Georgia ratified the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution on November 29, 1794, which reads,
The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state.
On November 29, 1942, coffee rationing began in the United States.
On November 29, 1947, the United Nations passed a resolution to partition Palestine and allow the creation of a Jewish state of Israel.
On November 29, 1963, President Lyndon Johnson appointed the President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, referred to as the Warren Commission. Senator Richard B. Russell, Jr. of Georgia was appointed to the Commission.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Early voting is now underway in every county in Georgia. From the Valdosta Daily Times:
Lowndes County joins voters across Georgia to cast early ballots for the Senate runoff race between Democrat incumbent Raphael Warnock and GOP challenger Herschel Walker.
Some Valdosta voters in Lowndes County can vote in a runoff race between two candidates for a Valdosta City Council seat.
While control of the Senate no longer hinges on the results of the Warnock-Walker runoff, it is still a nationally watched race. and expected to be a close one.
Early voting statewide is underway and runs through Friday, Dec. 2. Election Day for the runoff is Dec. 6.
Some Georgia counties opened early voting Saturday, Nov. 26, after earlier this month a judge allowed voting on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Tens of thousands of voters cast ballots Nov. 26, according to the Associated Press.
In Valdosta, Thomas B. McIntyre and Dr. Mattie Blake are in a runoff race for Valdosta City Council District 3. The seat has been vacant since long-time Councilmember Joseph “Sonny” Vickers passed away in June.
On Nov. 8, McIntyre received 515 votes, or 44.40%, with Blake receiving 343 votes, or 29.57%, and India Bell garnering 302 votes, or 26.03%, according to the Secretary of State website.
I disagree that control of the Senate is already decided in favor of Democrats, so long as two of those Democrats are named Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin.
But see this from the Savannah Morning News via the Augusta Chronicle:
The Senate runoff between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker will determine the margin of victory in the Senate. If Walker wins, it will be a 50-50 split, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting tie breaker votes, while if Warnock keeps his seat, it will be a 51-49 division.
With the filibuster needing 60 votes to override, Republicans can block most legislation from passing either way. But if Warnock wins, that one extra vote will streamline things for the Democrats in one key area – committee assignments.
“If it stays 50-50, as it is now, then there’ll be equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans on each of the Senate committees,” said Charles Bullock, a University of Georgia political science professor widely considered the foremost authority on state politics. “But if Democrats get even that one extra seat, so it’s 51-49, then they will have at least a one, and they may even have a two-seat advantage on every committee.”
This will allow Democrats to vote to move bills out of committees, subpoena witnesses, and give the party in power an advantage in those areas that are not subject to a filibuster, including judicial nominations to the federal courts.
“With a tied senate, the Democrats have had to jump through a few more procedural hoops to get nominations moved out of committees and to the floor for a confirmation vote,” Lori A. Ringhand, professor at the University of Georgia Law School, wrote in an email. “That extra bit of process wouldn’t be necessary if the Democrats won a 51st seat. It also means they could take votes without every single Democratic senator present, which would give them a bit of breathing room.”
“Given that you have … Joe Manchin, from West Virginia, and you have Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona, who often vote against legislation, there is almost no margin for error,” said John Tures, a professor of political science at LaGrange College. “And so for Democrats, that’s important to have that 51st seat. For Republicans, I mean, they’re kind of reeling from the results. They didn’t do as well as the Democrats, and this is their chance to say, ‘No, we can still be electable’.”
My point stands, and the point by Dr. Bullock strengthens my argument that the U.S. Senate race still matters in terms of actual control of the Senate. Professor Tures from LaGrange is an underrated political analysis genius.
Christian Redden, assistant supervisor for the Glynn County Board of Elections & Registration, said all three early voting polling places were reporting lines throughout the day.
By late afternoon, Ballard still had a line extending outside the building.
“They’re still just getting steadily slammed,” she said. “This might break a one-day record for any election.”
The longest waits in line were 20 to 30 minutes, she said.
As of a little after 5 p.m., Redden said 2,668 people had cast votes “and they are still going strong.”
At that time, Redden said 954 cast votes at Ballard, 921 at St. Simons and 793 at the Board of Elections office.
