Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for August 16, 2024 (2024)

On August 18, 1591,the English settlement at Roanoke Island in the Outer Banks of what is now North Carolina was found deserted.

On August 18, 1795, President George Washington signed a treaty with Great Britain called the Jay Treaty, after Supreme Court Justice John Jay who negotiated it. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison led opposition to the treaty.

On August 18, 1862, Confederate Major General of Cavalry J.E.B. Stuart was nearly captured, losing his distinctive hat and cloak and written copies of Lee’s orders near Verdiersville, Virginia.

Georgia Governor Joseph Terrell signed legislation creating the State Board of Health on August 17, 1903.

Georgia Tech was designated the State School of Technology on August 17, 1908 by joint resolution of the State Senate and State House.

In a quaint bit of Georgia history, on August 17, 1908, Governor Hoke Smith signed legislation prohibiting corporate donations to political campaigns. Cute!

The Georgia General Assembly adopted a joint resolution urging the creation of a federal Health Department on August 18, 1908.

On August 18, 1916, the Cherokee Rose was designated the official state flower of Georgia by a joint resolution of the State House and Senate.

The practice of tipping service employees was outlawed by legislation signed on August 18, 1918.

Georgia Governor Hugh Dorsey signed legislation creating the State Department of Banking on August 16, 1919.

Georgia Governor Hugh Dorsey signed legislation regulating the practice of architecture and licensing practitioners on August 18, 1919.

The Georgia Board of Public Welfare was also created on August 18, 1919 when Gov. Dorsey signed legislation establishing that body and a companion bill that created the Community Service Commission.

Tennessee became the 36th state and the final state whose ratification was required to adopt the Nineteenth Amendment on August 18, 1920, which reads:

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Georgia Governor Clifford Walker signed legislation changing the method of execution in Georgia from hanging to the electric chair on August 16, 1924.

On August 18, 1924 Gov. Clifford Walker signed legislation that would allow a referendum on a Constitutional Amendment to allow Atlanta, Savannah, or Macon to consolidate their respective municipal governments with their county governments. Macon-Bibb County merged in 2014 after voters passed a referendum in July 2012.

The Beatles played at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium on August 18, 1965. AtlantaTimeMachine.com has a couple images from the night.

On August 16, 1974, The Ramones played their first public show at CBGB in New York.

Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977.

On August 18, 1991, hardline Commies in the Soviet Union arrested Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev as part of a coup against Gorbachev’s reforms.

On August 17, 1998, President Bill Clinton testified as the subject of a grand jury investigation.

The testimony came after a four-year investigation into Clinton and his wife Hillary’s alleged involvement in several scandals, including accusations of sexual harassment, potentially illegal real-estate deals and suspected “cronyism” involved in the firing of White House travel-agency personnel. The independent prosecutor, Kenneth Starr, then uncovered an affair between Clinton and a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky. When questioned about the affair, Clinton denied it, which led Starr to charge the president with perjury and obstruction of justice, which in turn prompted his testimony on August 17.

On August 18, 2015, Jeb Bush visited The Varsity in Atlanta. Here’s the funniest line from the CBS46 story:

Recently, Bush put a series of “Jeb No Filter” videoson YouTube andsome say it’s a way to bring up his popularity.

“We’re going to work hard to earn the support of Georgians in the March 1primary.It’s the second largest state in the primary, it’s our neighbor to our north, we’re going to be working hard,” Bush said.

While the instinct behind “Jeb No Filter” may have been good, it would take Donald Trump to show what No Filter really means.

The State Capitol was evacuated temporarily yesterday, according to the AJC.

The Georgia State Capitol was temporarily evacuated Thursday afternoon because of an email threat, officials said.

The threat was received shortly before 2 p.m., a spokesperson for the Georgia State Patrol said.

“All persons inside should evacuate in an orderly fashion,” Capitol police said in a text message.

Officers cleared the building and said there was no threat. There were no injuries or property damage reported.

The State House Study Committee on Navigible Rivers met yesterday, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Albany Herald.

[Turner said establishing navigability is a challenging task. While Georgia’s larger rivers – including the Altamaha, the Chattahoochee, and the Savannah – are clearly navigable, other rivers aren’t as simple to classify.

Even some of those larger rivers have upstream stretches that are not navigable, [former director of the state Environmental Protection Division Jud] Turner said. He cited as an example the Chattahoochee, which he said is not navigable in the upstream portion that flows through Helen, yet gets heavy use by tubers. Theoretically, a riverfront property owner there could shut down a lucrative recreational industry, he said.

