Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for March 24, 2020

On March 24, 1824, the Marquis de LaFayette visited Augusta Georgia.

On this date in 1825, LaFayette, a beloved French hero of the American Revolution, stopped in Augusta on his nationwide tour, and thousands turned out to greet him.

Storekeepers displayed all sorts of LaFayette gear – hats, portraits, souvenirs. An arch was constructed over Broad Street. A platform big enough to hold 600 diners was put up in front of the courthouse on Greene Street.

Governor E.D. Rivers signed a resolution on March 24, 1939, calling for the return of “General” locomotive made famous in the Great Train Chase from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Georgia. It currently resides in The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw, Georgia. The other locomotive involved in the chase, The Texas, is displayed at the Atlanta Center.

Elvis Presley was inducted into the United States Army on March 24, 1958.

On March 24, 1970, Gov. Lester Maddox signed legislation naming the Largemouth Bass the Official State Fish.

On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

ANATOMY OF A HIT JOB

Patricia Murphy of the AJC has a great piece about how the Lincoln Project targeted Georgia Senator John Albers (R-Roswell) with lies.

Albers’ dismissal followed a series of now-deleted tweets from the Lincoln Project obtained by The Atlanta-Journal Constitution, which tagged more than a dozen of his firm’s largest clients, including Starbucks, USAA, Walmart, and FedEx.

“These companies currently use @tabor_attorneys, helping pay @johnalbers salary while he sponsors bills to suppress and strip votes away from millions of black Georgians.”

The next tweet pointed to Albers’ co-sponsorship of Senate Bill 62, “a bill meant to suppress black votes & institute a new Jim Crow.”

Unlike Fleming, Albers walked out of the vote on his chamber’s most draconian elections bill, Senate Bill 241, which would have ended no-excuse absentee voting in Georgia.

Instead, SB 62 would require that each ballot be printed with the name of its precinct. It passed the Senate 37 to 15 with the votes of four Democrats. One of those Democrats was Sen. Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta, a progressive you could sooner imagine resigning her seat than supporting a measure that resulted in a Jim Crow-era law.

Calls flooded into Fisher Phillips, including from the firm’s clients, and Albers was gone by the next day.

Then the threats against his family began.

“It happened in a matter of 24 hours, all based on a radical group that told a lie,” Albers said in an interview in his office.

The Lincoln Project is already under fire for its own unsavory behavior. When I asked if the group knew what SB 62 deals with when they called it racist, a spokesman said they only took down the Tweets about Albers “because they didn’t go far enough.”

“I think you’re going to have people who have a lot of talents, and a lot of opportunity to make a real difference and serve who will just shy away from it.” Albers said.

Note: the Lincoln Project (or someone later transcribing their tweet) also appears to have targeted sloppily, targeting “@tabor_attorneys” when the law firm they were looking for tweets as “@labor_attorneys.”

Senate Resolution 134 by Sen. Larry Walker, III passed the State House and would place a Constitutional Amendment on the 2022 ballot, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Georgians are poised to decide whether statewide elected officials who have been suspended amid felony charges for abusing their office should continue to draw a paycheck while awaiting trial.

The state House of Representatives gave final approval Tuesday for a constitutional amendment that would put to voters whether to bar pay for officials facing felony charges like Georgia’s governor, secretary of state and insurance commissioner.

It passed unanimously in the House on Monday after clearing the state Senate earlier this month by a nearly unanimous vote, with Sen. Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, voting against. The question will be on the ballot in 2022 if Gov. Brian Kemp signs the amendment.

One minor quibble: I don’t believe the Governor must sign legislation proposing a Constitutional Amendment because Article X, paragraph V of the Georgia Constitution states:

Veto not permitted. The Governor shall not have the right to veto any proposal by the General Assembly or by a convention to amend this Constitution or to provide a new Constitution.

I am also concerned with what might appear to be a state action to deprive someone of their pay after being indicted, not convicted.

It’s not just a Due Process concern, but a concern over separation of powers.

Could a rogue prosecutor force an elected member of the Executive Branch out of office by indicting them as if they were a ham sandwich?

