Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for October 14, 2022

Friday, October 15, 1582 marked the beginning of the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar – the previous day was Thursday, October 4th.

On October 14, 1735, John and Charles Wesley sailed with James Oglethorpe from Gravesend, England, for Georgia and John Wesley wrote the first entry in his journal that would eventually cover 55 years. On that date, John Wesley wrote,

Our end in leaving our native country, was not to avoid want, (God having given us plenty of temporal blessings,) nor to gain the dung or dross of riches or honour; but singly this, to save our souls; to live wholly to the glory of God.

The Pennsylvania Gazette published a criticism against the British Tea Act on October 16, 1773.

The Tea Act of 1773 was a bill designed to save the faltering British East India Company by greatly lowering its tea tax and granting it a virtual monopoly on the American tea trade. The low tax allowed the company to undercut even tea smuggled into America by Dutch traders, and many colonists viewed the act as yet another example of taxation tyranny. In response, the “Philadelphia Resolutions” called the British tax upon America unfair and said that it introduced “arbitrary government and slavery” upon the American citizens. The resolutions urged all Americans to oppose the British tax and stated that anyone who transported, sold or consumed the taxed tea would be considered “an enemy to his country.”

The First Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Colonial Rights in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 14, 1774.

George Washington left New York, the nation’s capital, on October 15, 1789, embarking upon the first Presidential tour to New England.

On October 16, 1854, Abraham Lincoln, a candidate for Congress, spoke against the Kansas-Nebraska Act and called the practice of slavery “immoral.”

Lincoln, who was practicing law at the time, campaigned on behalf of abolitionist Republicans in Illinois and attacked the Kansas-Nebraska Act. He denounced members of the Democratic Party for backing a law that “assumes there can be moral right in the enslaving of one man by another.” He believed that the law went against the founding American principle that “all men are created equal.”

The world’s first combat submarine, CSS Hunley, sunk during testing in Charleston Harbor on October 15, 1863.

Then-former President Theodore Roosevelt was shot before a campaign speech in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on October 14, 1912.

Roosevelt, who suffered only a flesh wound from the attack, went on to deliver his scheduled speech with the bullet still in his body. After a few words, the former “Rough Rider” pulled the torn and bloodstained manuscript from his breast pocket and declared, “You see, it takes more than one bullet to kill a Bull Moose.” He spoke for nearly an hour and then was rushed to the hospital.

On October 16, 1918, visitors to the Southeastern Fair at the Lakewood Fairgrounds were required by the Georgia State Board of Health to don face masks in order to prevent the spread of the Spanish flu.

A.A. Milne published Winnie-the-Pooh on October 14, 1926. E. H. Shepard illustrated the Pooh books.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution took effect October 15, 1933, changing the Presidential term of office to begin and end on January 20th following each quadrennial election and Senate and Congress to January 3d following biennial elections, both from March 4th.

The War Department renamed Wellston Air Depot to Warner Robins Air Force Depot to honor Brigadier General Augustine Warner Robins on October 14, 1942.

Billy Graham launched his national ministry on October 15, 1949 in Los Angeles, California.

On October 14, 1964, Martin Luther King, Jr. was announced as the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming Georgia’s first native-born winner. The Atlanta Journal Constitution has a story on how King’s Nobel Prize effected Atlanta.

The honor wasn’t just a watershed for King and the civil rights movement but also for Atlanta. It set off a series of events that some say fundamentally changed the city’s business, religious and racial cultures by bringing blacks and whites together for the first time to share a meal in public.

That simple act, holding a multi-racial banquet in the new Nobel laureate’s honor, tested the will and even the nerves of those determined to make Atlanta a more just and inclusive place.

“It was a defining moment in the history of the city, and it should go down in the city’s documented memory,” said Janice R. Blumberg, the widow of Rabbi Jacob Rothschild, who was instrumental in organizing the event.

King’s three surviving children are due in court in December to determine if the 23-karat gold medal — along with a Bible their father once owned — should be sold at auction. Brothers Martin Luther King III and Dexter King, representing the King Estate, plan to sell the items. Sister Bernice King has opposed the sale.

Mayor Allen and J. Paul Austin, chairman of Coca-Cola, gathered the business elite at the Piedmont Driving Club. Allen warned then he would be taking notes on who did not attend the dinner. But Austin delivered the crushing blow.

According to Young’s written account, Austin said: “It is embarrassing for Coca-Cola to be located in a city that refuses to honor its Nobel Prize winner. We are an international business. The Coca-Cola Company does not need Atlanta. You all have to decide whether Atlanta needs the Coca-Cola Company.”

