Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for September 3, 2025

The Stars and Stripes first flew in battle on September 3, 1776 at Cooch’s Bridge, Delaware.

On September 4, 1682, Edmund Halley first sighted the comet that bears his name.

A fleet of 22 French ships arrived off the coast of Savannah on September 3, 1779 to help wrest control of the city from the British.

Scheduled steamship service first began on September 4, 1807, when Robert Fulton’s North River Steamboat began plying the trade on the Hudson River.

On September 3, 1862, the writ of habeas corpus was suspended in Atlanta and within five miles of its border by the Confederate government. Two years later, September 3, 1864, General William T. Sherman would occupy Atlanta.

General William T. Sherman ordered all civilians out of Atlanta on September 4, 1864.

The Georgia General Assembly expelled 25 of 29 African-American members from the State House on September 3, 1868, arguing that Georgia’s constitution did not allow them to hold office.

Vince Dooley was born on September 4, 1932.

Anne Frank, age 15, and seven other Jews who were hiding together in Amsterdam were the last Dutch prisoners transported to Auschwitz on September 3, 1944.

Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus called out National Guard troops to prevent the desegregation under court order of Little Rock’s Central High School on September 4, 1957.

Having received the Democratic nomination for President, Jimmy Carter began the General Election with an address from his front porch in Plains, Georgia on September 3, 1976.

Some Savannah residents are floating the idea of moving NS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered merchant ship, to coastal Georgia, according to the AJC.

The NS Savannah is the first of only three nuclear-powered merchant vessels ever built. Like its namesake SS Savannah, the first steam-powered vessel to cross the Atlantic Ocean, the NS Savannah was a global phenomenon. Between 1962 and 1970 it traveled 458,000 nautical miles, entertained 848 passengers (including two kings) in stylish comfort, hosted nearly 1.4 million visitors while in port and carried cargo between the U.S. and Europe.

An informal coalition of Savannahians has a new home in mind for the NS Savannah. Led by John Cay, a prominent insurance broker and real estate developer, the group is exploring turning the ship into a floating museum and special events venue at a slip next to the Savannah Convention Center.

Cay and other Georgia boosters are in talks with the ship’s caretaker, the U.S. Maritime Administration, about moving the NS Savannah south in the next two years. The Maritime Administration’s Erhard Koehler told visitors at a recent open house aboard the ship that the Savannah group is “well advanced” in its effort.

It would represent a homecoming of sorts for the storied ship. After the NS Savannah was retired, it was first docked in Savannah during the early 1970s before being moved to other Eastern Seaboard ports in a decadeslong search for a final resting place.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

United States District Court Judge Marc Treadwell (MD-GA) ruled against a motion to dismiss a federal voting rights lawsuit against the Houston County Board of Elections, according to the Macon Telegraph.

The board and its chair, Pamela Morgan, attempted to discredit Courtney Driver and Mike Jones’ inclusion as two Black voters in a lawsuit the U.S. Department of Justice filed in January against the board over an alleged election method that favored white candidates and voters.

The board requested Judge Marc Treadwell to dismiss the action against them, but the judge ruled that Driver and Jones could remain in the lawsuit.

Driver and Jones joined the lawsuit on Jan. 25 after the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division froze when President Donald Trump started his term. The department had initially sued Houston County Commissioners Dan Perdue, Shane Gottwals, Gail Robinson, Tal Talton and Mark Byrd on Jan. 16.

After the DOJ pulled out of the lawsuit on March 17, the county commissioners were eventually dismissed from the lawsuit on April 7.

Morgan and the board, as well as Driver and Jones, however, remain in the lawsuit.

The DOJ had investigated the elections that took place in Houston County, in which they found that, despite Black-preferred candidates running for a seat at the Board of Commissioners and the county’s “sizeable and growing Black population,” the candidates have routinely lost, the DOJ said. They then filed the lawsuit.

The last time a Black commissioner was elected to the Board of Commissioners in Houston County was Houston Porter, who was elected in 1980 and was on the board until 1992. Though Black candidates ran for a seat on the board in the years that followed, they were all defeated, according to court records.

The Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected Camden County’s appeal in a case involving the proposed Camden Spaceport, according to The Current GA.

Camden County must pay the outstanding money owed to Union Carbide Corp. for the land on which county commissioners had wanted to build a now defunct spaceport project, a federal appeals court has ruled.

