Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for September 20, 2018

On September 20, 1863, the Confederate Army of the Tennessee under General Braxton Bragg repelled Union forces under General William Rosencrans at the Battle of Chickamauga. After Gettysburg, Chickamauga is generally considered the second-bloodiest battle of the Civil War, with 18,500 Confederate casualties and 16,100 Union dead.

The first classes at Oglethorpe University under it’s current non-denominational charter were held on September 20, 1916. Happy 101st Anniversary to the Stormy Petrels. The university was originally affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and located in Midway, Georgia. In 1870, after a period of closure during the Civil War they relocated to the Atlanta area. Currently, a collection of more than 20,000 pieces of political campaign materials is on display at the Weltner Library on Oglethorpe’s campus.

On September 20, 1976, Playboy magazine released an interview with Jimmy Carter, then a candidate for President.

During the 1976 campaigns, a 13-foot tall smiling peanut sculpture was created by the Indiana Democratic Party for Carter’s presidential campaign.

Since 1976, the Jimmy Carter Smiling Peanut has held its position as the world’s second largest peanut, “the most photographed thing in Plains”, and one of the oddest monuments to a politician worldwide. Unfortunately, in 2000, a reckless driver crashed into the peanut, whose wooden hoops, chicken wire, and aluminum foil weren’t enough to keep it upright. After the accident, the peanut was moved from the Plains train depot to the Davis E-Z Shop in Plains, where it remains today. Although the peanut has been kept in pristine form, the fence surrounding it has become dilapidated as a result of over a decade of tourists posing for photos on it.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Western Judicial Circuit Senior Judge David Sweat ordered a December 4 election for State House District 28, comprising parts of Habersham, Banks and Stephens counties, according to AccessWDUN.

On Tuesday, Senior Judge David Sweat set aside the May 22 House District 28 Republican Primary, saying ballot errors led to at least 70 voters who were assigned to the wrong state House district. That’s three more than the 67-vote margin of victory that challenger Chris Erwin had over incumbent Rep. Dan Gasaway, casting doubt on the results of that primary.

Wednesday morning, attorneys for Gasaway, Erwin, Stephens County and Habersham County appeared before Sweat for a determination of when a new election might be held.

“We really, really wanted this to go forward on Nov. 6,” Gasaway’s attorney Jake Evans told the judge. “We thought it was best for all involved.”

Dec. 4 is the runoff date for the Nov. 6 General Primary, so polls likely already will be open on that day.

The new House District 28 election will be open to all registered voters in the district who were eligible to vote May 22 and who remain eligible to vote. Additionally, voters cannot have voted a Democratic ballot on May 22.

“The judge made a ruling that we expected back on June 5 when we realized Habersham County had admitted to all these errors,” Gasaway said. “We’re just glad to be at the finish line, or what we hope is the finish line. Obviously, there’s an opportunity for the others to appeal, but we really feel like the facts were clear and the law is clear, and the right decision was made.” [State Rep. Dan Gasaway told AccessWDUN].

Allman Brothers Band member Dickey Betts is hospitalized in “critical but severe” condition after easing out of a second story window soft and slow falling at his Florida home, according to the Macon Telegraph.

Republican Brian Kemp rolled out a school safety plan in his campaign for Governor, according to the AJC.

The current secretary of state unveiled Wednesday a “three-prong” approach he said will ensure Georgia classrooms are ripe for learning — not violence: a school counselor in all 343 state public high schools; one-time funding for schools to spend as they see fit; and a school safety division within the Georgia Department of Education.

Kemp’s opponent in the November race for governor also held a press conference Wednesday to announce her endorsement by the Georgia Association of Educators, one of the state’s largest education groups.

Floyd County and surrounding areas have an aging population, according to the Rome News-Tribune.

Georgia’s unemployment rate dipped below the national average, according to AccessWDUN.

State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler’s office released the monthly average on Thursday morning. The rate, at 3.8 percent, is approaching the state’s record low of 3.4 percent, set in 2000. At 3.8 percent, it is down .1 percent from July. By comparison, the national rate is 3.9 percent.

Last August’s statewide rate was 4.5 percent.

At the same time, Georgia set records for jobs and employed residents. Unemployment claims also fell in August.

“This is a true milestone for us,” Butler said. “As a state that’s seen its workforce expand very quickly, it should be hard for us to drive the unemployment rate down so low. However, we have been employing new workers as fast as we have been adding them. These numbers show how dynamic our economy has been and continues to be.”

Gwinnett County Publics Schools four-year graduation rate exceeded the state average for the third consecutive year, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

The Georgia Department of Transportation will hold an event next week in Augusta for businesses interested in working on agency projects, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

Chatham County Probate Court Judge Tom Bordeaux was sued for allegedly wrongfully denying a carry permit, according to the Savannah Morning News.

The suit, filed in Chatham County Superior Court for Joseph Edward Smith, contends Bordeaux did not complete the processing of Smith’s application within the 35-day time limit.

The suit said the maximum time allowed for processing the application is 35 days, and said there’s a 10-day limit to issue the license to an eligible person after receiving a criminal background check. Bordeaux routinely exceeds those time frames, the suit said.

The judge, who was named individually and as probate judge, denied Smith’s application “under the (mistaken) belief” that Smith was convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence in a 2006 case, the suit said.

Three environmental groups wrote a letter about possible development at Cumberland Island, according to the Savannah Morning News.

“In 1972, Congress explicitly stated in legislation establishing Cumberland Island National Seashore that ‘the seashore shall be permanently preserved in its primitive state, and no development of the project or plan for the convenience of visitors shall be undertaken which would be incompatible with the preservation of the unique flora and fauna or the physiographic conditions,’” begins the Aug. 22 letter to Cumberland Superintendent Gary Ingram from Dave Kyler of the Center for a Sustainable Coast, William Tomlin of the Georgia Sierra Club and Carol Ruckdeschel of Wild Cumberland.

“Therefore, we write to remind you that federal law obligates you to maintain Cumberland Island in its primitive state and that nothing in federal law empowers you to authorize the construction of any buildings or other facilities for private operations within the National Seashore boundaries.”

The Hospital Authority of Valdosta and Lowndes County met in a closed session to begin address concerns raised by The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.

Twenty state legislators signed a letter expressing concerns about the cost of new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen.

The Brunswick City Commission approved public works project including 110 miles of road resurfacing and a splash pad for Mary Ross Waterfront Park, according to The Brunswick Times.