ATLANTA – Several dozen of former Georgia Rep. Meagan Hanson’s former colleagues in the state House of Representatives are endorsing her bid for Congress.
The Sandy Springs Republican announced Monday she has picked up endorsements from 35 current and 10 former state House members for the GOP nomination in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District.
“These Republican officials are men and women I served with in the state legislature and who have seen firsthand that I have the work ethic, vision, and grit necessary to defeat [U.S. Rep.] Lucy McBath and restore conservative leadership to Washington,” Hanson said Monday. “I am tremendously grateful for the confidence they have placed in me.”
Current state lawmakers endorsing Hanson include Rep. Bruce Williamson, R-Monroe, secretary of the House Republican Caucus, and several committee chairmen: Reps. Terry England, R-Auburn; of the House Appropriations Committee; Alan Powell, R-Hartwell, who chairs the Regulated Industries Committee; Richard Smith, R-Columbus, the Rules Committee chairman; and Don Parsons, who chairs the Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications Committee.
Former GOP House members supporting Hanson include Wendell Willard of Sandy Springs and Brett Harrell of Snellville.
Two members of the state Public Service Commission – Republicans Tricia Pridemore and Jason Shaw – also are backing Hanson.
Hanson is among several Republicans vying to challenge McBath, D-Marietta, who won the seat in 2018 after the GOP had held it for decades. The list includes Jake Evans, former chairman of the Georgia Government Transparency & Campaign Finance Commission; U.S. Army veteran Harold Earls and activist Suzi Voyles.
The 6th Congressional District covers East Cobb, North Fulton and North DeKalb counties. However, Republicans in control of the General Assembly are likely to redraw the district during the special legislative session that starts on Wednesday to give the GOP a better chance of winning it back.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – Georgia has joined six other states in filing a long-threatened complaint against President Joe Biden and other federal agencies over the White House’s COVID vaccine mandates.
Gov. Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr filed the complaint late last week in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. Other states joining the complaint are Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia.
The lawsuit claims the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate is unconstitutional.
“This vaccine mandate on federal contractors will only further divide Americans and hamstring our economy,” Kemp said. “Polling shows 70% of unvaccinated Americans say they would quit their jobs if their company required the COVID-19 vaccine.
“From an employer’s perspective, nine in 10 fear significant reductions in their workforce if they had to implement vaccine mandates. We will not allow the Biden administration to circumvent the law or force hardworking Georgians to choose between their livelihood or this vaccine.”
The plaintiffs are asking the court to block the defendants and those acting in concert with them from enforcing the mandate on any state of Georgia federal contracting agency, subcontractor, and employee.
Democrats were decrying the lawsuit even before the complaint was formally filed.
“Brian Kemp and Chris Carr’s lawsuit is nothing more than a dangerous political stunt,” said Rhyan Lake, spokeswoman for the Democratic Party of Georgia. “Rather than put partisanship aside to get Georgians vaccinated, Georgia Republicans have decided to wage a war on the side of COVID-19.
“The vast majority of Americans support President Biden’s actions to protect our communities’ health against the spread of coronavirus, and Georgia’s recent rise in vaccinations prove that it is working. Kemp and Georgia Republicans should end their pro-COVID antics, heed the call of Georgians, and join Democrats in fighting to end this pandemic.”
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – Democrats and Republicans will converge at the state Capitol Nov. 3 to begin redrawing Georgia’s congressional districts, a once-a-decade exercise to accommodate population shifts reflected in the U.S. Census.
Both parties are offering vastly different visions for how Georgia should be represented in Congress, with Republicans seeking to maintain their majority in the Peach State’s 14-member U.S. House delegation and Democrats looking to even things up.
Georgia House and Senate Democrats showed their cards Oct. 21 by releasing a proposed congressional map ahead of the special legislative session.
Democrats said their map would provide a fair opportunity for voters of color in Georgia to elect representatives of their choice, as minorities would make up a majority of the residents in six of the 14 districts (Districts 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, and 13).
“We are focused on maps that fairly reflect Georgia,” said state Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta. “We’ve had a lot of growth in minority groups. We believe the maps should reflect these significant changes.”
But with Republicans in control of the General Assembly, any map Democrats suggest – whether a congressional map or proposed boundaries for state House and Senate districts – promises to be dead on arrival.
For the GOP, the key question will be whether to try to regain one of the two congressional seats in Atlanta’s northern suburbs lost to the Democrats during the last two election cycles or go for broke and try to take back both seats.
A congressional map Georgia Senate Republicans released in late September appears to take the more cautious approach. It goes after the 6th Congressional District seat Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, won in 2018 by moving heavily Republican Forsyth County into the district and removing portions of North Fulton and North DeKalb counties more friendly to Democrats.
Brian Robinson, a former top aide to then-Gov. Nathan Deal and a Republican political commentator, said Democratic inroads in recent years have left the GOP without the voting strength to take back both the 6th and 7th district seats.
“We can’t draw 6 and 7 as Republican districts,” he said. “But the opportunity is there to bring back one Republican.”
Earlier this month, the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, along with RepresentUs, a nonpartisan anti-corruption organization, gave the GOP map a “C” on its Redistricting Report Card, based on partisan fairness, competitiveness and geographic features. The organization said its “C” grade means the proposed map is average, and could be better but also worse.
The same report card gave the Democrats’ map a “B” for partisan fairness and said the map would give a slight partisan advantage to Democrats. It also gave the Democratic map two “C’s” for competitiveness and geographic features.
