already requested a ballot or voted.

“The Georgia Legislature struck a balance. It required third parties to consult the state voter roll and refrain from sending duplicate applications,” Boulee wrote in a June 30 order denying a motion for preliminary injunction. “To be sure, avoiding voter confusion and administering effective elections are important regulatory interests.”

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, including the Voter Participation Center and the Center for Voter Information, argued the law limited their First Amendment free speech rights. They’d face a $100 fine for each duplicate absentee ballot application processed by county election offices.

While Boulee rejected the plaintiffs’ attempt to immediately enjoin the law, the underlying suit will continue through the court process. The voting law also bans state and local governments from mailing unsolicited absentee ballot applications to voters.

Boulee ruled last year against different provisions in the voting law that would have prohibited photographing or recording ballots outside of polling places, including during vote counts, recounts and audits. It remains illegal to photograph completed ballots in polling places while voting is underway.

Georgia Democrats held a pro-abortion press conference, according to 13WMAZ.

On Monday morning, Georgia Democrats held a press conference in downtown Macon.

State Representative Miriam Paris and Houston County Democrats Chair Courtney Driver spoke.

Driver is running for the Georgia House of Representatives District 146.

“We must stand up to Republican politicians up and down the ballot who are trying to force their extreme political agendas into women’s private medical decisions. We will not be silent amid the GOP attack on our freedom and our rights,” Driver said.

Abortion rights protesters met at the courthouse in Dalton , according to the Dalton Daily Citizen News.

[A]bout 50 people … took part in a Northwest Georgia Women’s Rights Protest on Saturday at the Whitfield County courthouse. Those at the rally expressed concern at the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 court decision that had put in place constitutional protections for abortion.

Catoosa County resident Elizabeth Marrow organized Saturday’s rally along with other women from Northwest Georgia who are concerned about abortion rights.

“We hope to get some people registered to vote today,” said Marrow, who was wearing a shirt that read “No Country for Old Men” with an image of a uterus and ovaries. “We hope to make some people more aware of what’s going on, to see what we are doing and do some research.”

Debby Peppers, who chairs the Whitfield County Democratic Committee, was one of several local Democrats who took part in the rally.

“This is a right that we had and was taken away,” she said. “That’s not OK. It feels like we are backing up. Georgia has historically been very anti-governmental interference, and this is governmental interference at the most personal level. I’ve had women tell me they had an abortion and regretted it. I think ‘You had that choice, and now you want to take it away from others because you regretted it.’ I’m not OK with that.”

Peppers said women in Georgia will have to fight to keep abortion rights from being rolled back further.

“The fight is now at the state level because state legislatures will decide what the limitations are, if any, to abortion access,” she said. “There are people (in the state legislature) who don’t want any access to abortion. It’s important that we elect people who have a little more common sense and give people access (to abortion).”

The owner of a Savannah clinic discussed ramifications of the Dobbs decision, according to WTOC.

“What are we about to do about this surge in unwanted babies that is about to come.”

One of her biggest concerns is access to birth control.

“Most people don’t have a health care provider that they can go to for birth control, so now if they want to get on birth control and they’re like, ‘oh do I go to a gynecology provider?’ Most of those providers aren’t taking new clients. There are some great websites online where you can get access to birth control but then what if you have migraines with auroras or high blood pressure or you’re a smoker or you have those risks factors and actually need to see somebody to get on something,” Georganna Wiley said.

She says in states with a ban there’s a surge of what some call natural abortions.

“That come with kidney damage and if it’s not successful, it’s poisonous to the fetus, then what are you going to do.”

“I’m hoping that there will be more social services that become available to support foster families, support teen pregnancies, increase funding for Medicaid.”

United States Representatives Jody Hice and Andrew Clyde want the University of Georgia to end a faculty project, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post.

U.S. Reps. Jodi Hice, R-Greensboro, and Andrew Clyde, R-Gainesville, are calling on the University of Georgia to end any support for a “Crisis Pregnancy Center” mapping website developed by two professors.

Andrea Swartzendruber and Danielle Lambert, both professors in the College of Public Health, created the website, which allows users to identify crisis pregnancy centers in a given city, state or zip code.

Crisis pregnancy centers offer pregnancy testing and other limited medical services. They are often funded by religious and conservative groups and attempt to dissuade women from getting abortions, according to the website.

The website states the centers “frequently provide inaccurate and misleading health information,” and it calls them “fake women’s health centers.” The purpose of the map is to allow people to identify the centers and help facilitate academic research into the centers.

Hice and Clyde sent a letter to UGA President Jere Morehead July 8 demanding that the university end any support for the mapping website.

“The website is…clearly nothing more than pro-abortion activism masquerading as academic research,” the letter states.

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson traveled to Washington for the signing of the gun bill, according to WTOC.

President Joe Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law on Monday. This new law passed in the wake of mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde.

State Rep. Don Hogan (R-St Simons) spoke at the Golden Isles Republican Women’s Club yesterday, according to The Brunswick News.

Hogan, R-St. Simons Island, has represented District 179 since 2017. The district includes Sea Island, St. Simons Island, Jekyll Island and portions of Brunswick and South Glynn County.

He announced in November that he is not seeking another term in office.

During his presentation, Hogan explained how the state House of Representatives works and the one thing that made it difficult not to seek another term in office.

“The bad thing about leaving is I left a lot of good friends there,” he said.

Hogan, retired in the field of mental health, helped support the Mental Health Parity Act that was passed by the General Assembly this session and signed into law by the governor. The legislation requires insurance companies to treat mental health care the same as physical health care and loosen the requirements for when law enforcement can voluntarily commit someone.