Under the Gold Dome Today – Committee Work Day

COMMITTEE MEETINGS – LEGISLATIVE DAY 38

8:00 AM Senate Judiciary – 307 CLOB
9:00 AM Senate Natural Resources and the Environment – 310 CLOB
9:00 AM HOUSE MOTOR VEHICLES – 506 CLOB
9:00 AM HOUSE RULES – 341 CAP
10:00 AM Senate Education & Youth – 450 CAP
10:30 AM HOUSE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM – 341 CAP
11:00 AM HOUSE APPROP JOINT CONF COMM – 403 CAP
12:00 PM Senate Government Oversight – 450 CAP
1:00 PM Senate Finance – 450 CAP
1:00 PM Senate Insurance and Labor – 310 CLOB
1:00 PM HOUSE HIGHER EDUCATION – 606 CLOB
2:00 PM Senate Regulated Industries- canceled – 450 CAP
2:00 PM Senate Georgia DOT Board Election for 12th CD – Senate Chamber
2:00 PM Senate Rules – 450 CAP
2:00 PM HOUSE HUMAN RELATIONS – 341 CAP
3:00 PM Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs – 307 CLOB
3:00 PM HOUSE JUDICIARY NON CIVIL – 132 CAP
3:00 PM HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON ELECTION INTEGRITY – 606 CLOB
3:00 PM HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS – 406 CLOB
3:30 PM Senate State Institutions and Property – 125 CAP
4:00 PM Senate Economic Development and Tourism – Mezz 1
4:00 PM Senate Health and Human Services – 450 CAP

Governor Brian Kemp announced yesterday that beginning on Thursday, all adults in Georgia will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

All Georgians age 16 and older will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine starting this Thursday, March 25, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Tuesday.

The long-awaited expansion comes as Georgia is set to receive another boost in the weekly shipment of vaccines, largely due to the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine that increased the state’s allotment this week to 450,000 doses, according to the governor.

Speaking at a news conference, Kemp said Georgia expects to gain another bump in vaccine doses next week from the federal government – though he was not sure yet how much more the state will receive.

Still, state officials continue to see “vaccine hesitancy” in rural areas, particularly parts of Georgia south of the Columbus-Macon-Augusta line.

From CBS46:

The state of Georgia has been criticized for a low percentage of the general population who have been vaccinated. Georgia ranks near the bottom among states in the percentage of its adult population that has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to numbers from the CDC. This comes as other states, like West Virginia, opened up vaccine distribution to everyone over the age of 16 on Monday.

Governor Kemp disputes the CDC’s numbers saying the state has 250,000 doses injected that have not yet been updated on the CDC’s official count. The state will also get a big boost when Mercedes-Benz Stadium opens up as a FEMA mass vaccination site. Kemp is expected to tour the facility Tuesday.

From the Dalton Daily Citizen News:

Due to uneven demand between rural and metro areas, Kemp said, about 70% of this week’s vaccine allotment went to north Georgia and metro Atlanta areas where demand is the highest. Doses will continue to be distributed based on demand.

But Kemp warned Georgians the new mass eligibility will no doubt make vaccine appointments harder to come by in densely populated areas.

“We are expanding eligibility to make sure we continue to keep the demand as high as we can,” Kemp said. “Even though it may take a little bit longer in the metro area because of that demand.”

“I just want to encourage everybody to get the vaccine. There’s no doubt that we’re seeing this across the country, but especially in the South, we’re seeing vaccine hesitancy that is concerning,” he said. “People should not be hesitant. This is a medical miracle. It’s safe. It’s effective.”

“There’s going to be a point also where we’re not going to wait around anymore,” he said. “We want to make it available, but we can’t hold others back because of people’s vaccine hesitancy.”

The most important legislative meeting today will be the Joint House and Senate Appropriations Conference Committe, which meets to hammer-out differences between the two versions of the state budget. From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Rome News Tribune:

The Georgia Senate unanimously passed Gov. Brian Kemp’s $27.2 billion fiscal 2022 budget Tuesday, setting the stage for negotiations with the state House of Representatives on a final version of the spending plan.

With state tax revenues coming in stronger than expected despite the pandemic, the budget would restore 60% of the “austerity” cuts to Georgia public schools the legislature made at the height of the COVID-19 outbreak last year.

Thanks to the American Rescue Plan Congress passed earlier this month, Georgia schools soon will receive $4.2 billion in federal funds, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Blake Tillery told his Senate colleagues.

“That more than wipes out any reductions we’ve made during the pandemic,” said Tillery, R-Vidalia. “Our school systems are going to more than adequately be made whole.”

A joint House-Senate conference committee will work out the two chambers’ differences on the budget and hammer out a final spending plan to present next week during the last days of this year’s legislative session.

Election reform legislation nears the finish line in both chambers, according to the AJC.

