Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for September 24, 2018

James Oglethorpe was named Commissioner of Indian Affairs and Charles Wesley was named Secretary of Indian Affairs by the Georgia Trustees in London on September 24, 1735.

The Judiciary Act of 1789, which established the first federal judicial system, was adopted on September 24, 1789 with the signature of President Georgia Washington. Under the Act, the original size of the Supreme Court was five Associate Justices and a Chief Justice. Washington nominated John Jay as Chief Justice, and John Rutledge, William Cushing, John Blair, Robert Harrison, and James Wilson as Associates.

Also established on September 24, 1789 were the office of Attorney General of the United States and the United States Post Office Department.

On September 24, 1862, the Confederate Congress adopted the Seal of the Confederate States of America.

The Decatur Female Seminary opened with 60 students on September 24, 1889 and would later be chartered as Agnes Scott College.

White vigilantes seeking to assault African-Americans after reports of four white women being assaulted led to the Atlanta Race Riots on September 22-24, 1906, which would claim the lives of at least 25 African-Americans and one white person.

On September 24, 1960, USS Enterprise CVN-65, was launched from Newport News Shipbuilding in Norfolk, Virginia, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Enterprise was inactivated on December 1, 2012.

On September 24, 1976, former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter resumed campaigning after the first debate against President Gerald Ford.

On September 24, 1979, CompuServe offered the first dial-up computer information service to consumers.

Launched as MicroNET in 1979 and sold through Radio Shack stores, the service turned out to be surprisingly popular, thanks perhaps to Radio Shack’s Tandy Model 100 computers, which were portable, rugged writing machines that dovetailed very nicely with the fledgling, 300-baud information service.

MicroNET was renamed the CompuServe Information Service in 1980. Around the same time, CompuServe began working with newspapers to offer online versions of their news stories, starting with the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch in 1980. At least 10 major newspapers were offering online editions through CompuServe by 1982, including The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and the San Francisco Examiner.

On September 24, 2009, it was announced that the College Football Hall of Fame would move to Atlanta, where it opened on August 23, 2014.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Vice President Mike Pence rescheduled his trip to Georgia in support of Brian Kemp’s campaign, according to the AJC.

Vice President Mike Pence is set to make a second trip to Georgia to stump for Republican Brian Kemp’s campaign for governor on Oct. 11, rescheduling a visit that was scrapped earlier this month due to Hurricane Florence.

He will attend a “Victory Dinner” organized by the Georgia GOP that will also feature Gov. Nathan Deal, U.S. Sens. Johnny Isakson and David Perdue and House Speaker David Ralston. It’s not immediately clear if he’ll make other stops while in Georgia.

Pence will be the second vice president to visit Georgia in a two-week span, as former Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to arrive in Atlanta on Thursday to boost Democrat Stacey Abrams.

Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden will campaign in Georgia with Stacey Abrams, according to WSAV.

Abrams’ campaign spokeswoman Caitlin Highland confirmed the visit Friday. Highland said Biden would join Abrams for an event Thursday, though the location was not immediately clear.

Stacey Abrams campaigned for Governor in Brunswick on Friday, according to The Brunswick News.

Former ambassador and U.S. Sen. Wyche Fowler, an unexpected sight on the afternoon, joked there were a few people on hand who were old enough to remember him.

“Stacey is smart, she is ethical, she believes in public policy — helping people — not just power,” Fowler said. “She will work for all of us, at any age, at any income level, to make the playing field level and opportunistic for people who need education, health care. We are extremely fortunate to have a candidate of her caliber, and as you have been implored by all our local Democrats, we can win this. But I think that Stacey will probably tell you, it’s really not up to her. It’s up to us.”

Abrams emphasized the need to build up Georgia without the myopia that sometimes develops around Metro Atlanta.

“The thing of it is, we can’t be a state that tells you you have to move to Atlanta or Savannah to make a life,” Abrams said. “I want every Georgian to make a living where they want to make their lives.”

She also reiterated her strong support for Medicaid expansion, which she said is the only way to solve the state’s health care crisis. Abrams said spending $250 million will turn into $3 billion for health care, heading off a future that in several years could result in a quarter of the state’s residents being uninsured, citing a Georgia Chamber of Commerce study. At the time of the study in 2016, the state led the nation in uninsured residents at 13.9 percent. She said Medicaid expansion would result in 56,000 jobs, the majority of which would not be based in Metro Atlanta.

“That’s math that gives 500,000 Georgians access to health insurance — most of whom are working poor,” Abrams said. “That’s $3 billion to help us save half of the rural hospitals that are on the brink of closure, and possibly bring back the seven that have already shut down.”

An elementary school in Conyers was closed due to a norovirus outbreak, according to AccessWDUN.

Columbia County Republicans rallied on Saturday, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

Richard Woods, the Republican state schools superintendent, said he is counting on his “solid record” to carry him to victory again. On Wednesday, the state Department of Education released numbers showing Georgia’s highest graduation rate in state history.

