The only major battle on Sherman’s March to the Sea occurred at Griswoldsville on November 22, 1864; on the same day, federal troops marched into Milledgeville.

On November 23, 1864, Sherman himself entered Milledgeville, where used the Governor’s Mansion as his headquarters. Sherman’s forces left the capitol city on November 24th.

President John F. Kennedy became the fourth President of the United States to be assassinated in office on November 22, 1963. The next day, Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald, who had been arrested for shooting Kennedy.

Construction on the Georgia Dome began on November 24, 1989.

On November 24, 1992, Republican Paul D. Coverdell defeated Democratic incumbent Wyche Fowler in the runoff election for United States Senate.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Early voting continues this week in the runoff election for DeKalb County Commission District One.

Advance Voting – 4380 Memorial Drive Location Only
M-F November 17-26, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
(Office closed for Thanksgiving 11/27-28)

Early voting also continues in the runoff election for Columbia County Commission District 3.

Elections Director Nancy Gay said early voting will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Nov. 26 at the Board of Elections office, 500 Faircloth Drive, Building E, in Evans.

Elections Director Nancy Gay said the last day for absentee ballots to be mailed out is Wednesday, November 26; they must be turned in by Dec. 2. There will be no weekend voting, Gay said.

The election will be limited to voters who live in District 3 and were eligible to vote in the Nov. 4 election. District 3 polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 2.

Trip Derryberry, a Martinez businessman, and Mack Taylor, a lawyer and former assistant district attorney, were the top two vote-getters Nov. 4 in the field of four vying to fill the seat vacated by Charles Allen, who resigned in March.

The funeral for the late Governor Carl Sanders this weekend included a who’s who of the state’s political luminaries and was written up nicely by Walter Jones of Morris News:

A large crowd filled a downtown Atlanta church Saturday for the memorial service for Carl Sanders, an Augusta native who had served as governor in the height of the Civil Rights Movement.

All living former governors, including ex-President Jimmy Carter, were present. But only Roy Barnes spoke.

Sanders was elected the same day as George Wallace was in Alabama, Barnes noted. And where Wallace was defiant in opposing desegregation, Sanders was accepting. And although Birmingham and Atlanta were similar sizes at the time, they aren’t any long thanks to Sanders’s approach, Barnes said.

“Business does what it always does: it seeks safety and security and stability, and it came here to Atlanta and Georgia,” he said.

“Because of Carl Sanders, this metropolitan area has 3 1/2 million people, and the metropolitan area of Birmingham, Ala., has 700,000.”

Gov. Nathan Deal, who has described Sanders as a mentor, spoke barely a minute.

“Greatness is history’s label of approval, and it is bestowed on very few,” he said. “As we remember the life of Gov. Carl Sanders, we are also laying history’s wreath of greatness at his feet.”

Sanders served as governor 1963-67 as a Democrat. A political moderate, he chose not to fight court-ordered racial desegregation as neighboring governors did. As a result, he often said, Northern businesses considered Georgia a more friendly place to locate their factories and warehouses, helping the state to prosper and outpace surrounding states.

He appointed many blacks to positions within state government, and there were many blacks on hand at the memorial service to say their thanks and chat with the family afterward.

Last week, while taping “Political Rewind,” I got to listen to former Gov. Barnes and former Congressman Buddy Darden talk about Gov. Sanders and his legacy to the state. Click here to listen.

Christina Cassidy of the Associated Press spoke to Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp about the proposed SEC Presidential Primary in 2016.

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp is among those pushing a regional March 1, 2016, contest dubbed the “SEC Primary,” named after the Southeastern Conference and which would include Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi and possibly Alabama and Louisiana.

“As someone who went to the University of Georgia and lives in Athens and understands how powerful the Southeastern Conference is in football today, that is exactly what we want to be when it comes to presidential politics,” Kemp said.

With the South being a strong voting bloc for Republicans, officials say an early primary date would give them an important say in who the GOP nominee should be and would comply with rules put forward by the Republican National Committee that allows states willing to carve up their delegates proportionally to hold their nominating contests March 1. States that prefer winner-take-all must still wait until March 15.

