Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for July 9, 2020

On July 9, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read aloud to General George Washington’s troops at the parade grounds in Manhattan.

President Zachary Taylor died of cholera on July 9, 1850 and was succeeded in office by Millard Fillmore.

On July 9, 1864, Confederate troops retreated across the Chattahoochee River from Cobb County into Fulton County. Upriver, Sherman’s troops had already crossed and moved toward Atlanta.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Albany City Commissioners may consider repealing the 2010 “saggy pants” ordinance, according to the Albany Herald.

The Albany City Commission, in November 2010, passed an ordinance that prohibited the wearing of pants or skirts three inches below the hips, imposing a $25 fine for an initial offense and up to $250 for subsequent offenses.

This week, Albany City Commissioner Demetrius Young requested that the commission take another look at the ordinance and vote on repealing the prohibition later this month.

Commissioner B.J. Fletcher also suggested in February that it might be time to re-examine the issue.

“Saggy pants laws criminalize the clothing wear and choices of young black men,” Young said during a Tuesday telephone interview. “In terms of these things, we see that (they) disproportionately affect black people — in crack cocaine sentencing vs. powder cocaine, saggy pants ordinances here and around the country.”

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms signed an Executive Order requiring mask use in public, according to AccessWDUN.

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Wednesday signed the order requiring masks, which could set up a confrontation with the Republican Kemp. The order goes into effect immediately. The governor has already clashed with the mayor recently over policing issues, calling out the National Guard to protect state government offices after an 8-year-old girl was fatally shot by armed people at the site of a fast food restaurant where an Atlanta police officer shot and killed a Black man.

The order also prohibits gatherings of more than 10 persons on city of Atlanta property.

“Other cities have taken the approach that they are going to defy the governor’s executive order. Savannah has done it, some other cities have done it, and Atlanta is going to do it today,” Bottoms told MSNBC in a Wednesday interview. “Because the fact of the matter is that COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on our cities, specifically black and brown communities with higher death rates.”

John Ernst, the mayor of the Atlanta suburb of Brookhaven, said he agrees with others saying police would have questionable legal authority to enforce a mask ban without permission from Kemp.

“Everyone is at a loss of what to do with this virus because of the hyperpolitical nature of what it’s become,” he said.

From the AJC:

In an Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s editorial board meeting on Wednesday, Bottoms said she feels secure establishing a mask requirement after Kemp took no action against other Georgia cities that did so.

Savannah was the first to establish a mask ordinance last week. The cities of East Point and Athens passed their own ordinances Tuesday.

“The governor has allowed them to stand,” Bottoms said. “So we are going to follow suit.”

Details on potential penalties for non-compliance were not available at press time.

Mayor Bottoms also said a city council member tried to negotiate with armed protesters who were blocking a city street. From the AJC:

In a wide-ranging interview Wednesday with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial board, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said police had planned on clearing the area weeks earlier but were encouraged to wait after City Councilmember Joyce Sheperd requested more time to negotiate with activists.

“That was not the administration’s position,” Bottoms said. But ultimately, it was the mayor’s call.

Those negotiations came amid numerous reports of violence. There were at least two other shootings, at least one beating and multiple reports of threats against people approaching the site.

“Don’t make any sudden moves, or you will get shot,” an armed demonstrator told an AJC columnist reporting from the scene last month.

“I called in a couple of artists. I called in neighborhood people. What I said was, ‘Guys, let’s bring some healing to this site,’” Sheperd said. “I told people to bring flowers. There was singing. There was a lot of stuff going on for healing.”

But when armed people started blocking the road as if they were operating a checkpoint, Sheperd said she, along with area residents, told them to stop. After Brooks’ funeral on June 23, police cleared the barricades. Sheperd said she never saw the road blocked again and was encouraged that tensions were easing.

She acknowledged morale among Atlanta police officers was very low, referring to a recent conversation with Interim Police Chief Rodney Bryant, who told her “the wounds were deep.”

“I’ve heard everything from officers are confused to officers are afraid,” she said. “I recognize this as a problem. It is incumbent upon me as mayor to give clarity to our officers, which we’ve been working around the clock to do.”

But Bottoms disputed claims she didn’t have the police department’s back.

“To discipline certain officers, and to demand change, is not one in the same as abandoning and supporting our police department,” she said.

This nest story is about New York City, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Atlanta Police Department sees a lot of officers considering retirement or offers from other governments. From CNN:

The New York Police Department has seen a “surge” in the number of officers filing for retirement, according to Sgt. Mary Frances O’Donnell, who called the trend “troubling.”

From June 29 to July 6, filings soared 411% from the same period a year earlier, according to O’Donnell, a spokesperson for the Deputy Commissioner, Public Information.

“Of course, cops are retiring at a higher rate,” Chris Monahan, president of the Captains Endowment Association, told CNN Wednesday night. “We’ve been abandoned by the NYPD and elected officials.”

