This is a test, this is only a test
Yesterday, several Associated Press papers like the Kansas City Star and the Macon Telegraph were apparently testing their distribution system for election results and someone entered some fictitious numbers for Georgia’s November 5th races.
I suspect these test results were never meant to be viewed publicly, but they tripped some Google Alerts. Where it gets funny is that the always-amusing Al Bartell campaign for Mayor of Atlanta sent out breathless news releases trumpeting fake test results that showed Bartell within five points of incumbent Mayor Kasim Reed. Here’s what that looked like:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — RE-RELEASE
City Wide REVIEW – BREAKING NEWSMEDIA CONTACT:
Carrie L. Williams
[phone redacted]ATLANTA — Associated Press (AP) just released the following test results for Atlanta’s mayoral race, showing Mayor Kasim Reed with 45% of the vote, and Mayoral Candidate Al Bartell with 40% of the vote, showing Atlanta heading into a run-off mayoral race
How do you know that’s not some sort of insider prediction of a runoff based on super secret polling? Because the Kansas City Start report of the results included the Senate District 14 race and showed Dean Sheridan making a runoff against Matt Laughridge, but Sheridan withdrew from the race more than a week ago.
Nancy Jester gearing up?
Two weeks ago, former DeKalb County Board of Education Member Nancy Jester published an Op-Ed at the Marietta Daily Journal on Common Core and the Georgia Performance Standards that predated it, causing some others to speculate that she might announce for State School Superintendent.
Nancy was on Zoller and Bryant the next week, and they asked if she would run for State School Superintendent; she said she’d be announcing in a week or so. On Friday, Jester was on WABE 90.1 with Martha Dalton and repeated that she was considering the statewide election.
Yesterday, Jester’s email alert didn’t have a formal announcement, but it outlined a speaking schedule that looks like a candidate who is preparing for a statewide campaign.
Tuesday, October 21
Join me Tuesday at 9 a.m. on America’s Web Radio to discuss all things Politics, Education and Propaganda (PEP)! On Tuesday’s show, I’ll interview Tanya Ditty, the State Director of Concerned Women of America about Common Core.
Thursday, October 24
I’ll be speaking to the Georgia Black Republican Council. I’m looking forward to our discussion about how we can improve the educational lives of Georgia’s children.
Saturday, October 26
Join me in Dalton for Americans For Prosperity Foundation’s Freedom Conference. I’ll be a panelist speaking about education in Georgia. Click here to register. It’s going to be a terrific event. Hope to see you there.
Tax attorneys now a verb-noun combo
Previously, under Georgia law, governments could not levy an occupational tax on attorneys. Under a decision released yesterday by the Georgia Supreme Court, municipalities may now levy such a tax, as the Supremes upheld the City of Dunwoody’s ordinance as it relates to attorneys.
As always, for analysis of rulings by the Georgia Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, I rely on SCOGblog by Bryan Tyson.
Writing for the Court, Chief Justice Thompson explained that local governments have historically been able to collect occupational taxes on lawyers so long as the taxes are intended to generate revenue and are not a license for practicing law.
Democrats decry nomination of Mike Boggs for Federal Court
As a Republican, if Senator Vincent Fort (D-Media) ever runs to the television cameras to criticize me, I’ll know I’m doing something right. Court of Appeals Judge Mike Boggs is being criticized by Fort for a 2001 vote against changing the State Flag when Boggs was a Republican member of the State House. While he had the media’s attention, Fort and company took the chance to criticize the makeup of the entire list of nominees approved by Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson as only one African-American appears among the five names.
After a stint in the State House, Boggs served on the Superior Court for the Waycross Circuit and was appointed to the appellate bench by Gov. Nathan Deal.
I don’t recall Senator Fort complaining much when Dubose Porter, who also voted against the flag change in 2001, and actually signed a bill to bring the 1956 flag back to the Capitol, was elected Chairman of the Georgia Democratic Party.
Eugene Yu and the Karen Handel media strategy
Last week, Eugene Yu’s campaign for US Senate sent an email claiming that they would be the first Senate campaign on television.
