Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for June 30, 2021

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.

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.”

Today 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.

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.

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

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

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

The Savannah Morning News has a great story on the coastal city’s role in the American Revolution.

Georgia’s participation in the revolution began in a bar. When you and your compatriots get riled up about something, what better place is there to meet up and vent about it than at your local watering hole? That is what Georgia colonists did when they convened at Tondee’s Tavern in Savannah on August 10, 1774 to complain about British rule.

Nine months prior, the Boston Tea Party had occurred in Massachusetts sparking what would soon become the American Revolution. With colonists in an uproar about British policy and a Continental Congress called for in Virginia, Georgia’s Royal Governor James Wright issued an order forbidding gatherings and speaking out against Great Britain.

That didn’t stop 30 Georgia representatives, calling themselves the Sons of Liberty, from meeting at Tondee’s Tavern to draft resolutions condemning the Intolerable Acts and unfair taxes. Peter Tondee himself stood at the door with a list like a bouncer to make sure no uninvited guests got in.

On June 5, 1775, the rebellious Sons of Liberty met at Tondee’s again to celebrate the king’s birthday. With war breaking out, the pumped-up patriots erected a liberty pole, drank 30 toasts with accompanying cannon fire, and paraded the streets with rifles and bayonets.

It is important to note that it wasn’t only Georgians that fought for independence in Savannah. Black foreign soldiers also fought valiantly to help America win the war.

The Americans were joined by the Chasseurs-Volontaires de Saint-Domingue, an all-Black regiment from what is now Haiti. The Chasseurs-Volontaires were all volunteer soldiers, recruited from free men of color, and enlisted as part of a contingent of French troops sent to the South to assist the Americans.

It’s a great story to spend a few minutes with as we head toward a weekend of sober remembrance drunken revelry. Just like the Sons of Liberty.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Former President Donald Trump said Herschel Walker will run for United States Senate from Georgia, according to Politico.

Trump was asked about Walker’s Senate run on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, a conservative talk radio program, on Tuesday.

“He told me he’s going to, and I think he will. I had dinner with him a week ago. He’s a great guy. He’s a patriot. And he’s a very loyal person, he’s a very strong person. They love him in Georgia, I’ll tell you,” Trump said.

“I think he’d win. I think it would be very, very hard to beat Herschel,” Trump continued. “They have the ballads, they made ballads to Herschel. They still sing them all the time. So I think beating him would be very tough. And I think he’s going to run.”

From the AJC:

Walker issued a statement late Tuesday saying that he’s “looking at the race closely” and will make a final decision soon.

“Georgia is my home — I love Georgia, and I love this country,” Walker said in the statement. “And I believe we need fighters to step forward and help save both. Know this much: If I run, I’ll be all-in, and we will do whatever it takes to win for Georgia.”

Earlier Tuesday, Republican state Sen. Brandon Beach of Alpharetta told “The John Fredericks Show” that he’s “99%” sure that Walker would enter the race after July 4, when he settles a string of business considerations.

From the Associated Press via WTOC:

“Herschel is the ultimate wild card — high upside, but plenty of risk,” said Chip Lake, a Republican strategist in Georgia and around the South.

Randy Evans, a Georgia Republican and U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg under Trump, argued that Walker, who is Black, could expand the GOP’s appeal among Black votes in a general election, denting a Democratic advantage that helped elect Warnock. Other Republican players say that notion is exaggerated.

“If Hershel runs, Donald Trump will come to Georgia as many times as Herschel will have him,” Evans predicted.

[Eric] Tanenblatt countered: “That cuts both ways.”

“There are traditional Republicans and donors who are still salty about losing those Senate seats, and they blame the president,” said Tanenblatt.

“This whole thing just captures the issue for Republicans right now in Georgia,” said Lake. “We have a whole lot of Republicans who love Donald Trump and everyone who supports him. And we have a faction that just wants to move on. To win, we have to get those two groups to vote for the same person without realizing it. Can Herschel Walker or anybody else do that?”

Governor Brian Kemp created three committees to advise on how to spend $4.8 billion in federal COVID relief funding, according to the AJC.

Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday announced three bipartisan committees made up of lawmakers and agency leaders to consider applications to spend the $4.8 billion the state is getting as part of the relief package.

The state has already received half the money. It will get the second half next year.

State agencies, local governments, industries and nonprofits will be eligible to apply between Aug. 1 and Aug. 31 at opb.georgia.gov. Ultimately, under state law, Kemp will make the final decision on whether to approve committee recommendations, and grants are targeted to be announced in mid-October.

“These committees will ensure federal coronavirus relief dollars are allocated strategically across our state and address one-time fund needs in three key areas,” Kemp said.

House Appropriations Chairman Terry England, R-Auburn, and Senate Appropriations Chairman Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, will serve on all three committees. Of the 20 lawmakers Kemp appointed to committees, only two are from the five core metro Atlanta counties, and not one is from Atlanta itself.

