Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for June 8, 2017

The first Porsche automobile was completed on June 8, 1948.

Ghostbusters was released on June 8, 1984.

On June 8, 2004, Georgia hosted the G-8 summit meeting of the world’s major industrial democracies, which included representatives from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the United Kingdom, plus a representative from the European Union. The 30th meeting of the G-8 was held at Sea Island at the Cloister.

The Augusta Chronicle writes about efforts to learn from the remains of the H.L. Huntley, the first submarine to sink another ship.

For years, two scientists have been painstakingly cleaning a century and a half of sand, sediment and corrosion from the first submarine in history to sink an enemy warship.

The most recent discovery, made public Wednesday, involves how the sub moved through the water.

Hidden underneath the rock-hard stuff scientists call “concretion” was a sophisticated set of gears and teeth on the crank in the water tube that ran the length of the 40-foot sub. These gears enabled the crew rotating the crank to propel the sub faster by moving water more quickly through the tube, conservator and collections manager Johanna Rivera-Diaz said.

The biggest surprise for Rivera-Diaz? Discovering that some of the men wrapped the crank handle in thin metal tubes covered with cloth to try to prevent blisters.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Governor Nathan Deal has created the Commission on Children’s Mental Health to formulate recommendations on improving mental health services for children.

“This commission is modeled after several successful interagency collaborations, including the First Lady’s Children’s Cabinet, the Child Welfare Reform Council and the Criminal Justice Reform Council,” said Deal. “These councils have provided invaluable guidance in helping shape effective, meaningful policies. In fact, the Child Welfare Reform Council’s advocacy on the importance of early examination and treatment resulted in changes to mental health coverage for Medicaid and PeachCare members. This year, my budget included an additional $2.5 million to provide mental health services to the full population of children from birth to age five.

“The Commission on Children’s Mental Health is part of the state’s ongoing efforts to better care for Georgians, particularly our most vulnerable, and it’s a natural progression of the work done by the aforementioned groups. Following my state of the state address in January, I began working with appropriate agency directors, legislators and stakeholders to address issues and suggest policy changes to mental health services provided by the state. This commission will review the programs and areas identified, as well as the funding necessary to make improvements, and report back to me in the fall. Its members will work to help ensure our youngest patients receive the treatment necessary to help them grow up as healthy and productive members of society. I look forward to reviewing their feedback and taking the next steps in reforming mental health services for Georgia’s children.”

The commission members include:

•    Co-Chairwoman Katie Childers, Governor’s deputy chief of staff of policy
•    Co-Chairwoman Commissioner Judy Fitzgerald, Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities
•    Commissioner Frank Berry, Department of Community Health
•    Director Bobby Cagle, Department of Family and Child Services
•    Director Teresa MacCartney, Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget and the state’s Chief Financial Officer
•    Stephanie Blank, Founding Chairwoman, Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students
•    Erica Fener Sitkoff, Policy and Outreach Director, Voices for Georgia’s Children
•    Dr. Jordan Greenbaum, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke in Atlanta to law enforcement officials this week.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke to about 1,500 law enforcement officials at the National Law Enforcement Conference on Human Exploitation June 6 in Atlanta, a city considered by the FBI to be a global hub for child prostitution.

“By all accounts, the scourge of child exploitation is getting worse,” he said.

Sessions noted the rising role of technology in child exploitation as a common tool for child predators.

“Because of technology, no place is safe for our kids … Any child with access to a smartphone or tablet is vulnerable to predators,” he said. “Meanwhile, the proliferation of cheap cameras in phones and other devices has made it easier than ever for pedophiles to produce child pornography and share this filth with countless others.”

“Last November, the Alabama and Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children task forces coordinated an investigation called ‘Operation Southern Impact,’” he said. It resulted in the arrest of 29 suspects from both states on charges of possession and distribution of child pornography, and the seizure of 731 digital devices as evidence. The investigation included more than 70 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.”

The Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles elected James Mills as its new Chair.

Mills, who was appointed to the board in November 2011, has served as vice chairman for the past three years and succeeds Terry Barnard.

The board also elected Braxton Cotton as vice chairman.

The Georgia Supreme Court dismissed a writ brought against Savannah Recorder’s Court Judge Tammy Stokes.

Judge Stokes was suspended from her Recorders Court duties last September following Human Resources issues within the court and a formal study commissioned by the City of Savannah.

After the suspension, Judge Stokes and her attorney appealed a writ of prohibition, and shortly after that the Georgia Supreme Court held a hearing and determined that the writ could not be enforced. This left the Supreme Court with little to discuss and led to the dismissal of the case.

Atlanta lawyer Christopher Wray has been tapped by President Trump as Director of the FBI.

President Trump on Wednesday announced that he had selected Christopher A. Wray to be his F.B.I. director, turning to a former federal prosecutor who recently defended Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey in the so-called Bridgegate scandal to lead an agency under a harsh political spotlight.

The president revealed his decision in an early-morning tweet without alerting members of Congress in advance.