By comparison, 1,554 people had cast ballots the first day of early voting in the November general election.
At 6:30 p.m. Redden said there were no waits at any of the three polling places.
On Monday, Bulloch County set an early-voting record for most people casting ballots in a single day in a runoff election. Shontay Jones, supervisor of the Bulloch County Elections Office, said 1,736 people voted Monday. On the first day of early voting for the U.S. Senate runoff on Dec. 14, 2020 between Warnock and Kelly Loeffler, Jones said 843 people voted – less than half as many as voted Monday.
This time, Senate control is not in play, with Democrats already having secured 50 seats to go with Vice President Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote. That puts pressure on both Warnock and Walker to convince Georgia voters that it’s worth their time to cast a second ballot, even if the national stakes aren’t as high.
As of late Sunday, almost 200,000 ballots had been cast in the relative handful of counties that opted to have weekend voting. That total was built on long lines in several heavily Democratic counties of metro Atlanta, enough to give Democrats confidence that their core supporters remain excited to vote for Warnock. But the total remains a small fraction of the nearly 2.3 million early in-person voters ahead of the Nov. 8 general election.
Long lines for early voting at the city services center in Columbus Monday as voters only have one race on the ballot. “I would recommend early voting because I feel the election day is going to be extremely busy. That’s just my opinion because it was very busy here today,” says voter Charlene Rallo. “It was a long line, but it went pretty quickly. You know you just have to make one choice,” says Heidi Graziano.
[Muscogee County Director of Elections and Registration Nancy] Boren says that over 4,500 voters have already shown up to the polls since they opened Saturday.
Boren says that over 4,500 voters have already shown up to the polls since they opened Saturday. Meanwhile, back in line, voters want to encourage others to cast their ballots. “I think voting is extremely important, it’s one of the bedrocks of our democracy, and people who don’t vote are foolishly giving up their power,” says Rallo. “It’s been a lot of people coming out to vote, and I hope they continue it,” says voter Cynthia King.
In Liberty County, more than 2,100 have voted early in-person and close to 400 by mail.
In Effingham, almost 1,200 people have voted so far.
In Bryan County, about 1,700 and, according to the Chatham County Board of Registrars, more than 4,500 people had voted early in Chatham County as of Sunday.
Chatham County had a head start voting this past weekend with early voting beginning Saturday.
And today, there were some long lines at the polls. Some people told us they waited an hour to vote, but it was worth the wait.
Below is a list of the counties in [WTVM’s] area:
Appling County – 682
Bacon County – 433
Bryan County – 1,697
Bulloch County – 1,736
Camden County – 956
Chatham County – 4,519
Evans County – 377
Jeff Davis County – 313
Liberty County – 2,137
Long County – 394
McIntosh County – 687
Montgomery County – 208
Tattnall County – 726
Toombs County – 669
Wayne County 1,007
Excellent reporting by WTVM, especially compiling the numbers for that many local counties.
From the Georgia Recorder via WGXA TV in Macon:
Early voting in the U.S. Senate runoff got off to a busy start in Georgia, with more than half a million ballots cast as of Monday night, including more than 300,000 votes cast Monday.
In all, nearly 182,000 Georgians cast a ballot before Monday, including absentee ballots, a handful of counties that offered voting as early as last Tuesday, as well as thousands who turned out over the weekend.
Black Georgians led the way with 84,218 ballots cast, making up 49.2% of the electorate over the weekend. With just over 2 million active Black voters, Black turnout was at 4.1% heading into Monday. White Georgians represented 35.3% of the electorate with 68,883 ballots cast, and with more than 3.6 million active white voters, white turnout was at 1.9%.
More white voters cast their ballots on Monday, surpassing the Black vote in raw numbers, but Black turnout remains higher relative to the population. With 244,000 votes cast, white turnout stood at 6.7%, and with 192,000 votes, Black turnout was at 9.4%.
Women outvoted men over the weekend – of the votes cast before Monday, 103,984 or 57.2% belonged to women, while 77,228 or 42.5% were cast by men. The numbers again evened out slightly on Monday, bringing women to 55.4% of the vote.
