Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for July 23, 2021

On July 24, 1778, Georgia ratified the Articles of Confederation.

Georgia’s John Walton was present on July 9, 1778, and signed the document then. Georgia’s other two delegates – Edward Telfair and Edward Langworthy – did not sign until July 24, 1778, which is the date most often used for Georgia’s ratification of the Articles.

An interesting sidenote is that John Walton‘s brother, George Walton, signed the Declaration of Independence on Georgia’s behalf.

On July 23, 1864, Union and Confederate forces in and around Atlanta gathered the dead and worked to save the wounded. Union artillery began bombarding Atlanta. On July 23, 2014, Republicans did the same in the aftermath of the Primary Runoff Elections the previous day. Democratic artillery advertising would soon fill the air.

Former President Ulysses S. Grant died on July 23, 1885.

The Cleveland Metropolitan Park District was established on July 23, 1917 and currently has a set of beautiful parks winding through the city.

At 12:51 EDT tomorrow, we mark the safe return from the moon of Apollo 11 on July 24, 1969.

On July 25, 1972, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

On July 25, 1974, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the case of United States v. Nixon that executive privilege did not allow the White House to refuse to turn over audio recordings that had been subpoenaed by a special prosecutor investigating the Watergate scandal.

The number one song in America on July 23, 1982 was “Eye of the Tiger,” by Survivor, from the Rocky III soundtrack.

John Smoltz started his first game as a major league pitcher on July 23, 1988, as the Braves took a win over the New York Mets.

On July 24, 2000, former Georgia Governor Zell Miller was appointed to the United States Senate to serve in the seat vacated on the death of Senator Paul Coverdell.

A graveyard with more than 600 unmarked grave sits on the site of the former Georgia State Prison Farm in Milledgeville, according to the AJC.

The site is the final resting place for more than 600 anonymous souls who died at that prison, both from executions and more natural causes. The prison closed in 1937 and was demolished three years ago. Much of the prison land has been turned into a park for Baldwin County, including soccer fields. There are also plans for an aquatic park.

[Edwin C.] Atkins is asking the state to cut a trail to the cemetery, allowing the public and descendants of the dead to access the land and to help them in their mission to upgrade the grounds.

Atkins and Smith brought Rep. [Rick] Williams [R-Milledgeville] on their tour of the graveyard to get some political juice in their effort to get the Georgia Department of Corrections to allow them to more properly tend the graves. They come out to cut the grass and have been trying to identify graves, but they are officially trespassing.

Atkins bent down to check a rusted Georgia license plate used to mark a grave. The prison started manufacturing car tags in 1930 and used them to identify the dead. No name, just a number in death. Most of the license plates are long gone, so identifying who lies underneath remains almost impossible. Some graves have rusty iron bars as a marking. “If you trip, look down and you’ll find a metal stub,” Smith said.

“I think it’s a sin to let those prisoners rot forgotten in the woods,” Atkins said. “It’s morally unconscionable that you’re not memorializing dead prisoners. Because they were Black, because they were criminals they were thrown in the woods.”

There are almost certainly white bodies moldering there too, but they are almost certainly a minority. According to his great-grandfather’s typed records noting each execution, Atkins said 118 of the 144 (or 82%) of those electrocuted were Black.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

United States Representative Hank Johnson (D-DeKalb) was arrested outside the U.S. Capitol during a protest, according to CNN via the Albany Herald.

Johnson can be seen in the video with his hands restrained behind his back while still participating in a chant with other protesters yelling, “Whose streets? Our streets. Whose House? Our House.” He is one of 10 people whom the Capitol Police arrested for “unlawfully demonstrating” outside the Hart Senate Office Building and charged with crowding, obstructing or incommoding.

“Today, Congressman Hank Johnson was arrested along with a group of black male voting rights activists protesting against Senate inaction on voting rights legislation and filibuster reform,” Johnson’s office said in a statement to CNN.

