Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for June 24, 2022

On June 24, 1497, John Cabot first sighted North America, claiming it for the British Crown.

On June 25, 1788, the Commonwealth of Virginia became the tenth state to vote for ratification of the United States Constitution by a vote of 89 to 79. A committee was appointed to be chaired by George Wythe to draft a proposed Bill of Rights.

On June 24, 1795, the United States Senate voted to ratify Jay’s Treaty between the UK and United States. The terms of the treaty required an appropriation from the U.S. House of Representatives to implement it, and Congressional opponents tried to defeat the appropriation, which was approved by a 51-48 margin on April 30, 1796. Click here for more background on the treaty and controversy.

On June 24, 1853, President Franklin Pierce signed the Gadsden Purchase, acquiring what it now southern Arizona and New Mexico from Mexico.

General Robert E. Lee led the Army of Northern Virginia across the Potomac River toward Pennsylvania on June 24, 1863.

On June 25, 1868, the United States Congress provisionally readmitted Georgia to the Union following the Civil War with the requirements that they ratify the Fourteenth Amendment and never deprive any citizens of voting rights.

On June 25, 1876, Indians under the leadership of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse defeated the U.S. Army 7th Cavalry under Lt. Colonel George Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn.

John R. Lynch was the first African-American elected Chairman of the Republican National Convention on June 24, 1884; Lynch was nominated by Theodore Roosevelt.

Woodrow Wilson married Ellen Louise Axson of Rome, Georgia in Savannah on June 24, 1885.

On June 25, 1888, the Republican National Convention nominated Benjamin Harrison for President of the United States; Harrison’s grandfather was WIlliam Henry Harrison, ninth President of the United States.

On June 26, 1918, the Georgia General Assembly ratified the Eighteenth Amendment, which outlawed the production, sale, and transportation of alcohol. Governor Hugh Dorsey did not sign it for nearly a week, but the United States Secretary of State considers an Amendment ratified when the state legislature has voted on final passage.

On June 26, 1945, the United Nations Charter was signed in San Francisco.

On June 24, 1948, the Soviet Union blockaded West Berlin from all road, rail, and barge traffic.

Following World War II, Germany was divided into occupation zones. The United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and, eventually, France, were given specific zones to occupy in which they were to accept the surrender of Nazi forces and restore order. The Soviet Union occupied most of eastern Germany, while the other Allied nations occupied western Germany. The German capital of Berlin was similarly divided into four zones of occupation.

The United States response came just two days after the Soviets began their blockade. A massive airlift of supplies into West Berlin was undertaken in what was to become one of the greatest logistical efforts in history. For the Soviets, the escapade quickly became a diplomatic embarrassment. Russia looked like an international bully that was trying to starve men, women, and children into submission. And the successful American airlift merely served to accentuate the technological superiority of the United States over the Soviet Union. On May 12, 1949, the Soviets officially ended the blockade.

General Lucius D. Clay of Marietta, Georgia was military Governor of occupied Germany at that time.

The Berlin Airlift began on June 26, 1948 after the Soviet Union had blockaded West Berlin, which was occupied by the United States, Great Britain, and France.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show was released in West Germany on June 24, 1977. It’s astounding.

Rickey Henderson made his major league debut with the Oakland A’s on June 24, 1979, stealing his first base.

On June 24, 1982, the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution was defeated, having garnered the ratification of thirty-five states, three shy of the requisite Constitutional Majority.

Hopes for ratification before the deadline next Wednesday were dashed this week when the amendment was rejected by the Illinois House and the Florida Senate, two states in which supporters felt they had a fighting chance.

Had Illinois and Florida ratified the amendment, there was at least some chance that either Oklahoma or North Carolina would have provided the final needed vote.

Prospects were far slimmer in the other nonratifying states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia.

Phyllis Schlafly, a leader of a group called Stop-ERA, hailed the defeat of the amendment tonight, saying: ”They realized E.R.A. is dead and I think that that is an admission they have lost the battle. My feeling is that E.R.A. will take its place with the prohibition and the child labor amendments as ones which did not have enough support of the American people to be in the Constitution.

