Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for June 18, 2021

On June 20, 1732, the signing of the Georgia Charter was completed by the British government. The University of Georgia has the oldest known American copy of the Charter.

British forces under General Sir Henry Clinton left Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 18, 1778 after occupying the former capital for nine months.

On June 20, 1782, Congress adopted the Great Seal of the United States. Charles Thomson, Secretary of the Continental Congress, was responsible for the final design presented to Congress. The design approved by Congress was a written description without any sketches.

On June 18, 1807, commissioners from Georgia and North Carolina agreed to recognize the 35th parallel as the boundary between the two states. North Carolina conducted a survey that placed the boundary further South than the 35th parallel, though Georgia never accepted the survey and continues to argue that the 35th is the proper boundary against both North Carolina and Tennessee.

The War of 1812 began on June 18, 1812, as President James Madison signed a declaration of war against Great Britain passed by the House and Senate.

On June 20, 1819, the SS Savannah entered the port at Liverpool, England, marking the first transatlantic crossing by a steam-powered ship, having sailed out of Savannah on May 20th.

The Georgia Whig Party held its first convention on June 19, 1843 in Milledgeville and elected ten delegates to the 1844 National Convention.

The first Republican National Convention, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ended on June 19, 1856.

The Republicans, who called for the abolition of slavery in all U.S. territories, rapidly gained supporters in the North, and in 1856 their first presidential candidate, John Fremont, won 11 of the 16 Northern states. By 1860, the majority of Southern states were publicly threatening secession if a Republican won the presidency.

The Civil War firmly identified the Republican Party as the official party of the victorious North. After the war, the Republican-dominated Congress forced a radical Reconstruction policy on the South, which saw the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, abolishing slavery and granting voting rights to African American men in the South. By 1876, the Republican Party had lost control of the South, but it continued to dominate the presidency, with a few intermissions, until the ascendance of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933.

On June 19, 1864, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston retreated from Pine Mountain and Lost Mountain toward Marietta. Click here to watch a two-minute video by Georgia Public Broadcasting and the Atlanta History Center about this week in Georgia in 1864.

General Robert E. Lee moved on Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant at Petersburg, Virginia on June 20, 1864.

On the same day, USS Kearsarge sank CSS Alabama off the coast of Cherbourg, France in one of the most-celebrated naval battles of the Civil War.

Under its captain, Raphael Semmes, the Alabama prowled the world for three years, capturing U.S. commercial ships. It sailed around the globe, usually working out of the West Indies, but taking prizes and bungling Union shipping in the Caribbean, off Newfoundland, and around the coast of South America. In January 1863, Semmes sunk a Union warship, the Hatteras, after luring it out of Galveston, Texas.

During its career, the Alabama captured 66 ships and was hunted by more than 20 Federal warships.

Shortly after the battle between CSS Alabama and USS Kearsarge, Edouard Manet painted the scene from newspaper accounts. The painting hangs in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where I viewed it late last year. Another painting of Kearsarge is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

On June 18, 1873, Susan B. Anthony was fined $100 for illegally voting in Rochester, New York. At the conclusion of her trial, the judge read a statement that, “The Fourteenth Amendment gives no right to a woman to vote, and the voting by Miss Anthony was in violation of the law,” and directed the jury to convict her. Anthony responded,

“Yes, your honor, I have many things to say; for in your ordered verdict of guilty, you have trampled underfoot every vital principle of our government,” Anthony said. “My natural rights, my civil rights, my political rights, my judicial rights, are all alike ignored. Robbed of the fundamental privilege of citizenship, I am degraded from the status of a citizen to that of a subject; and not only myself individually, but all of my sex, are, by your honor’s verdict, doomed to political subjection under this, so-called, form of government.”

The Southern Railway Company was organized on June 18, 1894 and through predecessor railroads traces its heritage to the nation’s first regularly-scheduled railroad service, The Best Friend of Charleston. Samuel Spencer, of Columbus, Georgia, was the first President of the Southern. In the 1980s, the Southern merged with Norfolk & Western Railway to form Norfolk Southern.

Jaws was released on June 20, 1975.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

The United States Supreme Court rejected a challenge to Obamacare, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Rome News Tribune.

The U.S. Supreme Court Thursday denied a bid by Georgia and 17 other Republican-led states to overturn the Affordable Care Act.

In a 7-2 ruling, the justices declared the two plaintiffs in the case had no legal standing to bring the suit because they could not show they had been harmed by the law.

“Our coalition felt strongly that the ACA was unconstitutional,” Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said following the ruling. “While we are disappointed that the court declined to weigh in on the merits of the case, we will respect the court’s decision.”