This could be a byproduct of the increased Black vote. While women of all racial groups tend to vote more than their male peers, the trend is more pronounced among Black women. In 2020, 66.3% of eligible Black women said that they voted, compared with 58.3% of eligible Black men, according to data from Rutgers University’s Center for American Women and Politics. Among white eligible voters, 69.6% of women voted compared with 67% of men.
It may be that these numbers reflect enthusiasm among Black voters, but many of the counties that offered Saturday voting have higher than average Black populations, said University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock.
“Counties that offered it were all the big Democratic counties where Democrats run up their numbers, Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett, Clayton. Two-thirds of the ballots came from those five counties. And some of those are heavily Black, Clayton and DeKalb are, so this is clearly not a random sample of the state. Republicans chose to sit this one out, at least the first day. So yeah, these are good Democratic counties and Democrats turned out.”
Excellent reporting by Ross Williams for the Georgia Recorder.
The Board of Elections Office in Macon-Bibb County is seeing about a 30-minute waiting period.
The office began its early voting Saturday. Elections officials say more than 1,500 people had voted early as of Monday.
“When you vote early, it’s like voting absentee. It’s called absentee in person,” Board Chairman Mike Kaplan said. “Instead of being able to scan your driver’s license and turn that poll pad around, now we have to actually type your name into the system, print off a piece of paper, you have to sign it and return it back to us.”
The Board of Elections Office asks for you patience when heading to the polls. It also says the Elaine Lucas Center was unavailable for early voting, but all polling locations will be open for election day on December 6.
On Sunday, Richmond County had the most early voters on a single day they’ve seen since 2016. With a short turnaround for this election, here’s what voters can expect when they show up to the polls.
On the first day of early voting in Columbia County, they’ve already seen close to 1,000 voters at their two precincts combined.
“At G3, we’ve had over 820 people come through, and for it to be a little after noon, that’s pretty good, I would say. I do know that out at Euchee Creek, which is the other location that we have advanced voting at, they too have had a nice crowd come through,” said Executive Director of Columbia County Board of Elections Nancy Gay.
She says your wait time is around 40 to 45 minutes.
Travis Doss with the Richmond County Board of Elections says your wait time should be much shorter, at around 20 minutes. He also says there’s no need to worry if you’re disabled because the poll workers are there to help.
“Not only are we having to ask for money for this runoff, but we also have that special primary in House District 129. So, I do have to go before the commission and ask for money for both of those elections because neither one of those elections we budgeted for,” says Doss.
“How much do you need?
“Right now, I’m asking for $150,000,” Doss says.
“I am absolutely loving it,” says Nancy Gay, Executive Director at Columbia County Board of Elections. “I love advanced voting – the energy, the excitement that the voters bring.”
Gay says that, within the first four hours, more than 800 voted at Euchee Creek Library and more than 600 voted at Building G3.
On Monday, 1,832 people voted in the U.S. Senate runoff at two spots here. That’s more than any single day during the three-week early voting period for the very full Nov. 8 general election ballot.
There were 1,157 ballots cast at the elections office on East 12th Street and 675 voters at the Anthony Recreation Center off Garden Lakes Boulevard between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday.
In two days, Floyd County has seen 2,673 advance votes and has accepted 375 absentee ballots, meaning 3,048 votes already are in for the runoff between Republican challenger Herschel Walker and U.S. Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.
Sunday was strong in Floyd County as well with 842 voters turning out between 1 and 5 p.m.
Secretary of State’s Office Chief Operating Officer Gabriel Sterling said 15,053 Gwinnett voters cast ballots on the first day of advance in-person voting in the county this weekend. Another 15,633 voters cast ballots in Gwinnett on Sunday, and an additional 17,893 voted on Monday, according to Sterling.
Gwinnett County Elections Supervisor Zach Manifold said he expects the daily numbers this week to be even higher. On Monday, he projected Gwinnett will see somewhere between 18,000 and 20,000 runoff ballots cast each day this week.
“That’s about what we expected,” Manifold said. “We figure we had about 170,000 vote (in) advance over 19 days in the general and we had almost the exact same number vote in the 2021 runoff (during) advance — 170,000 appears to be about the number of Gwinnett voters who really like that advance voting option.”
