Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for October 1, 2025

Original Communist (O.C.) Karl Marx published Das Kapital on October 1, 1867.

Voters in the state of Washington adopted the state constitution on October 1, 1889.

The first World Series of baseball opened on October 1, 1903.

On October 1, 1908, Ford introduced the Model T.

Former President Jimmy Carter was born on October 1, 1924 at Wise Sanitarium in Plains, Georgia, the first American President to be born in a hospital.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Warm Springs, Georgia for the 21st time beginning on October 1, 1931.

In a Special Election October 1, 1940, Florence Gibbs became the first woman elected to Congress from Georgia, completing her late husband’s term and serving through January 3, 1941, but no standing for a full term of her own.

Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong proclaimed the Communist People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949.

The Carter Center in Atlanta was dedicated on October 1, 1986.

Mikhail Gorbachev named himself Chairman of the USSR’s Supreme Soviet on October 1, 1988.

President George H.W. Bush condemned Iraq’s takeover of Kuwait in a speech to the United Nations on October 1, 1990.

The AJC has a story on President Carter’s grave in Plains.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

The federal government is shutting down in the midst of budget disagreements, according to The Hill via WJBF.

The federal government officially entered a shutdown at midnight on Wednesday after congressional leaders were unable to reach a deal on a stopgap spending bill, leaving lawmakers grasping at straws over how to break the impasse.

The shutdown became a certainty after lawmakers voted down a pair of stopgap funding packages — one a “clean” bill offered by Republicans, the other filled with Democratic priorities — on Tuesday evening, with few discussions taking place between the party leaders to find a pathway to a deal.

In the interim, both sides are engaging in a blame game that has been red-hot for days.

“The Democrat caucus here in town in the Senate has chosen to shut down the government over a clean, nonpartisan funding bill. That’s right — a clean, nonpartisan funding bill,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters after the votes. “Senate Democrats said ‘no.’ Because far left interest groups and far left Democrat members wanted a showdown with the president.”

“Republicans are plunging America into a shutdown—rejecting bipartisan talks, pushing a partisan bill, and risking America’s healthcare, worst of all,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters. “They’ve got to sit down and negotiate with Democrats to come to a bill that both parties can support.”

The lapse in funding marks the fourth government shutdown in the 21st century and the first since 2019 when a fight over border wall funding resulted in a 35-day ordeal — the longest in U.S. history.

From the Savannah Morning News via the Augusta Chronicle:

The current funding for the government expires at midnight on Sept. 30, with Oct. 1 being the potential start of a partial government shutdown.

All federal agencies and services that officials do not deem “essential” must stop working. The Georgia Department of Labor has confirmed that there are nearly 111,000 federal workers in the state. It’s unclear what the exact number of those will be furloughed.

One of the major agencies here is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services. NBC reported the department is expecting more than 32,000 of its nearly 80,000 workers to be furloughed in a shutdown.

Georgia is home to multiple military bases and is the home of the U.S. Army Cyber Command Headquarters. All active-duty U.S. military personnel stay on the job, but without pay, potentially affecting 100,000 or more people. The state chamber of commerce reported, as of 2021, nearly 70,000 active-duty personnel live here plus 27,000 in reserves, and almost 35,000 in military civilians.

Police Blotter: Dublin City Clerk Heather Browning was arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on allegations of misuse of church funds, according to 13WMAZ.

The Dublin city clerk has been arrested and charged for stealing money from a church where she worked as the treasurer, according to a press release from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The press release says Heather Browning, 35, was the treasurer for Cedar Grove Methodist Church in Alamo, and also served as the clerk for the city of Dublin.

The Laurens County Sheriff’s Office asked the GBI to assist with an investigation after church members reported money missing from their bank accounts, according to the press release.

The GBI says Browning had been falsely writing and cashing checks from the bank accounts of Cedar Grove Methodist Church.

She has been booked into the Laurens County Detention Center, per the release. Her job status with both the church and the city of Dublin is unknown at this time.

Chief Agent of the Dublin GBI office Lindsey Wilkes said the GBI does not know whether Browning stole any money from the city.

“As of right now, the city has not found any discrepancies in their accounts,” she said. “They are checking; however, we have not been requested to investigate anything related to the city.”

Wilkes said the GBI does not have a final amount stolen from the church members, as investigators are still auditing the bank records.

The case is still under investigation.

Dublin City Schools Superintendent Fred Williams announced he will retire October 3, 2025, according to 13WMAZ.

As Dublin City Schools face financial turmoil, they’ll now need to find new leadership.

On Tuesday at a Dublin City Schools meeting, Superintendent Fred Williams announced that he’ll officially retire from his position on Friday, Oct. 3.

“Serving this district for all 32 years of my career in education alongside all of you has been one of the greatest honors of my professional career,” Williams said. “Each day, I have witnessed your dedication, passion and commitment to our students’ success.”

The board, at the meeting, named Marcee Pool the interim superintendent. Pool currently serves as the Director of Curriculum for kindergarten through eighth grade.

