Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for June 28, 2019

On June 29, 1565, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés sailed from Cadiz, Spain to invade Florida.

On June 30, 1665, England’s King Charles signed a royal charter for Carolina, defining its southern border and also claiming all land in what is now Georgia.

Johan De Kalb was born on June 29, 1721 in Germany. In 1777, De Kalb joined the Marquis de Lafayette in supporting the Americans against British forces, dying in Camden, South Carolina in 1780. In 1822, the Georgia General Assembly created DeKalb County.

On June 28, 1742, Spanish forces based in Florida invaded Georgia.

On June 29, 1767, the British Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, levying a tax on glass, paint, oil, lead, paper, and tea in order to raise funds from the colonies.

On June 30, 1775, the Continental Congress passed the Articles of War, laying out complaints against Britain’s Parliament.

“The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.”

On June 28, 1776, Thomas Jefferson’s second draft of the Declaration of Independence was presented to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

On June 28, 1887, John Pemberton patented Coca-Cola Syrup and Extract.

Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia on June 28, 1914, sparking the First World War.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell first went on sale on June 30, 1936; on June 30, 1986, the United States Postal Service issued a stamp commemorating Margaret Mitchell.

Sunday could well be called Intermodal Transportation History Day in Georgia. The first four-lane highway in Georgia was announced on June 30, 1937 from Atlanta to Marietta. The first C5 air flight took place from Dobbins in Marietta on June 30, 1968 and MARTA rail service began on June 30, 1979.

Superman made his first appearance in Action Comics #1 on June 30, 1938.

The first production Corvette was assembled on June 28, 1953 in Flint, Michigan.

Ohio became the 39th state to ratify the 26th Amendment on June 30, 1971, lowering the voting age to 18.

The United States Supreme Court released its 5-4 opinion in Furman v. Georgia on June 29, 1972, holding that the death penalty violated the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing was released on June 30, 1989. Lee was born in Atlanta and graduated from Morehouse College.

On June 29, 1993, Governor Zell Miller bought the first ticket in the Georgia Lottery.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

The American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, and the Center for Reproductive Rights filed a federal lawsuit seeking to invalidate the “heartbeat bill,” according to The Hill.

“This legislation is blatantly unconstitutional under nearly 50 years of U.S. Supreme Court precedent. Politicians should never second guess women’s health care decisions,” said Sean J. Young, legal director of the ACLU of Georgia, in a statement.

“Politicians have no business telling women or a couple when to start or expand a family. Our lawsuit asks the court to block the law from taking effect.”

The law, passed earlier this year, is expected to take effect Jan. 1, 2020. It is one of a number of restrictive abortion laws passed recently by GOP-led state legislatures.

Chatham County is gearing up to maximize its census count, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Population totals from the census are used in a number of ways, including determining federal dollars provided to communities. The population numbers are also used to determine how many seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives. They are also used for redistricting at the state and local levels. Georgia gained one seat from the last census in 2010.

To help make sure Chatham County gets an accurate count, commissioners approved a resolution on June 14 to create a complete count committee.

Complete count committees have been recommended nation-wide to maximize participation.

[Chatham County Manager Lee] Smith said the cost of the committee’s work will be shared and billed to each municipality based on current population numbers.

Smith said the committee will be reaching out through advertising, clubs, churches, groups, libraries and news stories to educate the public about the census.

Cobb County Assistant District Attorney Hannah Palmquist was named by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr to lead the Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, according to the AJC.

“We will work every single day with all of our law enforcement partners to protect our state’s most vulnerable and put buyers and traffickers behind bars,” Carr added. “This work requires an experienced and aggressive prosecutor of those who have abused our children, and that is what Georgians are getting with Hannah Palmquist leading this Unit.”

Palmquist said she’s honored to join the team announced in May by Carr and Gov. Brian Kemp. The unit will be part of the Department of Law’s Prosecution Division.

“Beginning on day one, this team will fight alongside local, state and federal partners and will utilize every weapon in our arsenal to imprison those who seek to buy or sell our children, disrupt human trafficking networks and rescue those who are victims of this horrific industry,” she said.

The six-person unit will consist of a senior prosecutor, junior prosecutor, criminal investigator, crime analyst, victim advocate and administrative assistant.

Glynn County Commissioner Bob Coleman denied the allegations against him and his wife in relation to their insurance business, according to The Brunswick News.

“My wife Sherry and I are innocent of the charges that have been made against us. We intend to prove our innocence in the courts of Glynn County. Nothing is more important to us than our good name and reputation. In the meantime, I am going back to work on behalf of the people of Glynn County,” Coleman said, according to the release.

Lowndes County has filed a lawsuit alleging the Georgia Department of Community Affairs exceeded its authority when it invalidated the county’s service agreement with its municipalities, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.

The state Department of Community Affairs flagged a 2008 agreement among the county and the five municipalities within it borders as expired after it did not receive a revised agreement in 2016.

The county updated its comprehensive plan that year, triggering the need for a fresh look at an agreement that outlines which governments will provide what services and at what cost. It’s a state-mandated agreement that is meant to avoid redundant services.

