Georgia and American History
On May 6, 1789, the Constitutional Convention in Augusta, Georgia adopted a new Georgia Constitution.
Jefferson Davis spoke in Savannah, Georgia on May 6, 1866.
Davis … defend[ed] the South’s cause in the Civil War, stating, “In 1776 the colonies acquired State sovereignty. They revolted from the mother country in a desperate struggle. That was the cause for which they fought. Is it a lost cause now? Never. Has Georgia lost the State sovereignty which … she won in 1776? No, a thousand times no.” Davis’s fiery remarks were captured by reporters for the New York Times and other northern newspapers.
Because of the national attention generated over his visit to Alabama and Georgia, Davis took a more conciliatory tone in a speech that evening, noting, “There are some who take it for granted that when I allude to State sovereignty I want to bring on another war. I am too old to fight again, and God knows I don’t want you to have the necessity of fighting again… . The celebration today is a link in the long chain of affection that binds you and the North together. Long may it be true.”
On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister became the first person to break the four-minute barrier for running the mile.
For years, so many athletes had tried and failed to run a mile in less than four minutes that people made it out to be a physical impossibility. The world record for a mile was 4 minutes and 1.3 seconds, set by Gunder Hagg of Sweden in 1945. Despite, or perhaps because of, the psychological mystique surrounding the four-minute barrier, several runners in the early 1950s dedicated themselves to being the first to cross into the three-minute zone.
At 6 p.m., the starting gun was fired. In a carefully planned race, Bannister was aided by Chris Brasher, a former Cambridge runner who acted as a pacemaker. For the first half-mile, Brasher led the field, with Bannister close behind, and then another runner took up the lead and reached the three-quarter-mile mark in 3 minutes 0.4 seconds, with Bannister at 3 minutes 0.7 seconds. Bannister took the lead with about 350 yards to go and passed an unofficial timekeeper at the 1,500-meter mark in 3 minutes 43 seconds, thus equaling the world’s record for that distance. Thereafter, Bannister threw in all his reserves and broke the tape in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds. As soon as the first part of his score was announced–”three minutes…”–the crowd erupted in pandemonium.
A “sub-four” is still a notable time, but top international runners now routinely accomplish the feat. Because a mile is not a metric measurement, it is not a regular track event nor featured in the Olympics. It continues, however, to be run by many top runners as a glamour event.
On May 6, 1984, Spinal Tap played a “comeback show” at CBGB’s in New York.
On May 6, 1996, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Atlanta was the most dangerous city in America.
Parliament-Funkadelic were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio on May 6, 1997.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Glynn County saw low voter turnout in the first week of in-person advance voting, according to The Brunswick News.
Christina Redden, deputy director of the Glynn County Board of Elections and Registration, said turnout has been surprisingly low for the first week of early voting.
“There hasn’t been a time when all the machines were full,” she said. “We’ve been posting sample ballots and telling people about the voting guide (in The Brunswick News).”
As of Thursday, 159 absentee ballots had been cast. Only 205 votes have been cast at the Board of Elections office, 265 at Ballard and 580 at Fire Station No. 2 on St. Simons Island.
Elections officials are recommending voters research a sample ballot prior to going to the polls.
Besides contested local, state and federal races, voters will also be asked to consider non-binding ballot questions that are the equivalent of opinion polls that help the two main political parties shape positions on different issues.
Because both party primaries have so many items to consider, Redden said it’s taking on average six to eight minutes for a voter to complete the ballot. Redden said the fastest people still take more than four minutes and there have been people who have spent as long as 10 to 12 minutes casting their votes.
On average, 185 people have voted each day since early voting opened in a primary that will decide the Floyd County Sheriff and Floyd County Clerk of Court races.
According to the Floyd County Elections Office, 924 ballots had been cast by early Friday in the first week of three weeks of early voting before the May 21 primary.
If that average trend continues it could mean an even lower turnout than the March primary. Just 15.1% of the county’s active registered voters turned out for the March 12 Presidential Preference Primary. In that case, the two parties’ nominees for president were essentially unchallenged.