From the Associated Press via WABE:

Each of the panels has between seven and nine lawmakers. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Terry England of Auburn and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Blake Tillery of Vidalia, both Republicans, are on all three panels. Each panel includes one or two Democratic lawmakers.

Lawmakers agreed to use some of the money from one of the earlier rounds of federal relief to create a $40 million rural innovation fund and to spend $10 million to extend high-speed internet in rural areas.

Georgia First Lady Marty Kemp will work with Georgia alcohol distributors to fight human trafficking, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

First Lady Marty Kemp has announced a partnership with leaders of the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Georgia and the Georgia Beer Wholesalers Association to help end sex trafficking in Georgia.

Through the partnership, wholesaler delivery vehicles will be fitted with bumper stickers that read “See Something. Say Something. End Sex Trafficking in Georgia.” along with the national anti-human trafficking hotline 1-888-373-7888. In the coming months, Georgia wholesalers and their staffs also will complete the Human Trafficking Awareness Training Program created by First Lady Kemp and the Georgians for Refuge, Action, Compassion, and Education (GRACE) Commission.

“While we are making progress in the fight against human trafficking, there is much more work to be done,” Marty Kemp said. “I am grateful for the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Georgia and Georgia Beer Wholesalers Association for joining us in this fight and raising awareness across the state. This partnership will help identify victims and get them the support they so desperately need.”

“Sex trafficking is modern human slavery, and we are excited to join the fight to hopefully end it once and for all,” KC Honeyman, executive director of the Wine & Spirit Wholesalers of Georgia, said. “Our delivery fleets span all 159 of Georgia’s counties and frequently service high-traffic commercial areas where sex trafficking is often suspected. I cannot thank First Lady Kemp enough for her dedicated effort to end this evil industry.”

“Georgia’s Wholesalers are committed to help end human trafficking and are proud of the leadership First Lady Kemp has taken on this effort,” Martin Smith, executive director of the Georgia Beer Wholesaler Association, said. “Our trucks are moving billboards seen in every part of Georgia. There is no doubt that the training, awareness, and advocacy spearheaded by First Lady Kemp are saving lives. We feel privileged to be a part of this important project.”

Georgia Supreme Court Justice Carla Wong McMillan spoke to the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

McMillan’s ancestors emigrated to the United States from China more than a century ago and settled in Augusta, The city’s first Chinese immigrants arrived in the 1870s to help construct an extension of the Augusta Canal.

“If you take anything away from my family’s story, I hope it’s the importance of reaching out to people who may look different from you, act differently or speak a different language,” she said. “The help that my family and I got along the way, directly and indirectly, has opened up so many opportunities for me and brought me to the place where I am now. I’m extremely grateful to all those people and hope in turn to pass along whatever help I can give.”

Gov. Nathan Deal appointed McMillan to the Georgia Court of Appeals in 2013, which led to her election milestone the following year as the state’s first Asian-American elected officeholder. In 2020, Gov. Brian Kemp appointed her to the Georgia Supreme Court, making her the first Asian-American on that bench and the first Asian-American to serve on a state’s highest court in the southern United States.

“The young people who were honored today, you’re leaders in the community, and I hope to encourage you to do the same – that you reach out and help those who may come from different backgrounds and experiences, and whatever circumstances that you may fall under, I hope that you’ll be able to pass on the privileges that you’ve been given,” she said.

Retiring Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court Harold Melton will join the Troutman Peppers law firm, according to the AJC.

Melton, 54, will start as a partner in the firm July 19, days after leaving the state’s high court where he has served for 16 years. He will handle business litigation cases.

In February, Melton announced his retirement, effective July 1. David Nahmias was later elected by the justices to succeed Melton as chief justice.

Troutman Pepper is one of the 50 largest law firms in the nation, by revenue, following last year’s merger between Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton. The firm’s largest office is in Atlanta, with 214 attorneys.

The Gwinnett County Board of Education will host public hearings for feedback on the proposed FY2022 property tax millage rate, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

The proposed school system millage rate — which is the rate used to determine how much property owners owe in school taxes — is 21.6 mills, which is the same rate from 2020. This includes 19.7 mills to cover maintenance and operations in the district and 1.9 mills to cover debt service.

“By state law, local taxing authorities, such as GCBOE, must either keep their tax collections revenue-neutral (by decreasing the millage rate to offset the gained taxes from the property value updates) or announce a tax increase (even though the actual millage rate is not increasing),” school system officials said in an announcement about the public hearings. “The Board is considering adopting a combined millage rate of 21.60, a rate unchanged from FY2021. The total millage will still generate more revenue for FY2022, requiring the announcement of a proposed property tax increase. However, taxpayers whose property values have not increased due to reassessment will see no increase in their school tax bill.”

The Washington Post reports on questions about the sale of a grain facility to a company owned by former Governor Sonny Perdue, according to the AJC.