The Senate Ethics Committee voted along party lines to advance House Bill 531, which could soon receive a vote in the full Senate. A House committee passed a different election overhaul bill [SB 202] on Monday, and lawmakers will have to negotiate final versions of bills before this year’s legislative session ends March 31.

The bill would also limit ballot drop boxes, an innovation in the 2020 election cycle that allowed voters to deliver their absentee ballots rather than have to rely on the U.S. Postal Service to return them by election day. Drop boxes would only be allowed inside advance polling places during the hours that they’re opening.

In addition, the bill would expand early voting by requiring polling on two Saturdays during the three-week early voting period. Legislators also voted to allow county election offices to have the option of opening for early voting on two Sundays, a decision that came after protests over reducing voting opportunities especially for Black voters who go to the polls after church.

The legislation also would create a hotline to report voting allegations to the attorney general’s office, allow the State Election Board to take over county election boards it deems problematic, and require disclaimers on absentee ballot application forms mailed by nonprofit groups.

The Senate bill is narrower than the House elections measure that cleared its committee Monday.

The House version, Senate Bill 202, also would set a deadline to request absentee ballots 11 days before election day, disqualify provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct, ban free food given to voters waiting in line, and require runoffs four weeks after election day instead of nine weeks.

House Bill 218 by State Rep. Mandi Ballinger (R-Cherokee County) addresses gun rights, according to the Rome News Tribune.

The proposal’s provisions include requiring Georgia to recognize other states’ concealed weapons permits, and buttressing gun rights during declarations of emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic.

A third part would require government to sell guns collected by law enforcement agencies. The bill also would ease the process of getting a carry permit.

It still must pass on the Senate floor before having the differences between the two chambers’ versions resolved.

The timing of any gun rights bill’s passage – right after the deadly spa shootings – would appear at least awkward.

The first part of HB Bill 218 would expand Georgia’s recognition of gun carry permits from other states.

The gun bill would also allow a person from one county to get a carry permit from another.

That would pertain to probate courts, whose judges have said that such licenses have soared to unprecedented levels. HB 218 would also allow applications be accepted via mail or online.

General Assembly Democrats have introduce legislation in the wake of the Atlanta shootings, according to AccessWDUN.

The proposals would require a five-day waiting period for gun purchases, establish a statewide translation system for 911 calls and create enhanced training for law enforcement emphasizing outreach in other languages. Democrats say they’re responding to news reports that suggest people who couldn’t speak fluent English had trouble communicating with responding officers, as well as reports that the suspect bought a gun the morning of the shootings.

The bills have little chance of passing this year because they’re too late for procedural deadlines and only days remain in a legislative session set to end March 31. Also, any proposals that limit gun sales are likely to face staunch opposition in the Republican-controlled legislature.

[Democratic State Rep. Sam] Park acknowledged that the bill was unlikely to pass in Georgia, where Republicans control the General Assembly and the governorship. But he said that gun control will “without a doubt” be an issue in the 2022 statewide election, when all those offices will be on the ballot.

Hall County’s Parental Accountability Court celebrates ten years of service, according to the Gainesville Times.

A Hall County court program focusing on helping parents pay child support has reached both a 10th anniversary and a $1 million milestone in money collected in its cases.

The Parental Accountability Court is one of several accountability court programs offered through Hall County Treatment Services. Other accountability courts include Drug Court, DUI Court and Veterans Court. These programs look for alternatives to incarceration to tackle issues, such as substance use and mental health, for participants.

Defense attorney Jason Burruss said the clients he has recommended to the program are people who come in for a consultation and are in arrears for a considerable amount.

“Going to jail doesn’t help anybody out,” Burruss said. “When they go into (Parental Accountability Court), it gives them an opportunity to be put on a payment plan and to be held accountable on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.”

Hall County Treatment Services Director Jessi Emmett said the program started under Superior Court Judge Bonnie Oliver’s direction. The genesis of the program, like many of the other accountability court programs, started because of the “revolving door” in the court system, with judges seeing the same people again and again facing possible contempt of court and jail time for not meeting their child support obligations.

A lot of innovation is born in Georgia’s local court systems involving alternative accountability courts and alternative sentencing, and it’s one of the great success of Georgia government in this century.

Dougherty County plans to resume Grand Jury proceedings Thursday, according to the Albany Herald.

Now the Dougherty County court system is looking to oil up the machine and begin the process of resolving the backlog, beginning this week with the selection of a grand jury and presentation of criminal cases. Trials could be scheduled by the beginning of April.