“So, when you take 170,000 voters and divide them out over a week, that’s more than 20,000 a day. Those are going to be very heavy numbers all week.”
Last week, Gwinnett County opted to offer seven days of early voting ahead of the Dec. 6 runoff between U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Republican candidate Herschel Walker. Friday will be the final day of advance in-person voting.
“Well more than 100,000 are going to vote advance in-person and that probably means we’ll see more on election day than we usually do just because we’ve gone from that 19 days (normally offered for early voting) to seven,” he said.
Georgia voters set a single-day early turnout record Monday as 301,500 people stormed to the polls on the first day they were open in most counties ahead of the U.S. Senate runoff.
Turnout was even higher in the runoff Monday than it was during presidential elections, surpassing the previous high of 253,000 early voters on the Friday before Election Day in 2016.
Turnout so far, including absentee ballots, stood at 504,000 through Monday. During the general election earlier this month, total turnout reached 3.96 million voters.
Fewer days of early voting are available in the runoff because Georgia’s voting law passed last year shortened the period between general and runoff elections, from nine weeks to four.
The tight turnaround left five mandatory statewide days of early voting, though county governments had the option of starting sooner last week.
Valdosta saw a “Souls to the Polls” event on Sunday, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.
Souls to the Polls, a longstanding tradition in which faith-based communities hold rallies to encourage their fellow congregants to vote, embarked on a short walk from the park to the Board of Elections office on the first day of early voting as a show of support of the democratic process in the runoffs.
Among attendees for the rally was State Rep. District 177 Dexter Sharper, who said while most offices had already been decided, the election cycle is not over yet, and Valdosta residents need to “make their voices” heard by voting.
“Get out and exercise your right to vote. I hope everyone comes out this week for early voting. We had a great turnout today, and I hope we can keep that momentum,” he said.
Deb Cox, elections supervisor, reported that about 2,142 voters showed up for the first day of early runoff voting Nov. 27 but she expects a drop until Friday.
“We always have lines and a big turnout the first day of early voting, the last day of early voting, and of course, it picks up again on actual Election Day.
Governor Brian Kemp announced Senior Staff for his second term, and I’m not the least bit bitter about not being on the list. From the Press Release:
Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced the following senior staff appointees for his second term:
▪ Current Chief of Staff Trey Kilpatrick, Executive Counsel David Dove, and Office of Planning and Budget Director and Chief Financial Officer Kelly Farr will remain in their positions.
▪ Deputy Chief of Staff Bert Brantley will depart the Governor’s Office to become President and CEO of the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce, effective February 1. Current Chief Operating Officer (COO) Lauren Curry will continue her service to the state by stepping into the Deputy Chief of Staff role, overseeing state agency operations and Governor’s Office communications.
▪ Brad Bohannon will continue in his role as Director of Government Affairs and Policy and will take on additional external affairs responsibilities.
▪ Current Deputy COO and Deputy Executive Counsel Kristyn Long will serve as Chief Operating Officer.
“My administration greatly appreciates the sound advice we have received these past several years with a team that has excelled in the face of unprecedented times,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “I will continue to benefit from their knowledge and dedication in my next term. I especially want to thank Bert Brantley for his thoughtful counsel and leadership throughout some of the greatest challenges our state has ever faced. For three administrations, he has devoted his time, talent, and energy to the people of Georgia. As both a colleague and a friend, I appreciate all of his contributions and I know he will continue to make us proud as he brings even more jobs and opportunity to the coastal region. We are looking forward to the continued service of Trey, David, Kelly, Lauren, Brad, and Kristyn as they continue to help us keep Georgia the best state to live, work, and raise a family.”
Trey Kilpatrick serves as Chief of Staff for the Governor’s Office. He joined Governor Kemp’s administration in 2020 after 10 years serving U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson in various roles, including deputy chief of staff, senior advisor, political director, state director and campaign manager. Prior to his time with Isakson, Kilpatrick was a vice president for Morgan Keegan & Co., Inc., an Atlanta-based investment firm.