The protest, the statement said, was also in response to restrictive voting laws across the country “that target students, the elderly and people of color. In the spirit of his dear friend and mentor — the late Congressman John Lewis — Rep. Johnson was getting in ‘good trouble’ fighting for and protecting civil and voting rights for all Americans.”

Johnson is the second lawmaker to be arrested in as many weeks while protesting for voting rights. Rep. Joyce Beatty, the Democratic chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, was arrested on July 15 by Capitol Police after participating in a voting rights protest that culminated in a march inside the Senate Hart Office Building atrium.

Suspended Georgia Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck was convicted by a jury, according to the Associated Press via AccessWDUN.

A jury convicted Georgia’s suspended insurance commissioner of all 37 counts of fraud and money laundering against him on Thursday afternoon to cap a two-week federal trial, swiftly the guilty verdicts after the day’s closing arguments.

The suspended commissioner, Jim Beck, was convicted of charges of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and tax fraud by jurors in the federal courtroom in Atlanta. Beck had been indicted months after taking office in 2019.

Prosecutors had presented evidence at trial that Beck orchestrated a scheme to embezzle more than $2 million from the Georgia Underwriting Association. Beck had managed the state-chartered private insurer of last resort for years before he took office.

Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 8. The judge ordered Beck confined to his home in Carrollton, west of Atlanta, while awaiting sentencing save for outings for court appearances and to receive medical care.

From the AJC:

Under state law, Beck was automatically removed from office upon conviction. Gov. Brian Kemp has appointed John King to run the office and the Republican is seeking a full term in 2022.

Beck asked Kemp to suspend him when he was indicted, but continued drawing a $195,000 yearly salary. State lawmakers this year proposed a constitutional amendment to stop the pay of officials who are suspended from office while facing criminal charges. Voters will decide the amendment in 2022.

Prosecutors and Beck’s lawyers declined comment immediately after the verdict. Current GUA General Manager Joe Cregan said Thursday that insurers had paid GUA $2.5 million earlier this year for amounts Beck stole. He said GUA is still investigating to see if Beck took more money.

Some Bibb county residents protested an appearance by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, according to 13WMAZ.

Thursday, some members of Bibb County’s Republican party held up signs to protest the Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

They’re unhappy that Raffensperger failed to overturn the state’s election results that showed Joe Biden as the winner here.

[Diane] Vann said, “He was responsible for saying nothing was wrong, nothing could be done with those machines and obviously, not telling the truth. I’m here.”

This week, [Bibb County GOP Chair David] Sumrall and local Republicans issued a news release from accusing election officials of switching 12,000 Bibb County votes from Trump to Biden on the night of November 4th.

Sumrall said, “Thousands of absentee ballots came in. I was a poll worker. Yes, I was present, but we couldn’t see anything!”

Georgia State House Republicans today meet in a retreat and will elect a new Majority Whip, according to the AJC.

The House GOP retreat kicks off today with speeches by party luminaries, including former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Veteran strategist Karl Rove will address the crowd Saturday, perhaps with his famous whiteboard. State party leaders will also pep up the 80 or so GOP lawmakers in attendance.

But we’re most closely watching what’s shaping up to be a key test of House Speaker David Ralston’s grip on the speaker’s gavel. It involves a vote scheduled mid-morning to replace state Rep. Trey Kelley after he stepped down as Majority Whip as he fights charges stemming from a 2019 fatal accident.

The contest to replace him as the fourth-ranking member of the chamber pits Ralston ally Matt Hatchett against Barry Fleming, an attorney with designs on running for speaker one day himself. Some House Republicans view it as a proxy fight over Ralston’s leadership.

Initial claims for unemployment insurance hit a level not seen since before the pandemic, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Albany Herald.

Jobless Georgians filed 12,605 initial claims last week, down 1,870 from the previous week and the lowest weekly total since the coronavirus pandemic struck Georgia in March of last year.