“The grand jury is a very important part of the process,” Dougherty County District Attorney Gred Edwards said.

The second grand jury since March 2020 is set to hear criminal cases beginning on Thursday. During the proceedings, prosecutors will present cases and grand jurors will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to issue indictments.

The last criminal trials were held in March 2020, and the only grand jury hearings held since the pandemic struck occurred in December.

Flowery Branch City Council members will attend a retreat on Friday, according to AccessWDUN.

Athens-Clarke County police are deploying speed cameras in school zones, according to the Athens Banner Herald.

But until April 21, police will only issue warnings to the registered owners of vehicles violating the speed limit.

Glynn County public schools are considering how to address arts education changes due to COVID, according to The Brunswick News.

“I need some help with how we’re managing the arts — art and band and chorus in particular,” said school board member Mike Hulsey during this month’s regular meeting. “I continue to get emails and texts from teachers and from parents alike about how band members are going outside in the heat and the bugs and this, that and the other and can’t sing, can’t play.”

School principals are asked to submit to the district a plan for all kinds of events, activities and programs that pose risk of spreading COVID-19. Those plans are reviewed by district leaders and often by local health district staff before approved for implementation.

“But we have done everything else for indoor sports. We’ve had pageants. We’ve done a lot of different things that I’ve seen on Facebook,” Hulsey said. “… I don’t understand what needs to happen. Somebody help me understand, so I can help them understand what they need to do to make sure we can sing in classes and we can play band instruments in classes.”

School Board Chairman Marcus Edgy added that he expects school leaders to do their best to at least submit a plan.

“Even if it’s something very restrictive,” he said. “It means they’re showing an effort, and that way the parents at least see that everyone’s trying to work together.”

Scott Spence, superintendent, said the district is ready to work with all schools to put these plans in place.

“If someone wants to do it and they take the effort and take the time to do a plan that will work and work with Dr. Whitehead, they can do it,” he said. “But it takes a little bit of effort and a little bit of energy to get it done,” Spence said.

 2022 Cycle

Republican Jeanne Seaver announced several weeks ago that she is running for Lieutenant Governor. From Connect Savannah:

“Georgians deserve representatives who put the interest of the people first and push partisan politics to the back burner,” Seaver stated, citing her being “disheartened with the failed leadership in the Lieutenant Governor’s office” as a primary motivation to run for the seat currently held by Republican Geoff Duncan.

An outspoken supporter of former President Donald Trump, Seaver leads the Savannah-based Stand Up, Lead or Shut Up organization of “patriots that love America and all the freedoms it has to offer,” according to the organization’s website.

“I understand the needs of Georgians and promise to work with the leaders of Georgia to increase everyone’s opportunities for success,” Seaver stated.

Republican David Belle Isle announced he will run again for Secretary of State, according to the Chattanoogan.

David Belle Isle, an attorney, former mayor of Alpharetta, and runner-up in the previous Republican Primary for Secretary of State, has announced his intention to challenge Brad Raffensperger in the 2022 Primary Election.

“I am running for Secretary of State to clean up the mess, secure the mail-in ballot, and restore voter confidence,” said Mr. Belle Isle. “In the recent elections, we witnessed voter suppression on a massive scale, triggered by voter uncertainty and made worse by the Secretary’s poor decisions, carelessness, and failure to lead. In the Senate runoff, thousands of Georgia voters chose to stay home rather than condone a process that appeared uninterested in the difference between valid votes and invalid votes. Mr. Raffensperger single-handedly bargained away our election integrity and skewered the credibility of our mail-in ballots. Then, he looked us in the eye and told us that the 2020 election was the safest, most secure election in our history. It was not, and it’s time to hold the Secretary of State accountable.”

Mr. Belle Isle points to the Compromise Settlement Agreement signed by Mr. Raffensperger and Stacy Abrams as the biggest obstacle to voter confidence and election integrity in Georgia.

He said, “The Compromise makes it very difficult for counties to reject invalid mail-in ballots, which likely resulted in thousands of invalid ballots being fully counted. The integrity of our State depends on the integrity of our elections. As Georgia’s next Secretary of State, I will reject the Compromise Settlement Agreement and work to better secure the mail-in ballot process. I will work to clean up the voter rolls and call for a true independent audit of Dominion. Most importantly, I will put fresh eyes on our entire election system, from top to bottom, with the goal of delivering to the people of Georgia fair and provable elections.”