Georgia Politics, Campaigns & Elections for December 9, 2013

Editor’s Note: I incorrectly identified State Rep. Lynne Riley as a Democrat instead of a Republican. I blame it on a combination of fat fingers, a small keyboard, and lack of coffee this morning. Sorry.

This weekend, Mrs. GaPundit and I joined the Republican Leadership for Georgia Class of 2014 in Savannah. On Saturday, we went to Tybee Island, where we visited the Lighthouse. Of course I wanted to climb it. Then at the top of the Lighthouse, this happened.

I had been on top of the Lighthouse for several minutes, when I heard a very deep and familiar voice saying, “I hate heights.” I turned around to see Shaquille O’Neal.

Here’s the view of the Atlantic Ocean from atop the Tybee Island Lighthouse, overlooking the former gun battery emplacements.

My wife was at the base of the Lighthouse when this huge man showed up. The guide said to him, “What are you, Shaquille O’Neal.” He said, “Yes, I am. The Mayor said I should come over and see the lighthouse.” And so that’s how my selfie atop the lighthouse ended up getting photobombed by @SHAQ.

Then he got on a bicycle and rode away.

I also toured the Georgia State Railroad Museum.

Governor and First Lady Deal volunteer at soup kitchen

On Saturday, the Deals joined other volunteers serving meals at at the Master’s Table Soup Kitchen in Augusta, Ga.

“This is the third year in which my wife, Sandra, and I have led the effort called ‘A Servant’s Heart,’” said Deal, who donned a red apron and black hairnet to deliver trays his wife placed food on. “It is a theme that we believe it is important for those in government to assume the position of being servants.”

Deal said the holiday season is a great time to think about giving back and making time to volunteer in the community.

The governor also visited Fort Gordon on Saturday to meet with wounded soldiers in the Warrior Transition Battalion and their families.

To learn more about Golden Harvest Food Bank or volunteer for any of its programs, call (706) 736-1199 ext. 207.

If you participated in the Servant’s Heart day of service this weekend, we’d love to hear your story, and maybe see some photos.

Also this weekend was the lighting of the Governor’s Mansion Christmas Tree.

Upcoming 2014 Session of the Georgia General Assembly

Governor Deal announced that State Rep. Lynne Riley (R-Johns Creek) will join Reps. Christian Coomer (R-Cartersville) and Rep. Chad Nimmer (R-Blackshear) as Governor’s Floor Leaders. From the Press Release:

Gov. Nathan Deal today named state Rep. Lynne Riley (R-Johns Creek) to his House floor leader team, replacing Rep. Matt Hatchett (R-Dublin) who was elected state House Republican Caucus chair.

The floor leaders carry the governor’s legislation in the House and serve as the Governor’s Office liaisons to their fellow members.

If you had the opportunity to ask Gov. Deal a question about the upcoming legislative session, what would it be? Submit your questions via email and I’ll choose one.

Senate President Pro Tem David Shafer (R-Duluth) expects much of the action in the 2014 Session to involve the state budget. From the Augusta Chronicle:

“Beyond the budget, I don’t know that there’s going to be a very ambitious agenda at all,” said Sen. David Shafer, the president pro tempore of the Senate.

The Duluth Republican was the featured speaker Thursday at the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce pre-legislative breakfast at the Augusta Convention Center.

“We’ve had some tough years. We passed a budget in 2007 that would have spent $21 billion, and several years ago we passed a budget that only spent $15.5 billion,” Shafer said.

The budget approved in the last session was $19.9 billion, up from $19.3 billion a year earlier.

Shafer said the state government is better off smaller than $21 billion because it forced leaders to focus on “what government ought to do.”

“And a lot of the people who complained about the cuts don’t want to talk about how we got to $21 billion to begin with,” Shafer said. “In 1992, the population of Georgia was 5.9 million people. The budget for state government was $5.9 billion.”

Shafer said that 15 years later, the breakdown went from $1,000 per person to almost $2,500 per person for state government in the $21 billion budget.

“During this period of explosive government spending, which somehow managed to ignore the infrastructure needs of the state … all that money was plowed into social services for which we have very little to show,” Shafer said.

