New DeKalb CEO: Eliminate the CEO position
Interim DeKalb County CEO Lee May, elevated from his seat on the County Commission this week by Gov. Nathan Deal, is advocating for the elimination of the CEO position.
“The problems you’ve seen over the past few years are not new problems,” May said of power struggles between the CEO and commission. “They’ve been problems that this form of government innately produced.”
DeKalb is the only county in Georgia with an elected executive who runs daily operations. More common — and favored by critics such as May — is a county-manager system in which a professional administrator handles daily government operations. Neighboring Gwinnett and Fulton operate under those systems.
The county’s charter, called an organizational act, may play a role in those allegations [against suspended CEO Burrell Ellis]. It expressly prohibits the commission from adopting a purchasing policy that would clearly lay out rules for the hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts the county handles yearly.
Instead, it awards the CEO with the power to develop all purchasing rules, without outside oversight.
“It’s not just a matter of efficiency. It’s a matter of accountability,” Commissioner Jeff Rader said.
Rader and five of the six remaining commissioners have previously adopted resolutions calling for a change in the DeKalb government model. State lawmakers, though, have held off because Ellis disagreed with the change.
Senate FairTax Committee meets
The State Senate FairTax Study Committee met yesterday and heard testimony and planned to hold hearings across the state.
Virginia Galloway of Americans for Prosperity Georgia and Kelly McCutchen of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation testified before the Committee.
Chairman Judson Hill said “Many of us know and many of us believe Georgia and our country could benefit from a more fair and level tax system. We’re exploring how something like this could work.”
Tim Bryant spoke with Senator Judson Hill about the FairTax and the audio is online.
Fulton County will not raise millage rate
Despite legislation that prohibits the Fulton County Commission from raising property taxes before 2015, some members believe that the legislation wrongly intrudes on the county’s prerogatives and considered raising taxes and challenging the legislation; ultimately, they decided to keep the millage rate the same by a 6-1 vote.
Federal Voting Rights Act
Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner vowed before a Senate Committee that Congress will update the coverage formula that determines which jurisdictions are required to file proposed election changes with the United States Department of Justice for pre-clearance under Section 5.
In front of his Senate colleagues, however, Sensenbrenner conceded the challenges he faces in the GOP-controlled House. When he pushed to reauthorize the legislation in 2006, it was in part because he feared that when he surrendered his gavel to caucus-imposed term limits, his successor would not work to re-up the law.
“Sometimes the difference between [the House] and the Senate is the difference between here and the moon,” Sensenbrenner said.
Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., also testified before the committee, telling senators that the Supreme Court decision left him heartbroken but resolute in trying to restore the formula that empowers the “preclearance” clause of the law. That provision gave the Department of Justice the right to block moves from states and municipalities viewed as discriminatory toward voters.
“The right to vote is precious; it is almost sacred. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have,” Lewis said. “It is my belief that we need the Voting Rights Act more than ever.”
Roll Call writes that Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (R-3) may be the key to whether the VRA coverage formula is updated.
If there’s a shot at a deal in the next year, it may rest with two other House members who are hardly as well-known to those who watch cable television news. They are Republicans who have quite different, but equally pressing, incentives for bolstering protections for voting.
One is Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, who chaired Judiciary when the Voting Rights Act was last updated in 2006. Now that the Supreme Court has struck down a central element of one of his most important legislative achievements, Sensenbrenner is ready to devote the twilight of his almost-four-decade career to winning a more lasting bipartisan triumph the second time around.
The other is Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia, who was in charge of his caucus’s efforts to gain the most from redistricting for this decade. Given that last month’s court ruling will reorder some GOP tactics for maintaining the majority, and given that Westmoreland is now second in command at the National Republican Congressional Committee, he’s got as much incentive as anyone to be part of a solution that helps the party preserve its House strength — but also neutralizes accusations the GOP is out to perpetuate discrimination through legislative inflexibility.
The fact is, almost half of all the GOP’s House seats are in the South today, at least in part because the party has put the Voting Rights Act to work on its behalf. The VRA has helped them consolidate African-Americans in a relatively small number of black-majority districts that reliably send black Democrats to Congress, while still yielding a number of seats highly likely to be filled by Republicans.
My personal opinion is that any rewrite of the coverage formula should begin with jurisdictions in which USDOJ has objected to electoral changes in recent years, and be narrowly-tailored rather than simply sweeping all Southern states under the pre-clearance requirement.
Events
Tonight at 5 PM, State Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-Brookhaven) will hold a fundraiser at Uncle Julio’s in Sandy Springs.
Tonight at 6:30 PM, the Oconee County Republican Party will hold its monthly meeting at the Watkinsville Community Center, 191 VFW Drive. Guests will be Brian Slowinski, who is running for Congress from the Tenth District, and Brad Hughes, GAGOP Political Director.
Saturday, July 20th from 9 to 10:30 AM, State Rep. Michael Caldwell will hold his weekly coffee featuring guest State Rep. John Pezold at Copper Coin Coffee in Woodstock, Georgia 30188
Friday and Saturday, July 19-20th, National Federation of Republican Women Summer 2013 Southeast Regional Conference at the Waverly Renaissance Hotel.
Guest Speakers:
US Senator Rafael Edward “Ted” Cruz
RNC Co-Chair Sharon Day
Professor Jeffrey F. Addicott
Karen Kanes Floyd
Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez
Lionel Sosaz
Martha Zoller
For more information, contact Lisa Roper:
lisaroper5683@yahoo.com, (830) 305- 0176
For Sponsorship information, contact Rose Wing, Co-Chair:
wingr@bellsouth.net, (678) 386- 1059
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