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Re-read that last paragraph. A single riverfront property owner could shut down tubing on the Chattahoochee River in Helen.

Tubing in Helen is so iconic that it was featured on the cover of the 2019 Explore Georgia Travel Guide, according to a Press Release from the Governor’s Office.

The state’s tourism industry generated a record-breaking $63.1 billion in economic impact in 2017, for an increase of 3.8 percent over last year, according to the U.S. Travel Association and Tourism Economics. Leaders in the industry presented Governor Kemp with a check representing the $3.2 billion in state and local tax revenue generated by tourism-related expenditures in 2017.

[Governor Brian] Kemp also unveiled the cover of the 2019 Explore Georgia Travel Guide, which features tubing down the Chattahoochee River in Helen, an iconic Georgia pastime that has been enjoyed by visitors and locals for decades. The 190-plus page travel guide provides visitors with detailed information on Georgia’s tourism assets, including trip ideas, attractions, accommodations and events. More than 700,000 copies are printed to inspire potential visitors to book trips filled with authentic Georgia experiences.

“The Explore Georgia Travel Guide is a key marketing tool designed to inspire visitors and assist them with planning a memorable Georgia vacation,” said Kevin Langston, deputy commissioner for tourism at the Georgia Department of Economic Development. “Each year, the state travel guide showcases iconic experiences that can only be found in Georgia, attracting visitors to explore our state.”

But more important is the economic impact of tourism in Helen. From Now Habersham:

The state of tourism was discussed Tuesday as the White County Chamber of Commerce held the first of five vision information meetings.

[Executive Director of the Georgia Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus Jay Markwalter] provided information on the total dollars that visitors spend in the county, along with the jobs the visitor dollars help provide.

He said visitors generate the equivalent of $1,529 in tax savings for every household.

“Every car tag you see from outside of the area is pure economic development, cash they are leaving behind if it’s five dollars, it’s five dollars, but it is from outside the community. There is no cleaner industry,” he said.

According to Markwalter, not only should the Chamber work hard to promote the county, but work with the surrounding counties to attract visitors and encourage them to stay longer.

So, a single landowner could shut down tubing in Helen, which is a pillar of the local tourism economy. That in turn could impose significant tax burdens on everyone in White county, and probably surrounding areas.

Thomson Mayor Benjamin “Benji” Cranford was arrested after allegedly providing alcohol to members of a prison work crew, according to WJBF.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigations has arrested Thomson Mayor Benji Cranford.

Benjamin “Benji” Cary Cranford Jr. is charged with Furnishing Prohibited Items to Inmates and Criminal Attempt to Commit a Felony.

The Thomson Police Department requested the GBI investigate an allegation that Cranford reportedly gave alcohol to an inmate on work detail, on June 4.

A Grand Jury arrest warrant was issued for Cranford on Wednesday. Cranford has since been booked into the McDuffie County Jail.

The indictment states that he placed a bottle of gin in a ditch along Cobbham Road where inmates from the Jefferson County Correctional Institution were working.

Cranford was elected in November 2023, beating out incumbent mayor Kenneth Usry. He is currently serving a two-year mayoral term.

From a subsequent story by WJBF:

Back on June 6th, the Thomson Police Department asked the GBI to conduct an investigation into Cranford. He had been accused of giving alcohol to inmates on a work detail within the city limits two days earlier. A grand jury indicted the mayor today.

Jason Smith, the city and county spokesman, said, “As we understand the charges in this case are not related to Mr. Cranford’s duties as an elected official, we do not have a comment.”

Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones (R-Butts County) spoke in Colquitt County, according to the Moultrie Observer.

State Sen. Sam Watson, R-Moultrie, introduced Jones, telling the club members that they had known each other since 2012. Jones was elected into the state Senate at the same time that Watson was elected into the state House Of Representatives.

Watson said that Jones was from Butts County and lived in the City of Jackson where he owned a family business.

“After being home for a little while, he spent some time in his community, started a family and, much like me, got involved in the community and, then, felt led to serve in the state Senate and was elected in 2012 and started serving in 2013,” Watson said.

He served in the Senate until December of 2022, he added, following his election as the lieutenant governor the previous month.

Watson said that when he went to Jones with his ideas, he said, “It sounds good to me. If it’s good for your district and your people back home and you think it’s what you need to do, then go for it. And he’s truly led the Senate that way.”

“I was trying to think … but in my 12 years, now, of serving, I can’t remember a time that we’ve had our lieutenant governor in Moultrie,” Watson said and thanked Jones for taking time away from his business and family.

