Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for July 25, 2022

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.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Best line of the day goes to this beauty in the writeup of a dispute over a busted Yeti cooler in the Macon Telegraph.

The deputy fetched the filched frou-frou freezer and returned it. No charges were filed.

Satan’s Sundial may be rebuilt, according to the Athens Banner Herald.

Not only is the identity of the person who bombed the Georgia Guidestones still a mystery, but people in Elbert County are continuing to debate whether the monument should be rebuilt, officials said Friday.

And while authorities continue to seek more evidence, Elbert County officials are faced with deciding what to do with the site that was deeded to the county. Some residents want the monument rebuilt and others want this to be the end of the Guidestones.

Elberton Granite Association Executive Vice President Chris Kubas said Friday that association members did discuss the monument on July 18 and have made a recommendation as to their thoughts to the Elbert County Board of Commissioners.

The granite association has provided maintenance for the monument over the years, which was crafted and built by one of its members. The monument was financed by a man known only by a pseudonym as Robert C. Christian.

The monument, while attracting tourists to the county each year, has at times become controversial as people attempted to determine who had the structure built and what the messages inscribed on the 19-foot-tall stones mean.

The City of South Fulton appears to be auditioning for a new reality TV show. From CBS46:

Three people were escorted out as the council made a unanimous vote of no confidence against Mayor Khalid Kamau.

“A vote of no confidence of Mayor Khalid Kamau is warranted, is necessary,” said Corey Reeves, Mayor Pro Tem.

Before the executive session, Mayor Kamau alerted the crowd he had served temporary restraining order lawsuits against the city attorney and each council member.

He said he also sought an injunction against this and all future executive sessions – until a declaratory judgment was met.

Afterward, the council said while they intended to make a strong stance against the mayor, they were not considering removing him from office.

“We do not have the power to do that and there was never any intention to come here this evening to get rid of the mayor,” said Councilmember Natasha Williams.

“We just needed to have on the record we are not in support or in favor of the chaos that’s been caused this week,” she said.

Monkeypox numbers are rising in Georgia, according to WTOC.

Atlanta-based CDC reports there are 16,836 probable or confirmed cases nationwide, 2,891 cases in the U.S. and 211 in Georgia, an increase since 158 cases were reported on July 21.

The U.S Department of Health and Human Services recently delivered an additional 3,000 vaccines to Georgia for a total of 6,000 in the past month. However, doctors say there are still not enough vaccines for everyone who is eligible to receive one.

Fulton County received another allotment of vaccines this week. The Board of Health held a vaccine clinic on Thursdays. Joshua-James Simon-Lybick got his first dose of the two-shot vaccine. He said he has friends who contracted the rare virus.

The Cook Political Report has upgraded the Georgia Governor’s race to “Leans Republican” from “Toss-up.”

Kemp’s fortunes have certainly rebounded from where he was at the beginning of 2021. The Trump-backed intraparty threat from David Perdue never seriously materialized, with Kemp absolutely humiliating the former senator during the May 24 primary by more than 50 points. Kemp showed that the Peach State was Trump’s kryptonite, overcoming any lingering MAGA hostilities for refusing to overturn the state’s 2020 election results to help Trump. It wasn’t just Kemp that won, but other Kemp-backed, Trump-opposed candidates up and down the ballot were victorious as well.

Gov. Brian Kemp is scheduled to be questioned on video for the grand jury empaneled by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, according to Fox5Atlanta.

Monday, Kemp is expected to testify by video for the grand jury and give his take about what happened in the wake of the 2020 election.

Kemp is the latest high-ranking official to go before the grand jury, joining House Speaker David Ralston, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, Raffensperger and his deputy Gabe Sterling, and Kemp’s reelection communication director Cody Hall.

Thursday, the Fulton County judge overseeing the special grand jury ordered several Georgia Republicans who signed a certificate falsely stating that Donald Trump had won the state in 2020 and that they were the state’s “duly elected and qualified” electors to testify in the investigation.