The ruling is the latest blow to the county which has spent more than $12 million dollars in legal costs fighting its citizens who were against the spaceport as a waste of taxpayer money and managed to stop it via a citizens’ referendum. The county then spent millions more trying to overturn the referendum in the state Supreme Court.

The court, in an unsigned opinion, found meritless Camden County’s claims that the citizens’ referendum in 2022 that stopped the spaceport project should also nullify the contract for the 4,000-acre land deal.

“The referendum does not expressly provide that it will operate retroactively to make the earlier payments to Union Carbide illegal,” read the five-page opinion from the judges. “Because a valid contract existed when those payments were made, the county’s claim for unjust enrichment or money had and received fails.”

The ruling likely ends Camden County’s efforts to recoup its costs from the failed project that had been percolating for more than a decade without yielding new employment or local jobs.

Spaceport Camden was proposed in 2014 and was controversial from the start. Residents and visitors to Cumberland and Little Cumberland raised safety issues based on their position under the flight path of rockets. Residents on the mainland scrutinized the project’s cost and viability.

Throughout the process, the Camden County government fought its citizens at every step. The county first sought to invalidate the citizens’ petition, claiming duplicate signatures amounted to fraud. When that didn’t work it sued the county-employed Probate Court Judge Robert Sweatt who approved the petition. After the March 8, 2022, referendum, in which about 72% of voters rejected the spaceport purchase, Camden tried to prevent the Georgia Secretary of State from certifying the results.

In a unanimous decision in 2023 the Georgia Supreme Court upheld the referendum as constitutionally authorized, a development that quashed the spaceport but not Camden’s plans to recoup some of its money.

Camden County then sued Union Carbide on the grounds that it was refusing to honor the option agreement while pocketing the county’s cash. Union Carbide countered that the county’s position would violate the so-called contracts clause of the Georgia Constitution, which prohibits laws from invalidating commercial contracts.

Two Georgia State House Committee Chairs are calling for hand-marked ballots in future elections, according to the AJC.

Two House Republican committee chairmen stressed “the urgency of the matter” in a letter to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

“It is imperative to begin testing viable alternatives to the continued use of QR-coded ballots,” wrote House Governmental Affairs Chairman Victor Anderson, R-Cornelia, and House elections study committee Chairman Tim Fleming, R-Covington.

Under their proposal, Raffensperger would ask counties and cities to voluntarily participate in the trial of hand-marked paper ballots during the election for Public Service Commission on Nov. 4.

A full statewide transition to hand-marked paper ballots would require millions of dollars in taxpayer funding, but existing ballot scanners could read hand-marked paper ballots, just like they can scan absentee ballots.

Marilyn Marks, executive director of the election security group Coalition for Good Governance, said hand-marked paper ballots allow voters to ensure their ballot reflects their choices.

About 70% of voters across the United States use paper ballots filled out by hand, according to the election technology organization Verified Voting.

“We are confident that the counties who decide to opt-in to the pilot program will be able to present their processes and results to the Legislature, which will make passage of this program a no-brainer,” Georgia Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon said.

Georgia lawmakers plan to consider a permanent change to hand-marked paper ballots as soon as January, when the General Assembly convenes its 2026 session.

The state Senate already passed a bill this year that would require Georgia voters to bubble in their choices at polling places instead of using touchscreens. Senate Bill 214 is now pending in the state House.

The Georgia State House Study Committee on Georgia’s Investment Funds is considering changes to the state Invest Georgia venture capital fund, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Valdosta Daily Times.

Georgia lawmakers are taking a fresh look at a state-run venture capital fund that was created a dozen years ago.

The General Assembly intended to jumpstart Invest Georgia in 2013 with an infusion of $100 million, Charlie Thompson, the fund’s board chairman, told members of a state House study committee Tuesday. But so far, only about $50 million has been forthcoming from the state, said Thompson, founding principal of the investment firm Eco-Capital Advisors.

“Georgia has done a phenomenal job creating an ecosystem of startups,” he said. “But for these businesses to scale, they need investment capital. Companies starting here are not staying here.”

“One of the reasons Invest Georgia was put together was not just to start them, but to gestate them, grow them, and mature them,” added Rep. Todd Jones, R-South Forsyth, the study committee’s chairman.

Invest Georgia has used the state’s money to invest in 18 venture capital funds. In turn, those VCs have invested in 119 Georgia companies, which have created more than 4,300 jobs. A requirement of the legislation creating Invest Georgia is that it invest only in companies based in Georgia.