Members of the Clayton County delegation expect a quick session in advance of an expected May 20, 2014 Primary Eleciton date. From the Clayton News Daily:

Clayton County legislators told business leaders they expect the Georgia General Assembly’s 2014 to move faster than normal Thursday.

The legislators addressed the Clayton County Chamber of Commerce’s annual legislative update breakfast to discuss pending legislative issues that could affect the county. Much of the discussion focused on mass transit and what the legislators felt was the Clayton County Board of Commissioners responsibility to bring it back.

Other issues legislators said they expect to see come up in 2014 included immigration, health care and raising the minimum wage level. However, the biggest news about what to expect may have been how legislators are not expected to dilly-dally during their upcoming session under the Gold Dome.

“This will probably be one of the fastest moving sessions we’ve ever had,” said state Rep. Darryl Jordan (D-Riverdale).

Several legislators said they expect an earlier court-mandated federal primary date to move the legislative session along more swiftly next year.

State Sen. Gail Davenport (D-Jonesboro), the delegation’s chairwoman, said the usual sine die date for the General Assembly is during the last week of March, but she expects it to come at least a week earlier than that in 2014.

“It’ll be a little past the middle of March, I think,” said Davenport.

A federal judge has set the primaries for U.S. Congress and Senate seats to be no later than early June. There’s been talk among county officials and legislators in recent weeks that indicates the primary will be held in late May.

The Secretary of State’s office also indicated several months ago that it plans to ask that the primaries for state and county-level offices be moved to the same date as the federal primary to cut down on elections costs.

Davenport said she expects the General Assembly will approve that request when it reconvenes in mid-January.

“I think all of the elections are going to be on the same day,” said Davenport. “I don’t think the state of Georgia is going to do them separately, and so qualifying would be in March.”

The Bibb County delegation heard local concerns, including the Bibb County Board of Education asking for more money from the state. From WMGT in Macon:

The Bibb County Board of Education says its primary concern is the teachers. School board member Lester Miller asked state leaders for a one percent raise for all employees, which would equal $1.5 million. He also asked them to restore one percent of the BOE’s budget.

Miller says in the past, the BOE hasn’t worked well with the delegation, but believes it has shown progress. He adds he understands the state is in a budget crunch, but hopes the state leaders who ran on improving education platforms will step up.

“They wanted to know are we still top heavy, are we taking steps ourselves to get our finances in order,” Miller said. “Based on the questions that were asked to me and my local board members, I feel like they asked the right questions and they show that we have made progress and perhaps they’ll consider giving us more money this year.”

Gainesville Public Schools are asking for changes in the distribution of SPLOST tax money between the county and city schools systems.

Currently, Gainesville Schools, the Hall County School District and Buford City Schools must agree on when the tax should come up for a vote and how the money will be divided.

According to Dyer, Buford has asked to receive a set amount of money rather than divide tax monies by number of students.

“Buford has made a proposal of how much they would accept, or how much they would need to have in order to participate, and if we did not agree with that, then they would not agree to have a referendum (on the ballot),” Dyer said. “They do this with Gwinnett County as well.”

Gainesville school board members think it’s more fair to divide the money by number of students.

“I feel as if that’s a lot of money for us, especially because we are still needing to build new schools,” Chairwoman Maria Calkins said at Monday’s work session. “We need to (bring this up) every year until we get equal, fair dollars for each of our children.”

Sand Gnats want to be just like Cobb & Gwinnett Braves

Next in line to feed on the taxpayers blood is the Savannah Sand Gnats minor league baseball team, who wants taxpayer support for a new multi-use stadium at the River Landing site.

Hardball Capital CEO Jason Freier says the historic Grayson Stadium is no longer a suitable home for the company’s minor league team due to the ageing ballpark’s deteriorating condition and location outside of downtown.

A new stadium along the Savannah River that hosted concerts and other events, in addition to Sand Gnats games, would serve as a catalyst to spur economic growth in the area, Freier said.

Freier is scheduled to propose forming a public-private partnership during a City Council workshop on Thursday. He said he is seeking a partnership similar to one that Hardball Capital formed with Fort Wayne, Ind. Fort Wayne’s Parkview Field was built using a combination of public and private funding, with the city putting up about $25 million and Hardball investing about $5 million.

Freier said he hopes to have a new stadium built for the 2016 season.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns & Elections for December 9, 2013