Locally, two positions will essentially be filled in the Republican primary. The incumbent sheriff, Dave Roberson, is being challenged by veteran law enforcement officer Robbie Whitfield, and the incumbent clerk, Barbara Penson, is up against Mary Hardin Thornton of the Rome Finance Department. There are no Democrats running so the winners will appear alone on the November general election ballot.
The countdown has begun in Governor Kemp’s 40-day period to sign or veto legislation, according to the AJC.
On Monday, he’s expected to unveil his veto pen ahead of a Tuesday deadline to sign bills or reject them — no idle threat under Kemp’s watch as governor.
Of the handful of measures still awaiting Kemp’s approval, a few are under increased scrutiny.
Senate Bill 189 would set new rules for challenging voters’ eligibility, move toward banning the use of QR codes to count ballots and potentially allow more third-party presidential candidates to land on Georgia’s ballot.
It’s also facing pushback from elections officials, who warned it could require the state to sell out tens of millions of dollars to comply with the measure’s requirements to remove QR codes and make other changes.
Another election bill awaiting Kemp’s signature is Senate Bill 368, which would prohibit foreign campaign contributions, something that’s already banned by federal law.
Kemp is also still considering whether to sign House Bill 1192, which would suspend sales tax breaks on new data centers that lawmakers say aren’t giving the state much financial return even as they gulp down huge amounts of energy.
And he’s expected to ink a $36.1 billion budget that includes raises for teachers and state employees on Tuesday, the end of a 40-day period he has to sign, veto or allow legislation to become law.
Click here to view lists of legislation Governor Kemp has signed or vetoed.
Senate Bill 63 by State Sen. Randy Robertson (R-Catuala) more than triples the number of crimes for which cash bail is required, and was signed by Governor Brian Kemp, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Senate Bill 63 adds 30 additional felony and misdemeanor crimes to the list of bail-restricted offenses, meaning that those accused of crimes would be required to post cash bail. It also prevents any individual or organization from posting cash bail more than three times each year. Surety bonds, used by bail bond agents, will not be capped under the new law.
Under the previous law, only 14 crimes — mainly violent offenses — mandated the use of cash bail. However, starting in July, crimes such as unlawful assembly, failing to appear in court for a traffic violation, and possession of marijuana will be added to the list.
SB 63 serves as a sharp reversal to more than two decades of criminal justice reform in Georgia, including a 2018 law championed by former governor Nathan Deal that sought to make the legal system more equitable for those accused of nonviolent misdemeanors. It has been widely criticized by civil rights groups, criminal justice reform advocates and legal experts alike.
Darren Lenard Hutchinson, the faculty director of the Center for Civil Rights and Social Justice at Emory University, says that mandating cash bail has been proven to disproportionately impact low-income communities, who sometimes cannot afford bail, as well as people of color, who often receive higher bail amounts than their white counterparts.
“Studies indicate maybe 30% to 50% of people detained pre-trial are there because they can’t afford to pay the bail,” Hutchinson said. “A lot of them, the point at which bail becomes unaffordable could be as low as $1,000, or it could be $2500. On some level, it doesn’t look big to a lot of people, but when you think about people in poverty, that’s a significant amount of money.”
“It is unjust that some people are punished based on arrest, not a conviction, and must sit in jail for months prior to their court date because they cannot afford to pay mandatory cash bail,” the Athens Area Courtwatch Project said in a statement. “The new bail law will clearly exacerbate Athens-Clarke County’s incarceration rate, thereby increasing crime and taxpayer costs. It will keep more people behind bars for non-violent offenses. While they are locked up they will lose jobs, housing, and contact with family members.”
Governor Kemp issued Executive Order #05.03.24.01, appointing Brigadier General Jason W. Fryman as Assistant Adjutant General for Army for the Army National Guard and Executive Order #05.03.24.02, appointing Major General Richard D. Wilson as Adjutant General of Georgia.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr (R-Cobb County) sent a letter to Savannah in which he says the new gun storage ordinance is void because it conflicts with state law, according to WSAV.