Kilpatrick earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and resides in Atlanta with his wife and three children.
David Dove serves as Executive Counsel for the Governor’s Office. He previously served as Chief of Staff and Legal Counsel for then-Secretary of State Brian Kemp. Dove has also worked as an attorney at Robbins Alloy Belinfante Littlefield in Atlanta.Originally from Athens, Dove remains active on campus at the University of Georgia where he earned his undergraduate and juris doctorate degrees. He and his family now live in Marietta, where he served as chairman of the city’s Ethics Committee from 2017-2019. He also represents the State of Georgia as a commissioner on the Uniform Law Commission.
Patrick “Kelly” Farr serves as Director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget and Chief Financial Officer. He has significant expertise in business development from his work at Lucent Technologies and Capgemini. In these prior roles, Farr worked extensively with various state agencies to implement technological advances and improve constituent service. Farr also previously served as Deputy Secretary of State for the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office where he was responsible for budget management and oversight of daily operations.
Farr holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Augusta University. He and his wife, Jennifer, live in Cumming with their two children.
Lauren Curry currently serves as Chief Operating Officer in the Office of Governor Brian Kemp and will step into the Deputy Chief of Staff role. She previously served as Director of Government Affairs and Policy for Governor Kemp.
Prior to joining the Governor’s Office, Curry served as Deputy Director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, Chief of Staff for the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, Director of Public and Governmental Affairs at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Special Projects Director at the Georgia Department of Economic Development, and press aide to Governor Sonny Perdue.
Curry earned a bachelor’s degree in Government and Business Economics from Wofford College and a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Georgia.
Brad Bohannon is the Director of Government Affairs and Policy in the Office of Governor Brian Kemp. He previously served as Vice President of Government Affairs at the Georgia Lottery. Prior to his service in state government, he was Chief of Staff to former Congressman Lynn Westmoreland. He also previously served in Government Relations with Georgia EMC.
Bohannon earned a degree in Consumer Economics from the University of Georgia and resides in Newnan with his wife and two children.
Kristyn Long currently serves as Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Executive Counsel in the Office of Governor Brian Kemp and will become Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining the Governor’s staff in February 2020, she worked in private practice, focusing on civil litigation, probate litigation, and estate planning.
Long holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law. She and her husband reside in Ball Ground.
From the Savannah Morning News:
Next year, the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce will welcome its first new president in 24 years, Bert Brantley, an advisor to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
Brantley most recently served as deputy chief of staff for Kemp. As a senior advisor, he managed the communications, external affairs, legislative, policy, and constituent services teams. Prior to joining Kemp’s staff, Brantley held the position of chief operating officer of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. He was appointed to that role by then-Gov. Nathan Deal in 2017, according to a chamber press release.
Brantley has worked in the state government sphere for more than 20 years. He worked for Gov. Sonny Perdue, the Georgia Department of Driver Services, the State Road & Tollway Authority, and the Department of Transportation.
“We are excited to have Bert join our community and team,” said Allyson Harvin, chamber chairman and owner of Servpro Savannah. “The depth of Bert’s knowledge and experience in economic development, statewide transportation, legislative policy, and oversight of constituent services is what the Chamber board of directors felt would benefit our region as we prepare for the many opportunities on the immediate horizon.”
“The Savannah area has experienced tremendous growth and success, and I am excited to ensure the Chamber continues to play an integral role in promoting this community as one of the best in the country to live, work, play and visit,” Brantley said. “I am incredibly impressed with the Chamber’s staff and leadership team, and I share their commitment to working together to provide opportunities that support the business interests of our members.”
The Georgia Senate Democratic Caucus elected leadership from among its members, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Sen. Gloria Butler will return as Senate minority leader during the 2023-24 legislative term starting in January.
“I am honored and humbled that my colleagues in the Democratic Caucus have placed their trust in me once again to serve as leader,” said Butler, D-Stone Mountain. “I am eager to lead our caucus during this upcoming legislative session as we continue to put the needs of all Georgians first and ensuring all have access to proper and adequate resources to keep Georgia families safe and healthy.”