The special grand jury, which operates behind closed doors, was seated in May at Willis’s request and has the power to subpoena evidence and witnesses. It does not have the power to issue an indictment. Instead, once its investigation is completed, it will issue a report with recommendations. It will then be up to Willis to decide whether to seek an indictment from a regular grand jury.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis continued her crusade against Republicans by serving notice she intends to prosecute Tex McIver after the Georgia Supreme Court reversed his earlier conviction. From CNN via the Gwinnett Daily Post:

Claud “Tex” McIver was convicted in 2018 of felony murder and other charges stemming from the 2016 killing of his wife, Diane, who was fatally shot by McIver while sitting in front of him in a car.

In June, Georgia’s highest court overturned McIver’s felony murder conviction, ruling that the jury should have been instructed that they could consider a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter.

In a motion filed on Friday, Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis asked the county superior court to set a new date for the trial within 180 days of receiving the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The district attorney’s office said it plans to retry McIver on felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

The Camden Spaceport may have breathed it’s last, as Union Carbide has decided against selling the parcel that was to serve as the launch site, according to The Brunswick News.

Union Carbide is withdrawing from a pending agreement to sell a 4,000-acre tract to Camden County that would have been a launch site approved by the Federal Aviation Administration for a proposed spaceport.

The company’s decision was the result of a referendum in March where 72% of Camden County voters who showed up to the polls said they didn’t want the county to spend any more money on the spaceport project after more than $11 million had already been spent.

The FAA approved a site operator’s license earlier this year to allow for the construction of a commercial space launch site and offer the site to commercial operators for liquid-fueled, small-lift orbital and sub-orbital launch vehicles. But that license was contingent upon the county closing on the deal with Union Carbide.

“As a result, there is no longer an option agreement in existence between the county and UCC, and UCC does not intend to convey the property to the county pursuant to the prior option agreement,” according to a statement, emailed to The Associated Press by Union Carbide spokesman Tomm Sprick.

From the Associated Press via the Statesboro Herald:

County officials, meanwhile, insisted they still have a binding contract to purchase the site.

In a statement Thursday, Union Carbide noted that Camden County voters had “repudiated” the land purchase.

“As a result, there is no longer an Option Agreement in existence between the County and UCC, and UCC does not intend to convey the property to the County pursuant to the prior Option Agreement,” said the statement, emailed to The Associated Press by Union Carbide spokesman Tomm Sprick.

“Union Carbide most certainly has a contract with Camden,” the [county government’s] statement said. “The County has indicated that it is ready, willing and able to close. We expect Union Carbide to honor its contractual commitments.”

The big loss at the polls in March didn’t stop county officials from pursuing the project. Commissioners in April voted unanimously to notify Union Carbide that they planned to move forward with the land purchase. The company said at the time it was evaluating the agreement.

Meanwhile, county officials are trying to have the referendum declared invalid by the Georgia Supreme Court. Their legal appeal argues that Georgia’s constitution doesn’t allow voters to veto government projects such as the spaceport. The court is scheduled to hear the case Aug. 23.

Sticky questions have been raised about other parts of the “Heartbeat bill,” according to CBS46.

This is what the law says about taxes, “[…] relating to income taxes, so as to provide that an unborn child with a detectable human heartbeat is a dependent minor for income tax purposes.”

This means expectant parents can now claim hundreds of dollars, depending on income, on their 2022 state taxes.

“Even though they wouldn’t be able to do so for the purposes of the federal tax code. Typically, of course, people fill out the same forms, so Georgia might have to – if it means what it says in the law – it’s going to have to figure out how to administer that,” said Fred Smith, Emory University law professor.

“It isn’t really clear how one would administer it – and so, will they require documentation?” said Smith. “The questions, there are so many of them that we can really almost spend the day thinking about hypotheticals.”

Rising prices led the Georgia Department of Transportation to decline some project bids, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Albany Herald.

The DOT has rejected bids on 12 projects that had been due for letting next month, Meg Pirkle, the agency’s chief engineer, told members of the State Transportation Board.