Every $1 dollar the state-run fund has invested has yielded a return of $1.60, Thompson said.

Sean Banks, a partner in Atlanta-based TTV Capital, told committee members his was the first VC fund Invest Georgia invested in. Since 2016, Invest Georgia funds have helped TTV Capital support startup companies, mostly in the financial technology space, to raise Atlanta’s profile as “Transaction Alley” for the fin-tech industry.

“Invest Georgia has been a wonderful stake for us in the ground,” Banks said. “They’ve been a phenomenal partner.”

But Thompson said Invest Georgia needs more resources if it is to move beyond startups.

Jones said the study committee will look for ways to give Georgia-based companies a “home-field advantage,” likely through some form of tax incentives.

Rep. Stacey Evans, D-Atlanta, another member of the committee, suggested lawmakers examine the current rules for “alternative” investments in the state’s pension funds to free up more investment opportunities.

The resolution creating the panel gave it under Dec. 31 to issue findings and recommendations to the full House.

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is proposing statewide rules for reviewing data center proposals, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Valdosta Daily Times.

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is proposing new rules aimed at allowing the state agency to resume its reviews of new data center projects.

The DCA called a temporary pause to state reviews of Development of Regional Impact (DRI) proposals for data centers back in July. Environmental advocates complained the move would let data centers – which have a huge impact on energy and water supplies – win approval without sufficient scrutiny.

“In recent years, there has been a rise in developments that have large and potentially adverse effects that are not currently accounted for in the DRI rules,” DCA Commissioner Christopher Nunn wrote in a memo last week.

“There has been a stated concern by (Atlanta) Regional Commission staff that the rules be amended to include such developments to ensure that the purpose and mission of the DRI rules are met.”

The proposed rules would require developers of data centers to disclose information about each project’s energy and water needs. Proposed data centers would be divided between those located in urban or suburban areas and those in rural parts of the state.

In cities and suburbs, the rules would apply to data centers covering more than 300,000 square feet. Data centers in rural areas would not come under the rules unless they cover more than 500,000 square feet.

The rules would create a new category of DRIs called “technological facility,” which would include data centers, as well as a second new category for solar power generating facilities.

The DCA will hold a public hearing on the new rules Sept. 9 at the agency’s board room at 60 Executive Park South in Atlanta. Public comment via email is being accepted through Sept. 12.

The DCA board will act on the proposed rules Nov. 20 at a meeting in Savannah.

Glynn County Fire Stations are now giving out Narcan, used for people who overdosed on opioids, according to The Brunswick News.

Two hundred drug overdose prevention kits have been distributed to all Glynn County fire stations thanks to a federal grant from the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council of Georgia.

County officials said the kits are part of the county’s broader effort to reduce overdose deaths and connect residents with lifesaving resources.

“This grant is just one step in a strategic approach to mitigate this risk in our community,” said Glynn County Manager Bill Fallon.

“We will work with other community organizations to address the problem, which is not unique to just Glynn County.”

Glynn County was identified as one of 10 priority counties in the state eligible for the program because of the high number of reported overdose incidents and court referrals to long-term drug treatment facilities, county officials said.

Originally designed for distribution during emergency calls involving suspected overdoses, the kits are now available to the public as part of Glynn County’s expanded outreach efforts.

Any resident age 18 or older may pick up a kit at one of the county’s fire stations, while supplies last, county officials said.

“Our teams are committed to prevention as much as response. These kits are a simple but powerful way to connect residents with life-saving tools and information,” said Fire Rescue Chief Vincent DiCristofalo.

Kits will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis at all eight Glynn County fire stations.

For more information, contact Glynn County Fire Rescue at 912-554-7779.

About 250 protestors gathered in Savannah for a “Workers Over Billionaires” rally, according to the Savannah Morning News.

They chanted, “Workers united, we will never be divided” and “Stand up! Fight back! Workers rights are under attack.”

The advocacy group, also known as Savannah Indivisible, has held several protests this year, calling for transparency and accountability in Congress and the Trump administration. The Labor Day protest was a sign of solidarity to politians to put “people over profit,” and was held in conjunction with Migrant Equity Southeast and 50501.

“The American worker is the backbone of this country,” said Suzane Moccia, director of communications for Coastal Georgia for Democracy. “We have a lot of billionaires in Washington who are able to afford the basics that so many cannot: food, clothing and shelter.”

