Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for September 27, 2017

On September 27, 1779, John Jay, who previously served as President of the Continental Congress, was appointed minister to Spain to seek Spanish support for the revolution.

President Franklin Roosevelt made his ninth visit to Warm Springs, Georgia on September 27, 1927.

September 27 is a red-letter day for the Atlanta Braves and pitcher John Smoltz. The team won a record 14th straight Division Championship on this day in 2005. Smoltz set a team record for regular season wins (24) on September 27, 1996 and extended his team record for strikeouts hitting 276. On September 27, 2002, Smoltz set a National League record with 54 saves.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Senator Johnny Isakson is working to retain the US role in commercial development of nuclear power.

Georgia Power and other sponsors of the Vogtle expansion are eligible for an $800 million tax credit if the reactors are up and operating by Jan. 1, 2021.

The tax credit is essential to making the expansion economically viable. But hope of meeting that deadline has dried up. Georgia Power says the new reactors will be operational by late 2022, at a cost of $28 billion — about double the original estimate.

Isakson said he’s likely to tack an extension for the nuclear energy tax credit to “catch-all” legislation in late December, perhaps coupled with tax breaks targeted for wind, solar or biomass interests.

“There are plenty of opportunities. There are also plenty of folks who have an interest in tax credits in the Senate who will need help getting theirs through,’ Isakson said. “I know who they are and where some of them live.”

Isakson’s new role as a protector of nuclear power has an element of karma. In the early 1980s, at the beginning of his political career and when he first became the House minority leader in the state Capitol, Isakson was a key supporter of legislation that allowed the first nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle to be built.

Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert “Bob” McMahon has been nominated as assistant secretary of defense for logistics and materiel readiness.

He retired from his position at Robins Air Force Base in 2012 and has remained in the community, serving as president of the 21st Century Partnership more than a year following his retirement.

President Donald Trump’s nomination is pending Senate confirmation, and McMahon said he isn’t sure how long that might take.

“I am honored that the president and the secretary of defense have given me this opportunity,” he said. “If confirmed by the Senate, I’ll be humbled to once again serve our nation with those who protect our freedoms.”

“I think it will be a good thing for Robins and the Air Force,” Brooks said. “He is the right guy, and I don’t think President Trump could have made a better choice. I think it’s always good to have friends of Robins and friends of Middle Georgia and the Robins community in high places.”

“General McMahon and his wife Hope have contributed their time, talent and treasure to the Museum of Aviation Foundation for many years,” Chrissy Miner, president of the Museum of Aviation Foundation, said in a statement. “His demonstrated leadership, not only at the Museum of Aviation Foundation but in Middle Georgia as a whole, shows that he is the absolute right person for this appointment, and we couldn’t be more proud.”

Congressman Doug Collins (R-Gainesville) introduced legislation to name the Clermont post office after Zack T. Addington, a marine who was killed in action in Vietnam.

Six University System of Georgia professors are suing over campus carry legislation.

The professors hope to overturn the controversial guidelines using a legal argument that the “campus carry” law usurps the University System of Georgia’s constitutional authority over its campuses. Their complaint was filed Monday in Fulton County Superior Court against Gov. Nathan Deal and Georgia Attorney Georgia Chris Carr.

The professors, who’ve been teaching at various University System of Georgia (USG) campuses between 16 and 40 years, believe guns in the classroom stifle discussion on contentious issues, will lead to more student suicides and could create a safety hazard if a firearm is accidentally discharged in areas with hazardous materials.

University of Georgia geography professor John Knox, who is described in the complaint as a gun owner, said guns on campus “make the learning environment less safe for everyone and negatively impact his educational mission.” Valdosta State professor Michael Noll fears “armed intimidation or gun violence from students who receive failing grades.” Noll has posted a “no weapons” sign on his faculty office door, according to the complaint. Aristotelis Santas, a Valdosta State professor, said he “will no longer promote discussion of hot-button issues in his classroom” and allows students to leave his class if they don’t feel safe.

The Georgia State Road and Tollway Authority received an award from the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association.

The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association chose SRTA as the recipient of the Presidents Award for its Commuter Credits Pilot Program. The program is designed to offer drivers an alternative to driving by themselves on the interstate during peak traffic hours.

“SRTA is pleased to be recognized by our peers for our work on the pilot program,” SRTA executive director Chris Tomlinson said in a statement. “Results show us that commuters are willing to try new methods of transportation given the right incentive.

“We hope that transit agencies use our experience as a best practice to highlight the benefits of collaboration and cross promotion of services.”

State officials said the credits program was designed to get drivers to consider either riding transit systems such as Gwinnett County Transit or Xpress buses on I-85, shifting their driving schedules away from peak traffic times or participating in carpools.

The idea, at least in the transit option is to give riders toll lane credits for taking a buses rather than driving during peak hours.

State House District Four received two additional candidates for the November Special Election.

Kasey Carpenter, owner of the Oakwood Cafe and Cherokee Pizza and Brewing, and computer programmer Peter Pociask qualified Tuesday for the Nov. 7 special election for the District 4 seat in the state House of Representatives that became open when Bruce Broadrick stepped down for health reasons recently.

Carpenter unsuccessfully challenged Broadrick in the 2016 Republican primary.

Republican Party activist Beau Patton, who had previously announced plans to run for the District 4 seat next year, was the sole qualifier on Monday, according to the Secretary of State’s website.

The race is nonpartisan, but the candidates have the option of listing a party identification. Carpenter and Patton listed Republican. Pociask listed the Democratic Party.

Cobb County Commissioners adopted a $403 million dollar budget for FY 2018.