Bids are coming in an average of 33% above what the DOT was anticipating, Pirkle said.

“We have to balance the funds we have with what we can do,” she said. “With prices going up that much, we’re not going to be able to deliver everything that’s in the program.”

McMurry also said the temporary suspension of the state sales tax on gasoline and other motor fuels the General Assembly approved in March cost the DOT $294 million in lost tax revenue during April, May, and June.

Rome City Commissioners will vote on a partial rollback of the property tax millage rate that still yields higher revenues than the prior year, according to the Rome News Tribune.

The city is proposing a rollback that will drop the millage rate by 0.151 mills, to 27.276 mills. This will make the property tax on a home valued at $125,000 decrease from $1,371 to $1,363.

Under state law, that’s classified as an increase since the city will be collecting more money overall.

Same story, but Snellville. From the AJC:

Some residents in Snellville may pay a higher property tax bill this year, despite the tax rate being decreased.

City officials released a notice of property tax increase this month despite a reduction in the rate to 4.00 mills from last year’s 4.588, Snellville City Manager Butch Sanders said.

“The only reason there would be an increase in their taxes, since the millage rate went down, is if their reassessment put the value of their house at a higher level,” Sanders said.

Floyd County Board of Education members are considering issuing bonds to collect Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) revenues ahead of time, according to the Rome News Tribune.

Voters approved a new ELOST for Floyd County Schools and Rome City Schools in the May primary. RCS dedicated their money to build a new middle school while Floyd County opted to focus on multiple infrastructure projects.

While collections won’t begin until April 2024, board members are weighing the options of taking out bonds beforehand to get started on some of the projects that are considered more pertinent.

The Hall County Board of Education today will adopt a millage rate for the coming year, according to the Gainesville Times.

The school system announced earlier this month that it would lower its millage rate to 15.99 for the 2022-23 fiscal year, down from 16.485 the year before. This is not considered a tax reduction because the school system would actually pull in more revenue given the rise in property values.

Though the rate is the lowest since 2005 it represents an 15.81% increase in tax revenue or $15.6 million over the prior year.

Savannah City Council passed a resolution supporting abortion rights, according to WTOC.

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson and the rest of city council unanimously passed a resolution last Thursday supporting women’s rights to end a pregnancy.

While Savannah’s only abortion clinic closed shortly after Roe v. Wade was overturned, the resolution says the right to privacy should protect doctors, patients and all other involved with medical treatment from any criminal investigation including an abortion.

“I don’t think that a doctor should be penalized for providing comprehensive care. On the other end of it, we’re not going to use our city resources towards this for that anyway. We’re not going to prosecute doctors. We’re just not going to do that. We want women to be OK. We want them to be healthy,” Mayor Johnson said.

What about pregnant people who aren’t women?

Atlanta protestors took to the street over abortion, according to CBS46 via WTOC:

A group of activists, local organizations and community members joined the Georgia NAACP in marching from Cosmopolitan AME Church to the Georgia state capitol. The group voiced their frustrations against the U.S. Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe V. Wade.

Organizers say the new ruling disproportionally impacts black women as they are at higher risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes.

Savannah will begin taking applications for public housing, according to WTOC.

This is a pre-application to get on the waitlist to eventually get placement in public housing. There is a short window to apply and it starts up at 8 a.m. on Monday morning.

If you and your family are interested this is the first step – you apply online and then you will be placed on a waitlist. As new units open up, then you can begin the process to get placement.

With soaring rent prices right now, the Savannah Housing Authority is expecting an influx of applicants.

“Public housing rents are calculated on 30 percent of the applicants income and so that range, you have people that may pay a very low amount, some may pay a higher amount but you can assure that the higher amount are less than market rent in most cases,” said Yolanda Fontaine, Savannah Housing Authority Property Management Director.

Athens-Clarke County schools are advising mask use but not requiring it in the new school year, according to the Athens Banner Herald.

On Thursday, Clarke County School District officials wrote to parents that they “strongly encourage” masks when social distancing is not possible and that masks will be provided on campuses.

