News and Notes
No article this week, just some local & state political news you may have missed...
By Tom McMahan, Dade County Democratic Chair
(Note: Our Committee is 2 $5/month recurring donations from meeting our primary fundraising goal for 2023. Can you pitch in for one of those two?)
LOCAL NEWS
From the Sentinel (Jan 11, Berglar)
South Dade (Valley south of Bank of Dade) Commissioner Robert Goff (R) announced he will not be running for re-election next year. His term will expire on December 31, 2024 following next year’s general election.
ARPA funding will be used for a $100,000 training simulator for the Dade County Sheriff’s Department.
No progress was made on the planned Election Board building or Dade-Trenton Animal Shelter.
Nationally renowned and prolific caver Marion Smith recently passed away. Smith frequently caved here in Dade and has left all of his papers to the Dade County Library with his longtime friend Joy Odom and the Dade County Historical Society overseeing them. In other Library news, the Library had over 26,000 visitors in 2022!
Committee view - Running candidates for county-level positions is not our highest priority due to our current partisan disadvantage, but we are always open to the possibility. If you know of someone who lives in District 3 and is interested in running, please email me. In 2023, we will (eventually) have one or two statewide Public Service Commission elections plus Trenton City elections in November. We are DEFINITELY looking for Trenton candidates! Municipal elections are small, can be won, and are non-partisan. Candidates must live in Trenton, of course.
STATE NEWS
President Biden will be speaking today at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to commemorate the life of Martin Luther King Jr.
The Fulton County Special Grand Jury has issued it’s report on former President Donald Trump’s efforts to subvert the 2020 Presidential election here in Georgia. The judge overseeing it will issue his ruling to make it public on January 24th.
The 2023 Georgia State Assembly began its new session this week. Jon Burns (R - Newington) is the new Speaker of the House.
The only business of consequence was passing new Assembly rules, one of which cloaks state Representative and Senator discussions with 3rd parties even from being used in judicial proceedings. This is an unprecedented expansion of the long-held “legislative immunity” power, perhaps being done in the wake of Senator Lindsey Graham being forced to testify to the Fulton Special Grand Jury. NOTE State Senator Colton Moore’s (R - Trenton) non-sensical justification for this action about halfway down the article. (Perhaps a new weekly “What Did Colton Say?” is in order?)
Speaking of lack of Georgia Republican transparency - click here for potential large-scale fraud at the expense of Georgia’s poor in one of Governor Kemp’s programs.
State Senator Moore will Chair the Interstate Cooperation Committee.
State House Rep. Mike Cameron (R - Rossville) will sit as a member of three committees - Agriculture, Budget Oversight, and Industry and Labor.
While Republicans maintained majority control of both houses, Democrats have narrowed the gaps again for the fourth straight election. Its down to 11 seats in the 180 seat House, and either 4 or 5 seats in the 56 seat Senate. A special election is being held at the end of this month to decide that final Senate seat. The senate district is along the Florida line, its been Republican, but it is competitive enough that Democrat Mary Weaver-Anderson could flip it. Visit her site and pitch in a little for her campaign if you can!
Senator Jon Ossoff takes a well-deserved victory lap for the QCell expansion in Whitfield and Bartow Counties! So does the Inflation Reduction Act!
Finally, a great Twitter thread for the continued great economic news coming from President Biden’s first two years!
TM