Some Gwinnett County property owners are asking for a lower property tax millage rate, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Loganville resident Dee Bryson pleaded with county commissioners to roll back the county government’s millage rate on Monday, saying it would hit him and other property owners hard.

Bryson not only owns the home he and his family lives in. He also owns three rental properties in the county.

And, he has to pay property taxes on all four homes. He told commissioners that anticipates paying a total of $15,879 in taxes for those properties this year, up from the roughly $11,201 he paid in taxes last year — and that’s with available exemptions applied.

“I beg you, please, look at the millage rate you are applauding yourselves for holding and consider rolling them back even further,” Bryson said. “Because otherwise, it forces us to go and try to address the values individually and I believe that’s going to be very hard to do.”

Bryson said he will lose money on his rental properties because of the increases in county government and school taxes, but he doesn’t like the idea of raising rents. He pointed to housing affordability and said higher taxes will make rental homes in the county less affordable than they are now.

“This year, I wasn’t able to go up on leases because they were already signed,” Bryson said. “Think about what I have to do next year. Next year, families who are paying $1,400 (or) $1,300 this year, that will jump to over $1,500, almost $1,600. Families can’t afford that.”

Dougherty County and the City of Albany continue discussing a potential Local Option Sales Tax (LOST), according to the Albany Herald.

Both the city and county are trying to agree on how to split these funds. Traditionally, the split has been 60/40 in the city’s favor.

This year, the recommendations have been different. Revenue from LOST is estimated to be about $11 million. The city wants the split to be 70/30 with more going to them.

The county was asking for it to be 53/47, with 53 going to them until Monday’s commission meeting.

“We are willing to go 60/40. That’s the line in the sand. That’s it.” said Chairman Christopher Cohilas.

Commission Chairman Christopher Cohilas said it’s important to reach an agreement on the split now, and it’s up to the city to either accept or reject that proposition. If the city rejects the county proposal, Cohilas said it would result in an $11 million dollar tax increase for the citizens of Dougherty County.

Rome and Floyd County are also discussing a Local Option Sales Tax, according to the Rome News Tribune.

A Local Option Sales Tax subcommittee met Monday with consultant Phil Sutton.

Members are County Manager Jamie McCord, City Manager Sammy Rich, County Commissioner Allison Watters, City Commissioner Mark Cochran and the two finance directors. Cave Spring Mayor Rob Ware and Councilman Jason West were also present for the discussion.

According to Rich, the current tax distribution formula has more or less stayed the same since 1995.

Per the agreement signed on Aug. 28, 2012, Floyd County currently receives 56.5% of the revenue while Rome receives 41.7% and Cave Spring gets 1.8%.

The Cave Spring mayor — the only one who was there for the first LOST negotiation in the ’90s — said it was a very difficult process.

“It took months to get anything done,” Ware said. “And me sitting here, thinking about going through that again… Just be careful what you wish for. It’s more than just determining cost. It’s where the services are going and how they’re paid for.”

Rome City Commissioners appear to be moving forward with a partial rollback of the property tax millage rate, but will still yield higher revenues because of assessment increases, according to the Rome News Tribune.

Also on Monday, the board had the first reading of a proposed pay hike for city commission and school board members. The annual salary will increase from $8,400 to $12,000.

City Clerk Joe Smith said it would be the first raise in about 25 years, with the last one being in 1997 or 1998.

Coastal economic growth is slowing, according to the Savannah Morning News.

“Overall, momentum is good. It is slowing. Part of that slowing momentum is attributed to some wavering in both the logistics industry and the tourism industry,” [Georgia Southern University Professor Michael] Toma said.

Tax receipts for tourism-related services such as hotels, motels and rental cars trended down from 2021. In the logistics industry, container movement fell 8% from the final quarter of 2021 to Q1 2022, according to the report. Retail sales also slowed slightly, which could be an indicator of record-high inflation artificially increasing prices.

The Savannah-region’s economy is excepted to grow 2% this year, another sign of a return to normalcy after the pandemic. Toma ventured that a recession, forecasted to begin next year, will be mild and not halt the growth momentum wrought by the area’s influx of new residents and industrialization.

Thousands of new jobs were added to the market in early 2022, including tourism, service sector, construction and business and professional services. The tight labor market has spurred a much-needed increase in wages, with average pay increasing more than 5% — to an average hourly wage of $25.48 -— since the first quarter of 2021.

“We had really stagnant wages while the rest of the economy, nationwide, wage growth was 5% or 6% and we were stuck at zero or 1%,” Toma explained. “So, I think we’re kind of in this catch-up mode.”

Sea turtle eggs are beginning to hatch, according to WTOC.

We just passed the halfway mark of the season and there have already been about 2,500 nests found in total which is on pace for 2019, which was a great year. But on Tybee, they just broke their record from that year with 27 nests.

There are a few different species of turtles that nest along the Georgia coast, but the loggerhead sea turtle is the most common.

Only about one in one thousand sea turtle hatchlings will make it to adulthood – so more nests the better that is for the sea turtle population.

“Keeping our beaches clean is really important for these sea turtles that can have a tough time being a tiny turtle in the big ocean so making sure we keep our beaches clean is really important to those numbers of protected and endangered species like our sea turtles,” said Lisa Kovalanchik, UGA Marine Expansion and Sea Grant.

Nesting season could last for about another month and already the hatching season has begun and will last through September.