On June 25, 1990, the United States Supreme Court released its opinion in Georgia v. South Carolina, a boundary dispute. From Wikipedia:

A… 1922 Supreme Court decision, also called Georgia v. South Carolina, 257 U. S. 516, also held that all islands in the river belong to Georgia, but that the border should be in the middle of the river between the two shores, with the border half way between any island and the South Carolina shore.

Since the 1922 case, a number of new islands were created in the river between the city of Savannah and the ocean, due to the deposit of dredging spoilage or the natural deposit of sediments. In some cases, the new islands were on the South Carolina side of the previously drawn boundary, and Georgia claimed that once a new island emerged, the border should be moved to the midpoint between the new island and the South Carolina shore of the river. In some cases, the state of South Carolina had been collecting property tax from the land owners and policing the land in question for a number of years.

When an island causes the border to leave the middle of the river, it raises the question as to how the border line should return to the middle of the river at each end of the island. South Carolina advocated a right angle bend at each tip of the island, while Georgia advocated a “triequidistant” method which kept the border an equal distance between the two shores and the tip of the island (resulting in a smooth curve).

The first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, was released in the UK on June 26, 1997.

Gone with the Wind was re-released on June 26, 1998.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Erratum: on Wednesday, I accidentally wrote that Dr. Rich McCormick won the GOP nomination for the 7th District, when, in fact, he was nominated in the Sixth District. The 7th District Republican nominee  is Mark Gonsalves. I apologize and blame the shortage of my favorite coffee beans.

The United States Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, according to the Associated Press via the Dalton Daily Citizen News.

The Supreme Court has ended constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years in a decision by its conservative majority to overturn Roe v. Wade. Friday’s outcome is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.

The ruling came more than a month after the stunning leak of a draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito indicating the court was prepared to take this momentous step.

It puts the court at odds with a majority of Americans who favored preserving Roe, according to opinion polls.

Alito, in the final opinion issued Friday, wrote that Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the 1992 decision that reaffirmed the right to abortion, were wrong the day they were decided and must be overturned.

“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision,” Alito wrote.

Authority to regulate abortion rests with the political branches, not the courts, Alito wrote.

Joining Alito were Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. The latter three justices are Trump appointees. Thomas first voted to overrule Roe 30 years ago.

From the Augusta Chronicle:

What does it mean now that Roe v. Wade is overturned?

The decision means that the legality of abortion is, once more, up to the states. Georgia’s most recent abortion law has been suspended by federal courts for violating Roe v. Wade, but it is likely to go into effect soon with this decision.

In 2019, the Georgia General Assembly passed a law that banned most abortions after about six weeks, a so-called “heartbeat bill,” rather than the current law which allows abortions within 20 weeks of gestation.

The heartbeat bill was blocked by an injunction from a federal judge as illegal under Roe v. Wade. Georgia then appealed the ruling, and the case is still pending at the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

With the Supreme Court overturning Roe, the Eleventh Circuit will likely allow the heart beat bill to become law, according to Fred Smith, professor of law at Emory University, who spoke prior to the ruling about the legal consequences in Georgia. It it is also likely to stay the lower court injunction ahead of its final decision, a temporary over-ruling of the lower court that allows the law to go into effect.

“The state would ask for a stay of that injunction and they would ask for the 11th Circuit to formerly overturn that injunction,” Smith said. “A stay of that injunction would probably happen pretty quickly and the Georgia law, which effectively bans abortion after the six-week mark, would go into effect.”

“I think it could create a great deal of instability not only with respect to whether or not the government can force women to give birth, which itself is a big question, but it would create a lot of uncertainty around gay marriage, contraceptive, and even things I don’t even think we can predict,” he said.

From the AJC:

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled on the Dobbs case, it is likely the Georgia law will be upheld. The question becomes when and how.

Either the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could itself uphold Georgia’s anti-abortion law or the three-judge panel could quickly return the case to U.S. District Judge Steve Jones in Atlanta, who struck down the Georgia statute in 2020, with instructions that he uphold it.

