Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for June 5, 2014

According to “This Day in Georgia History, on June 5, 1775, the first Liberty Pole in Georgia was raised in Augusta, Georgia. Another account holds that the first Liberty Pole in Georgia was raised June 4, 1775 at Tondee’s Tavern in Savannah. Those who fly the “Appeal to Heaven” flag should know that it has some common history with Liberty Poles.

Light Horse Harry Lee, later the father of Robert E. Lee, led a group of Continental soldiers, South Carolina and Georgia militia as the British surrendered Augusta on June 5, 1781. The capture of Augusta led to Georgia’s inclusion in the United States, though it had previously been so divided between Patriots and Loyalists that Georgia was the only American colony to not participate in the First Continental Congress.

The Republican National Convention met in Philadelphia on June 5, 1872, nominating Ulysses S. Grant for President the next day. Twelve years later, on June 5, 1884, William T. Sherman refused the Republican nomination for President, saying, “I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected.”

Republican candidate for Governor A. Ed Smith died in a car accident on June 5, 1962.

Senator Robert F. Kennedy was shot after winning the California Primary on June 5, 1968 and died the next day.

President Ronald Reagan died on June 5, 2004. USA Today has ten memorable Reagan quotes along with videos.

Governor Deal suspends gas tax

Earlier this week, Governor Nathan Deal suspended an increase in the state tax on gasoline.

“We’re seeing a steady rebound in Georgia’s economy, with our unemployment rate going down and state revenues heading up, but Georgians are still paying gas prices that are high by historical standards,” Deal said. “To remove this financial burden on Georgia taxpayers and businesses, I signed an executive order suspending the motor fuel tax increase set for next month. This will help cut costs for families and keep us the No. 1 place in the nation for business.”

Gingrey endorses Jack Kingston for Senate

Fourth-place finisher in the U.S. Senate Primary Phil Gingrey released a statement endorsing Jack Kingston and appeared with Kingston at an event in Marietta:

Through the years Jack Kingston and I have been colleagues – and more importantly friends – he has been a relentless advocate for our shared conservative principles. Today I am proud to announce my support for Jack to be our next United States Senator from the great State of Georgia.

With the needs and values of Georgians serving as his barometer, Jack has always put Georgians first. He is a hard working and proven leader who has stood strong fighting for the expansion of the Port of Savannah and has been a tireless champion for our national defense and our veterans. We can count on Jack to continue fighting to cut spending, restore order to our nation’s fiscal house, and spur private sector job creation.

I have every confidence that Jack will serve us well in the United States Senate and am pleased to back his campaign.

From Walter Jones at Morris News:

“These folks have let me know they want me to support Jack Kingston,” Gingrey said. “I’ve not heard from one of my former supporters telling me they are supporting Perdue.”

“In addition to being friends, Phil and I have a great philosophical affinity,” Kingston said.

From the Macon Telegraph:

Kingston said his campaign is trying to “unite the conservative family” and pointed to the support of two former opponents and from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as evidence he’s making progress.

“We believe that united, the conservative family will prevail not just in this race in November but also in taking back the Senate and taking back the White House in 2016,” he said.

The race is among a dozen or so nationally that will decide congressional control. Republicans are looking to gain six seats to claim a majority in the Senate and can’t afford to lose the Georgia seat.

Gingrey said he expects his backing to help in Georgia’s 11th congressional district, where he’s held the seat since 2003. The district includes Bartow and Cherokee and parts of Cobb and Fulton counties northwest of metro Atlanta. He brushed off barbs traded during an often contentious GOP primary as politics and said he was urged by supporters to back his fellow congressman.

“During a campaign, you look for little differences,” Gingrey said. “That’s basically what we were doing: ‘Well you voted for this, you voted for that.’ That back and forth occurs as you try to struggle to get in the runoff and hopefully ultimately be the next senator.”

Another bad life decision

A Gwinnett County teenager threatened to kidnap District Attorney Danny Porter if the DA did not drop charges.

In an original email sent on May 25, Collins allegedly contacted Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter regarding his case. He demanded the case against him be dropped, asked for $1 million and said that “if he does not get the money, he is going to kidnap Mr. Porter and hold him hostage,” warrants said.

The next day, authorities said, Collins emailed Porter’s office manager, making the same demands and threats but asking only for $100,000.

On the same day, the suspect reportedly wrote a letter to his own defense attorney, demanding again that the case against him be dropped, threatening to kidnap and hold her hostage and requesting $100,000.

Danny Porter is on any sensible person’s list of people NOT to threaten. It would be like trying to kidnap Chuck Norris or Jack Bauer – the only thing scarier than threatening to kidnap him would be actually succeeding.

Minnesota Marijuana Bill to debut in Georgia?

Georgia Regents University recently announced a deal to begin cannabidiol (CBD) oil trials for intractable seizures. State Rep. Allen Peake will renew his push to legalize use of CBD oil for children with specific medical diagnoses.

But after the CBD bill, “then I hope we will have a broader, more comprehensive approach to establishing a medical cannabis infrastructure,” he said. “The big question will be, ‘Are we ready to start growing in Georgia?’”