Among those in attendance and speaking at the rally were Jay Morris, a candidate for State House District 165, a seat now held by former Savannah mayor Edna Jackson, and Randy Zurcher, who serves as the union representative for the Savannah Federation of Teachers and is a Democratic candidate for Georgia’s First Congressional District, a seat now held by Earl “Buddy” Carter.

Gwinnett County is increasing its ownership of part of Gwinnett Place Mall, according to AccessWDUN.

The Urban Redevelopment Agency of Gwinnett County on Tuesday approved the $11.5 million purchase of the former Sears site at Gwinnett Place Mall, adding 11.5 acres to the County’s footprint in the area.

Gwinnett County officials said the acquisition, expected to close by the end of October, brings the total publicly owned land at the site to 87.5 acres.

The purchase is a major step toward the County’s plan to transform the aging mall into a dense, walkable, mixed-use hub that reflects the area’s cultural diversity.

The redevelopment will also incorporate the future Gwinnett Place Transit Center, approved earlier this year and largely funded by the Federal Transit Administration. The center is scheduled to be completed in 2032.

“We’re building incredible momentum toward transforming this site into a hub for catalytic change and opportunity for our residents, entrepreneurs and businesses,” Gwinnett County Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson said. “I’m proud of the purposeful progress we’re making and look forward to what’s ahead.”

The redevelopment supports Gwinnett County’s 2045 Unified Plan and is guided by two community-driven studies, the Equitable Redevelopment Plan and the Gwinnett Place Mall Site Revitalization Strategy, which gathered input from over 2,000 residents.

“With this step, we’re excellently positioned to attract top development partners that will help us achieve our vision for this site,” District 1 Commissioner Kirkland Carden said. “This redevelopment will create economic opportunities for our residents and grow our county’s tax digest.”

CBRE, a global real estate firm, is partnering with the County to lead the developer selection process. A nationwide request for proposals (RFP) is expected to launch later this month to attract top-tier development partners.

“Partnering with CBRE will accelerate our redevelopment process and ensure visibility among the type of world-class partners we are seeking in Gwinnett,” County Administrator Glenn Stephens said. “By leveraging the resources of local government and a best-in-class private sector partner, we will ensure the redevelopment of the Gwinnett Place Mall site meets the Gwinnett standard.”

From the Gwinnett Daily Post:

County commissioners, acting in their roles as the Board of Commissioners and Urban Redevelopment Agency board, voted on Tuesday to purchase the 11.5-acre former Sears anchor space at the mall for $11.5 million from luxury apartment developer Northwood Ravin.

“The county now has the opportunity to enhance the potential for high-quality, equitable redevelopment by partnering with the Urban Redevelopment Agency on the acquisition of the former Sears property,” Deputy County Attorney Jenny Carter told commissioners during a presentation on Tuesday afternoon.

The county is expected to issue a nationwide request for proposals later this month to find a development partner to redevelop the property.

The Gwinnett Place Sears store, which includes Sears’ portion of the mall’s parking lot, closed in 2018 and was quickly purchased by Northwood Ravin which set up NW Duluth LLC to handle the property.

It was expected that the space would eventually be redeveloped with apartments, but then the COVID-19 pandemic began and Northwood Ravin offered the space up to the GNR Health for use as a mass vaccination site.

The county then began buying other parts of the mall, starting in 2021, with plans to redevelop the site as a mixed use property. The initial acquisition was 39 acres that included the former Parisan/Belk space, internal stores and the food court.

An Equitable Redevelopment Plan and a Gwinnett Place Mall Site Revitalization Strategy were subsequently created with public input to guide the property’s redevelopment, which is expected to take decades to complete.

The county purchased the Macy’s anchor space, at the end of last year, added another 23 acres of land to the county’s holdings.
Now, the Sears space acquisition brings the amount of former mall property the county has acquired in the last four years to 73.5 acres. The county also owns additional adjacent land for the Gwinnett Place Transit Center project, which means Gwinnett owns a total of 87.5 acres of land at the site.

Statesboro City Council is considering revising their alcohol ordinance to allow a distillery, according to the Statesboro Herald.

Statesboro City Council on Tuesday morning approved the first reading of an amendment to allow “local distilleries” to be licensed under the city Alcoholic Beverages Ordinance.