Vice President Kamala Harris (D-CA) visits Atlanta today to promote COVID vaccination, according to the AJC.

After touching down at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Harris plans to visit the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Sweet Auburn for a tour of a pop-up vaccination site at around noon. She’ll then head to Clark Atlanta University to deliver remarks at a vaccination mobilization event, slated for 1:40 p.m.

Later in the afternoon, Harris will participate in private conversation on voting rights with community leaders at CAU before departing Georgia around 6:15 p.m.

Georgia’s vaccination rate has lagged well below the national average in recent months. About 52.8% of adults have received at least one dose, compared to 64% nationwide, according to the CDC. Roughly 44.5% of adults in the state and 34.8% of all Georgians are fully vaccinated.

The current rate has some experts worried Georgia may never reach herd immunity via vaccination. That’s particularly troublesome after the state recently recorded its first cases of the delta variant of the coronavirus first seen in India. The variant is significantly more contagious than other strains and seems to carry a higher risk of hospitalization, researchers say.

Governor Brian Kemp named Robin Crittenden as the new Commissioner of the Department of Revenue, and made two other appointments, according to a press release.

Governor Brian Kemp announced the appointment of Robyn Crittenden to be the Commissioner of the Department of Revenue (DOR), Shawnzia Thomas to become Executive Director of the Georgia Technology Authority Board (GTA) and the state’s Chief Information Officer, and Jessica Simmons to be Deputy Chief Information Officer for Broadband and Special Projects at GTA.

“I am excited to appoint these three remarkable women to such important roles in state government,” said Gov. Kemp. “Each of them brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will allow Georgia to remain a leader in combating wasteful spending, streamlining government, keeping Georgia the top state for business, and creating new opportunities for hardworking Georgians.”

Robyn Crittenden will become State Revenue Commissioner effective July 1, 2021. She will fill the role currently held by Interim Commissioner Frank O’Connell, who was appointed following the resignation of Commissioner David Curry on June 1. Crittenden will lead the Department of Revenue in its continued efforts to create a pro-jobs, pro-business environment. Commissioner Crittenden will also be the first African-American to lead the Georgia Department of Revenue.

The Georgia Technology Authority Board voted June 17th to appoint Shawnzia Thomas as its new Executive Director, making her the state’s new Chief Information Officer. Thomas will officially begin serving on July 1, 2021. She will begin the transition into this role on June 21. Thomas will fill the role vacated by Calvin Rhodes, who is retiring after 10 years as Executive Director and CIO. Thomas is the first African-American woman to hold the position of CIO.

Jessica Simmons will become Deputy Chief Information Officer for Broadband and Special Projects at the Georgia Technology Authority. Simmons will enter into her new role on July 15, 2021. Simmons will oversee broadband development and other projects as Georgia continues to invest in new infrastructure to bring opportunity to all citizens – no matter their zip code.

Robyn Crittenden most recently served as the Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS). Gov. Kemp appointed Crittenden DHS Commissioner in January 2019. She served as DHS Commissioner from July 2015 until November 2018, until then-Gov. Nathan Deal appointed her as Georgia’s 28th Secretary of State. Crittenden completed Kemp’s unexpired term as Secretary of State and is the first African-American woman to serve as a statewide constitutional officer in Georgia. Prior to her tenure at DHS, Crittenden served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Georgia Student Finance Commission. She also served as General Counsel at Morehouse College, Executive Vice President and General Counsel at the Georgia Student Finance Commission and Assistant Vice Chancellor of Legal Affairs-Contracts for the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. She also was an Assistant County Attorney in DeKalb County and an Associate at the law firm of Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Michigan School of Law. Crittenden resides in Tucker, Georgia. She has one daughter.

Shawnzia Thomas has worked for the State of Georgia for over thirteen years, integrating technology in all sectors of state government to improve constituent services and better serve Georgians. Most recently, Thomas served as Assistant Deputy Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Human Services. She previously served as Executive Director of the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity and Director of the Georgia Secretary of State’s Corporations Division. Thomas, a native of Macon, Georgia, received her undergraduate degree from Middle Tennessee State University and Master’s in Public Administration from the University of West Georgia. She is a Commissioner on the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity’s Advisory Board and member of the Hospitality Ministry at Chapelhill Church in Atlanta.

Jessica Simmons most recently served as a Deputy Commissioner for the Georgia Department of Revenue overseeing the Legal Affairs and Tax Policy Division, the Department’s law enforcement divisions, and the Department’s communications and legislative programs. Simmons is a native of Marietta and holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Georgia. She began her career in public service in the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office. After working in Washington, D.C., Simmons returned to Georgia as the Assistant Director of the Georgia Elections Division and later served as Chief of Staff in the Secretary of State’s Office. Simmons and her husband, Matt, live with their daughter and son in Sandy Springs.