On October 15, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed legislation creating the United States Department of Transportation. May God have mercy upon his soul.

Interstate 285 around Atlanta was completed on October 15, 1969.

The Omni opened in Atlanta on  October 15, 1972, as the Hawks beat the New York Knicks by a score of 109-101.

Maynard Jackson was elected Mayor of Atlanta on October 16, 1973. Jackson was the first African-Amercian Mayor of Atlanta; he served eight years, and was elected for a third, non-consecutive term in 1990.

On October 16, 1976, Jimmy Carter campaigned in Youngstown, Ohio.

On October 14, 1980, Republican candidate for President Ronald Reagan announced he would name a woman to the Supreme Court if elected.

To achieve those ends, we need the best people possible at the highest levels of Government regardless of sex, race or religion. I am also acutely aware, however, that within the guidelines of excellence, appointments can carry enormous symbolic significance. This permits us to guide by example, to show how deep our commitment is and to give meaning to what we profess.

One way I intend to live up to that commitment is to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court. I am announcing today that one of the first Supreme Court vacancies in my administration will be filled by the most qualified woman I can find, one who meets the high standards I will demand for all my appointments.

It is time for a woman to sit among our highest jurists. I will also seek out women to appoint to other Federal courts in an effort to bring about a better balance on the Federal bench.

Former Secretary General of the Communist Party of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev won the Nobel Peace Prize on October 15, 1990

Georgia-born Clarence Thomas was confirmed as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court on October 15, 1991.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

United States Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Atlanta) and Republican challenger Herschel Walker will debate in Savannah tonight, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Here are other topics likely to be discussed during the debate, which begins at 7 p.m. and will be televised by WSAV (NBC affiliate) and WTGS (Fox) in Savannah, WJBF (ABC) in Augusta and WAGA (Fox) in Athens.

The [state abortion] ban alone would have made abortion a major issue in this year’s Senate race. Warnock is supportive of abortion rights, describing himself as a “pro-choice pastor,” while Walker has said he would support a nationwide ban. Walker has used Warnock’s support of abortion as an attack line.

Because Warnock has spent nearly two years in the Senate, the debate will likely include questions about his record — whether he is a pragmatic, effective senator for Georgia or a rubber stamp for the national agenda of an unpopular president.

“I’d like to talk about how Joe Biden and Raphael Warnock have hurt Georgia families,” said Walker during a press conference last week. “When he took office he said he was going to keep American families first, and instead he put Joe Biden first.”

From the start of July to the end of September, Warnock’s campaign brought in $26.3 million and $90 million since winning his runoff almost two years ago. In the most recent quarter, Walker raised $12 million — he has totaled $33 million since the start of the campaign. Warnock has $13.7 million on hand, Walker had $7 million.

Black male voters may be the key to the gubernatorial election this year, according to USA Today via the Savannah Morning News.

Abrams has trailed Republican Gov. Brian Kemp for much of the 2022 campaign. If she hopes to prevail in her much-anticipated rematch she’ll need to improve upon the coalition of first-time voters, young voters and Black voters, who helped her come within 1.4% of winning the governor’s race last time.

So far, though, not only has she not gained ground among Black voters, she’s significantly behind where she was in 2018.

In the closing weeks of the campaign, the Abrams campaign has been up front that it needs to shore up support with Black voters overall. Her team provided USA TODAY with internal polling showing Abrams within two points of Kemp, at 46% and 48% respectively, closer than previous public surveys. That’s also within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 3.1%.

Within those figures, Abrams holds a commanding 85%-to-9% lead over Kemp among Black voters. But that is 10 percentage points lower for her than in 2018.

Georgia voters, political experts and strategists told USA TODAY if Democrats want to win in Georgia and beyond, they must fundamentally rethink how they court Black men’s votes.

Black women increased by 5.4% in suburban counties and 3.6% in Georgia’s single urban county compared to 2018. But for Black men, the increase was noticeably less, with 3.5% in suburban counties and 1.6% in the lone urban county.

Abrams has had several events targeting Black male voters and has partnered with prominent entertainers like comedian Steve Harvey and rapper Common. She’s released a Black men’s agenda as well as a Black women’s agenda.

First Lady Jill Biden visited Fort Benning, according to WTVM.

After flying into the Army post on Air Force Two, she talked about an initiative the Biden Administration has been working on to continue supporting local service members.

“As our wars end, people may forget that your service and your sacrifice continue,” said Biden.

“Your physical, social and emotional health are critical to our national security, and that’s what “Joining Forces,” my White House initiative to support military and veteran families, caregivers and survivors, is all about. “We’re supporting military kid’s education. So students with disabilities have the resources that they need to thrive in their classrooms. And we’re amplifying on-base and off-base resources like vet centers so that military families can get mental health support when they need it,” she added.

