Bandit is a 3-4 month old, 15 pound puppy who likes nothing better than riding around in the passenger seat of your Trans-Am, dodging the law. The male lab mix is available for adoption today from Walton County Animal Services.
These “Spice Girls” are 3-4 month old Weimaraner mix puppies who weigh about 15 pounds each. Also available from Walton County Animal Services, any dog adopted from Walton is the best deal in new best friends, costing only $40 and including all shots.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Susan Weiner, the first female Mayor of Savannah and a major figure in the 1990s history of the Georgia Republican Party has died at the age of 66.
Known as a trailblazer for women, Mrs. Weiner (pronounced Why-ner) was elected mayor in 1991 and lost her bid for re-election by fewer than 260 votes.
In 1996, she helped U.S. Senator Paul Coverdell establish the Coverdell Leadership Institute, a training program designed to increase the number of Georgia Republicans in elected and appointed government positions. Then, in 2004, Gov. Sonny Perdue named her as the executive director of the Georgia Council for the Arts, a position that allowed her use her political knowledge to bolster theater and other arts.
Speaker David Ralston will propose an absolute ban on lobbyist gifts to legislators next Session, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Ralston told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday that a simple cap on the value of those gifts would do little to stem the influence of special interests. Instead, he said, he will propose to end the practice outright.
“I have always said while I believe the current system is a good system because it does provide information and it’s open and transparent that if we didn’t have that system then a prohibition would be better than a cap, and I haven’t changed my mind,” Ralston said.
Voters “spoke on the issue in the primary,” Ralston said. “I’m committed from the House side to making sure we have real, serious ethics reform.”
If results of a non-binding ballot question are sufficient to change the Speaker’s position, a good question is where the threshold lies. Did the Personhood ballot amendment or casino gambling measure attract enough support to translate into a vote on the floor of the State House?
Fifteen extra votes were “found” during the recount for Fulton County Sheriff.
The found votes didn’t make enough difference to give the losing candidate, former Sheriff Richard Lankford, the runoff he wants. Current Sheriff Ted Jackson still won outright with 50.05 percent of the vote, according to recount results certified by the elections board on Monday.
“If you do a recount, you ought to get the same results you do the first time,” Lankford said.
The found votes might not have made a difference in that election, but we hope they will spur the General Assembly to take a close look at Fulton County’s elections office and consider whether the Secretary of State should have some level of oversight where a county has a history of election mistakes like Fulton County does.
The Gwinnett County Republican Party will host a runoff forum for the remaining candidates for County Commission District Three, Gwinnett County Superior Court, and Gwinnett County State Court on Wednesday night, August 15 beginning at 7 PM at the Gwinnett County Justice and Administration Center at 75 Langley Drive in Lawrenceville. Doug Richards of 11Alive will moderate the forum.
Invited candidates include:
District 3 – Mike Beaudreau and Tommy Hunter
Superior Court – Kathy Schrader and Tracey Mason Blasi
State Court – Emily Brantley and Pam Britt
Republican State Representative Buzz Brockway has endorsed Kathy Schrader in the runoff for Gwinnett Superior Court. “I’m endorsing Kathy Schrader because her experience and qualifications make her the best candidate for Gwinnett County Superior Court. I encourage voters to join me in voting for Kathy Schrader in the August 21st runoff election,” said Brockway. Brockway joins Senator David Shafer and State Rep. Brooks Coleman, who previously endorsed Schrader.
Snellville City Council voted 4-2 to consider restricting the Mayor’s power to appoint and nominate to some city board’s and jobs.
Though the action voted on Monday took no formal action, it set the stage for possible future changes that would prohibit Mayor Kelly Kautz in terms of making nominations for positions like city attorney, city manager and various boards.
Kautz and ally Councilman Mike Sabbagh voted against the move.