“If all levels of government are to be responsive to the needs of Georgians in education, health care, and infrastructure for the next 10 years, the state needs a community-based districting process,” said Jack Genberg, an attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center. “So far in this process, the leaders of the Georgia legislature have shown a disdain for the public and their needs. They’ve run a sham process.”
Genberg said legislators scheduled all of their community meetings on redistricting before census numbers were actually released.
“Legislators made these pre-data, pre-guideline meetings inaccessible to wide swaths of Georgians whose first language is not English, Georgians with mobility issues and other disabilities, those who are hearing impaired, and people unable to attend in-person events during a resurging pandemic or because of work or family obligations,” Genberg said.
RepresentUS recently ranked Georgia as one of 35 states that are most at-risk for partisan gerrymandering. The organization said risks are high because new election maps can be controlled and drawn by politicians in secret and rigged for partisan gain. It also said so-called “rigged” election maps are hard to challenge in court.
Democrats say their map also is likely to lead to a 7-7 split in Georgia’s congressional delegation. Currently, there are eight Republicans in Congress representing Georgia and six Democrats.
“Georgia has changed significantly over the last decade, and our proposed congressional map reflects that growth,” said U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Columbus. “Georgia voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around, and this map guarantees that.”
The GOP map was overseen by Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and state Sen. John Kennedy, R-Macon, who chairs the Senate Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee.
“This map not only meets principles of redistricting, but we are proud to present a map that regardless of political party, Georgians can be proud of,” Duncan said when the map was released. “Ensuring that any maps we produce are fair, compact, and keep communities of interest together will continue to be of upmost importance.”
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
“Georgians’ hearts are heavy today as we mourn the devastating loss of Jovita Moore,” said U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta. “A warm, steady presence in our homes every day, Jovita was for so many of us our link to the city and the world. Jovita was a talented journalist, a loving mother, and a cornerstone of the Atlanta community whose enormous impact was felt far beyond the newsroom. We are lifting up Jovita’s family and WSB-TV colleagues in love and prayer during this time of unimaginable grief.”
The #NABJ Family deeply mourns the loss of legendary @wsbtv news anchor & longtime member @JovitaMoore. Moore battled with brain cancer & inspired many on her journey. Her legacy of kindness, commitment to her craft, and reaching back to help the next generation will live on.🕯️ pic.twitter.com/efArnyxYfu
Today, we mourn the passing of @jovitamoore, who used her voice and platform to highlight important issues impacting Atlantans for more than 20 years. May God bless her family, loved ones, and @wsbtv colleagues in their time of grief.
Moore is survived by her mother, two children and a stepdaughter.
Our kids Shelby and kai grew up together. We would have lunch and would just laugh and laugh. She was my friend and we talked a lot of smack 😂😂 I will miss her . We are all better for her coming to Atlanta! @JovitaMoorepic.twitter.com/vbNRmGjUGS
It is hard to put into words the depth of this loss. For so many young black journalists, #JovitaMoore was our standard. A class act, a trusted journalist and a beautiful spirit. Jovita was everything I wanted to be one day and I’ll cherish her memory forever. Rest well, Queen.💔 pic.twitter.com/cyUpxPfBqA
I don’t even remember when we became friends.. but what l do know is that @JovitaMoore was sincere and funny. Our ties to media is what connected us but life made us friends. She loved her children, embraced life to the fullest.. and always gave back. #RIP my friend 🙏🏾 @wsocpic.twitter.com/XLVivxBTkH
Moore was a native of New York who earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Columbia University graduate school of journalism. She also held a bachelor’s degree from Bennington College in Vermont.
#ATLANTA my heart is deeply broken as I learn that my dear friend @jovitamoore has passed away. For years she graciously represented Atlanta by telling stories that enlightened us & lifted our spirits! Please keep her family & @wsbtv colleagues in your prayers!🙏🏾RIP #JovitaMoorepic.twitter.com/NrFCqZfARm
Before joining WSB-TV, the station said she spent time on the air in Memphis at WMC-TV and KFSM in Arkansas.
Thank you for the style, professionalism, and grace that you brought into our lives, and the Metropolitan area, on a daily basis… Well done and rest well #JovitaMoorepic.twitter.com/lDd3bld1Vi
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp announced Thursday that $110 million is being dedicated to combat violent crime in the state.
Kemp also announced plans to establish a violent crime task force that, he said, will help local district attorneys with their violence crime casework.
The funds are coming from money available through President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act.
Kemp’s announcement came after a state Senate public safety committee meeting last week, where several metro Atlanta judges and law enforcement officials detailed their efforts and needs in fighting crime throughout the city.
The committee has been holding meetings and hearings for several weeks, ahead of next week’s special legislative session the governor has called for redistricting.
The $110 million will be used, according to Kemp’s office:
• To provide additional, temporary court staff such as senior judges, bailiffs, court reporters, judicial officers, court staff, and other necessary persons to address the case backlog created by COVID-19. • To contract with third party locations to conduct court proceedings in larger facilities. • To pay for additional, temporary prosecutors, investigators, legal administrative positions, and contract legal services. • To provide additional circuit and conflict attorneys for the Georgia Public Defenders Council.
The funding for the judicial system and prosecuting attorneys will be administered by the Judicial Council of Georgia and its Administrative Office of the Courts. The available grant funding for the Georgia Public Defenders Council will be administered through the Governor’s office.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