The district later clarified that currently masks are required for Head Start, Early Head Start, and students receiving pre-kindergarten services at Early Learning Centers West and East. Pre-kindergarten students who receive services in the elementary schools are not required to wear masks.

Though the new school year starts Aug. 4, the district will not follow the lead of local government and require masks. This decision falls in line with the Unmask Georgia Students Act, which was introduced in early 2022 and signed into law in late March. It allows parents to opt-out of mask mandates.

Away from school campuses, a spike in cases in the Athens area has led to renewed enforcement of Athens’ indoor mask mandate. This comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention marked Athens-Clarke as “high” for new COVID-19 cases.

Gwinnett County public schools are rolling out safety upgrades, according to the AJC.

Gwinnett County Public Schools is implementing a new visitor screening system, upgrading building entrances and working to hire more police officers in an effort to enhance school safety.

The school police force is also calling on community members to speak up whenever there are concerns.

Gwinnett’s police force has 98 officers, and [School District Police Chief Tony] Lockard said the district aims to hire 10 to 20 more. There are two school resource officers (SRO) at most high schools and one at specialty high schools and middle schools. Some elementary schools have an officer as well.

Gov. Brian Kemp allocated millions of dollars after a three-day school safety conference. DeKalb County schools wants to hire 22 new officers and 30 unarmed security personnel. Clayton County schools will be equipped with metal detectors, and students must use clear backpacks.

The district is also implementing a system at all schools that standardizes the sign-in process and screens visitors to see if they’re on the National Sex Offender Registry.

The Bulloch County Board of Elections is having trouble hiring enough poll workers for the November elections, according to the Statesboro Herald.

“Bulloch County, like other counties in Georgia, is experiencing poll worker shortages greatly,” [Elections Supervisor Shontay Jones] said. “Without them there would be no election day voting. We must support and applaud the work they do and what they endure to carry out this process, as they are very underappreciated.”

Jones said 86 workers staffed the polls for the May 24 primary election when about 7,500 people voted in person.

She said the county will need 30 to 50 more poll workers for Nov. 8 in addition to the 86 that worked on the May primary.

“With the last couple of elections, we have had poll workers to commit, then call out because of health, surgeries or family reasons,” said Jones, who became election supervisor in July 2021 and has worked for Bulloch elections for 23 years. “So having more than enough to me would always be the goal because you never know when you will get a call from a poll worker saying I cannot work (election day), but you know the election must go on in spite of.”

“COVID had a lot to do with the shortages as most of the poll workers statewide were aged and caused understandable concerns as a vulnerable population being exposed to COVID,” she said.

“Also, COVID put a freeze on in-person contact with regards to hiring new poll workers. And currently COVID is still very present in different variants. But I also think for some it made people value their families more and not wanting to commit to everything that goes into preparing for an election, let alone the possibility of four to six elections in a General Election year.”

“Then you add the threats, speculation and theories that are centered around the elections. Now, you have new laws and voting procedures that changed and everything you do and say is under a microscope.”

“That is a lot to absorb for anyone, especially when all these things mentioned are beyond our control and is open to an individual’s own perception.”

Georgia Democrats opened a new field office in Savannah, according to WTOC.

The “Georgia Votes” Coordinated Campaign opened up their new field office Saturday which is in Savannah off of Ogeechee Road.

Several candidates in upcoming elections were there to celebrate, including Wade Herring, Edna Jackson, and Marcus Thompson.

The field office will primarily be used to get in touch with voters which local Democratic candidates say is crucial in the upcoming election.

“A big part of what this is about is voter turnout. So folks, if you want to change our country, you have to go vote. But the field office will help encourage that vote. Calling, knocking on doors, handing out literature,” Democratic Candidate for U.S. House Wade Herring said.

Chatham County Manager Lee Smith has been suspended, according to WTOC.

[Sixth District County Commissioner Aaron “Adot”] Whitely said he received notice from County Commission Chairman Chester Ellis on Tuesday that Ellis made the decision to suspend Smith.