The Senate Democratic Caucus also re-elected Sen. Harold Jones, D-Augusta, to serve as minority whip and Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta, to serve another term as caucus chair.
The rest of the Democratic leadership team for the next two years will include Sen. Sonya Halpern, D-Atlanta, who will serve as caucus vice chair; Sen. David Lucas, D-Macon, who was elected vice chair of fundraising and campaigns; and Sen. Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta, who will serve as caucus secretary.
The United States Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration will issue a $4.6 million dollar grant for broadband expansion in Georgia, according to the Center Square via the Albany Herald.
Funding for the program was included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which some politicians call the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. With the money, state officials will plan how to deploy “affordable, equitable, and reliable” internet statewide and develop “digital skills training programs.”
“These new funds will jump start Georgia’s ability to provide affordable and reliable, high-speed internet service across the state, and open up greater opportunities for work and education,” Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in an announcement.
Georgia will receive nearly $5 million from the Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment program, which it will use to, in part, identify “unserved and underserved locations.” The Peach State also received more than $1.4 million from the Digital Equity Act program to, in part, create “an asset inventory of digital equity programs across the state” and work with the Georgia Digital Equity Taskforce.
State Sen. Tonya Anderson, D-Lithonia, lauded President Joe Biden’s administration for awarding Georgia the grant.
“A zip code should not determine whether a child can attend school online, or a parent participate in a team meeting, or a family wanting to order something from a store,” Anderson said in a statement. “Broadband is a need just as much as electricity and water. We cannot be satisfied until residents from all 159 counties have reliable broadband service.”
According to Anderson, the $6.4 million will increase to more than $100 million “in the coming years.”
Chatham County Commission Chair Chester Ellis adheres to his position that the county deserves more of the Local Option Sales Tax proceeds, according to the Savannah Morning News.
In a Monday press conference, Ellis reiterated the county’s terms laid out in a letter rejecting the proposal dated Nov. 22. Ellis is seeking a significantly larger share for the county from the current agreement, which allocates 77% of tax proceeds for the cities and 23% for Chatham County.
Ellis proposes the county share begin at 31% in 2023 and increase by 2% each year, meaning a 49% county share by the time the LOST agreement is negotiated next in 2032.
In a letter sent to municipal leaders on Nov. 22, Ellis said the current split is “no longer feasible due to increase in costs of countywide mandated services,” such as the court system and emergency services. He instead proposed a counteroffer that would give the county 31% along with a 2% annual increase until the next negotiation period in 2032.
If the county and municipalities do not come to an agreement by the end of the year, the tax certificate will expire, and millions of dollars in annual funding will go uncollected. In all likelihood, an expiration would result in significant property tax increases for all county residents.
Chairman Ellis says critical services the county provides for themselves and cities within Chatham cost more now.
“Ten years ago, the price was $98 million, two years ago, the price was $140 million, now it’s $152 million.”
Dougherty County Commissioners approved their legislative priorities for the 2023 Session of the Georgia General Assembly, according to the Albany Herald.
On Monday the Dougherty County Commission finalized a list of requests to take to local legislators ahead of the 2023 legislative session that begins in January. Like Christmas, it is an annual tradition, and county officials’ version of holiday desires comes out to $4.2 million, with much of it devoted to recreation.
Commissioners approved the list of recommendations presented by County Manager Michael McCoy during a special called meeting at the conclusion of a regular work session. Only the amphitheater drew some criticism from a couple of commission members.
Some of the items of statewide interest to local governments include Medicaid reimbursement for ambulance services, more funding for transportation projects, mental health reform, having the state take custody of convicted inmates instead of having them stay in county facilities for an extended period, and improving the method of negotiations for local-option sales tax dollars between cities and county governments.
The mighty metropolis of Lula, Georgia now has a full slate of city council members, according to the Gainesville Times.
Lula gained two new members on its city council last week, giving the city a full six-person governing board for the first time since March.
New council members Tony Cornett and Chip Horst took their oaths of office Nov. 21.
The low numbers on the city council had required any item to receive unanimous approval to pass for lack of quorum in the city of nearly 3,000 people.
All kidding aside, I appreciate the depth of coverage the Gainesville Times gives to local politics and governance.
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