ATLANTA – The race to succeed Republican Burt Jones as Georgia’s next lieutenant governor is heating up, with multiple leading state senators considering the position.
Sen. John F. Kennedy, R-Macon, opened a door to run on Thursday, registering his intent to raise campaign contributions. As the Senate’s president pro tempore, he is only one notch below Jones.
Kennedy outranked Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, who declared he was entering the race earlier this month and recently vacated the role of Senate majority leader.
Also raising money for the Republican primary is Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia. He’s not in Senate leadership, but has led the powerful Appropriations Committee for several years, making him a key player in budget decisions.
Another raising money for the GOP nomination is Jerry Timbs, II of Griffin, who ran for Henry County Commission in 2016. And Takosha Swan of Conyers, who was appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp to the board of the state Department of Veterans Service in 2019 after running unsuccessfully for the state House of Representatives, is both raising money and has announced she is running.
On the Democratic side, Sen. Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs, is going for his party’s nomination. He is not in Senate leadership but has been a consistent foil for Republicans during debates on the Senate floor.
ATLANTA – Democratic leaders in the General Assembly Thursday reiterated a request they made nearly two weeks ago for Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr to issue a formal legal opinion clarifying the rights of pregnant women under the state’s strict abortion law.
Democrats criticized the Living Infants and Fairness Equality (LIFE) Act Republican Gov. Brian Kemp steered through the legislature in 2019 as vague. House Bill 481 prohibits abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, typically about six weeks into pregnancy.
Enforcement of the new law didn’t begin until 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.
Since then, pregnant women have been denied medical care in Georgia during miscarriages because of uncertainty among doctors over whether they could be prosecuted under the law. In one highly publicized case that became an issue on the presidential campaign trail last year, a pregnant Georgia woman died after seeking an emergency abortion.
Currently, Adrianna Smith, a pregnant brain-dead woman, is being kept on life support without her family’s consent because of her pregnancy.
“What rights do women have under this law?” state Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones, D-Augusta, said Thursday during a news conference at the state Capitol. “Georgians have been asking these questions.”
“We deserve clarity,” added Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes, D-Duluth, who wrote the May 16 letter to Carr. “Georgians deserve laws that protect our health.”
Democrats introduced legislation this year in both the state House and Senate that essentially would have repealed the 2019 law. However, majority Republicans bottled up both in committees without a vote.
Carr responded on Thursday with the same statement he issued on the Smith case two weeks ago.
“There is nothing in the LIFE Act that requires medical professionals to keep a woman on life support after brain death,” the attorney general said. “Removing life support is not an action ‘with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy.’ “
The Democrats were accompanied at Thursday’s news conference by representatives of several abortion rights organizations including the Georgia chapter of the National Organization for Women, Planned Parenthood Southeast, and SisterSong.
ATLANTA – A former chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court will take over as interim president at Emory University to allow the current president to become the school’s chancellor.
Leah Ward Sears, who served on the high court for 17 years, has been a member of Emory’s Board of Trustees since 2010. She will assume her new role at the beginning of September, succeeding President Gregory L. Fenves.
“Dr. Fenves has been a highly effective and dedicated president,” board Chairman Bob Goddard said Wednesday. “This new role will enable him to build on the essential growth he helped facilitate while focusing on Emory’s future.”
Under Fenves’ leadership, Emory initiated a fundraising campaign that has become the most successful in the university’s history. Fundraising promises to play a major part in his role as chancellor.
“Serving as Emory’s president has been a great honor,” Fenves said. “Prior to my arrival in Atlanta, I knew that Emory was a special place, but over the past five years I’ve developed a far deeper appreciation for the brilliance, passion, and dedication of our community. I’m proud of what we have accomplished together.”
As Sears prepares for her new role, Emory’s trustees will launch a nationwide search for a permanent president.
“Having the opportunity to serve Emory as interim president is a full circle moment for me,” Sears said. “In 1977, I was fortunate to receive a scholarship to the Emory School of Law, and it changed my life. I think my life’s work has been a payback for that gift, and I welcome the chance to serve Emory as it continues to change lives the way it did for me and my family.”
ATLANTA – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger Wednesday disqualified state Public Service Commission (PSC) candidate Daniel Blackman from next month’s Democratic Primary ballot.