“I just wanted to show the lieutenant governor what we have here and how great we all work together to do the things that we do here,” Watson said.

“The way that the Georgia system is set up is nice because your legislators are legislative citizens. So, most of us have to work, have to keep a day-job when you’re also serving in public office like Chas or Sam or Amy, when she served,” Jones said, referencing state Rep. Chas Cannon of Moultrie, Watson and former state Rep. Amy Carter, now an official with SRTC.

Jones said that it was good to have people who continued to work and be involved with the community because they got to see legislation that they passed at the state capitol and how it actually transitioned and worked in the local communities.

“I always thought that was something special about the Georgia system. Something I appreciated,” he said.

Jones said that since he’s been lieutenant governor, he’s put forth a few initiatives that he wanted to address.

“Our state is very fortunate. It’s a growing state. It’s got positive things that are going on, here in the state, from an economic standpoint,” he said.

He said some things that he’d like to look at are reducing regulatory items on businesses, lowering the state income tax, looking at public safety and looking at the public school system to see that it provides the best eduction and offers choices in education, as well. He said he also wanted to focus on the DFACS and the foster care system at the state level.

United States Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Extreme NW GA) will speak at the Floyd County Republican Party rally, according to the Rome News Tribune.

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene will be the keynote speaker at the annual Floyd County GOP Tillman Rally, which will also feature state and local Republican Party leaders as well as National Rifle Association President Bob Barr.

The rally will take place Saturday morning at The Palladium on the Coosa Valley Fairgrounds, 1400 MLK Jr. Blvd. The event, which is free to attend, starts at noon.

“We’ll have food trucks, tables from local civic organizations and other vendors starting around 11 a.m.,” said Floyd County GOP Chair Jamie Palmer. “We’re looking forward to seeing everyone and getting people signed up to help with the November elections.”

The list of speakers also includes Georgia GOP Chairman Josh McKoon and state Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson along with state Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, state Reps. Katie Dempsey, Eddie Lumsden and Matt Barton and Floyd County Sheriff Dave Roberson.

Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Commissioner Kevin Tanner is focused on addressing opioid addiction, according to WJBF.

The Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities says opioid related overdoses have killed more than 650,000 people over the last 25 years.

State commissioner Kevin Tanner says part of the problem is people not properly disposing off drugs to avoid addiction.

“The number one way people are being addicts is in medicine cabinets. It is someone having a valid legal prescription and not disposing that properly and leaving it in the cabinet for their child, grand child, a family member or someone else to get,” said Commissioner Kevin Tanner.

Commissioner Tanner oversees the Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust — and says Georgia will receive $638 million dollars in settlements after a national lawsuit settlement with major pharmaceutical distributors. Georgia can count a 207% increase in opioid overdoses between 2010 and 2020.

“We want to have an emphasis on becoming addicted to an opioid to begin with. We also want to help people to help with recovery and have recovery efforts. We want to have treatment efforts and harm reduction and reduce the harm they are doing to themselves or their community,” said Tanner.

The commissioner says drug overdoses on meth, cocaine, heroine and fentanyl simply start from an injury prescription and then can spiral out of control.

“I think lawmakers being able to focused on where can we implement laws and policy changes that will help prevent opioid addiction to start with is going to be important and making it easier and stay in treatment and making sure we have the ability to build the facilities in the state and treat individuals who are addicted to opioids,” said Tanner.

The trust will award $50 million dollars in grants this fall and will launch a dashboard at www.gaopioidtrust.org for transparency.

Columbus City Council member Travis Chambers became the first African-American candidates elected citywide in Columbus in more than thirty years, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

Travis Chambers is the first Black candidate to win a citywide seat on Columbus Council since A.J. McClung was elected to the last of his seven terms 30 years ago.

“It shows that our city has embraced diversity,” Chambers told the Ledger-Enquirer during an interview in his office at Prestige Property Brokers, the real estate company he owns with his wife, Kia, who is the citywide representative on the Muscogee County School District Board. “For me, I was just proud to win this seat as an African-American male.

“Yes, I guess it is history. But I work with a diverse group of people. Being in HR (previously as vice president for human resources at Synovus and now vice president for people services at Goodwill Industries of the Southern Rivers), that’s what you do, . . . and everybody’s important. So I didn’t look at it from that perspective. I just looked at it as an opportunity to represent my community.”

In a wide-ranging Q&A, Chambers talked about how he won this election after two unsuccessful attempts, the impact his childhood had on his desire to be a servant leader, and the community problems and possible solutions he wants to prioritize on the city council. Here are highlights from that conversation, edited for brevity and clarity:

After two unsuccessful attempts to be elected to the city council, what was the winning difference for your campaign this time?