From the AJC:

The state’s revenue and technology agencies will be headed by Black women for the first time, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Thursday.

Crittenden has served as commissioner of the Georgia Department of Human Services, which runs several social service programs, and she served briefly as secretary of state after Kemp resigned that job following his win in the November 2018 gubernatorial election. She also was chief operating officer of the Georgia Student Finance Commission.

Governor Kemp spoke to Fox News Radio about the Atlanta crime wave:

“Well, listen, we are frustrated like the citizens are. I mean, I’ve literally been hearing about this every day for months, and it’s actually been going on for a very long time. You know, I ran on going after street gangs, having a gang task force in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. So I knew these gang issues, crime issues were an issue three years ago.”

“The Atlanta papers made fun of me for that. And now they’re writing about violent crime in Atlanta every single day.”

“But about three little about two and a half months ago, I became so frustrated and so many people here were frustrated that I asked the colonel for the Georgia state patrol to come up with a plan where we could go after street racers that were terrorizing the city. Large crowds, a lot of violent crime. And we’ve been doing that for two and a half, about two months now, really covert operations. We’ve had GBI involved in that, the Department of Natural Resources. So we have game wardens on four wheelers so we can chase people through parks and chase motorcycles. We’ve got helicopters up in the air and we have a lot of our folks on the ground. The Atlanta Police Department is partnering with us on that. But they’re having to ride in our vehicles because they have no chase policy. It’s hard to go after street racers when you can’t chase them.”

“I mean, I made an announcement the other day that I’m willing to use, you know, millions of dollars out of the governor’s emergency fund to get more resources up here to try to help with the problem.”

“But listen, Atlanta Police Department, they have more officers than the entire state patrol. We have to monitor the whole state and the roadways in the state. So we cannot be a city’s police department, but we’ve got to do something. We are putting a lot of effort into this. I will tell you that the Georgia General Assembly with Speaker Rollston. Their committee is meeting to see what other issues we could do, tweaks to the law and other things. We just passed a really strict street racing bill so we can impound vehicles, suspend driver’s licenses and have stiffer penalties to go after these folks. But I mean, everything’s on the table for us to continue to to push the needle.”

Former Gwinnett County Commission Chair Charlotte Nash will receive the 2020 Citizen of the Year from the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

The Fulton County Board of Education placed a $1.2 billion dollar Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax referendum on the November 2, 2021 ballot, according to the AJC.

Fulton County voters will decide in November whether to extend a one-cent sales tax to pay for school building upgrades, technology and other projects.

The Fulton County Board of Education on Thursday unanimously agreed to ask voters to renew the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for another five years.

The current sales tax expires June 30, 2022.

If renewed, officials estimate it will generate about $1.2 billion over five years to pay for renovations at dozens of schools, refurbished media centers, upgrades to high school athletic fields and new technology, among other items.

Earlier this month, the Atlanta school board similarly agreed to call for a November vote on the sales tax.

Atlanta Public Schools is located in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. The district is in line to receive an estimated $650 million if residents from both counties approve the tax extension.

The Brunswick News looks at how redistricting could affect their local legislative delegation.

“I would be very happy to keep my current district as is, but changes in population will probably require some change,” [State Rep. Buddy DeLoach, (R-167)] said. “It is likely that District 167 has more than the maximum population.”

In Georgia, lines will have to be reshaped to accommodate the nearly 10 percent population growth the state experienced over the past decade, much of it around Atlanta. Many rural areas lost population.

Part of the process includes holding community meetings around the state to collect public input. One is scheduled for Brunswick on July 26.

“I really don’t have any idea what this is going to amount to,” said state Sen. Sheila McNeill, R-Brunswick. “I want to make sure that we’ve heard from the public before I make any kind of promotion or decision. I’m also going to have to research the past and see what we’ve done in the past and how it impacted our communities.”

Georgia’s 1st Congressional District, represented by Rep. Buddy Carter, a Pooler Republican, also will likely undergo some tweaking. The district takes in 15 counties and parts of two others, Effingham and Lowndes.

Glynn, Camden and McIntosh counties, as well as most of the rest of Coastal Georgia, fall in his district.

“I’m looking forward to working with the General Assembly to ensure Georgia has the strongest possible representation in Congress,” Carter said.