The ordinance which was approved by the city council and signed by Mayor Johnson states that it is illegal for gun owners to leave unsecured firearms in their cars. The signing of the ordinance put in place a $1,000 fine and up to 30 days in jail for anyone found guilty.
In the letter, Attorney General Chris Carr points to a Georgia law that says, “no county or municipal corporation shall regulate in any manner the possession, ownership, transport or carrying of firearms or other weapons.”
Carr ended the letter by saying, “We have not undertaken any analysis of the potential consequences of adoption and enforcement of ordinances that are void. However, at minimum, it appears that the city should note the potential civil liability.”
It is also mentioned in his letter to Savannah officials that Carr’s office provides a courtesy review of all ordinances proposed by local municipalities. He says that they are not aware of any request by the city to do a review but had a request been filed they would have informed the city that the ordinance directly conflicts with state law.
Carr also says the city should rescind its approval of the new regulations.
WTOC reached out to Mayor Van Johnson, he says the city will continue to enforce the ordinance.
Muscogee County Sheriff Greg Countryman discussed House Bill 1017, the “Georgia Squatter Reform Act,” passed by the General Assembly and signed by Governor Brian Kemp, accordin to the Ledger-Enquirer.
“This legislation needed to be done many many years ago,” said Muscogee County Sheriff Greg Countryman. “We are going to follow the letter of the law.”
Georgia House Bill 1017 states, “A person commits the offense of unlawful squatting when he or she enters upon the land or premises of another and resides on such land or premises for any period of time knowingly acting without the knowledge or consent of the owner, rightful occupant, or an authorized representative of the owner.”
Countryman said there used to be issues across Georgia regarding sovereign citizens taking over and seizing property and businesses.
Countryman said it would take months if not years for some homeowners to get their property back. He said, “The squatters had more power than the property owners.”
Countryman said, “I don’t see this as a bill that would harm us in overcrowding the jail, it would help us to enforce the law.”
The Gwinnett Daily Post reviews what’s on the ballot for local voters in the May 21, 2024 General Primary Election.
There are three contested nonpartisan school board races and three contested nonpartisan judicial races.
Taxes are also on the ballot — literally.Gwinnett voters are also being asked to decide whether their homestead exemptions should be doubled, and whether an additional exemption should be created for public service employees.
Homestead exemptions impact tax bills because the reduce the portion of a home value that property taxes can be levied against. To put it succinctly, the higher the homestead exemption, the lower the property value that can be taxed.
Gwinnett hasn’t raised its county homestead exemption since 1988.
Moving on from taxes and exemptions, people who live in northeast unincorporated Gwinnett have what may be the biggest decision, with the longest reaching impact, to make on May 21.
They have to decide whether to incorporate and create the city of Mulberry. If cityhood is approved, Mulberry would be Gwinnett’s 17th city. It would also be the county’s second most populous, and its most affluent, city.
This will be the first time any Gwinnett voter has cast a ballot in a race for the 13th Congressional District. The seat, which is represented by longtime U.S. Rep. David Scott, was moved from the west side of metro Atlanta to the east side. Scott is facing several challengers in the Democratic Party primary, and there are a couple of Republicans running for it too.
A few of the 31 General Assembly seats which include parts of Gwinnett have contested primaries. A couple of them are due to the fact that state Rep. Pedro Marin, D-Duluth, and state Sen. Gloria Butler, D-Stone Mountain, are retiring after this year.
The Gwinnett Daily Post also profiles the candidates in three contested Judicial elections. If you’re in Gwinnett County, I highly encourage you to consider voting for Tuwanda Williams in the three-way election for the Superior Court seat currently held by Judge Karen Beyers. I am helping Ms. Williams because I believe she is the best and most-trustworthy candidate for the seat.