“We were very engaged. We spent a lot of time knocking on doors, talking to people, hearing their needs, concerns. … Every campaign, we’ve worked hard, but I think everything is in God’s timing. … My volunteers were phenomenal. … That’s very invaluable, to have good people on your team. … We did raise more money. The first time I ran citywide, I think we probably raised around $70,000, but we were over $100,000 this go-around.”

The Georgia Department of Transportation moves forward with a $4.6 billion dollar plan to build toll lanes on GA-400, according to the AJC.

The Georgia Department of Transportation has selected SR 400 Peach Partners to build and operate 16 miles of express lanes on Ga. 400, a decision that will allow the private company to collect tolls along the route for 50 years.

The State Transportation Board approved the choice Thursday, advancing a piece of GDOT’s goal of creating a system of connected express lanes throughout metro Atlanta. The long-delayed project, which at one point was slated for completion this year and now is not expected until 2031, is the first public-private partnership of its kind in Georgia.

Topping $4 billion, it’s also the most expensive project the state has ever pursued, though the terms of the deal mean taxpayers’ costs will be minimal.

The board also approved a contractor to build the new I-285 interchange at 1-20, a $1.2 billion project that is the state’s second most expensive ever. Legacy Infrastructure Contractors will be tasked with alleviating traffic at what’s currently the fifth-most congested bottleneck in the country.

Unlike the Ga. 400 express lanes, the I-20/I-285 interchange will be built traditionally, without private investment. That was originally the plan for the Ga. 400 project until an initial bid in 2021 came in that far exceeded the state’s $1.7 billion budget. State officials say that by turning over operations to Peach Partners, the express lanes can be built quicker and at a significantly lower cost to taxpayers.

“(It’s) far more than what we would have been able to do with our own funding,” Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry told the board.

Central Georgians are complaining about mail service, according to 13WMAZ.

This week state lawmakers are pressing the postmaster general on the work that’s being done to solve the issue.

The postal regulatory commission scored Georgia’s postal service 63.7% for on-time performance, while the national average was 87%.

A July report ranked the Peach State last in the nation for on-time delivery of two-day first-class mail. For several months, mail delays have halted mail-in ballots, driver’s license deliveries and jury duty notices.

Jason Blankenship, the vice president for The Better Business Bureau, says he has one tip to prevent this from happening.

“Stop mailing checks because we have seen a lot of mail theft,” Blankenship said.

Columbus District Attorney Don Kelly referred an investigation of three county employees to the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia, saying he is conflicted out, according to WTVM.

Columbus District Attorney Don Kelly has recused his office from the investigation, citing potential conflicts of interest.

In a letter addressed to the Prosecuting Attorney Council of Georgia, Kelly identifies three key employees currently under investigation: the finance director, the human resources director, and a deputy city manager.

D.A. Kelly confirmed that he advised the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office to seek outside legal counsel to ensure the integrity of the criminal probe. This investigation, which began as an administrative inquiry, has now escalated to a criminal matter.

Kelly expressed his discomfort in handling the case, stating, “I do not feel comfortable handling this case because these three individuals make decisions about employment and budget issues for my office.”

Georgia’s Secretary of State responded to new election rules proposed by the State Elections Board, according to WSAV.

At a meeting in July, the boardadvanced a proposalthat would require three separate poll workers to count ballots at voting precincts on election night to make sure they match the number of ballots recorded by voting machines. That proposal has been posted for public comment and the board is set to vote Monday whether to adopt it.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the state’s top elections official, called that effort “misguided,” saying it would delay the reporting of election results and introduce risks to chain of custody procedures.

“Activists seeking to impose last-minute changes in election procedures outside of the legislative process undermine voter confidence and burden election workers,” Raffensperger said in a news release.

Sharlene Alexander, a member of the Fayette County Board of Elections and Voter Registration, submitted the proposal to have three poll workers hand count ballots, sorting them into stacks of 50 ballots until all have been counted and the three workers have arrived at the same total. If that number doesn’t match those recorded on the voter check-in system, the electronic voting machines and the scanner recap forms, the poll manager is to determine the reason for the inconsistency and, if possible, correct it.

Alexander did not immediately respond Thursday to a voicemail, text message and email seeking comment on Raffensperger’s opposition to hand counting ballots at polling places.

Alexander wrote in her proposal that such a hand count of ballots was a “long-standing tradition” in Fayette County and other places. That stopped, she wrote, when Blake Evans, director of elections for the secretary of state’s office, sent an email to county election officials in October 2022 telling them not to do the hand count.