Statesboro is home to a long-established brewpub, Eagle Creek Brewing Company, which was originally considered a micro-brewery exclusively but expanded its pouring for on-premises consumption after changes in state law. Chapter 6, “Alcoholic Beverages,” of the Statesboro Code of Ordinances makes “pubs” one of the categories of city licenses and also defines a “local brewery” with a specific reference to state law.

A circa 2017 state law, Official Code of Georgia, Annotated 3-4-24.2, allows for what City Attorney Cain Smith and his draft of the proposed new ordinance section call “local distilleries.” The state law itself, as Smith acknowledged in a brief interview, doesn’t use that phrase but instead refers to “a limited exception” for “a licensed distiller” to sell drinks directly to on-premises consumers instead of through a wholesale distributor.

A summary memo stated: “An investment group desires to construct a distillery, brewery and restaurant facility in downtown Statesboro. Current local law does not allow for such a set-up, but state law does.”

At the direction of council, Smith then prepared the draft “local distillery” amendment for Tuesday’s 9 a.m. regular meeting.

“It’s part of a bigger project,” [Downtown Statesboro Development Authority Executive Director Allen] Muldrew said. “What these guys are asking for is to put a business in the downtown environment. I really want to thank the city for taking the lead with these streetscapes. It shows the local community investors and business owners that Statesboro is not afraid to take the lead. …

Proposed Ordinance 2025-09 would actually allow a single business to function as both a brewery and a distillery. It defines “local distillery” as “an establishment in which malt beverages and distilled spirits are manufactured, subject to the barrel production and sales limitations prescribed in O.C.G.A. § 3-4-24.2 and 3-5-36.”

The first of those Georgia laws allows “a licensed distiller to sell up to 750 barrels of distilled spirits per calendar year to individuals on such distiller’s licensed premises for personal use and not for resale.” The second law section refers to breweries.

One provision of the proposed ordinance not reflecting state law, but specific to Statesboro, would require that a distillery that sells drinks to consumers “derive at least 40 percent of its total annual gross food and beverages sales from the sale of prepared meals.” Package sales of alcoholic beverages for off-premises consumption would be exempted from the formula.

The Chatham Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) is rolling out a new evacuation plan before hurricane season, according to the Savannah Morning News.

While hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, peak activity typically occurs between mid-August and October. Chelsea Sawyer, who leads CEMA’s Community Preparedness Division, said the plan has been months in the making and is designed for a “worst-case scenario” evacuation.

For the first time, Chatham County has a formal agreement with Macon-Bibb to house up to 3,000 evacuees across 10 to 12 shelters.

Mandatory evacuation orders are issued when storms reach Category 3 strength or higher, meaning winds above 111 mph. If an order is given, residents without transportation will be directed to the Enmarket Arena. Chatham Area Transit (CAT) will offer free bus service to the arena and the downtown bus station.

Families with pets will be asked to check them in before entering the arena. Animals will be transported in a pet trailer to an inland county near Atlanta and returned to families once the evacuation order is lifted.

“I have seen some circumstances where people leave pets at home, and that’s why this resource exists — we don’t want people to do that,” Sawyer said.

Bibb County Commissioners passed a Resolution asking the Georgia General Assembly to pass local legislation to increase seniors’ homestead exemptions, according to 13WMAZ.

The Bibb County Commission has taken the first step toward providing substantial property tax relief for senior residents, voting unanimously Tuesday night to ask the state legislature to consider new homestead exemptions that could reduce or eliminate property taxes for older homeowners.

The proposed legislation would create tax relief based on age: residents 65 and older could claim an additional $10,000 homestead exemption, those 75 and older could receive a $15,000 exemption, and homeowners 85 and older would be exempt from property taxes entirely.

Mayor Lester Miller says this resolution is about more than saving seniors money. It’s also about keeping seniors and their money in Macon, which he says will benefit the entire city.

“They have disposable income that they can pay to buy other things to do entertainment, to buy food, and they really get back to our community and they make stable neighborhoods and it keeps the property taxes a level for our community,” Miller said.

If the resolution is [passed by the legislature and] signed by the governor, the issue could be on the November 2026 referendum. If it passes, seniors could see lower taxes in January 2027.

Richmond Hill City Council adopted a full rollback of their property tax millage rate, according to WSAV.

Richmond Hill City Council voted to roll back their current millage rate, despite originally announcing a proposed property tax increase.

After several public hearings, city council opted not to keep the millage rate at the same level as years past at a meeting Tuesday.