Both Georgia and Tennessee are set on the March 1, 2016, date. Tennessee lawmakers passed legislation in 2011 designating the first Tuesday in March for presidential primaries. Officials in Arkansas and Mississippi say they are working to move their primary.

Part of the draw, says Kemp, is that a cluster of states would make it easier for candidates to visit multiple states at a time and spend money on advertising in TV markets that cross state lines. And because they would be early states, candidates might be lured into hiring local staff who will become key assets if they secure the nomination, Kemp said.

“It gives the South a lot of influence in national political decisions,” Kemp said.

General Assembly 2015

Normally, we wouldn’t spend too much time on legislation that’s unlikely to pass, but two bills that have been dropped by Rep. Tyrone Brooks (D-Atlanta) will be in the spotlight because the further the Democratic party’s national narrative.

House Bill 8, co-sponsored by Rep. Dewey McClain (D-Lawrenceville) would raise the state minimum wage.

Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, every employer, whether a person, firm, or corporation, shall pay to all covered employees a minimum wage which shall be not less than ~~$5.15~~ $6.20 per hour for each hour worked in the employment of such employer. As of the effective date of this Code section, the minimum wage shall be not less than $15.00 per hour for each hour worked in the employment of such employer. On January 1, 2016, and on January 1 of each successive year thereafter, the minimum wage shall be increased by the increase in the cost of living, if any.

In reading legislation, strikethrough is used to ~~convey irony~~ show deletions and underlining indicates language added to statute. HB 8 also deletes several exemptions from the state minimum wage law.

House Bill 9, co-sponsored by Rep. Keisha Waites (D-Atlanta) would “Ban the Box,” or remove any questions about an applicant’s criminal history from job application forms, though such information could be sought in an interview. Last year, a spokesperson for Gov. Deal told local media that an Executive Order would issue prohibiting state agencies from making such inquiries on job applications. I couldn’t locate an actual Executive Order that has been issued.

Here’s some background on the issue in Georgia:

Deal was inspired to ban the box on the recommendation of the Criminal Justice Reform Council, Dlugolenski said, which the governor established in 2011 with the goal to “protect public safety and hold offenders accountable while controlling state costs.”

One of its members was former state Rep. Jay Neal, a Republican from LaFayette, Ga.

Neal stepped down from the council after the governor appointed him last year as executive director of the state’s new Office of Transition, Support and Re-entry. That agency works to reduce recidivism among criminals, enhance public safety and ensure that the state’s convicted offenders can successfully re-enter society.

Georgia wants to “lead by example,” Neal said, and restrict ban the box to state jobs, instead of making private business comply.

“We did not want to tell private business what they could put on job applications,” Neal said.

No legislation has been proposed yet by the Joint Study Committee on Critical Transportation Infrastructure Funding, though a proposal is expected by the end of this month.

The panel has traveled the state, holding eight public hearings, but now it must actually produce a set of recommendations that leaders of the House and Senate have promised will be “significant” and “bold.”

While there were few clues given at Thursday’s final committee meeting, panelists heard a variety of concerns and suggestions, especially about the growing impact that hybrid and electric vehicles have on the state’s bottom line. The more fuel-efficient the car, the less gasoline is purchased. The less gasoline purchased means the less collected in gas taxes for transportation projects.

“All of these new types of vehicles are coming on the market, and we as a state and a country are offering tax incentives for people to buy them on one hand,” Rome City Commissioner Buzz Wachsteter said. “But on the other hand, what are we doing? We’re taking away the revenue that was being produced by conventional vehicles that use motor fuel to provide revenue.”

Lawmakers on the panel seemed sympathetic. State Rep. Mark Hamilton, R-Cumming, said afterward that the committee heard a presentation from leaders in Florida, where electric vehicle owners are charged an annual fee to make up for the loss of gas taxes. While Hamilton mentioned a $250 fee during Thursday’s meeting, he said later that the number was just an example and not a proposal.

Event Calendar

Joint Study Committee: Property Tax Digest Impact on Education Funding

November 24 @ 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

State Capitol – Room 450, 18 Capitol Square, Atlanta, GA 30339

+ Google Map

MEETING NOTICE TO: JOINT STUDY COMMITTEE – PROPERTY TAX DIGEST IMPACT …

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for November 24, 2014