Jones found the law violated a woman’s right to abortion as established by the precedent set in Roe v. Wade.

If the appeals court agrees to let all portions of Georgia law take effect, state agencies — such as the Department of Revenue, the Division of Child Support Services and the Georgia State Patrol — will have to figure out how to uphold and enforce those personhood provisions.

By overturning Roe v. Wade, the power to regulate abortions falls to the states.

As of today, abortion is still legal in Georgia, despite the Supreme Court ruling.

Numbers from the state Department of Public Health show 31,248 abortions were performed in 2020, a rate of 9.3 abortions per 1,000 females between the ages of 10 and 55. The agency has not yet released numbers for 2021. After declining over the past two decades, 2020 marked the third consecutive year the rate of reported abortions increased in Georgia.

Georgia’s new law — if it is upheld — would allow abortions after a doctor detects fetal cardiac activity in cases of rape, incest, if the life of the woman is in danger or in instances of “medical futility,” when a fetus would not be able to survive after birth. A police report is required in order to obtain an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy because of rape or incest.

13WMAZ looks at the Georgia ramifications of the Supreme Court gun carry decsion.

For example, Georgia law still bans bringing guns into certain places – such as a church, unless the church allows it.

“It’s still a crime to carry a gun in a place of worship in Georgia,” explained John Monroe of the organization Georgia Second Amendment, GA2A. “I’m not sure that would stand up under today’s opinion.”

The City of South Fulton is considering banning guns in parks, after a teen was shot to death in Welcome All Park in April near a Stop the Violence rally there.

“I think that’s a real possibility that we’ll see increased litigation,” Monroe said, “not just in other states but also in Georgia, challenging some of the restrictions that are in place. There are quite a few local ordinances that are probably not going to pass constitutional muster. And I know there are some in the works. For example, the City of South Fulton is in the process of passing an ordinance that restricts carrying firearms. I don’t think that’s going to pass constitutional muster if they do actually pass that ordinance.”

“It’s a matter of life and death,” said Sen. Elena Parent, (D) DeKalb County. “That the Supreme Court could disempower elected officials to act on behalf of public safety on this issue is just completely absurd. And I don’t think that the American public is going to stand for it over the long term. I think that people are going to be even more motivated and concerned to continue fighting on this issue.”

Governor Brian Kemp announced two nominations to Cobb County Superior Court, according to a press release.

Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced that he has appointed Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Director Vic Reynolds and Deputy Attorney General Julie Adams Jacobs to fill two vacancies on the Cobb Judicial Circuit Superior Court. The vacancies were created by the retirements of Judge LaTain Kell and Judge Mary Staley Clark, both effective on May 1st of this year. Vic Reynolds’ replacement as Director of the GBI will be announced at a later date.

Vic Reynolds will serve on the Cobb Judicial Circuit Superior Court. Prior to being appointed to this position by Gov. Kemp, he was appointed Director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on February 18, 2019. In this position, he led an agency of over 950 employees.

Vic is the former District Attorney of Cobb County, where he was elected twice. He has also served as a police officer, as the former Chief Magistrate Judge of Cobb County, and as a partner in the law firm of Berry and Reynolds. He has been published in both local and national print, and he is the co-author of Georgia Objections at Trial. Vic has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from Georgia Southern University and his law degree from Georgia State College of Law.

Vic and his wife, Holly, have been married over 35 years and they have two grown daughters. He is involved in numerous civic and charitable organizations, and he and his wife are members of the Marietta First United Methodist Church.

Julie Adams Jacobs will serve on the Cobb Judicial Circuit Superior Court. Prior to being appointed to this position by Gov. Kemp, she joined the Georgia Attorney General’s Office in 2003, where she served as the Deputy Attorney General of the Commercial Transactions and Litigation Division. Her responsibilities included management of the financial and property interests of state government in the areas of business and finance, tax, real property, construction, and transportation. She provided general representation to state agencies and authorities in the following areas: contract disputes, procurement, banking, lottery operations, bankruptcy, securities, hospital acquisitions, and general business matters. As part of her practice, she also assisted the Attorney General with the regulation of charitable and nonprofit entities. Julie has also served as the hearing officer in numerous hospital acquisitions involving the Attorney General’s review under the Georgia Hospital Acquisition Act.