Dr. Jill Biden will be staying overnight on base. [Friday] morning, she will meeting with service members in basic training and host a roundtable discussion with military families on base.

FLOTUS will also campaign with Stacey Abrams, according to WRDW.

According to her office, the First Lady will begin her day visiting service members at Fort Benning. She will appear with Abrams “at a political event in Atlanta,” her office said.

The First Lady’s appearance comes only hours before Abrams and Gov. Brian Kemp are scheduled to meet in their first of two debates: Monday, Oct. 17, and Sunday, Oct. 30, both beginning at 7 p.m.

Also ahead of the debate, Citizens for a Greater Georgia and the Atlanta Young Republicans are hosting a day of action in support of Kemp, Insurance Commissioner John King and Liz Hausmann’s state Senate district 14 campaign. Former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler will join the candidates in canvassing nearby neighborhoods.

The Carter Center will monitor Fulton County elections in November, according to the Associated Press via AccessWDUN.

The Center, co-founded in 1982 by former President Jimmy Carter and Roslaynn Carter, announced Thursday it agreed to observe Fulton voting and vote-counting at the request of a bipartisan group of Georgia elections officials. The move is seemingly intended to ease partisan tensions over how elections are conducted in the state and boost public confidence in the final tallies. But it also comes as part of a new state law that Georgia Republicans could use to take over elections management in the heavily Democratic county that is home to Atlanta.

Elections monitoring internationally has been part of The Carter Center’s operations for decades, but it has more recently turned its attention to U.S. elections, as distrust in democratic processes has accelerated in recent years. After the 2020 election, Carter Center officials monitored the audit of the state’s 5 million presidential ballots that affirmed Democrat Joe Biden’s victory over Trump.

“We are grateful to The Carter Center for providing their expertise and believe that it will help lead to an efficient resolution of the performance review process,” said Ryan Germany, general counsel to the Georgia secretary of state’s office a member of the Performance Review Board appointed to assess Fulton County.

Cathy Woolard, chair of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections, said the local panel is “glad for this opportunity to ensure confidence in our elections process,” and she noted the Center’s extensive work abroad as a measure of credibility.

Fulton County accounts for about 11% of Georgia’s electorate. Biden won nearly 73% of the county’s votes in November 2020. He won statewide by fewer than 12,000 votes out of about 5 million cast. The county is about 45.5% white, 44.5% Black and about 7.6% people of Asian descent, according to U.S. Census data.

Gwinnett County is having trouble hiring enough bilingual poll workers, according to WRDW.

Bilingual poll workers are essential because they help voters who don’t speak English on election night.

“I need bilingual poll workers at my poll in Lilburn,” Election Poll Manager Anita Redd said.

“I have contacted Spanish-speaking churches, I’ve been on Facebook, I have been texting, I have been emailing, I’ve been talking to people in schools where I substitute teach,” Redd said she has been recruiting hard but still needs at least four people who speak a foreign language to work her polling precinct at the Oak Road Lutheran Church in Gwinnett.

”I haven’t been able to find any and get them through the recruiting process.”

With time running out before election night, she said roughly a quarter of the 3,500 people expected to show up to the Oak Road Lutheran polling precinct are Latino voters, and she’s worried there might be a language barrier if she can’t recruit fast enough.

Redd said there are 155 polling precincts in Gwinnett and there has to be at least one Spanish speaking poll worker at each.

The Gwinnett County Communications Department told Atlanta News First the county elections department is also aggressively recruiting bilingual staff members and even offering $415 incentives to people who speak Spanish.

United States Representative Sanford Bishop (D-Albany) campaigned in Columbus, according to WTVM.

The state of the economy has been a huge topic of discussion. During his stop, Congressman Bishop made sure voters were aware of the relief funds his office provided to help Muscogee County and surrounding areas handle inflation.

Part of his role involves serving on the House Committee on Appropriations, overseeing federal funding. With his experience in the position in 2003, during a stop to Columbus Wednesday, Congressman Bishop told local voters about things his office did to help Georgians through the pandemic.

“Large communities like Columbus got millions of dollars to supplement their budgets,” said Congressman Bishop.

“Insulin is life-saving but it costs many people $200 to $900 a month, and folks can’t afford to pay that. What were able to do in the Inflation Reduction Act was to lower the cost and put a cap on that insulin at $35 a month,” said Representative Bishop.

Congressman Bishop also denounced Russian President Vladmir Putin for his role in the war with Ukraine.

