Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart was mortally wounded on May 11, 1864 at the Battle of Yellow Tavern, near Richmond.
On May 11, 2011, Newt Gingrich announced via Twitter that he would run for President. Two days later, I caught up with Newt at Fincher’s Barbecue in Macon for a brief interview the day he was scheduled to speak to the Georgia Republican Party State Convention.
Happy Birthday to Minnesota, which became a state on May 11, 1858. Y’all talk funny.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Well, I told you yesterday that campaigns are likely to get crazier before the May 24th Primary Elections, and yesterday brought it home.
Last night, after State Rep. Dustin Hightower (R-68) withdrew from the Primary in order to accept a seat on the Superior Court for the Coweta Circuit, the Georgia Republican Party State Committee voted to reopen qualifying in the GOP Primary election for House District 68. State Rep. Dustin Hightower withdrew from the election in order to accept an appointment to Superior Court for the Coweta Circuit, leaving no candidates qualified.
Qualifying will be Thursday. I don’t yet know the location, but suspect it will be at GAGOP headquarters, at 3110 Maple Dr NE, Atlanta, GA 30305.
Candidates qualifying tomorrow will be on the ballot on election day only, May 24, 2016, and any early or absentee votes will not count.
That’s right, a twelve-day election.
Former State Rep. Tim Bearden had previously expressed an interest in the seat and is considered a favorite to win an election that will be decided almost entirely on existing name recognition. From Facebook, it appears that Villa Rica Mayor Jay Collins is likely to jump in the race as well.
If I were a candidate in that race, looking foward to an election night victory party on the Twelfth Night of my campaign, I might take inspiration from Shakespeare’s words, “some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrown upon them,” but as a voter I might seek guidance from the Bard’s other quote from the same play, “better a witty fool than a foolish wit.”
Dick Williams, writing in The Dunwoody Crier, notes that Tom Owens, a candidate for State House District 79 is deemed by the State Capitol Police to require an escort whenever he is allowed into the building.
Heading into the May 24 primary elections, one candidate for state House, Tom Owens, is so extreme that the state capitol police have given him the label of “Escorted Entry Only.”
Capitol police say that while no criminal warrants exist “at this time,” “please use caution.”
A similar tag hangs on Joe Newton, a political gadfly who accompanies Owens to many political events and has been seen placing signs accusing state Sen. Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody), of being responsible for bringing in thousands of refugees, including terrorists, into the state (Refugee resettlement is in the state budget as a pass-through of federal funds without state control).
Newton’s state capitol police alert orders “No unescorted entry.” The warning notes his several arrests and a conviction inn 1986 for 2nd degree Assault against Women in North Carolina, simple assault charges in South Carolina and a temporary protection order against him in DeKalb County. Newton’s capitol police citation allows only escorted access to the capitol and the legislative office buildings.
Owens, a Doraville resident who says he served in three wars, ran unsuccessfully for DeKalb County Commission. His brushes with the law are voluminous and include a stalking complaint in Forsyth County in 2006 for which he was arrested and sentenced to community service. He agreed to enter the Forsyth County state court diversion program, promised no contact with his victim and signed a statement admitting to “mental health issues involved.” He agreed to “cognitive skills counseling.”
The Doraville police have several reports of threatening behavior, harassment and the like from a citizen and a city councilman. Owens’ home backs up to a mosque and he has had near constant friction with the Muslims who worship there, once going to police to accuse the mosque of sacrificing animals.
Owens has sued the mosque over noise. Lawyers for the mosque say Owens threatened to kill its imam.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted an ethics complaint filed against Catherine Bernard, a candidate in House District 80 for the third time.
Will Kremer, former chairman of the Georgia Association of College Republicans, filed the complaint alleging that House District 80 candidate Catherine Bernard violated Georgia’s campaign finance laws by not fully disclosing how she has spent more than $8,000 in campaign funds over the past two years.
Kremer has canvassed for one of Bernard’s opponents in the race, attorney Meagan Hanson.
The Reporter Newspaper spoke to Catherine Bernard about the complaint,
A supporter of Meagan Hanson has filed an ethics complaint against Catherine Bernard alleging Bernard broke state campaign laws. The two are candidates in the May 24 Republican primary for House District 80.
“The whole thing is made up,” she said, accusing Kremer of “shenanigans.”
“This is a huge, annoying distraction,” she said.
She also accused Kremer of being one of the “smirking, useless frat boys in the Georgia Republican Party” who are damaging the country.
Here’s the thing: it’s fine to question the bona fides of someone filing an ethics complaint against your campaign. Heck, it’s almost mandatory. But to call fraternity members “useless” might be counter-productive. I’ve lived the last ten years in this district she seeks to represent, and I’d say the area has more greeks than Athens (Georgia). Besides, Will Kremer, though a friend of mine, is distinctly NF.
Finally, we come to hand-picked Democratic candidate for United States Senate Jim Barksdale.
The political newcomer embraces Bernie Sanders-like rhetoric about the hair-raising scourge of Wall Street. And he capped his message with a flourish of a fedora that, in his words, validates his outsider status.
I’m Jim Barksdale. I’m not a politician and I can prove it. I wear this hat.
I approve this message because most of all, I’ll stand against the crowd to ensure equal opportunities for all Americans.
And I’ll keep this hat, too.
That’s not a fedora, that’s a cap. A fedora has a brim that goes all the way around. Think Indiana Jones.
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