From the Statesboro Herald:

Speaking to the Kiwanis Club of Statesboro on Thursday, [State Senator BIlly] Hickman, R-Statesboro, recapped the 2020 regular session and said that southern Georgia probably would lose one Senate seat during the redistricting session.

After saying that he ran on a promise of using his “experience and conservative values to put the good, hard-working folks of our district first, ahead of Atlanta,” he suggested that the interests of the metro area are fundamentally different.

“They’re a different crowd of people than we are, and I’m really concerned with the redistricting that we may lose a seat in South Georgia,” Hickman said. “Our district … the 4th Senatorial District, made up of six counties, I feel pretty good about, because we’ve got two growing counties, Bulloch County and Effingham County, both of them are growing.”

“So I feel like our redistricting is going to be pretty good for us,” he said.

In a follow-up interview, Hickman said he  has heard that one of the 56 Senate districts is expected to be shifted from the southern to the northern part of the state but that the significant population loss has occurred in southwestern, not southeastern, Georgia. Each district must have roughly the same population, so densely populated areas get more districts.

Georgia’s unemployment rate continues to lower, according to the Associated Press via AccessWDUN.

Georgia’s jobless rate continued to fall in May, dropping closer to where it was before the pandemic sent it soaring to an all-time high.

The state’s unemployment rate was 4.1% in May, down from 4.3% in April. That’s still above the 3.6% posted in March 2020, but well below the state’s record high of 12.5% recorded in April 2020, when many businesses shut down as the coronavirus spread.

Fewer people sought jobs in May, but the number of unemployed people fell to about 212,000, because the number of people reporting they have jobs fell more slowly. The labor force remains less than 1% below where it was before the pandemic.

About 130,000 people are still collecting regular state unemployment, while 104,000 people are collecting special federal unemployment assistance available to people who are self-employed, independent contractors, gig workers, or employees of churches and nonprofits. As of last week, another 100,000 or so were getting another 13 weeks of benefits paid from federal money that is paid out after the regular 26 weeks run out.

The Federal Aviation Administration released the Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Spaceport Camden, according to The Brunswick News.

David Kyler, director of Center for a Sustainable Coast, expressed disappointment in the decision and predicted a legal challenge ahead.

“There’s going to be a lot of wrangling about this for years,” he said.

He predicted a rocket will never be launched from the site, even if the county wins a legal battle. Each launch will have to be approved by the FAA.

Construction won’t begin until the final Record of Decision, which will be released in mid to late July, has been completed and required permits and approvals have been granted.

Chatham County Commissioners expressed concern over a “clogged” justice system during a budget workshop, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Citing a report from District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones, Whitely said the county spends $5 million annually to house inmates who have spent more than 1,000 days in detention awaiting trial.

“There is a need for us to address the clogged-up criminal justice system. We are flushing the system and not pulling the clog out, and we’re expecting it to clear up,” Whitely said.

Jones has requested $280,000 to hire additional assistant district attorneys and expedite prosecutions. Whitely lobbied for granting the request “to get the ball rolling.” He pitched the idea of funding a study to find the best course of action.

“We don’t know what (a study) would cost. I’d have to go back and get the cost. It would be several hundred thousand dollars. And it would be process that would take more than a year,” County Manager Lee Smith said in response.

The Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education adopted a FY 2022 budget and millage rate, according to the Savannah Morning News.

The district will be working with funds from all federal, state, and local sources of just over $662 million.

The new millage rate of 18.131 mills contains a rollback and a reduction from last year’s rate of 18.881.

District 3 Representative Connie Hall took it a step further by tying the district’s financial footing to continued community support for the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST). “One of the reasons that we were able to take this leap of faith is because of the outstanding position with ESPLOST,” Hall added. “It will be most necessary for ESPLOST IV to be enacted for us to continue in this manner.”

ESPLOST IV will be on the Chatham County ballot in November. The school district budget is available on the district website at sccpss.com.

Tybee Island Fire Chief Matt Harrell has resigned, according to WTOC.

Oakwood homeowners may see higher property taxes due to rising home values, according to the Gainesville Times.

The city has announced a proposal to set the 2021 tax rate at 4.174 mills, same as it was in 2020. With 1 mill equal to $1 for each $1,000 in assessed property, a $250,000 home assessed at 40% of market value would be taxed at $417.40.

To keep revenues the same as they were in 2020, Oakwood would have to reduce its tax rate to 4.084 mills, said Carl Stephens, city finance director.

By not rolling back the tax rate, the city projects receiving an additional $59,482, he said.

Under state law, not rolling the rate back to a “revenue-neutral” level  is considered a tax increase, and three public hearings must be scheduled.