Sonny Perdue bought a grain plant in South Carolina from one of the biggest agricultural firms in the nation at a small fraction of its estimated value shortly after Donald Trump tapped him to be U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, The Washington Post reported.

The investigation found that Archer-Daniels-Midland sold the grain storage facility in Estill, S.C. to AGrowStar, a firm then-owned by Perdue, for $250,000. Six years earlier, ADM paid more than $5.5 million for the same land, a figure that lines up with estimates from independent analysts who reviewed the records for the Post.

An ADM spokeswoman denied that the company sold the property at a discount and said the negotiations were underway in 2015, long before Perdue was selected to join the Cabinet. She said the company couldn’t find another buyer other than AGrowStar, Perdue’s former company.

Elections Democratic Party Style

As I suggested last week, the elections held under the tighest Democratic Party control have become a cluster of confusion, anger, and second guessing. From Politico:

The New York City Board of Elections accidentally included results from a mock trial of the city’s new ranked-choice voting system in unofficial primary returns released Tuesday — a snafu that threw the election process into chaos.

Tallies released Tuesday afternoon indicated that Kathryn Garcia had come within 2.2 points of leading Democratic candidate Eric Adams after ranked-choice tabulations were processed. But, shortly after the results were released, reporters and campaign staffers noticed there were roughly 135,000 more votes counted than those reported on election night.

Three hours after releasing the numbers, the Board of Elections issued a statement acknowledging a “discrepancy” and subsequently took down the totals from their website.

After 10 p.m. Tuesday, the board finally came clean with a statement: The “test“ ballots were never cleared out of the tabulation system and thus added the additional votes into the total, skewing the numbers. The board said that it has removed all of the erroneous ballots from the count and will re-run the results — though when the new rankings will be ready was still unclear.

The board said it would re-run the results Wednesday, but the delay has already dealt a significant setback to the process. Absentee ballots, which could prove decisive in the final outcome, won’t be counted until next week. And campaigns that end up on the losing end of the final tally are likely to file a flurry of legal challenges based on the board’s prosecution of the election so far. The worst-case scenario — a manual recount of the votes — could delay a final outcome for months.

“This error by the Board of Elections is not just failure to count votes properly today, it is the result of generations of failures that have gone unaddressed,” she said in a statement. “Sadly it is impossible to be surprised.”

“The Board of Elections betrayed us once again and didn’t properly educate and get information out,” Adams said at a Lower Manhattan campaign stop in early June. “It would be lucky if we get these results by January 18. We don’t know how long this is going to take. I’m really troubled about the outcome of this, I hope the counting does not equal the rollout.”

From a New York Times article from October 2020:

The official who oversees voter registration in New York City is the 80-year-old mother of a former congressman. The director of Election Day operations is a close friend of Manhattan’s Republican chairwoman. The head of ballot management is the son of a former Brooklyn Democratic district leader. And the administrative manager is the wife of a City Council member.

Already this year, the New York City Board of Elections failed to mail out many absentee ballots until the day before the primary, disenfranchising voters, and sent erroneous general election ballot packages to many other residents, spreading confusion.

Now, the agency is facing perhaps its biggest challenge yet: a heated general election, during a pandemic, under a president who has fomented distrust in the legitimacy of the vote — including by pointing to the problems in New York as evidence of widespread fraud, an unfounded claim.

As the June primary approached this year, the board — despite assuring the state it could handle a surge in residents seeking to vote by mail — grew so overwhelmed that it called two upstate companies for help printing absentee ballots on the weekend before the election, officials acknowledged.

The companies worked through the night. But in all, 34,000 ballot packages were not mailed to voters until the day before the primary, and many likely did not arrive in time to be returned and counted. Ultimately, about one-fifth of primary ballots were thrown out for arriving late or other defects; in other states, the rate was 5 percent or less.

From the Wall Street Journal:

The preliminary ranked-choice calculation doesn’t factor in the more than 124,000 Democratic absentee ballots that the Board of Elections still must count next week. State law allows any absentee ballots postmarked on the day of primary to be counted.

The board will go through the ranked-choice elimination rounds again with the absentee ballots for the final result. An official winner in the race for mayor won’t be declared until the week of July 12, according to the board.

Results on the day of the primary showed Mr. Adams in the lead with more than 31% of first-place votes, according to the city’s Board of Elections. Ms. Wiley had 22%, and Ms. Garcia had 19%, according to the Board of Elections.

The ranked-choice process kicked in because no candidate won a majority of first-place votes. Under the process, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. The ousted candidate’s votes get redistributed to the voters’ second choices. That continues until only two candidates remain.

Tuesday’s results of the ranked-choice process showed Ms. Garcia gained tens of thousands of votes after former presidential candidate and entrepreneur Andrew Yang was eliminated in a round of the ranked-choice process.

Candidates who aren’t in first place at the start of the ranked-choice process rarely end up the winner, according to political analysts.