Julie has also represented the State of Georgia in litigation matters in state and federal courts, including trial and appellate litigation. She also handled transactional matters on behalf of and provides legal advice to a variety of governmental entities throughout Georgia.

A 2003 graduate of Emory University School of Law, Julie received her B.A. in political science from Georgia State University. The Fulton County Daily Report recognized her with its 2016 “On The Rise” award as one of the top 25 attorneys in Georgia under the age of 40. Julie is a member of the 2019 class of Leadership Cobb and the 2020 Honorary Commanders. Julie also serves on the Board of Loving Arms Cancer Outreach.

Governor Kemp also appointed Stephen R. Yekel to Effingham County State Court (Executive Order 06.22.22.01).

Governor Kemp will give a sworn video statement to the Fulton County grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump, according to the AJC.

Gov. Brian Kemp will deliver testimony next month to Fulton County prosecutors investigating Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 elections, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned.

[T]he Republican will … deliver a “sworn recorded statement,” according to a letter from the Fulton County District Attorney’s office dated Wednesday and obtained by the AJC on Thursday.

In the letter to Kemp’s attorney, Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor hired by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to help with the investigation, said the DA’s office agreed to the terms “in a spirit of cooperation with the Governor and his schedule.”

Among the requested documents is anything that “represents, explains, and provides context” about the Nov. 2020 elections and the 60 days after, the certification of Georgia’s presidential electors on Jan. 6 and rally held at the Capitol that day.

“The attached subpoena has as its primary purpose the examination of the conduct of former President Donald Trump, and those working on his behalf,” Wade wrote in the letter. “Also, the District Attorney’s primary interest is to discover what witnesses and documents are available that will explain what was being said and done regarding the 2020 presidential election and the efforts to replace the constitutionally elected electors.”

Dougherty County voters turned out at low levels in the runoff, according to the Albany Herald.

Even upbeat Elections Supervisor Ginger Nickerson offered the words “dismal” and “horrible” in her assessment of the 5.18% turnout. Out of 59,666 registered, active voters, 4,818 cast ballots in the runoff contests.

“The turnout was dismal, unfortunately,” Nickerson said. “I can’t really explain it. Our poll workers did a great job. We’re certainly grateful to them.”

“My philosophy, my belief, is it is the candidates’ responsibility to get voters out there. It’s our responsibility to be prepared for every voter to get out and vote.”

In Lee County, 12.67 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the election. There, 2,146 voted on Tuesday, with another 570 taking part during the week of early voting and 128 casting absentee ballots by mail.

In Dougherty County, Nickerson said she is in need of poll workers for the November election as well as workers for early or advance voting. The latter will need to be computer-literate to efficiently assist voters in a timely manner.

“We have 26 (voting) locations, and each of those 26 locations is going to need workers,” Nickerson said. “We definitely need people to facilitate in this process. It’s going to take a team of people to ensure voters receive adequate service.”

A DC bureaucrat said that she was told U.S. Rep. Marjorie Greene (R-Extreme Northwest Georgia) asked for a Presidential Pardon, according to the LA Times via the Rome News Tribune.

Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, said in a video deposition that Gaetz and Brooks asked for blanket pardons, as did Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Louis Gohmert, R-Texas, and Scott Perry, R-Pa. She said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, asked for updates on whether the White House was offering pardons.

Hutchinson also noted that Patrick Philbin, the deputy counsel to the president, told her that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., asked for a pardon.

From Newsweek:

The House of Representatives’ Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots named Greene among a number of Republican lawmakers who allegedly sought pardons last year.

Greene, who represents Georgia’s 14th congressional district, denied she had requested a pardon and called the claim “gossip and lies” in a tweet about the hearing on Thursday.

Kirschner, a legal analyst with NBC News and MSNBC, also took to Twitter on Thursday and suggested Greene’s reported request for a pardon could bolster the case to prevent her from running for re-election in November.

