Another House leadership candidate, and a promise of more software gadgetry
We have another entry in the House majority leader sweepstakes. State Rep. Chuck Martin of Alpharetta last night sent a note to House Republicans, declaring his candidacy to replace Larry O'Neal, who will resign April 30 to take a judicial appointment offered by the governor.
Martin joins Allen Peake of Macon and Jon Burns of Newington in the contest. From Martin's email:
I want to see our Republican Caucus approach the 2016 Session with some big ideas, ideas we can debate, refine internally, and then move them on in the legislative process. We are Republicans, we can handle respectful debate, it makes us better and it makes Georgia better. Your daily jolt on politics from the AJC's Political insider blog
Never mind the comma splicing. Martin’s candidacy would be significant geographically. His district abuts that of House Speaker pro tem Jan Jones of Milton. If successful, Martin would further cement that part of Georgia north of I-285 as the power center of the state GOP.
Peake, one of Martin's rivals for House majority leader, was required to resign his current position as secretary/treasurer of the House GOP caucus – creating another job opening.
On Thursday, Mike Dudgeon of Johns Creek – another north Fulton Republican – declared his candidacy for Peake’s old job. In doing so, he bragged on his creation of some computer programming we didn’t know House Republicans had:
To this end, I have helped many caucus members with crafting legislation, developed a program to allow us to compare bills, made an email system to inform us of lobbying reports, and another to let us monitor election qualifying….
He’s promising even more:
• Automated system that texts a member and caucus leadership at 9 pm on a campaign disclosure deadline if that member's report is not filed;
• Automated system to help caucus members respond to "form emails" without retyping the answer, and also to collect those email addresses;
• Automated system to scan emails and flag which ones are from constituents where it can be determined.
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A simmering political fight on trade escalated to a raging boil with the introduction Thursday of a bill to give President Barack Obama "fast-track authority" for a huge Pacific trade deal.
In addition to the high-stakes Asian pact, the deal dropped in the Senate would reauthorize a trade deal with Africa -- and tackle a major issue for Georgia's poultry farmers.
South Africa for years has put high tariffs on U.S. chicken, and Sens. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Chris Coons, D-Del., whose states are big on the bird, have fought to get the tariffs taken down. The Africa deal bill introduced Thursday, according to Isakson and Coons, gives the Obama administration "new leverage to persuade South Africa to drop its ban on U.S. poultry."
It would allow the administration more flexibility to punish any nation for such a violation without entirely revoking its trade benefits -- a drastic step. Wrote Coons and Isakson in a press release:
"We expect the U.S. Trade Representative to utilize this new flexibility to level the playing field for American-grown and American-made products — including chicken — in South Africa."
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The print and premium editions today take a look at how a No Child Left Behind rewrite could affect Georgia. A taste:
A U.S. Senate committee unanimously approved the compromise Thursday, which would reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act nearly eight years late.
The bill tackles the touchy issue of Common Core by simply restating that the federal government cannot impose any such standards -- which already is the case. U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., who sits on the education panel, told us Thursday that the language will help deal with Common Core hysterics:
Will the language help get more conservative votes?
"Well, it's going to remove any suspicion that it's some kind of master plan of the federal government to take over childhood education, which it's not."
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U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Atlanta, wrote the entry in the Time 100 for Apple C.E.O. Tim Cook. A taste:
"He is setting a new standard for what business can do in the world. Tim is unwavering in his support of an individual's right to privacy and is not only embracing equality and LGBT rights but advocating for change through his words and actions. His commitment to renewable energy is also leaving our planet a little cleaner and a little greener for generations yet unborn."
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Nashua, N.H., is the place to be this weekend if you want to hang out with Republicans running for president. From the Washington Post's Robert Costa:
In all, nearly 20 Republicans who are running for president or considering bids — including GOP long shots such as Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.), billionaire real estate mogul Donald J. Trump and former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore — will be at the Crowne Plaza hotel.
Party officials expect over 600 Republicans to be in the ballroom there, along with hundreds of credentialed reporters. According to a state GOP adviser, each speaker is allotted about 30 minutes, just enough time to make an impression and introduce themselves to voters who follow politics as closely as they do the Boston Red Sox.
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Kaiser Permanente, the not-for-profit health care giant, cited proximity to MARTA when it chose a spot in Midtown, following State Farm, Mercedes-Benz and other big firms who said they were lured in part by transit. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said the business activity around MARTA is changing the conversation about transit.
Millennials, young people just entering adulthood up to their early 30s, will by 2020 make up about half of the nation's workforce, according to a 2012 workplace report by the University of North Carolina business school. Many are moving to cities where they can walk to work or ride transit.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, at an announcement of Kaiser's plans, said the General Assembly "took a bold step" in approving new transportation funds. Though votes to expand MARTA funding did not succeed, the conversation about transit is changing.
"The best thing happening around the transit conversation in our state is that it is becoming totally nonpartisan, primarily because of the emphasis of the business community," Reed said. Business moves, Reed said, make transit "a nonpolitical conversation. It makes it a decision about whether you want to continue to have the kinds of wins we are having."