The effort to persuade council to roll back the rate was spearheaded by local residents, some of whom championed the decision because of what they called a misuse of funds.

“The residents, what they’re asking is ‘why are we paying more and getting less?’ Why are dollars tied up in empty land, idle buildings, and government comfort, with the beautiful city hall renovations, while neighborhoods flood and roads gridlock?” Corey Foreman, who is running to represent Georgia’s state Senate District 1, said just before the vote was taken.

According to Georgia law, municipalities have to hold public hearings if they have plans to keep the millage rate the same or increase it yearly.

Originally, the city announced its intention to keep the millage rate at 4.132, which would have meant a property tax increase of almost 4%.

However, after a series of public hearings, council opted to take the rollback rate of 3.981.

“This isn’t just about numbers. It’s about being good stewards of your hard-earned tax dollars. We’ve been proactive in our financial planning to ensure that we can provide immediate relief to taxpayers while also maintaining the services you expect and deserve,” Mayor of Richmond Hill Russ Carpenter said.

Augusta City Commissioners adopted the full rollback rate for their property tax millage rate, according to WRDW.

Augusta Commission members on Tuesday affirmed their decision to adopt full rollback millage rates.

That’s a rate that raises the same amount of taxes as the year before.

The motion was approved 10-1 two weeks ago with interim Commissioner Tanya Barnhill-Turnley voting no.

“We have no control in what the school board decides,” he added, referring to the Richmond County Board of Education’s announcement that it intended to raise its millage rate.

Robert Shaw Traditional Theme School, a DeKalb County elementary school, is teaching cursive handwriting again, according to 13WMAZ.

“Reading and writing in cursive, they’re superpowers, so we’re bringing it back,” said Principal Dr. Kim C. Williams.

Dr. Williams said that superpower nearly vanished during virtual learning.

“You had to teach kids how to write again, how to hold a pencil,” Dr. Williams said.

Dr. Williams estimates that 95% of parents at Robert Shaw speak another language at home, most from countries in Africa.

Yet last semester, nearly every student here mastered writing the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution in cursive.

The achievement earned Robert Shaw the state’s rare John Hancock Award.

Starting this school year, all Georgia students in grades 3-5 are expected to learn cursive, with the goal of reading and writing it by end of fifth grade.

The state says cursive strengthens literacy, improves writing fluency, and frees up brainpower for higher-level thinking.

“Think about it: There’s a whole generation of students who doesn’t know how to write in cursive,” Dr. Williams said. “It’s a skill that’s been lost, it’s a lost art.”

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson announced he was diagnosed with prostate cancer again, according to the Savannah Morning News.

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness month, and Savannah Mayor Van Johnson issued his annual public service announcement urging men to have their prostates checked through a Prostate Specific Antigen test.

The Savannah mayor was re-diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier this year. At his Tuesday press conference, Johnson said he had been treated, marking his second bout with the illness after successful treatment in 2021.

Johnson said the cancer was identified through a PSA test. The blood test is the standard measure for levels of the antigen that, when high, can signal the presence of prostate cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic. Prostate cancer is often asymptomatic in its early stages, according to the American Association of Cancer Research.

“If it had not been for the PSA test, I would not have known,” Johnson said. “And if it wasn’t for the subsequent (PSA) tests, I would not have known again.”

Throughout this year Johnson has remained present at council meetings, weekly press briefings and numerous city events. He said he has “not missed a beat,” despite his treatments and remained “Savannah strong.”

Our prayers are with Mayor Johnson.

U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-SSI) is spending more on ads for his Senate campaign, according to the AJC.

His campaign said Wednesday he’s devoting another ad buy of more than $1 million to the race. That comes on top of the $2 million Carter lent his campaign back in July.

And while his campaign dismissed Gov. Brian Kemp’s support for Dooley — saying Trump’s is the “only endorsement that matters in Georgia” — Carter is intensifying his effort to win over the president.

On winning Trump’s support:

“It’s pretty obvious that after Georgians overwhelmingly elected Donald Trump president last year that his endorsement is the most powerful endorsement ever in politics. … We intend to get that endorsement. It’s going to be one of the things that carries us across the finish line.”

On how much of his personal wealth he’ll put into the race:

“I’m not going to put any figure on it, but this is … very important to me and very important to my family. We’ve been very, very blessed. There’s no question about that. And we’re going to use the resources that we have.”