No reason was given, but Whitely said “I’m in support of his judgement. I trust his judgement at this point. I don’t know why, so I can’t say I support him suspending him, because I don’t know why he did it.”

Whitely said, “The chairman did reach out to me and expressed that he felt this was necessary, and he would go into greater detail when he had the opportunity to.”

Tybee Island continues its moratorium on new short term vacation rentals, according to WTOC.

Next month will mark one year since Tybee Island put a moratorium on short-term vacation rentals that was supposed to only last 90 days. It has been extended several times since.

This has prevented people from registering new properties as an STVR while the city writes a new STVR ordinance.

The city continues to say the moratorium will remain in place until a new ordinance is written. With the latest deadline for that to be done approaching next month, City Manager Shawn Gillen says they still may not act.

The Savannah Morning News looks at what would happen if Chatham County receives 50% of proceeds form a Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) proposed for November voting.

Chatham County’s proposal that the county government receives half of Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) funds would have major repercussions on a majority of property taxpayers for the next decade. It would be a significant change to the current LOST share breakdown – 23% for the county and 77% for the eight incorporated municipalities.

While the county touts that nearly doubling their share would lead to an overall decrease in county property taxes, data suggests otherwise. That’s because the county suggested that the City of Savannah cut their LOST share, while other municipalities remain the same.

Only taxpayers in the unincorporated area (a population of about 90,000) and Port Wentworth (a population of about 11,000) would experience a net property tax benefit from a 50/50.

Smaller municipalities that rely on LOST funds as a larger portion of their annual budget will see major tax bill increases for their residents if that revenue is cut.

I can’t vouch for the math, but that’s a very good article on a complex subject.

U.S. Representative Buddy Carter (R-Pooler) was cleared by the Federal Elections Commission of allegations he wrongly spent campaign funds, according to The Brunswick News.

The commission acknowledged what Carter already knew, that he acted legally in 2021 when he spent money to explore a possible race against U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia, without declaring himself a candidate.

The complaint was filed by the Georgia Democratic Party in August after Carter ran a statewide TV ad criticizing Major League Baseball for pulling its All-Star Game from the state.

In its complaint, the Democratic Party claimed Carter should have formally declared his Senate candidacy, in part because the $75,000 ad aired mostly outside his House district.

U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Albany) hosted an event with U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough, according to the Albany Herald.

The discussion was an opportunity for local veterans and leaders to share their insights with the secretary about VA care and ways in which it can be improved. Earlier in the day, Bishop participated in a ceremony at the newly named Robert S. Poydasheff VA Clinic in Columbus.

“I had the great honor of working with Bob Poydasheff for years,” Bishop said. “While we were sad to lose Bob last year, it is wonderful to see his name adorn the VA clinic where those he cared about can receive the care they deserve. Secretary McDonough is a tireless champion for our veterans. We both believe that our veterans have earned the best quality care our country can provide. Listening to our veterans is an important part of making sure we deliver on that promise.”

“I’d like to thank Rep. Bishop for hosting me to see first-hand the needs of Georgia Veterans and how VA can address them,” McDonough said. “The Robert S. Poydasheff VA clinic is named after an American hero, and it will serve American heroes, helping VA deliver timely access to world-class care to the veterans in Columbus and the surrounding area. We are grateful to everyone who helped make this day possible — including Rep. Bishop, who has been advocating for years to bring this clinic to life.”

Lowndes County public schools will provide fewer free meals to students as a USDA waiver expires, according to WALB.

Lowndes County School System was operating under a USDA waiver that kept parents from paying for students to eat lunch and breakfast but as of June 30, that waiver expired for some schools. Now it’s for all of them.

“We found out that we were no longer going to get the free lunches,” said Keely Frech, a parent of two Lowndes County students. “We are zoned west side and Hahira, but what was confusing was that the southside schools within the same district were going to continue to get the free lunches and I just didn’t understand that and didn’t think it was fair.”