“There have been 306 retirements, 40 resignations and 503 have filed for retirement,” since May 25, O’Donnell said. “2019 numbers for comparison: 254 retirements, 49 resignations and 287 filed for retirement.”

See also, teachers.

DeKalb County and the cities of Doraville and Decatur are considering requiring mask use, according to the AJC.

The city of Doraville in north DeKalb is set to vote on its mask ordinance on Monday. It would apply to all public places, including grocery stores, restaurants and city facilities.

“We have seen COVID-19 cases in Doraville zip codes more than triple since May 19,” Doraville Mayor Joseph Geierman said in a statement. “Masks are the most effective tool we all have to prevent the spread of coronavirus and mandating their use indoors will help us get this public health emergency under control more quickly with the least impact on people’s day-to-day lives.”

Further south in Decatur, city commissioners passed a resolution Wednesday that “strongly encourages” residents to wear masks in public — but said that an ordinance making it mandatory could come “in the next few days.”

DeKalb County Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson, meanwhile, has proposed her own mask ordinance that would cover unincorporated parts of the county.

As currently written, the ordinance would mandate masks for anyone over 8 years old when in public places. Children between 3 and 8 years old would be “encouraged” but not required to wear masks.

Savannah police have not issued any citations for masking violations, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Over the Fourth of July weekend, Savannah police handed out 660 masks to people who weren’t wearing one, according to Savannah police spokeswoman Bianca Johnson.

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, who issued an emergency order on June 30 mandating the wearing of face masks when out in public spaces and inside commercial establishments, was out Saturday night with Savannah Police Chief Roy Minter, handing out free face masks to visitors and locals.

“I gave away a bunch of masks to people who didn’t have them. I wanted them to be compliant. I don’t want the money. I don’t want the ticket to be issued,” Van Johnson said on Sunday. “Now, if they choose not to, well, the chips fall where they fall, but I wanted to make sure we did all we could to make sure people were aware of what’s going on.”

“Right now, we’re really just focusing on making sure people are aware of the ordinance and how it affects them. A lot of businesses aren’t sure exactly what they can ask their customers, because there are exemptions. And you know, you don’t really want to demand someone tell you why they can’t wear a mask if it’s a medical condition.” [Savannah police spokesperson] Bianca Johnson said.

Columbus may consider a requirement for mask use in government buildings, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

“We get it that masks really help and we want to be able to continue to serve the citizens, and we have to have folks here staffed and healthy,” Mayor Skip Henderson said. “So I think the best way to do that is just to try to control the access of our city building, so that anybody that comes in will have to wear a mask for the time they’re in here.”

The new mask policy would require that individuals entering government buildings wear a mask and keep it over their nose and mouth for the duration of their time inside the building. The policy would apply to all facilities where city workers are employed in Columbus, including the Government Center, the Government Annex Building, the Public Safety Building and the Public Works building.

Details for the potential mask mandate are still being discussed, Henderson said, and the city needs to secure a large number of masks to provide for those who show up to a government building without one.

Bulloch County is considering whether to mandate masks and how to distribute 10,000 masks recently acquired, according to the Statesboro Herald.

Likely, “charitable organizations” will make the masks available to lower-income residents and others who may not be able to purchase masks, [Bulloch County Public Safety/Emergency Management Agency Director Ted Wynn] said.

Bulloch County Board of Commissioners Chairman Roy Thompson said Tuesday’s closure of the annex led to a further discussion of county-wide safety measures and resulted in the formation of an advisory committee.

Members of the committee are contemplating possible mandates such as wearing masks in public, but decisions have not been made, he said.

The Statesboro City Council has not issued any orders regarding masks, but Mayor Jonathan McCollar drafted a letter to local businesses urging them to require people entering their facilities to wear masks. Wynn said face masks “protect others” as well as the wearer, since the coronavirus is known to be passed through moisture droplets that are expelled through coughs and sneezes.

Rome and Floyd County are discussing mask ordinances, according to the Rome News Tribune.

The rise of new cases is what spurred Rome’s Mayor Bill Collins to reach out to his counterpart on the county commission, Chair Scotty Hancock. Collins made no bones about stating he supports proposing a mask mandate for the city and expects to present a first reading of an ordinance at the city’s monthly meeting on Monday.

Mandating mask wearing would demonstrate leadership, Rome’s mayor said, giving a path for others to follow.

Hancock has said he personally doesn’t agree with a mandate and stated that he has reservations about the feasibility and enforceability of mandating face coverings in the county. Although, he has said he wears a mask in public and supports Gov. Brian Kemp’s recent initiative to encourage Georgians to wear masks.

Hall County announced plans for early voting in the August 11 runoff election, according to the Gainesville Times.

Early voting for the Aug. 11 runoff will begin Monday, July 20, with several polling places open in Hall County.

Voters can go to the North Hall Community Center, Spout Springs Library or East Hall Community Center Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., July 20 through Aug. 7.

At Tuesday’s Hall County Board of Elections meeting, board member Craig Lutz said he was concerned by the lack of a polling place centrally located in Gainesville. The board unanimously voted to ask county staff to look for a fourth polling place in Gainesville for early voting.