“I believe this is only going to intensify the conflict in our city,” Kautz said. “I have tried to compromise on many things, on many nominations, as you’ve seen here tonight … The charter is something that I have to stand strong on, and that I have to protect not just for the current mayor but for the future mayors of Snellville.”
Councilman Dave Emanuel said Snellville’s current charter and mayoral appointment capabilities was “out of step with at least six other cities in Gwinnett County.”
“I don’t see it as taking away power from the mayor, I see it as taking an out-of-date charter and bringing it up to date … I think frankly it will make the council work better together,” Emanuel said. “This isn’t about power, this is about moving forward, this is about overcoming hurdles.”
Candidates for the newly-formed City of Brookhaven began qualiying this week.
J. Max Davis• District 1:Alan ColeKevin D. Fitzpatrick Jr.• District 2:• District 3:Hope BawcomBen PodgorErik Steavens• District 4:
Kerry WittQualifying for candidacy ends Wednesday, Aug. 15, at 4:30 p.m.
J. Max Davis, who served as President of Brookhaven Yes, and the only announced candidate for Mayor of Brookhaven, first ran for office against State Rep. Mike Jacobs, who sponsored the incorporation bill.
In the Ninth Congressional District, a new survey puts Martha Zoller ahead of State Rep. Doug Collins for the Republican nomination by 43-39. The poll was conducted by Wenzel Strategies, which has been criticized for bias in surveys for right-wing organizations and on behalf of Republican candidates.
The Marietta Daily Journal writes that the bags of money thrown at passing T-SPLOST went down the drain, “it would appear that the campaign spent roughly $26.21 for each vote it received. Not much bang for its bucks in the metro region, in other words.”
The election for State House District 139 may or may not be about race, depending upon whom you ask.
“Well they’re trying to present that it’s about race, and it is not. It’s not when it comes to Commissioner Bentley and Representative Lynmore James,” says Bentley.
But blogger Keith McCants, who is managing the campaign of Bentley’s opponent Thomas Coogle, writes that Bentley played the race card against Coogle.
Thomas Coogle & Patty Bentley will meet in a runoff to determine who will succeed Lynmore James who retired after this year’s legislative session.
But as expected. the use of the Race card is now being thrown around in attempts to keep HD 139 “BLACK” or in Black Control.
My high ranking sources down in Vienna & elsewhere have been emailing me, as well as texting me that retiring State Representative Lynmore James, along with his Bentley this week alone has been making the rounds in the swing county (in which Coogle got 47.9% of the vote, while Bentley got 34%) telling voters & county/city officials that the district needs to be, it has to be represented by a Black, not a white & that folks in Atlanta are used to seeing a black face representing HD 139 (formerly HD 135). In other word..LET’S KEEP HD 139 BLACK
Now, the district has a 57% Black Population, 62% minority population with hispanics included.
Events
On August 15th, beginning at 6 PM, Josh Romney will headline a fundraiser aimed at young professionals at the Park Tavern at Piedmont Park in Atlanta. Georgia Finance Chair Eric Tanenblatt will host with Congressmen Tom Graves, Rob Woodall, and Austin Scott expected to attend.
Host / Private Reception / Photo — 6 p.m.
$1,000 per Person (Give or Raise)Photo Opportunity — 6:30 p.m.
$250 per PersonGeneral Reception — 7:00 p.m.
$100 per Person
Governor Nathan Deal and First Lady Sandra Deal will host Governor Mike Huckabee at a reception and dinner supporting the Romney Victory Committee on August 16th at 5:30 (Photo Op) & 6:15 PM (Reception) at the Robson Event Center, located at 310 Broad Street in Gainesville, GA 30501. The full invite is available here.
5:30 PM Photo Op – ($5,000 PER PERSON/ $10,000 PER COUPLE)
6:15 PM General Reception – ($1,000 PER PERSON)
To RSVP for either of these events, please contact Dabney Hollis at (404) 791-7179 orDabneyH@me.com, or Stephanie Jones at (404) 849-7211 or StephanieGJones@me.com.