“I know that many counties have received an email requesting that poll workers hand count ballots at polling places on election night. Deciding to have poll workers hand count ballots at each polling location on election night is not something your poll workers should do,” Evans wrote in the email, which Alexander attached to her proposal.

The Dalton Board of Education voted to delay the adoption of their property tax millage rate until the tax digest is certified, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen News.

“We originally had scheduled to vote on a tentative millage (Monday) but (Superintendent Steven) Craft and I have met a few times with the mayor and the city administrator,” Evans said at a board meeting. “Whitfield County does not yet have a certified digest, so we don’t know the local property taxes that will come in.”

Board members discussed potentially keeping the property tax rate at eight mills at previous meetings, which Evans said they are still hopeful for. But those plans could shift because property values in Whitfield County were “under-assessed and undervalued” in the preliminary tax digest, he said.

“Typically, we get a certified digest sometime in July and we can set the millage in August,” Evans said. “We don’t have that certified digest, so it’s difficult for us when we’ve already approved our budget and began our Dalton Reads! (literacy) initiative … We don’t have an accurate understanding of what our local taxes will be.”

Because property values were under-assessed, Evans said the board members face a challenge that “hurts” the system in two ways.

“One, our local taxes that would come in normally are less … because property values are undervalued,” he said. “And then the state, where we get about 55 to 65% of our funding through the Quality Basic Education Act, expects the local districts to pay their local fair share. In the state’s eyes, because Whitfield County values are undervalued and under-assessed, then Dalton Public Schools and Whitfield County Schools are not paying their local fair shares, so we get less money from the state.”

That would mean the system would receive less money both locally and from the state, its two largest streams of revenue, Evans said.

“That’s what makes it difficult for us to be able to definitively say where we’re going to set the millage rate at this time,” he said.

Evans said board members are hopeful they’ll receive a certified tax digest in mid-September.

The Tift County Board of Education is also waiting for a certified tax digest to set their property tax millage rate, according to the Tifton Gazette.

Chief Finance Officer Klinton Guess said the millage rate had to wait on the Department of Revenue’s certification of the tax digest.

“Until we know what that value is, we can set the millage rate,” said Guess. Revaluation is currently going on throughout the county.

As of July 30, he said, 1,394 property tax appeals had been received. Of those, 790 were in process while 604 were resolved. Tift has 19,359 total land parcels. Guess said the appeals so far only represented 4% of the total. Property owners had until Aug. 12 to file appeals.

“If either the value or the number of parcels that are pending appeal exceeds 8%,” said Guess, “then they have to wait, they can’t get the tax digest certified.” Eight percent of total land parcels is 1,549.

Guess figured there would be a delay because of outstanding appeals.

The Glynn County Board of Education voted to move forward lowering the property tax millage rate, according to The Brunswick News.

The Glynn County Board of Education is proposing a half mill decrease in the millage rate for the coming fiscal year.

The board will advertise the decrease and hold three public hearings prior to adopting the new rate of 14.9 mills.

Avery Coty, the school system’s director of finance, said a half-mill decrease would be an incremental drop in revenue but would still provide a budget surplus of $252,700.

The current millage rate of 15.15 mills would have raised revenue $1.86 million above expenses because property values have increased.

The rollback rate of 14.455 mills would have brought in the same amount in property taxes as the previous fiscal year but would have also led to a $2.6 million budget deficit.

If the proposed rate passes, it will be the third year in a row the millage rate imposed by the board of education has dropped, Coty said.

The fact that it’s unclear whether this is technically a property tax increase, along with holding three public hearings makes me suspicious.

Macon-Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller seeks public feedback on whether his office should have a longer term-limit, according to 13WMAZ.

[Macon-Bibb County Commissioners are] limited to serving three, four-year terms, but it’s a different story for the mayor, who only serves two terms.

“There was some conversation early on about, ‘Should a mayor have a three-term limit as well, instead of two terms?’” Mayor Lester Miller said. “I wanted to put that out to the public.”

This week, Miller asked people online whether the county charter should be amended to provide equal term limits for both the mayor and commissioners.

He says he received strong feedback from a previous poll about running for governor.

“If four years is all I got left, I’m certainly going to look at some state positions, including the Office of the Governor,” Miller said. “[I] got a lot of interest, some great positive polling for me, as both running as an independent, democrat and republican, which is something I think I’m very excited about being able to raise that gap in partisan politics.”

Some commissioners say they see no issue in adjusting term limits, others are focused on other factors like staggering commission races.