“Seems Marjorie Taylor Greene’s request for a pardon for her role in the insurrection – being an admission of guilt – should help in the litigation to disqualify her from holding office,” Kirschner wrote.

Greene shared a clip of Hutchinson’s remark on Twitter and wrote: “Saying ‘I heard’ means you don’t know. Spreading gossip and lies is exactly what the January 6th Witch Hunt Committee is all about.”

The bureaucrat’s statement that MTG asked for a pardon would probably not be admissible in court because it’s hearsay, which is generally excluded from evidence. I’m shocked the media is treating hearsay as gospel and not noting the complete lack of evidence to back it up.

U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Atlanta) has accepted a debate invitation from WTOC.

Sen. Raphael Warnock’s campaign announced Thursday that he’s accepted WTOC’s invitation to debate Herschel Walker in the race for Warnock’s US Senate seat.

In a statement, Rev. Warnock said, “These debates are an opportunity for Georgians to see the clear choice they have in this important election between my record fighting for all Georgians and my opponent.”

Herschel Walker has not announced which debates he will accept invitations to.

“Herschel looks forward to debating Raphael Warnock in the fall. We have received dozens of invitations and are evaluating dates and debate formats.”

WTOC intends to host the debate between Warnock and Walker in October ahead of the November election, pending Walker’s acceptance.

Forsyth County Commissioners adopted the current property tax millage rate for the next fiscal year, according to AccessWDUN.

The proposed county maintenance and operations rate will stay at 4.791 mills, while the proposed bond rate will also remain unchanged at 2.175 mills. The proposed bond rate will repeat at 0.930 mills.

Although the millage rate will remain the same, the county expects to see an increase in total collections. Officials say this is because Forsyth County’s tax digest grew to 13.46%. Increased values from reassessments made up 8.84% of this increase, while the remaining 4.62% came from new construction.

Residents’ property tax bills will reflect the reassessed value.

Likewise for Lawrenceville, according to AccessWDUN.

The City of Lawrenceville has approved a new budget that will focus on three key areas – Personnel, Capital Investments and Strategic Planning. The $172-million annual budget is a 17% increase from the year before and was approved during the monthly council meeting.

The budget increased due to increased capital expenditures, inflationary costs (particularly for gas and fuel), and salary/staffing increases. The current millage rate will stay the same at 2.228 mills.

Editor’s Note: if total collections increase due to increased assessments, the millage rate will have to be advertised as a tax increase.

Statesboro City Council adopted an FY 2023 budget, according to the Statesboro Herald.

Statesboro City Council on Tuesday evening approved a fiscal year 2023 budget that, if current projections hold true, will either reduce the city government’s general fund balance by $2 million or require a 1.5-mill property tax increase to limit the drain on the reserve to $1 million.

The vote was unanimous, with District 4 Councilman John Riggs absent.

City Manager Charles Penny again noted that the budget vote was not a vote to set the property tax millage rate. That vote will be taken later, probably in September, when a series of three public hearings on any tax increase would be held. But as he acknowledged, the budget as adopted came with his recommendation that the council consider a 1.5-mill rate hike.

“As far as revenues are concerned, it does include a millage rate increase,” Penny said. “However, the council can also have a balanced budget by using [rainy day] fund balance, but again, that will be determined in September.”

Regular property tax revenues, budgeted at $5.2 million the fiscal year now ending, are shown increasing by more than $1.6 million, topping $6.8 million for fiscal 2023.

That is roughly a 30% increase, with the suggested 1.5-mill rate hike compounded by a rise of more than 7% in the taxable value of property in the city limits, as gauged by the county tax assessors.

The budget approved Tuesday includes a 4% across-the-board raise for city employees, as well as a continuation of individual pay-for-performance raises authorized by the council last year. An annual bonus, previously $100, is being increased to $500.

Noting that the national inflation rate is now about 8.5%, Penny said that with this budget the city is doing what it can to help its employees with the cost of living and to retain and attract personnel.