Hours after the Twitter post, the White House followed up with an official statement in which Mr. Trump called Mr. Wray “an impeccably qualified individual,” citing his role in major fraud investigations and antiterrorism efforts at the Justice Department after the 9/11 attacks.

“I know that he will again serve his country as a fierce guardian of the law and model of integrity once the Senate confirms him to lead the F.B.I.,” Mr. Trump said in the statement.

Senator Johnny Isakson (R) released a statement on the Wray nomination.

“Chris Wray has exceptional experience, including as a former federal prosecutor in Atlanta and assistant attorney general, that I believe will serve him well as head of the FBI,” Isakson said. “Ultimately, we need an FBI director who is dedicated to upholding the rule of law and honoring the trust that the American people place in our justice system.”

Wray served as assistant attorney general under former President George W. Bush and led the criminal division of the Department of Justice from 2003 to 2005. Previously, he served as assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta, Ga.

Senator David Perdue (R) also released a statement.

“Today President Trump chose former Atlanta federal prosecutor, Christopher Wray, to lead our nation’s highest law enforcement agency. Mr. Wray has proven he is dedicated to upholding our nation’s laws and seeking justice. His work with DOJ on major cases like the Enron scandal and September 11th terrorist attacks make him an ideal candidate for this very important job.”

Congressman Buddy Carter (R-Pooler) is being targeted by a conservative organization for collaborating on legislation with Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA).

Dr. Kay Kirkpatrick (R-Cobb) was sworn into the Georgia Senate after winning a Special Runoff Election in District 32.

Kirkpatrick’s win in a May 16 runoff election against Democrat Christine Triebsch buoyed Republican hopes ahead of this month’s nationally watched contest between Republican Karen Handel and Democrat Jon Ossoff.

That’s because Kirkpatrick’s new Senate District 32 shares many of the same neighborhoods as Georgia’s 6th Congressional District in the suburbs just north of Atlanta.

Kirkpatrick began her first term with a swearing-in ceremony Friday at the state Capitol.

Marietta held a meeting about the city budget and nobody showed up.

Savannah-Chatham County’s school board tentatively adopted a $561.1 million budget for FY 2018 and kept the millage rate the same level as the last year.

Chatham County Commissioners are considering a $273 million FY 2018 budget that includes a millage rate increase for some property owners and raises some fees.

Gwinnett County Commission Chair Charlotte Nash (R) will also chair the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District.

Former Henry County Commissioner Gary Freedman pled guilty to child molestation charges.

Pharmacies in Macon do not have naloxone available for purchase.

On Wednesday, The Telegraph called dozens of pharmacies in Macon and only found one that carries the spray: Graves Pharmacy inside the Medical Center, Navicent Health.

Owner David Graves said there hasn’t been a demand for Narcan, but he ordered a box of it after talking with Tindol.

“It’s kind of like you hope to have a fire extinguisher in the home when you have a fire. When something happens, you want to be prepared and have it,” Graves said. “But there’s a cost.”

A single box costs $150 and it contains two doses.

2018 Elections

Congressman Rob Woodall (R-Gwinnett) picked up a pair of announced challengers for the 2018 General Election.

David Kim, the Harvard-educated founder of a national test prep company and the son of Korean immigrants, announced his plans Wednesday to run for the House seat in 2018. He did it with a nod toward Democrat Jon Ossoff, another political novice whose out-of-nowhere campaign has shaken up the special election next door in Georgia’s 6th District.

“I am not your traditional Democrat,” Kim wrote in a fundraising email to supporters Wednesday. “I want to represent those voices who feel like they’re not really being represented accurately. I want to be a voice that’s independent minded — thinking about what’s best for the long term for all of us.”

“I think there is a strong desire for someone who is less partisan, for someone who’s had a voting record that’s been less of a rubber stamp along party line,” Kim said in an interview. He added that Woodall “has been more interested in partisan purity than getting things done for the people” and that he’s been more of a “rubber stamp” for President Donald Trump than a consensus-builder.

Opiate abusers “don’t typically budget for preventable measures,” he said. From a business standpoint, buying the expensive drug is “cash sitting on a shelf.”

Kim isn’t the only Democrat to jump into next year’s 7th District race. Political organizer Kathleen Allen also plans to hold a campaign kickoff on June 22nd in Norcross.

Congressman Austin Scott (R-Tifton) also picked up an announced challenger for 2018.

Now a self-described “progressive Republican” affiliated with a coalition of Bernie Sanders alumni is arguing he has the winning formula for breaking through the Washington antipathy.

Danny Ellyson, a business owner and disabled Iraq War veteran, is mounting a primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton, in Georgia’s 8th congressional district.

His agenda centers on breaking through Washington’s political tribalism to ensure that people have “the right to expression, the freedom of choice … and to building relationships (based) on tolerance and respect.”

“The progressive nature of what we’re doing, and I do identify as a progressive Republican, is not about just throwing laws up because laws can be thrown up,” he said. “It’s simply saying that I believe in taking away laws that are not productive. I believe in the restructuring and the evaluation of everything that’s in existence. Some things need to be removed and some things need to be created and negotiated.”