“Every Democracy in the world now is being challenged by these authoritarian actors. And so, what we’ve got to do is we can’t allow ourselves to be bullied — allow a bully like Putin to just decide he’s just going to take over,” said Congressman Bishop.

He also gave his opinion on what he believes is the greatest threat to democracy, saying, “There are voting restrictions that are being put in place all across the country which will limit the strength of our vote. So we’ve got to vote like we’ve never voted before and we’ve got to protect our voting rights.”

Early voting is set to begin on Oct. 17. Anyone unable to make it to a polling location has until Oct. 28 to request an absentee ballot. Early voting will end on Nov. 4 and the official election day is Nov. 8.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger campaigned in Columbus, according to WALB.

“Under the Election Integrity Act, we had 800,000 more voters than ever before. We’ll make sure we have fair and honest elections. It’s never been easier to register to vote. It’s never been easier to vote.”

Raffensperger predicts a high voter turnout for the upcoming midterms, driven by several national issues, including the economy and abortion — not to mention the important congressional, state and local offices.

United States Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Atlanta) spoke about healthcare and agriculture, according to WALB.

One of the most recent things he’s done is secure resources to provide clinical health options for families in southwest Georgia.

“These resources are for Emory University to train nurses to deliver healthcare in mobile health units,” Sen. Ossoff said. “Here’s what that means for folks in south Georgia and the Albany area, it means more healthcare services that come to you and your community.”

“These resources are coming to the state now. And one of the partnerships will be in the Moultrie area. So improved and expanded mobile health services are on their way to south Georgia,” Sen. Ossoff said.

Sen. Ossoff is also working on a bipartisan bill that would help local farmers sell their produce to schools. He says this will help to ensure that students in southwest Georgia are eating fresh, Georgia-grown products for their school lunches.

“This just encourages the school to bring in locally grown food. So that our kids get the fresh, healthy, nutritious food that they need. And so that Georgia farmers can sell and serve to Georgia’s schools,” Sen. Ossoff said.

Former Democratic Governor Roy Barnes endorsed Republican Tyler Harper for Agriculture Commissioner, according to the Capitol Beat News Service.

Former Gov. Roy Barnes threw his backing Thursday behind the seventh-generation farmer and small business owner from Ocilla.

“Tyler has a proven track record of delivering results for Georgia families and communities,” Barnes said in a prepared statement.

“Tyler will use his background and experience to fight for our farmers, producers, and consumers across Georgia and advance our state’s No.-1 industry.”

“Even though Governor Barnes and I may not see eye to eye on every policy position, I look forward to our continued work together to ensure the Georgia agriculture industry is successful,” Harper added.

The Gainesville Times profiles the candidates in State Senate District 49 and State Senate District 50.

Georgia Ports could see reduced traffic during an economic correction, according to the Center Square via the Albany Herald.

While the Georgia Ports Authority continues to handle a high volume of freight, officials are warning that its growth could moderate, another sign of a looming economic “correction.”

“We’re expecting a gradual easing in demand based on several factors, including a shift in the balance of consumer spending away from goods and back to services, and the impact of inflation on the economy,” GPA Board Chairman Joel Wooten said in a release. “After having increased trade at a compound annual growth rate of 14 percent over the past two fiscal years, this change will represent a return to a more typical rate of growth for GPA.”

Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams is under fire for spending and travel expenses, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

“It’s a smear campaign and it’s very unfortunate,” Williams said. “I have tried to work with the county manager to put our differences aside and he’s obviously not willing to do that.””

In July 2021, Williams requested control of the sheriff’s office budget from the Burke County Commission.

The board agreed to turn over control in October 2021. But when that didn’t happen, Williams filed a mandamus lawsuit. The county filed a countersuit and a judge ultimately ruled in its favor, stating the sheriff didn’t show evidence the board had refused any of his funding requests.

The Burke County Board of Commissioners later initiated a deep dive into his bank account activity and requested a review by the Lanier, Deal & Proctor accounting firm.

After the firm concluded it’s audit, it recommended the board seek legal advice.

Williams said he questions the impartiality of the audit, stating the auditor has a long-standing relationship with the county.

Georgia State Representative Henry “Wayne” Howard died, according to WRDW.

Howard was the representative for District 124.

“We have lost a husband, father, grandfather, brother and all around family man who valued and loved us unconditionally, just as we did him,” his family said in a statement.

“He was a pillar in our family, the Augusta community and the state of Georgia. While we grieve, we also celebrate the life he led and example he set for all of us; we were blessed to have him,” the statement continued. “We kindly ask that you respect our privacy during this time.”