Local officials were in the midst of sorting out the terms of a new agreement when the state agency declared the existing deal void. The decision initially made the local governments ineligible to receive state grants, permits and other essential state-administered assistance.

Walter Elliott, the county’s attorney, argues the old agreement should have remained in place until local officials were able to hammer out a new one.

A Whitfield County Grand Jury named Ron Johnson to the District 1 seat on the Whitfield County Board of Education, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen.

A Whitfield County grand jury on Thursday named Ronald “Ron” Johnson to fill the unexpired term of the late Thomas Barton, who was the District 1 representative on the school board. District 1 represents parts of south Whitfield County.

Barton passed away unexpectedly on May 17 at the age of 61. He had served on the school board since 2008. The term ends on Dec. 31, 2020.

Michael Kinsey, Charles Oliver and Nicky Starling also applied for the seat. The grand jury interviewed all four this week.

Last August, the grand jury appointed Jamie Johnson, a captain with the Dalton Police Department, to the school board to fill Rodney Lock’s unexpired term, which ended Dec. 31, 2018, after Lock stepped down from the District 2 seat.

Jamie Johnson won a special election in March to a four-year term in the District 2 seat.

The Gwinnett County Commission issued a proclamation recognizing Pride Month, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

The proclamation issued by Gwinnett commissioners Tuesday highlights contributions made by the county’s LGBTQ residents to a variety of professions and states that a diversity of sexual identities, as well as ethnicities, cultures, races and genders strengthen Gwinnett.

“It is imperative that every member of our community, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, feels valued, safe, empowered and supported by their peers, educators and community leaders,” commission Chairwoman Charlotte Nash said in the proclamation.

Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis is attending the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Honolulu, Hawaii, his sixth city-funded trip of the year, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

Davis, Augusta’s mayor since 2015, will moderate a session on cyber innovation Sunday at the conference, held at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu. It will be at least his sixth out-of-state trip this year requiring airfare and lodgings.

“Augusta is leading the way in cyber, and the rest of the country is taking note,” Davis said in a statement announcing the trip. “It is exciting to highlight and share the great work happening in our local cyber sector.”

According to a recent analysis of Davis’ use of his city credit card, his prior out-of-state trips this year include the mayors’ conference January winter meeting in Washington, D.C., Black Tech Week and the mayors’ conference winter leadership meeting held in Miami on separate dates in February, a March diversity and inclusion conference in Philadelphia and an April trip to Houston, where the African-American Mayors Association conference was being held. Also included were a handful of in-state trips with hotel stays.

The Augusta Commission is considering removing four members from the Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

Coliseum Authority Chairman Cedric Johnson said the authority has tried at least three times to get a vote on moving forward with completing a $142,000 study on the suitability of using its current 11-acre site for a new arena but those four members have blocked it. The four are Booker Roberson, Bonita Jenkins, Linda Edney-Wiley and Darren Smith.

“The vote has been not to go forward,” he said.

Those same four members voted in August 2017 to build the new arena at the old Regency Mall, a move that the Augusta Commission has twice rejected in favor of building a new arena downtown. The matter was put to a straw vote during a May 2018 election and authority members said they would abide by the results of that vote even though it was nonbinding. More than 60 percent of voters chose the downtown site but those members still have not budged, Johnson said.

The Albany City Commission approved a $288.3 million dollar FY 2020 budget, according to the Albany Herald.

With much of the talk — and community outrage — surrounding the proposed (and eventually approved) $31.6 million supplemental budget for the current fiscal year to account for costs related to Hurricane Michael cleanup (much of which is expected to be eligible for FEMA reimbursement), the ongoing LED light installation program, the purchase of The Albany Herald building for development purposes and the ongoing revamp of the city’s antiquated sewer system and other infrastructure upgrades, the commission actually passed the FY ‘20 spending plan with little fanfare.

The Albany Commission also voted against allowing a zoning request for a 25-acre solar farm due to “noise” from solar panels, according to the Albany Herald.

The Glynn County Board of Education adopted a $216 million dollar FY 2020 budget, according to The Brunswick News.

The $216 million budget includes several changes this year, including the addition of nearly 18 new staff members and the return of a retirement plan for school system employees who are not included in the Teacher Retirement System.

The millage rate will remain the same at 16.157. The budget assumes a 2.5 increase in the tax digest.

The state will provide an additional $4.8 million through a change in the QBE formula approved by Gov. Brian Kemp, so that teachers across the state will receive a $3,000 raise. Other employees in Glynn County Schools will also receive a 2 percent raise.

The school system will add 17.5 new positions, 11.5 of which are teachers, and will also reinstate the matching retirement plan option for employees who are not in the Teacher Retirement System plan, including custodians, food service employees, bus drivers and others.

Flowery Branch City Council adopted a $9.2 million dollar FY 2020 budget with no change to the property tax millage rate, according to AccessWDUN.

Included is a flat millage rate for city property owners, which will stay at 3.264 mills for the third consecutive year after the city lowered it to that number in fiscal year 2018. That flat millage rate along with rising property values is expected to mean an increase in city property taxes by just over one percent.