Eugene Yu will be the first candidate in the 2014 Georgia Senate race to run television advertising. The ad, titled Tax or Treat, offers a playful take on Eugene’s views on the scary taxes and regulations coming out of Washington.
The ad will run on broadcast and cable stations starting this weekend. The campaign will also be backed by the first large direct mail of the race, which will also start hitting this weekend.
I checked the FCC Public Inspection files for the four major network affiliates in the Atlanta media market and no advertising time at any of them has been purchased yet for the Senate race. It’s possible that a broadcast buy has been made in one of the secondary media markets, where online FCC files aren’t maintained, but it’s also likely they’ve adopted the Karen Handel strategy of leveraging a small-dollar media buy into thousands of dollars worth of free media as newspapers and online outlets cover the ads.
The difference is two-fold here, I think. First is that Karen Handel’s press operation is likely the best in the field in Georgia today. Calling it the “Karen Handel strategy” isn’t a criticism of their campaign, but a sign that they’re the best practitioners today. Second is that Karen Handel starts with high name ID and is a major candidate in the Senate race and a star of the small screen. Most reporters and Republican voters probably think that Eugene’s name is pronounced “Eugene Who?”
Does this meet the statutory criteria for bribery?
Bob Wilson, former DeKalb County District Attorney who is now investigating the behavior of Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker on behalf of the city government, released a 28-page interim report including some finding about hizzoner. According to 11Alive, the report alleges:
Bodker was found to be in violation of state “law, ethics and charter.”
- “Mayor Bodker accepted a benefit from a developer, and he had a conflict of interest when he voted on at least one rezoning matter for that developer when it came before City Council.
- Mayor Bodker violated the Executive Session Confidentiality by disclosing a landowner details about an executive session in which the Council was discussing the potential purchase of land from that landowners.
- Mayor Bodker acted contrary to the directive of Council and exceeded his authority as Mayor in contacting the mayor of a neighboring city concerning matters that the Council had unanimously agreed (including the Mayor himself) to keep confidential during an executive session over potential litigation.”
We just downloaded our copy of the report, and will be discussing it at length after we’ve read it. As a disclaimer, I should note that I have clients on the Johns Creek City Council.
Peach Pundit wrote in their morning email that the allegations against Bodker were “small potatoes.” We disagree. Among the specific allegations contained in the report:
“[T]he Mayor began yelling at [City Manager John] Kachmar that he did not want [Atlanta Athletic Club] members targeted or ticketed [for DUI enforcement].
“[City Council Member Liz] Hausmann became so angry she told the Mayor the council would call for his removal if [Bodker’s attempts to prevent police enforcement] didn’t stop.”
“Mayor Bodker should have recused himself from a zoning matter that involved a developer from whom the Mayor was receiving reduced rent and had accepted a free week’s vacation at the developer’s beach house in Destin, Florida. We further conclude that such action violated the Johns Creek Code of Ethics….
The Johns Creek Ethics Code prohibits council members from accepting anything of value that could reasonably be considered to influence the member in his official action and which results in a pecuniary benefit to the donor.
Equally troubling, the Mayor misled the public, telling them that he did not receive any discount, when in fact he was paying reduced rent. But what is of most concern is that he never mentioned to the public that he also received a free week’s stay at [the developer’s] beach house and then voted in favor of [the developer] on a zoning matter that came before City Council.
Just for fun, here’s the Georgia statute on bribery:
(2) A public official, elected or appointed, or an employee of this state or any agency, authority, or entity of the state, or any county or municipality or any agency, authority, or entity thereof, directly or indirectly solicits, receives, accepts, or agrees to receive a thing of value by inducing the reasonable belief that the giving of the thing will influence his or her performance or failure to perform any official action….
Coincidentally, Bodker has a fundraiser scheduled tonight with Attorney General Sam Olens.
Speaking of Sam Olens, he was in Virginia yesterday with AG Ken Cuccinelli, the Republican nominee for Governor, Pam Bondi, Florida AG, and two other state Attorneys General for a Get Out the Vote Rally.
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