The state Department of Labor has paid out almost $22.9 billion in state and federal unemployment benefits since March 21, 2020, more than during the last decade combined prior to the pandemic.

Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan (R-Forsyth County) proposed a tax credit for donations to support law enforcement, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Albany Herald.

Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan called on the General Assembly Thursday to create a $250 million state tax credit aimed at reducing crime statewide.

The Law Enforcement Strategic Support (LESS Crime) Act will be the cornerstone of Duncan’s 2022 legislative agenda.

“It should be no surprise that every state leader is concerned with the exponential rise in crime in Georgia, especially in our capital city,” Duncan said Thursday. “Rising crime is affecting individuals, businesses and Georgia families.”

“Combating this problem will not be accomplished by one solution alone. … Big problems call for big solutions.”

The tax credit Duncan envisions would be modeled after the Rural Hospital Tax Credit Georgia lawmakers created in 2016 to help the state’s most financially stressed rural hospitals.

The new tax credit legislation would let Georgians write a check directly to their local law enforcement agency and receive a 100% dollar-for-dollar state income tax credit. The credit would be capped at $5,000 per individual taxpayer, $10,000 per married couple, or in the case of a business, at 75% of a company’s tax liability.

Athens-Clarke County’s Police Crisis Intervention Unit is being studied by other departments, according to the Athens Banner Herald.

The Police Crisis Intervention Unit had its seeding in 2017 following a federal grant that helped train officers to better respond to such calls. Five years later, the program has caught the attention of other agencies across the state.

“I think our model seems to work well. Athens-Clarke County has been on the forefront of this before it became popular,” McFarland said about recent nationwide efforts to reform some facets of police work.

The pair in recent months have shared the unit’s inner workings with agencies in the cities of Brookhaven, Gainesville, Savannah, Forsyth, Moultrie, Augusta, Conyers and counties like McDuffie and Muscogee, among others, [Athens-Clarke police officer Robie] Cochran said.

When emergency calls come in to the 911 Center, Cochran explained the responding officer assesses the situation in terms of safety. This officer can judge if it appears to be a mental health crisis.

Besides responding to calls, the pair is also involved in training at the police department. Athens-Clarke officers are the best-trained group in the state when it comes to crisis de-escalation, according to McFarland. All officers are required to undergo 40 hours of such training, she said.

Augusta-Richmond County will pay $15 per hour to county employees, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

A minimum $15 hourly wage and bonuses for Augusta-Richmond County personnel will arrive sooner rather than later with funds from the American Rescue Plan.

The increases, as well as designated funding for commission districts and the mayor’s office were among eligible spending items presented to commissioners Wednesday by City Administrator Odie Donald.

Augusta and its several institutions are set to receive nearly $1 billion in federal pandemic aid. It’s often called a “once in a generation” opportunity, but Donald said numerous requirements accompany the funding that governments must address in full to spend the funds.

The large total includes the $82.3 million going to Augusta-Richmond County, $112 million to Richmond County schools, $447 million in forgivable Payroll Protection Act loans, $13 million in rental assistance, $3.5 million for homelessness, $2.5 million for Paine College and $4.4 million for Augusta Regional Airport, according to a handout. Augusta University and Augusta Technical College also have received millions.

Rincon will us 60-year old mechanical voting machines instead of Effingham County’s electronic voting machines, according to the Savannah Morning News.

The City of Rincon had the opportunity to use Effingham County’s electronic machines for their upcoming municipal election in November but opted instead to use their 60-year-old mechanical voting machines.

Using the county’s voting machines and having its elections and registration office run the city’s election came at a cost of about $12,000 versus the approximate $3,000 for the city to run its own election.

“The county can enter into intergovernmental agreements to have the county elections board run the cities elections,” said Effingham County manager Tim Callanan. “We offered Rincon, as well as Springfield and Guyton, that if you want us to run the elections, we will enter into an agreement where our elections and registration office will run them for a fee.”