Chairman Mike Boyce’s $403.4 million budget for fiscal 2018 was approved by a 3-2 vote with Lisa Cupid and Bob Ott voting against.

“When you defund challenged populations, you are paying for it, whether or not you want to. And I’m very concerned about the fallout of not paying for or not continuing to pay for some of these services that impact the population,” Cupid said, but added that some residents in her district had shared concerns that the distribution of nonprofit funding was inequitable as their organizations of choice were not getting any county dollars.

Commissioner Bob Ott kept his comments on the matter brief, saying he did not see in Boyce’s budget a way to continue to fund operations without needing one-time funds.

“I just don’t see that in there. That’s all I really need to say,” he said, referring to the $20.8 million the county is using to balance the budget.

The Valdosta Police Department will hold public meetings to discuss a proposed curfew for youth.

The ordinance would make it where “juveniles from the age of 7 to 16 are prohibited from roaming the street from midnight to 5 a.m. unless they have a legitimate excuse to include being accompanied by a parent/legal guardian,” according to a statement from VPD.

It would also hold parents and legal guardians responsible for failing to properly supervise juveniles.

The ordinance is designed to prevent juveniles from being charged with serious crime, prevent serious injury to juveniles, help parents who may require assistance with supervision of their juvenile and reduce crime in the city at night, according to the VPD.

Dalton State College celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Gwinnett County Public Schools had higher SAT scores than the state average,

Gwinnett’s Class of 2017 received an average score of 1084 out of a possible 1600. That’s 24 points higher than the national average and 34 points higher than the state average.

The Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology scored highest on the SAT in Gwinnett with a 1315.

Gwinnett students scored an average of 545 on the evidence-based reading and writing score and 539 on the mathematics section. Possible scores in both section range from 200 to 800.

Muscogee County schools also posted higher than state average numbers.

The Muscogee County School District’s average total score on the SAT beat the state average for the first time (by 1 point) and the average of Georgia’s three other second-tier cities by more than 50 points – and is 9 points shy of the national average.

MCSD’s average total score is 1051, Georgia’s is 1050 and the nation’s is 1060, according to results for the graduating class of 2017 released Tuesday by the New York-based College Board, which administers the SAT college entrance exam.

The Columbus public schools in Muscogee County outperformed the school districts in Georgia’s three other second-tier cities: Bibb County (Macon) scored 909, Chatham County (Savannah) 978 and Richmond County (Augusta) 996.

Georgia Department of Revenue approved the tax digest for Muscogee County, which will send property tax bills today.

The Georgia Elections Board settled a complaint involving a 2014 Cobb County election.

[T]he State Election Board signed off on a consent order that publicly reprimands former Tybee Council Candidate Stephen Friedman and resolves all matters involving his 2015 candidacy for public office, along with his participation in an election in Cobb County, Ga., in 2014.

The election board also ordered Friedman to “cease and desist from further violations of the Election Code” and levied a civil penalty of $500.

The state board was first brought on to review Friedman’s candidacy and earlier voting habits in 2016, when Tybee Island City Councilman Monty Parks brought the case to its attention.

Originally at issue was whether Friedman made a false statement under oath when he qualified to run for Tybee City Council in September 2015. Tybee requires its candidates to have lived on the island for a full year before they’re eligible to run for municipal office, but eagle-eyed city residents discovered that Friedman had actually participated in another election in Marietta, Ga., one day short of a year before the 2015 general election.

During the hearing before the election board in Savannah last summer, Friedman described casting the ballot in Marietta as an oversight and stressed that he considered himself a resident of Tybee as of September 2014. That assurance, however, raised further questions about whether he intentionally deceived polling officials when he voted in Cobb County in 2014. After a long discussion of the issue, the election board voted last year to continue the investigation at hand.

Rincon City Council continued 20 years of rolling back the property tax millage rate entirely.

Bryan County has more registered voters than eligible residents, according to a lawsuit.

According to the [Public Interest Legal Foundation] registered voters in Bryan County for the 2016 Election equaled 101 percent of the adults in the county of voting age.

“During the 2016 Election, 24 states had bloated voter rolls,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “Voter fraud begins with corrupted voter rolls. Our nation’s voter rolls have records that cannot be distinguished between living or dead; citizen or alien; resident or relocated. We hear about possible cyber-attacks, but we aren’t doing enough to fix voter rolls that are certainly corrupt. The voter rolls are so bad in some states that election officials would have a hard time telling the difference between sabotage and negligence.”

After learning of the accusation Bryan County Election Supervisor Cindy Reynolds released a statement saying that the Bryan County Board of Elections is not aware of the data used by the PILF to make the claim. And, that in Georgia, voter rolls are maintained by the state through the Secretary of State – not local the elections boards.

“On July 28, 2017, the SOS purged our files, and removed 2,934 voters from our roll due to no activity for two General Election cycles. This is a regular process of the SOS provided by Georgia laws to ensure that our voting rolls are as accurate as possible. The SOS also uses the vital records to remove, on a regular basis, individuals who have passed away,” said Reynolds.

“The board takes its obligations very seriously and makes every effort to make sure that all citizens have their right to vote,” she added.

Warner Robins City Council candidates met in a forum last night.

Post 3 Councilman Keith Lauritsen and his challenger, Terri Murray, were the first to take the stage. They were followed by three of the four candidates for the open Post 1 seat, which is a citywide post. Those candidates were Eric Langston, Daron Lee and Jim Taylor. The no-show was Jeffery Walker, who called in earlier and said he couldn’t make it due to an illness.