A Gwinnett countywide referendum lets voters decide whether to increase the homestead exemption against property taxes, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Gwinnett voters will have to decide whether the homestead exemption on county property taxes should be doubled, and whether an additional exemption for public service employees should be established.
“A bipartisan group of Gwinnett legislators (supported it and) I was proud to take the lead on it last year,” state Rep. Matt Reeves said, referring to legislation passed last year to put the referendums on the ballot.
If Gwinnett voters approve the referendum to raise the homestead exemption, it will be the first time since 1988 that the county exemption has been increased. Cities have the option to offer their own additional homestead exemption.
The homestead exemption is how much value on a home can be exempt from taxation from a government body.
The current exemption is $4,000, but the proposal going before voters is to double that to $8,000 for all homeowners in the county. An additional referendum question that will be put before voters is whether an additional $2,000 homestead exemption should be created for public service workers such as teachers, hospital workers, law enforcement, active duty military personnel.
“You can vote for both,” Reeves said. “It’s not multiple choice.”
Reeves is optimistic that the referendums will pass. He authored legislation that put similar referendums before Sugar Hill voters last year on whether the city’s homestead exemption should be raised.
“It’s a bipartisan issue,” Reeves said. “Both Republicans, Democrats and independents appreciate home ownership here in metro Atlanta because they know the high cost of home ownership today and they recognize the need to pass on home ownership to their children and grandchildren.”
Reeves said the legislation to put the referendums on the May 21 ballot was co-signed by all of the Republicans in the Gwinnett House and Senate delegations as well as several of the Democrats in each delegation. In all, more than half of the 30 legislators who represent at least a portion of Gwinnett co-signed the bill, according to Reeves.
“This will keep the American dream alive in Georgia’s second largest county and the home of the biggest school system,” he said.
Incumbent Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner Denise Mitchell faces challenger Phillip Bonton in the Democratic Primary, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Tax Commissioner Denise Mitchell, who was promoted from deputy tax commissioner position when Porter died, will face investment finance and compliance official Phillip Bonton in the May 21 Democratic Party primary.
Mitchell has years of experience in the tax commissioner’s office, but Bonton has some experience of his own working in Gwinnett County government. He previously led community outreach efforts at the Gwinnett Solicitor’s Office.
The winner will then have to turn around and face Arefeen Chowdhury in November. Chowdhury, who is a financial accounting and risk management professional and an adjunct faculty member at Gwinnett Technical College, is the only Republican who qualified to run for tax commissioner.
Therefore, he automatically advances to the general election by default to face the Democratic primary winner.
Gwinnett County Sheriff Keybo Taylor faces three Democratic challengers, and will face the winner of the Republican Primary in November, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
This is the first time that Taylor, a Democrat, has run for re-election. He won the office in 2020, becoming Gwinnett’s first African-American sheriff in the process.
Taylor’s opponents for his own party include former police officer and DA’s Office investigator Curtis Clemons, former Solicitor General Brian Whiteside, private investigator and former military police officer Joseph Mark and retired State Patrolman and Marines Corps and Air Force veteran Shurron Green.
Meanwhile, the GOP has its own primary on May 21 to decide who will be their nominee for sheriff in November.
The Republican field includes former Gwinnett sheriff’s deputy Mike Baker, who appeared on the TV show LivePD during its run, as well as retired Navy Capt. Baron Reinhold and veteran DeKalb police officer and sheriff’s deputy Oladipupo Soyomokun.
Former Sheriff Butch Conway endorsed Reinhold for the office in March.
Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones and challenger Jenny Parker met in a public forum, according to the Savannah Morning News.
The forum, conducted as a moderated Q&A, sought to encourage voters to get to know the candidates and their platforms before the general primary election on May 21. The questions were submitted by the public, and the candidates were given one minute each to answer the questions.
The winner of that race will face Andre Pretorius, a Republican and a former deputy chief assistant for the Chatham County State Court. He works now on a part-time basis as an assistant Chatham County attorney.