“Rincon has about 7,900 registered voters. We used the same figure per registered voter for all three cities. There are 1,827 registered voters in Guyton and 1,791 in Springfield. It costs the county about $6.15 per registered voter to run a countywide election. We were going to split the cost 75%-25% with the Rincon paying $1.50 per voter for a cost of about $12,000, and the county picking up about $4.65,”  Callanan added.

“The machines we use are called Shoup machines. They’ve probably been around since the 1940s,” [Rincon city clerk Dulcia] King said. “You flip the lever and the curtain closes. Once you finish voting you push the bar back and the curtain opens and it counts your vote. My understanding is that the machines once belonged to the county and once they switched over to electronic machines we got theirs. These machines are only used with municipal elections. The last time Rincon had an election and used these machines was 2019. On presidential elections, the county handles the voting.”

Savannah hired Jay Melder as City Manager, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Melder’s appointment came with a unanimous 9-0 vote from council after a nearly four-hour meeting on Thursday. The mayor and aldermen will vote on the terms of his contract at the next council meeting following the completion of a background check.

“We congratulate Mr. Melder and we thank council in particular for your diligent and very hard work during this entire process,” Mayor Van Johnson said.

Acting City Manager Michael Brown will step down at the end of next week after nearly nine months in the role. Brown assumed the role last fall after another city manager brought in on a temporary basis, Pat Monahan, stepped down. Monahan came on as acting city manager following Rob Hernandez resignation in 2019.

 

 

Atlanta Public Schools will require masks when school returns, according to FoxNews.

Atlanta Public Schools will require students and staff to wear face masks this coming year after Gov. Brian Kemp declared the state would not have mask mandates for children.

“We’re not going to have a mask mandate for our kids,” Kemp said in May. “Our teachers have had the ability to get vaccinated. It certainly doesn’t keep anyone from wearing a mask.”

His executive order on the matter, however, fell short of outright banning such mandates in schools.

School officials said the rise of the delta variant coupled with students under the age of 12 not being eligible to receive a COVID vaccine motivated them to enforce mask wearing.

Atlanta isn’t alone in the new requirement and joins DeKalb and Clayton counties in requiring masks for their students and school staff.

Lowndes County Board of Education approved a return to school plan that makes masks optional, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.

The Lowndes County Board of Education approved the plan at its July 19 meeting. The plan includes cleaning/hygiene, learning options, daily COVID-19 screenings and face coverings.

While face coverings are optional — and if worn, they should cover both the nose and mouth — the learning option will not be. Students return to traditional, face-to-face instruction this school year.

Because of this, according to the plan, the school system will implement “more intensive” COVID-19 prevention strategies and enhanced social distancing will be encouraged for staff and students.

Dalton Public Schools will place cameras in some classrooms as a pilot program, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen News.

“We’re testing the water,” said Superintendent Tim Scott. “We’re only asking for teachers who want to do this, (so) no one has to do it.”

“There are a lot of ways to use them,” Stuart Davis, Dalton Public Schools’ director of technology and telecommunications, informed the Dalton Board of Education members during a Monday work session at Dalton Junior High School. “If we try it this year, and it doesn’t work, we won’t use them” anymore.

“Teachers are in control of everything from the instruction side” with the Kloud-12 OneDevice cameras, Davis said. Teachers can, for example, teach a lesson in one room of a school, with that content delivered to another room or even another school, allowing them to “double up on instruction.”

The cameras are used by teachers in many school systems for professional development, Scott said. Teachers watch themselves to improve, or teachers watch other teachers for possible tips.

The cameras could also be used by administrators for teacher observations, and teachers may want to record a particular day or lesson to show administrators, Davis said. This is “no different than videotaping a football or baseball practice, then going back to watch it.”

There’s also a “security” function available with the cameras, which could be helpful “if something happens” in a classroom, he said. “We could go back and watch what is captured by the camera.”

The Muscogee County Sheriff’s Department held a job fair, according to WTVM.