Williams’ announcement comes on the heels of the school district being in a dire financial crisis.

The school system failed to make a $6.6 million state health plan, and is being forced to pay that back. The Georgia Department of Education also sent them a warning letter that the district will be nearly $12 million short by the end of the year and $13.4 million short by June 2026.

Most recently, according to the Department of Education, the Dublin City Schools system requested a state advance of $1.5 million so they can make this month’s payroll. State Superintendent Robert Woods said the request is “absolutely unprecedented.”

Former Buchanan City Council member and Mayor Anthony “AJ” Scott will be sentenced, according to the AJC.

Exactly 10 years ago, the funerals for two Paulding County teenagers killed in a horrific crash were held hours apart in the same church.

On Wednesday, the former Georgia State Patrol trooper who hit 90 mph before causing that 2015 wreck will return to the courthouse where he was recently convicted to find out his fate.

Anthony “AJ” Scott could spend up to 30 years in prison.

Scott was found guilty of two counts of serious injury by vehicle, one count of vehicular homicide, speeding and reckless driving. The verdict came after 13 hours of jury deliberations and more than six years after his first Carroll County trial ended in a mistrial.

Since the crash, he was fired as a trooper, became a city councilman in Buchanan and then was elected as the small town’s mayor, a position he was ousted from after his conviction.

After his Aug. 27 conviction, Scott was placed in handcuffs and booked into the Carroll jail, where he has been held awaiting sentencing.

More on the Georgia Supreme Court’s case involving McIntosh County rezoning Sapelo Island, from WSAV.

According to a lawsuit against McIntosh County, for 25 years, construction in the Gullah-Geechee community was limited to 1,400 square-foot single-family dwellings. However, a zoning amendment increased the maximum square footage to 3,000 square feet.

The new zoning was put on hold after the judge issued an injunction following the referendum organizers appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court.

Josiah “Jazz Watts” told WSAV he was “pleased” with Tuesday’s ruling and hopes McIntosh County would use the chance to rethink the amendment.

“I hope (the ruling) is taken as a signal to them that this is not how they should govern, but (this) is also an opportunity for them to change direction and change course,” he said. “”I’m glad that we got a decision from the court. I think it speaks volumes that this was unanimous from the highest court in the state of Georgia. It’s definitely saying something, I just hope McIntosh County is listening.”

Darian City Councilman and Vice-Chairman of the Federal Government Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Commission Griffin Lotson told WSAV that the community should capitalize on today’s publicity in order to achieve their long-term goals.

“This has become a world-wide phenomenon,” Lotson said. “The next step for us is to take advantage of (the coverage)…I think this is going to be a rallying point. Now, let’s deal with the nuts and bolts to make this machine keep rolling in the right direction…this is just a band-aid right now.”

From WTOC:

Hog Hammock is a 427-acre Gullah Geechee community listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Gullah Geechee people say expanding home size there would not only price them out of their homes, but would significantly hurt the history of the area.

In response, they gathered enough signatures to force a ‘countywide vote’ or a ‘referendum’ to throw out the new rule.

An election date was set by a judge, but the county government sued to stop that vote. The local government said zoning laws can’t be overturned by a referendum.

Tuesday- The state Supreme Court unanimously reversed a lower court ruling that had stopped a county-wide special election on whether to repeal the county’s 2023 zoning ordinance that allowed for larger homes on Sapelo Island.

The residents were right in saying zoning ordinances can be challenged by a referendum, so the vote should go forward.

Until the matter’s fully resolved, the new zoning rule allowing these bigger houses stays on hold and cannot be enforced.

“Even though there are plenty of times when, you know, the legal system gets it wrong, this is a time when the legal system got it right,” said one Sapelo Island Descendant, Jazz Watts.

“This is an opportunity for them to change direction. You know, instead of trying to rezone and then to redevelop, you know, a community in Sapelo, that brings so much to not only McIntosh County, to the state of Georgia, and into the world.”

This means that Sapelo residents will get to vote whether to repeal the new zoning rule on Sapelo Island, and, for right now, expanding or building bigger homes there is on hold.

It’s unclear how soon that vote would happen.

Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams amended his lawsuit against County Commissioners, according to WRDW.

Court records show the sheriff’s attorneys filed their amended lawsuit seeking a writ of mandamus against the county. A writ of mandamus is a judge’s order compelling a government body to take some type of action.

These latest developments come after a hearing two weeks ago, when a judge ordered the sheriff to fix his lawsuit.

At that last court hearing, the sheriff’s attorneys argued the commissioners operated outside what the law allows them to do with the sheriff’s budget.

A judge argues the actions Williams was seeking don’t apply and meet the requirements for mandamus.

The sheriff’s attorney says commissioners have not just been approving the budget but using it to constrain the sheriff.

The county argues the sheriff has been over budget nearly every year since 2016 – and his budget has increased nearly every year since 2016.

A new hearing is set for Oct. 20 and 21 at 9:30 a.m.

More on Governor Brian Kemp’s reaction to the Hyundai raid, from the AJC.