There will be two races on the ballot for Hall voters in the Aug. 11 runoff. Republicans Stacy Hall and Bo Hatchett will compete for the Georgia Senate District 50 seat, which represents part of East Hall. For Georgia’s 9th congressional district, which includes all of Hall County and several other Northeast Georgia counties, candidates from both major parties will compete to be on the ballot in November. Andrew Clyde and Matt Gurtler are the two Republicans in the race, while Devin Pandy and Brooke Siskin are the two Democrats.

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson is forming a committee to consider how to work with former prison inmates to reduce recidivism, according to the Savannah Morning News.

The Brunswick-Glynn County Joint Water and Sewer Commission notes changes in water consumption from the public system during the COVID pandemic, according to the Brunswick News.

From March, when the COVID-19 outbreak reached widespread attention, to April and May, when governments began shutting down businesses and ordering residents to shelter in place, water usage from residential areas jumped noticeably.

“Our interpretation was that water usage on accounts for businesses, schools, etc. that closed due to (Kemp’s) order had translated to more individuals using water at their residences instead,” said LaDonnah Roberts, deputy director of the utility. “It follows that the CDC’s hygiene protocol of frequent hand washing would be a contributing factor, even for individuals at home.

According to usage data provided by the utility, residential usage rose in Brunswick from 38.4 million gallons in March to 46.8 million gallons in April, an increase of 21 percent. Similarly, on St. Simons Island home water usage jumped from 34.6 million gallons in March to 48.2 million gallons in April, 38 percent.

Commercial and industrial usage did just the opposite, dropping by 12 percent from 35.9 to 31.5 million in Brunswick and by 14 percent from 13 million to 11.2 million on St. Simons Island.

Whitfield County schools may see 75% of students return to in-person classes in Augusta, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen News.

As Whitfield County Schools officials consider how to open the 2020-21 academic year next month — with students fully immersed in traditional classroom settings, learning from home due to the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic or a hybrid model — the system surveyed parents, and more than 75% of the roughly 3,500 respondents said they plan to send their children to school in August.

More than two-thirds (68%) indicated they possessed high-speed internet access at home, while a quarter said they have slow internet speed at home. Only 1% said they had no access to the internet at home, while 7% said they have internet access only via cellphone.

“We sometimes assume it’s high speed (at home), but it may not be,” [Assistant Superintendent Audrey] Williams said. And, if the cellphone providing the only internet access belongs to a parent, the child can lose access when that parent leaves the home.

Because social distancing may prove impractical on buses, the system also inquired about how families get students to school, and more than 60% said they could provide transportation for their children. Nearly a quarter (23%) said they could not, while the remaining survey participants don’t have children who ride buses.

Clarke County students may return in-person two or four days of the week with one online learning day, or go all-online, according to the Athens Banner Herald.

Students Pre-K through middle school opting for in-school would attend classes Monday through Thursday, with Friday a distance learning day with pre-recorded or live lessons. Early Head Start, Head Start, Pre-K and Preschool special education students will also get “distance learning packets,” and parents will be asked to submit photos or videos of their children “engaging in learning activities.”

Elementary school students choosing distance learning will have to come in person to their school three times during the first semester for assessment tests. Middle school students have to come four times.

Online instruction for middle school students will be through the Edgenuity company, with “supplemental support” from Clarke teachers.

High school students have three options, parents learned Tuesday in a letter from Interim School Superintendent Xernona Thomas. They can choose virtual learning, also through Edgenuity with support from teachers. In a hybrid model, they would attend school two days a week and learn at home for three days. Juniors and seniors can also choose enrolling in the state-operated Georgia Virtual School.

Grady County Board of Education member John White says in-person schooling is a must, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.

Teachers are going to “pay the price” for the months of school lost at the end of the 2019-20 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, White said during Tuesday’s meeting of the Grady County Board of Commissioners, which he was attending in his capacity as county clerk.

“When they walk in the door in August, they will be 10 weeks behind,” he told the commissioners. “We can’t afford for them to be a year behind.”

White figures many parents may elect to keep their children at home rather than sending them to school, though he argues students aren’t likely to learn much away from a classroom. A full quarter of Grady County students lack access to Wi-Fi, meaning the only school work they can accomplish in the event of campuses being closed again would come through take-home work packets. White argued won’t be able to match the educational value of a classroom setting.

“We cannot continue for our kids to stay home and not learn anything,” he said. “We certainly can’t sacrifice 25% of our kids in the county.”

In Rome, the Community Development Services Committee recommends moving a statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest, according to the Rome News Tribune.

The committee unanimously passed a motion Wednesday to have the city petition the state for permission. It also recommended that the city take whatever action is necessary to protect the statue from vandalism.

The motion also calls for the city to relocate the statue as “quickly and expeditiously as possible” if state officials approve the move.

My personal congratulations and condolences to Rebecca Yardley, who has been sentenced sworn in to Cleveland City Council.