In a ruling that upheld a decision an administrative law judge handed down on Tuesday, Raffensperger declared that Blackman failed to prove he had established residence inside PSC District 3 at least one year before this November’s general election as required by state law.
The challenge to Blackman’s residency was brought by a voter who lives in District 3, which covers Fulton, Clayton, and DeKalb counties.
Blackman was among four Democrats vying to win the party’s nomination to challenge incumbent Republican Commissioner Fitz Johnson.
Since early voting in the June 17 primary began on Monday, it’s too late to remove Blackman’s name from the ballot. A notice will be placed in the polling places informing voters of Blackman’s disqualification, a spokesman for the secretary of state’s office wrote in an email to Capitol Beat.
Johnson and District 2 Commissioner Tim Echols are currently serving terms that were extended because of a 2022 lawsuit challenging the way members of the PSC are elected in Georgia.
Four Black Fulton County residents argued that electing the commissioners statewide rather than by district dilutes Black voting strength in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act.
A lower federal court agreed and ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, but the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals overturned that decision. The appellate court ruling was allowed to stand when the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to take up the case.
The General Assembly passed legislation last year scheduling special elections for PSC districts 2 and 3 this year.
ATLANTA – The University System of Georgia Board of Regents voted Wednesday to name Christopher “Mike” Johnson as the sole finalist for president of the University of West Georgia (UWG).
Johnson, currently serving as chief of staff at the University of Houston, will succeed the Carrollton school’s interim President, Ashwani Monga, whose permanent role is as the university system’s executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer. Monga has served as interim president since the departure of Brendan B. Kelly in last August after he accepted a position as president of the Arkansas State University System.
“In this search, we wanted a leader with the energy and experience to build on the University of West Georgia’s momentum as a regional powerhouse committed to being a student-oriented, success-driven university,” system Chancellor Sonny Perdue said.
“UWG plays a vital role in the education, economy and overall success of the west Georgia region. With Dr. Johnson, we have a top candidate who brings proven leadership, fundraising expertise and a clear understanding of the importance of preparing UWG graduates for the 21st-century workforce.”
Before joining the University of Houston in 2015, Johnson served as director of development for the military programs at Purdue University. He has more than 30 years of leadership experience in public service in both higher education and in the military.
“I’m honored to be named the sole finalist for the presidency of the University of West Georgia and can’t wait to Go West,” Johnson said. “UWG stands at an exciting crossroads, poised for institutional growth, enhanced reputation and student success. I look forward to the opportunity to collaborate with students, faculty and staff to drive transformative progress.”
Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from The Citadel, a master’s degree in higher education from George Mason University, and a doctorate in higher education leadership and policy from the University of Houston’s College of Education.
The regents will hold a final vote on Johnson’s appointment at a future board meeting no sooner than five days from naming a finalist.
ATLANTA – It will remain illegal for people under 21 to carry a handgun in most public places in Georgia after the state Supreme Court upheld state limits on the right to bear arms.
In a unanimous decision issued Wednesday, the high court ruled against Thomas Stephens, a 20-year-old who sued after Lumpkin County denied his application for a license to carry a handgun.
Georgia’s Constitution says the right to bear arms “shall not be infringed,” but also gives the state legislature the authority to “prescribe the manner” in which weapons may be carried.
The justices concurred that this “manner clause” was intended to qualify or limit the right to carry a weapon in Georgia.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr’s office defended that interpretation, but a lawyer for Stephens argued that Georgia’s restrictions are rooted in a time before the U.S. Supreme Court began applying a higher standard against government intrusion into personal liberties, starting around World War II.
The federal high court developed a standard of “strict scrutiny” and began requiring that burdens on fundamental rights be justified by a “compelling” state interest, Stephens’ attorney, John R. Monroe, said during oral arguments last month.
“Strict scrutiny should be applied to this case because it’s a fundamental right for people to keep and bear arms,” Monroe said.
However, the opinion authored by Justice Andrew A. Pinson said Stephens and his attorney were asking the justices to “import” federal standards to guide their interpretation of the state constitution, “a practice we have regularly criticized and disapproved.”
The opinion also observed that the state Supreme Court has previously backed legal restrictions on where guns are allowed, for instance upholding a law that banned them in churches and courts.
State laws are presumed to be constitutional and the burden to prove otherwise is a “heavy one,” Pinson wrote.
“Stephens fails to meet that heavy burden here,” he added.