During the one-hour event, voters heard an aggressive back-and-forth between Jones and Parker that revealed, for the first time, how the general Chatham County DA primary election is shaping up.
Parker spoke at-length about the exodus of 44 former Chatham ADAs, who she said have left the office for similar positions in surrounding counties. As a result, Parker said, the Special Victims Unit (SVU) has dissolved.
If elected, Parker said she has promises from 12 former Chatham ADAs who have pledged to return to the DA’s office, a point she first brought up in a press release her campaign team issued on April 10.
Jones clarified that it was 39 ADAs who have left the office, most of whom she said have left the state or received a higher salary. On March 28 of this year, Jones sent an emailed letter to Chatham County Manager Michael Kaigler, attributing the loss of ADAs to a “nationwide shortage of prosecutors” largely due to non-competitive pay compared to the private sector, exploding caseloads, growing dockets, and increased time in court. Jones reiterated those points at the DA candidate forum.
Dougherty Judicial Circuit District Attorney Gregory Edwards faces challenger Elizabeth Gibson in the May 21, 2024 Democratic Primary Election, according to the Albany Herald.
Gregory Edwards has been Dougherty County’s DA since 2008 and was re-elected without opposition in 2012, 2016 and 2020. In May’s primary election, Elizabeth Gibson, a local attorney who previously worked in the DA’s office, is contesting Edwards.
Gibson said within her first 60 days on the job, she cleared 500 cases from the backlog and began taking on other caseloads that needed attention due to a lack of ADAs in the office.
She said by the time she left the DA’s office, she had experience working in Juvenile Court, had cleared more than two State Court caseloads, felony caseloads and assisted in the indictments of more than 150 cases for two ADAs. She’s gone to trial several times and also has worked with a grand jury.
“Everything in the DA’s office that could have been touched, I touched,” she said. “When I think about experience, I don’t think it’s about the length of time you’ve been in a position but what you do with the time that you’re in the position.”
Edwards became Albany’s first African American district attorney in 2008. He was named the Georgia District Attorney of the Year by the Georgia District Attorney’s Association in 2023.
Edwards began his career as a prosecutor in the Dougherty County Judicial Circuit, working with children and victims of sex crimes. That, he said, instilled a passion for victims’ rights.
He said one of the most impactful things he’s done as DA is streamlining the system, which helped lower the Dougherty County Jail population. During his second term, Edwards said the jail’s population was too high relative to the county’s population. It was housing around 1,200 people – about 2.5% of the population.
The Dalton Daily Citizen News profiles incumbent Whitfield County Magistrate Judge Chris Griffin and challenger Julia Nguyen Goulart.
Macon-Bibb County voters will decide who fills the District 3 seat on the Board of Education, according to the Macon Telegraph.
[Incumbent Kristin] Hanlon is currently in her first term on the board, representing District 3.
“I am running for reelection to the Bibb County Board of Education to continue and expand upon the work the current board started four years ago. In the last four years, we have made decisions regarding redistricting, hiring of a new superintendent and adoption of a five-year strategic plan,” she said.
[Barbara] Fike is running against Hanlon for the District 3 seat.
If elected, Fike said her priorities are to encourage careful use of taxpayer money and promote quality education, as well as a sense of national pride.
Fikes said the main issues in the local school district are rising health care costs, high teenage pregnancy rates, student discipline, youth mental health concerns, low teacher pay and unsatisfactory student education scores.
Two former Savannah Chatham County Public School System were indicted separately on child abuse charges, according to the Savannah Morning News.
On May 1, Seward Hamilton was indicted for cruelty to children in the first degree. On Dec. 7, 2023, according to the indictment, Hamilton “did maliciously cause” a child under the age of 18 years old “cruel and excessive physical pain” by grabbing him and throwing him over his head, causing him to fall to the floor and injure his eye.
On May 1, the grand jury also indicted Elliot Brown, a special education paraprofessional at Groves High School, for criminal attempt to commit a felony and child molestation.