“We ran four years ago on some topics – reducing testing, putting the emphasis back on our children. We’ve been able to accomplish that,” Woods said. “Our career tech program is probably ranked No. 1 or 2 in the nation. That’s really what we want to focus on – continuing to give our kids the opportunities so they can succeed wherever they decide to go in life.”

Geoff Duncan, Georgia’s Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, said GOP candidates are running not only against Democrats in Georgia but against Democrats nationwide, pointing to the amount of out-of-state fundraising of which many Georgia Democrats have been the recipients.

“I spent the first two weeks of this general election talking about (Democratic gubernatorial candidate) Stacey Abrams raising money against (Republican) Brian Kemp out in Hollywood, and then two weeks ago I picked up the newspaper and I read an article about my opponent having a fundraiser in Hollywood,” Duncan said. “This is real. They want to short-circuit the system and try to prove to the rest of the country that if they get enough money in these places they can beat conservative leadership.”

Duncan said he wants Republican voters to show up in droves to “send a message” that out-of-state campaign money is ’a terrible investment” for Democrats.

Democrat Lisa Ring campaigned at the Savannah NAACP for the First Congressional District seat held by Republican Buddy Carter (Pooler), according to the Savannah Morning News.

Savannah-Chatham County public school parents have more concerns about bullying than armed gunmen, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Parents are more concerned about bullying in Savannah-Chatham County public schools than armed gunman entering the schools, according to an informal survey taken at a School Safety Task Force meeting last week at Islands High School.

About 60 percent agreed or strongly agreed the schools had “enough of a law enforcement presence,” and over half – 53 percent – of the parents, staff members and citizens who attended the meeting said they agreed or strongly agreed the school system was doing enough to screen visitors to school buildings.

But not a single participant agreed the school system was “adequately” addressing bullying. Instead, 29 percent strongly disagreed, another 29 percent disagreed and the remaining respondents said they were neutral when asked how well the district was dealing with bullying.

The School Safety Task Force meeting was the first of four scheduled meetings designed to explain the resources available in the district. Topics included the district’s emergency measures, from metal detectors to new school resources officers, to its counseling, social work and well-being services. The well-being services will cover issues from grief counseling to behavioral issues and preparing for college.

The Gwinnett County Human Relations Commission will host a Human Trafficking Education Forum on Wednesday at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

“Human trafficking is a significant problem in metro Atlanta, including Gwinnett County,” said Human Relations Commission Chairman Fernando Andrade. “There are many warning signs a child is being held against her or his will that people could miss. It could be a homemade tattoo, or a male who answers questions directed to a female, or other more subtle indicators that someone is being trafficked. This session can help people spot telltale signs that could lead to a person being rescued.”

Forum speakers include trafficking survivors, health care professionals, police and others with experience in identifying and helping rehabilitate victims.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. to give the public an opportunity to talk with community organizations dedicated to stopping human trafficking and to helping victims.

The Annual Council of Accountability Courts Conference in Athens brought together representatives from accountability courts across Georgia, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.

The conference was titled “Georgia’s Accountability Courts: Growing in the Right Direction,” county officials said.

Gov. Nathan Deal spoke at the event and announced Georgia now has an accountability court operating in every judicial circuit with a total of 156 accountability courts in the state, county officials said.

The state goal is to continue to expand the number of participants in each court and to increase the number of accountability courts in Georgia.

The goal of DUI Court is to protect public safety by strictly adhering to the highly successful Georgia DUI court model established by Georgia law and the Council of Accountability Court Judges of Georgia which focuses on participant accountability and long-term treatment.

DUI courts provide more comprehensive and closer supervision than traditional court probationary sentences.

Hall County may host a new inland port, according to the Gainesville Times.

A proposed inland port in Hall County would use existing rail lines and connect Hall to the port in Savannah, making it easier for local businesses to import and export goods.

The project is still in the early planning stages, but if everything goes according to plan, the port would likely open in 2021, according to John Trent, senior director of strategic operations with the Georgia Ports Authority. Construction would take about 18 to 24 months, he said.

Trent said about 50,000 containers would probably come through the port in the first year, although that number would likely increase by about 50 percent by the port’s third year of operation.

The port would use existing Norfolk Southern rail lines in Hall County, according to Trent. Chris Riley, Gov. Nathan Deal’s chief of staff, also referenced the port’s use of Norfolk Southern lines at a Gainesville Rotary Club meeting on Sept. 10.

Hall County’s location near interstate highways and industry, as well as existing rail lines, makes it suitable for an inland port, Trent said.

“You want to be near an interstate or major artery, which Hall County has. In addition to that, you want to be near industry. …. Within the 11 counties surrounding Hall County, there’s a significant amount of warehouse space and distribution centers,” Trent said. “There’s over 2 million people that are within that area, so that’s a big draw to move freight into that respective area.”

Statesboro City Council heard proposals for three new citizen panels, but declined to take action, according to the Statesboro Herald.

Glynn County Public Schools will participate in a bullying and suicide prevention campaign, according to The Brunswick News.