That where-to-grow question has stymied medical marijuana research in Georgia for decades. A dusty state law allows medical cannabis trials for glaucoma and cancer, but the only source it allows is federal research marijuana. Right now, there’s only one farm nationwide growing the stuff.

Peake will push for an in-state grow. One of his models is a new Minnesota law that will authorize two companies with a total of eight distribution centers to grow cannabis and manufacture pills, liquid and oil medications for treatment of ailments, including epilepsy, glaucoma, cancer and multiple sclerosis.

Lets hope for the sake of the families Peake is trying to help that he abandons the scorched earth politics he practiced as it became clear in the last session that the lack of a well-though out bill would doom the legislation. It was either a simple lapse of judgment or the most cynical political move I’ve seen in more than twenty years.

The runoff will eventually begin and end

Mark your calendars for June 30, 2014, when early voting begins for the Primary Runoff Election.

Voters who selected a Republican or Democratic primary ballot May 20 must vote on the same party runoff ballot, but those who chose a nonpartisan ballot May 20 can select either party in the runoff, Bailey said.

The late summer runoff is unlikely to attract many voters….

We mentioned yesterday that Mississippi’s “Ranked Choice” runoff ballot for overseas voters allowed them to keep the runoff election to three weeks this year, unlike Georgia, which had to go to a never-ending nine-week runoff. We questioned why Georgia can’t do something similar and were pointed to legislation by Senator Josh McKoon that would have done exactly that. Let’s hope the General Assembly takes a long look at the primary schedule next year.

An article in the Washington Post yesterday about the genesis of runoff elections reminded me of a fact I often take for granted that other politicos understand: runoff elections were instituted by the Democratic party as a means of controlling their primary elections and preventing African-Americans from winning elections.

The runoff system is a vestige of a time when white Democrats controlled Southern politics, and manipulated election rules to make sure they stayed in power.

“They trace their lineage back to an era when there was only one party in politics,” said Charles Bullock, a political scientist at the University of Georgia who wrote a definitive history of runoff elections in 1992. “Back in the day when the South was one-party Democratic, the runoff was often the determinative election. So you often had more people participating in the runoff than in the original primary.”

Southern states started implementing runoff systems in the late 19th and early 20th Century, when state parties used to run primary elections. Democrats controlled the South then; when a constitutional amendment allowed for the direct election of senators in 1914, Democrats held every Senate seat in the South. So the runoff system, first adopted by South Carolina in the late 1800s in order to exert more control over gubernatorial primaries, allowed party bosses to select nominees.

And because the Republican Party was such a small percentage of the overall electorate in the South, general elections mattered far less than primaries; the winner of a primary was virtually guaranteed to win the general election.

“The Democratic Party had a monopoly on politics in the region,” said Merle Black, a political scientist at Emory University. “After blacks were eliminated as voters in the South, that ended the Republican Party.”

Votes that will make heads explode

The Fulton County Commission is expected to vote again on moving forward with a property tax hike. Homeowners and their advocates are not impressed.

Fulton County commissioners will try again in two weeks to take the first step toward a 17 percent tax increase after failing Wednesday to get the number of votes necessary to start the process.

Fulton’s first countywide tax hike in 23 years would cost the owner of a $275,000 home an extra $140 a year. But it failed to clear its first hurdle at the Fulton Board of Commissioners on Wednesday. With several commissioner absent, a proposal to advertise the tax increase and schedule public hearings failed on a 3-1 vote. It needed four votes to pass.

The proposal will be back on the commission’s agenda June 18. Critics say the tax hike is illegal and unnecessary.

“It’s reckless because Fulton County residents are still recovering from the worst recession in modern history,” said state Rep. Jan Jones, R-Milton. “The last thing they need is the county reaching further into their wallets.”

Supporters say the tax increase is needed to protect vital services and stabilize a budget still reeling from the Great Recession. Commissioner Joan Garner said Wednesday she supports the tax hike, but also wants to make sure Fulton is spending its money wisely.

I don’t know if any vote occurred or if it was an administrative decision by State School Superintendent John Barge, but a $107 million contract to develop testing for Georgia students has been awarded. Common Core opponents will not be amused.

The Georgia Department of Education on Wednesday announced a new testing system, called the Georgia Milestones Assessment System, which will arrive during the upcoming school year. In late May, the DOE awarded a five-year, $107.58 million contract to CTB/McGraw-Hill to develop the new system

DOE officials said the test will be aligned to the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards and will require more from students than the CRCT and EOCT it replaces, in order to better prepare students for college and career and to provide a more realistic picture of academic progress.

State School Superintendent John Barge touted the new system as being consistent from third grade through high school, which is different than the previous series of individual tests.

Education officials also warned that the new test may mean initially lower scores than the previous years’ CRCT or EOCT scores. That is to be expected and should bring Georgia’s tests in line with other indicators of how our students are performing, Barge said.

“We need to know that students are being prepared, not at a minimum-competency level but with rigorous, relevant education, to enter college, the workforce or the military at a level that makes them competitive with students from other states,” Barge said.