Athens-Clarke County Commissioners are considering further restricting public smoking, according to the Athens Banner Herald.
Regarding the AHA Smoke-Free Community designation, committee members recently voted to recommend that the full commission remove an exemption in the code chapter that regulates smoking in public places and workplaces and outright bans smoking in county government facilities.
“I would like that designation,” Commissioner Carol Myers, who chairs the LRC, told her committee colleagues.
Elsewhere in Georgia, Atlanta carries the AHA Smoke-Free Community designation. According to information from the committee meeting, the Georgia cities of Macon and Savannah, along with other jurisdictions around the state, also have earned the AHA recognition.
At the suggestion of the AHA, a nonprofit organization with a mission including health education, the LRC voted to recommend that the commission eliminate a section of the public health code that exempts employer-designated smoking areas located in non-work areas, as well as banquet rooms or meeting rooms hosting private events, from enforcement of any smoking prohibitions.
The proposed change would leave the current exemptions for smoking regulation in private residences, if not used for childcare, adult daycare, or health care. Also unchanged by the committee are exemptions for hotel rooms designated as smoking rooms, for private clubs when they’re not hosting public events, and for private and semi-private rooms in healthcare facilities where all residents have their treating physicians’ permission to smoke.
The Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office received the The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council’s 2024 Georgia Crime Victim Service Collaborative and Innovative Project Award, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
“This award recognizes organizations or individuals for their own commitment to promoting a comprehensive, coordinated, victim-centered and unified community response and celebrating extraordinary contribution to the lives of victims and survivors,” CJCC executive director Jay Neal said. “This year’s award recipient serves as a beacon of holistic community care, providing broad services both within Gwinnett County and for many counties across Georgia.”
In 2023, Gwinnett’s Victim Witness Program made contact with more than 84,000 crime victims who are from Gwinnett County or other jurisdictions; worked with 320 individuals through its Homicide Support Group; held a candlelight vigil in honor of deceased crime victims, with more than 500 people in attendance; provided a Community Conversations web series where information to help victims and reduce crime was shared; and distributed more than 3,000 copies of a Resource Guide that included more than 200 private and government agencies.
The Victim Witness Program was also named the Child Fatality Review Committee Metro County of the Year award winner.
“Nobody asks to be a victim,” Gwinnett District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said. “Our Victim Witness Program work with victims every step of the way through the legal process.Our team strives every day to ensure that no victim goes without the best services and care, so that they can begin to heal and regain some semblance of normalcy.
Muscogee County District Attorney Stacey Jackson has died, according to WTVM.
District Attorney Stacey Jackson passed away Sunday morning after a long battle with illness, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Mr. Jackson worked as an Assistant District Attorney from 2000 until 2008. He then went into private practice in 2008 and remained there until 2022. He returned to the office as District Attorney in May 2022 when Governor Brian Kemp appointed him to the office.
Mr. Jackson is a native of Harris County. He is survived by his two children.
Stacey Jackson was 50 years old.
Appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp, he was sworn in as district attorney in May 2022.
The district attorney’s office is up for election this year in the six-county judicial circuit that includes Muscogee, Harris, Talbot, Taylor, Chattahoochee and Marion.
Acting District Attorney Don Kelly, who has been in charge since Jackson took medical leave in late November, has qualified as Republican to succeed Jackson. The primary is May 21 and the General Election on Nov. 5.
He started out as an assistant district attorney before going into private practice in 2008, and took a pay cut to return to being a prosecutor when the circuit needed someone to replace ousted District Attorney Mark Jones. Jones served just 10 months in office in 2021, before he was suspended and later pleaded guilty to misconduct.
When Kemp needed someone to rebuild trust and confidence in the office, Jackson took the call. He was credited with having restored much of what was lost, rehiring prosecutors Jones had fired, dropping some questionable cases and bringing others to trial or plea.
He and his staff were working on clearing a backlog of cases caused by COVID-19 lockdowns and other impediments, before he was sidelined by illness.
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