Oh, Michael Thurmond, what have you done? Last year, the former state labor commissioner successfully completed a brief tenure as superintendent of an imploding DeKalb County school system.
Now another non-educator may be trying to replicate his success. From the Athens Banner-Herald:
A Monday vote is scheduled. Houston has been sheriff for 20 years, but has a doctorate in business administration, it is reported. Houston does have some teaching experience. From the Greene County sheriff's department website:
Houston has served as an adjunct instructor for Athens Technical College, Columbus State University, and Tennessee State University. He holds an instructor certification from the Georgia Peace Officer's Standards and Training Council and has served as a guest trainer for the North East Georgia Police Academy, Georgia Public Safety Training Center, and the Georgia Sheriff's Association.
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We now have the line-up for Thursday's GOP presidential debate in North Charleston, S.C. From Fox News:
The participants qualifying for the earlier, 6 p.m. ET debate are:
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul; former HP CEO Carly Fiorina; former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee; and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
That’s a demotion for Fiorina and Paul. Which explains why Paul says he’ll skip the event.
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More from former Georgia GOP chairman Sue Everhart on her endorsement of billionaire presidential candidate Donald Trump, via the Marietta Daily Journal:
"I know sometimes he can step on his own toes, but he's saying what the other politicians are thinking, but they don't have the guts to say it, and they won't say it or do it when they get there," Everhart [said]. "I am so tired of milquetoast politicians in a private meeting (saying) they are going to do all these great things and they get there and they don't do it, starting with the county commissioners right on up. Donald Trump, I believe, will do what he says he's going to do … Donald Trump doesn't owe any allegiance to anybody."
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Former Georgia congressman and Libertarian candidate for president Bob Barr is in New Hampshire today, campaigning for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. One of his appearances will be at a gun range, naturally. Barr sits on the board of the National Rifle Association.
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We know that Attorney General Sam Olens' legal opinion helped sway Gov. Nathan Deal to withdraw his executive order opposing the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Georgia. But he might have had another reason to hurry up his decision.
A records request revealed that on the morning of Jan. 4 -- the same day he issued the retreat -- the Department of Community Health received an application for emergency funds to cover a delivery and a Medicaid application for a baby born to a Syrian refugee.
"Given the sensitive nature of the Syrian refugee situation in Georgia I wanted to check before giving them direction on how to proceed," Jonathan Duttweiler of the department's Medicaid division wrote to Clyde Reese, the agency's head.
"I read about Attorney General Olens letter to Governor last week," Reese then wrote to Deal's chief operating officer, forwarding the request. "How would you like me to proceed?" Within an hour or two, they had their response.
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Many Mondays (and sometimes Tuesdays) during the last two legislative sessions brought a familiar spectacle.
A knot of Moral Mondays Georgia protesters would rally at the Capitol campus, protest the state's refusal to expand Medicaid and call for a higher minimum wage, and parade around the Gold Dome until the authorities were summoned.
The effort, a coalition of progressive interests, fueled enough protests to fill more than a dozen police wagons over the last two years.
But this past Monday - the start of the legislative session - came and went with nary a mention of the movement. Messages to Moral Mondays organizers went unreturned. Twitter and Facebook pages signal a shift to more local issues. And allies aren't sure what became of the events that once roiled the Capitol.
"I don't know what's going on with them," said state Sen. Vincent Fort, an Atlanta Democrat among the dozens who have been arrested during the group's demonstrations. "But I've got enough on my plate."
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We've been remiss in not addressing a report from the Dunwoody Crier last week, stating that newly elected state Rep. Taylor Bennett, D-Brookhaven, has eight staffers – including four interns.
Bennett tells us that only one is being paid, and poorly at that – chief of staff Hayden Brooks. The others are all volunteers. One working for free is Loren Collins, who was one of Taylor’s opponents in the special House District 80 contest to replace Mike Jacobs.
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