Georgia Politics, Campaigns & Elections for April 12, 2013

Campaigns & Elections

Camden County will elect a Probate Judge on Tuesday, April 16th, in a runoff election between Robert “Beau” Sweatt Jr. and Martin Turner.

The special election became necessary after judge-elect and former associate probate judge Shirley Wise was investigated for judicial and criminal misconduct. She pleaded guilty to three felonies and resigned in December. Current probate judge Martin Gillette stayed in office, despite his retirement plans, to conduct the probate election that will determine his replacement.

Yesterday, I received the second direct mail piece in the election for Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party from John Padgett, who also sent the first.

Loganville will elect a new Mayor in a June 1 Special Election, with the contest to fill the term of Council Member Dan Curry, who resigned to run for Mayor likely to take place the same day.

The move comes two weeks after Mayor Ray Nunley resigned from his position due to a battle with lung cancer. The qualifying period for a June 18 special election will be held from April 22 to April 24 to fill Nunley’s term. The fee is $180. Curry’s council seat will likely be filled the same day, and Loganville resident Jay Boland publicly announced his bid for the seat on Thursday.

Covington City Council member Chris Smith will run for reelection in November.

Qualifying for Covington elections is from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from Aug. 26–30. The qualifying fee is $270 for Covington council seats, which represents 3 percent of the annual salary of the position.

Also up for election this year are councilwomen Hawnethia Williams, who holds the Post 2 west seat, and Ocie Franklin, who holds the Post 3 west seat.

The two women represent the western half of Covington; neither has yet officially announced they are running for re-election.

Residents in the western half of Covington can only vote for the two west ward candidates, while residents on the east half will only vote in the one east ward race.

Other cities hold their qualifying at their respective city halls during the same week of August. Full details on other open seats will be published later.

Last year, African-American voters waited almost twice as long to vote as Caucasian voters. An MIT study suggest that is more a factor of the greater urban concentration of African-Americas, than of racial disparities. Interestingly, another finding was that early voters tended to wait longer than election day voters.

UGA Political Scientist Charles Bullock told WABE that having foreign observers at elections may cause better conduct of the elections.

“We’re all on our best behavior when we have company, which is kind of the notion behind it. If there’s going to be outsiders and you know there’s going to be press coverage, if you care at all about what the rest of the world thinks about your processes, then you want to be on your best behavior.”

Perhaps we could have some foreign observers sent to Fulton County for the next election cycle.

Governor Deal Signs Legislation

HB 463	Motor vehicle licenses; registration rates under International Registration Plan for apportioned vehicles; change	April 10, 2013
HB 487	Offenses against public health and morals; Georgia Lottery; correct a cross reference	April 10, 2013
SB 139	Contracts; collection of closing fees; advance of money/extension of credit	April 9, 2013

Tennessee: Yay, Mullis! and Boo, Georgia!

The Knoxville News-Sentinel Editorial Board opines that Georgia should look inward for greater water supplies to slake the thirst of Metro Atlanta, rather than to our Northern neighbors.

For almost 200 years, this feud might have passed as “state boundary wars” because of mistakes and apparently shoddy equipment during an official survey of the Georgia-Tennessee state line in 1818.

The southern boundary of Tennessee was supposed to be set at the 35th parallel, but surveyors hired by the two states established the line about a mile south of the intended latitude — and more importantly out of reach of the Tennessee River, which Georgians believe will supply the water needs for the state’s metropolis and surrounding area.

Most people agree with the set of circumstances that fixed the boundary, and for many years, most said it didn’t matter very much.

Then, in the past decade or so, the need to supply water to Georgia’s capital city and its ever-expanding population became critical. With more drought conditions expected this summer, the Georgia Legislature has decided to up the ante for the water, threatening to take the Volunteer State to the U.S. Supreme Court over the boundary dispute.

The historical revisionists to the North seem to forget or ignore that Georgia has maintained since at least 1887 our right to the occupied portion of Georgia, sending resolutions to our recalcitrant foes to the North on ten occasions. Perhaps the next papers we send them ought to be addressed also to the United States Supreme Court and bear latin phrases those yokels have no hope of understanding.

Perhaps we should also consider sending them Senate Rules Committee Chair Jeff Mullis wearing a coat of tar and feathers after Mullis was cheered by the Tennessee legislature for ~~selling out his nominal home state~~ opposing the resolution asking Tennessee to kindly vacate our property.

Teenage Republicans and College Republicans

Will Kremer, who is State Secretary for the Georgia Association of College Republicans and founded the Georgia Gwinnett College Republicans during his first year of college has written a piece entitled “5 Things You Should Know about College Republicans.” Two gems of note to those of us who worry about the future of the GOP:

4. We know how to reach out to the youth. – Republicans have become notorious for complaining about how badly we need the “youth vote” and then not doing anything about it. Well, that’s why we’re here. Reaching out to college students just happens to be our specialty!

5. We are not the future of the Republican Party; we are the now of the Republican Party. – I don’t get offended when activists or candidates say, “College Republicans are the future of our party,” but the truth is, we ARE the Republican Party, just as much as any other GOP organization. We vote, we volunteer, and we work. We are delegates to conventions, meaning we make important leadership decisions for our party.

The Georgia Federation of College Republicans is hosting a pair of banquets April 26 and 27 in conjunction with their state convention in Atlanta, at the Holiday Inn Capitol Conference Center (450 Capitol Ave SE Atlanta, GA 30312).

Friday, April 26th at 7 PM: Dinner Banquet featuring Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson
Saturday, April 26th at Noon: Lunch Banquet featuring Congressmen Tom Price and Doug Collins

The costs of the banquets for guests are $50 each or $75 if you purchase a ticket to attend both. If you are a GACR alumni recent graduate (you were a member of GACR and graduated from college in the past 7 years), you can attend the banquets for a reduced price of $25 to attend one banquet or $40 to attend both.

It occurs to me that after yesterday, some of y’all may have a thought or two to share with our United States Senators from Georgia, and if you can do so in a gracious and civil manner, the Dinner Banquet might be a good opportunity to bend the ears of both.

A Newton County home school student is ~~giving up all hope for a date at whatever home schoolers do for prom~~ starting a Newton County Teenage Republicans chapter.

The group’s first meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday at Plain Nuts Catering, where Medlock hopes members will join, officers will be elected and the group’s bylaws will be approved.

In order to form a chapter, Medlock needs at least four other members to join the group.

The National Teen Age Republicans effort is aimed at 13-19 year olds, Medlock said,while the more common Young Republicans is for voting-age, registered Republicans from 18-40 years old.

The group’s adviser will be active local Republican Rick Ingram, while Republican County Commissioner John Douglas is expected to say a few words, Medlock said.

Medlock said he wrote the group’s initial bylaws, but they are up for discussion and change. He hopes the group will meet once a month.

For more information contact Medlock at mij9179@gmail.com or 706-474-3450. For more information about the National Teen Age Republicans go to teenagerepublicans.org.