The Republican governor, not apprised in advance about the federal immigration action, contacted President Donald Trump’s aides for details on the raid on the Hyundai Metaplant campus in southeast Georgia, which resulted in roughly 475 arrests and sparked a diplomatic crisis between the U.S. and South Korea.

Kemp’s communications team wrestled over a statement in response to the arrests at the construction site for a battery factory on the campus. They even sliced the word “excited” from an early draft as advisers debated whether to distance the governor and his administration from the automaker.

And his aides faced a crush of questions from officials, journalists and voters about the fate of a nearly $2 billion taxpayer-backed incentive package approved by state and local officials.

A review of more than 100 pages of internal communications obtained in a Georgia Open Records Act request provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the raw emotions and scramble for information within Kemp’s office as the governor and his aides worked to manage the crisis.

They reveal how little state officials knew about the raid in advance, and how quickly they sought to contain the fallout while preserving Georgia’s longstanding ties with Korean officials, Hyundai and its suppliers.

The tensions never erupted into public view, and Kemp and his staff maintained support for the $12.6 billion joint development between Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution while stressing that its workers must comply with state and federal immigration laws.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens wants to extend all existing Tax Allocation District (TADs) with which the city is involved, according to the AJC.

Dickens previously floated the idea of extending the Beltline tax district, but the sweeping plans announced Tuesday go much further. It would dedicate almost a fifth of the city’s tax digest to what are essentially restricted funds separate from the city’s general revenue.

Tax allocation districts, commonly referred to as TADS, are designated areas in which property tax revenue growth is allocated to pay for infrastructure within its boundaries. The area’s property tax value is frozen, and any revenue generated above that goes toward reinvesting in the community.

The lofty plan requires buy-in from both Fulton County and Atlanta Public Schools, which have both pushed back against TADs in the past. But the slashing of federal funds to cities by the Trump administration has put pressure on officials to find new ways to pay for things like infrastructure and housing initiatives.

Dickens described the effort — called the Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative — as an “ambitious vision” that will make “purposeful investments in the people and places that have, for far too often been left behind.”
Dickens described the effort — called the Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative — as an “ambitious vision” that will make “purposeful investments in the people and places that have, for far too often been left behind.”

“What Atlanta has had is tremendous growth, but what we have lacked is balanced growth,” the mayor said.

Dickens said his administration has identified $5 billion worth of potential investment if the TADs were extended, money that could go to everything from transit and affordable housing to green space and infrastructure.

The Savannah Chamber of Commerce is leading the campaign to pass a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), according to WTOC.

The Savannah Chamber of Commerce is spreading the word about a big vote in November.

It’s the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax or SPLOST.

Leaders across Chatham County hope it will fund infrastructure and public safety projects.

Savannah Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Bert Brantley says this November Election can be easy to forget for some.

“This isn’t a major election,” said Bert Brantley, President/CEO, Savannah Chamber of Commerce.

Back on the ballot this year is the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax or SPLOST.

It’s a vote that happens every six years and has been voted on in Georgia since 1985.

He says at the very least, people should know what they’re voting for.

“Transportation, flood relief, public safety projects around Chatham County and visitors pay 40 percent of the dollars for it so this is a way for our visitors to contribute to our projects that will help us in our quality of life,” said Brantley.

Some of those projects: road and traffic improvement on Benton and Highlands Blvd, New fire stations in Garden City and Tybee island and the removal of the I-16, MLK Flyover in Savannah.

The ideas for these projects came from public meetings with people that live in Chatham County and research to find out what each city needs.

Brantley says it will generate more than $700 million to fund them.

“This is the rare chance where we as voters get a chance to tell our government we want spending on that particular project and funded in this way,” said Brantley. “That’s why we at the Chamber of Commerce are so supportive of this because it is a very tightly controlled, very transparent way to collect tax funds and spend it on very specific projects.”

Early voting for Chatham County will begin October 14.

The Georgia Association of Educators (GAE) unveiled their legislative agenda, according to WJBF.

The organization says reducing class sizes and hiring more social workers and counselors will help address growing student mental health needs. GAE is also calling for higher teacher salaries, particularly for new educators, to keep Georgia competitive with neighboring states.

Another focus is the state’s school voucher program, known as the Georgia Promise Scholarship, which launched in August. GAE leaders argue the program diverts public money to private schools and note that far fewer students are enrolled than originally budgeted.

GAE President Lisa Morgan also raised concerns about retirement benefits for school employees:

“The public school employee’s retirement system — the average benefit is still around $300 — and that is not a dignified retirement,” Morgan said.

Lawmakers will return to the Capitol on the second Monday in January for the 40-day session, where education spending will once again make up the bulk of Georgia’s state budget.

Camden County Commissioners heard from constituents about a proposed 18% property tax increase, according to The Brunswick News.

A proposed 18.2% tax increase by the Camden County Commission was greeted with lots of criticism by residents during two public hearings held Tuesday in Woodbine.

A steady stream of residents waited for their turn at the podium to voice their displeasure with the announcement to adopt the new countywide increase.