A surprise move to eliminate DeKalb County's CEO form of government passed the House Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
House Bill 961 wasn't on the agenda, and had only been introduced a day earlier by state Reps. Meagan Hanson, R-Brookhaven, and Tom Taylor, R-Dunwoody. Members of the committee were presented with the bill only as the meeting began.
Though Hanson said her bill wasn’t aimed at incumbent CEO Michael Thurmond, it would prevent him from seeking a second term in 2020. At Hanson’s side as she presented the bill was Nancy Jester, the only one of seven commissioners with whom the state lawmaker said she consulted on the measure.
Jester, a Republican who represents north DeKalb, cited the county’s water and sewer woes as one reason the measure was needed. “I believe that there is a direct connection to that competency issue and the form of government we have,” she said.
Hanson said something similar. “I think there’s a link between the fact that DeKalb County is the only county that has this form of government, and yet we also see the type of consistency in ethical challenges,” she said. “I can’t help but think that there’s a link there.”
Hanson acknowledged that the bill was introduced as general legislation because the Democratic-dominated DeKalb County legislative delegation had resisted past efforts and changing DeKalb’s form of government.
DeKalb is the only county in Georgia in which voters elect the chief executive, who runs the government. Should Hanson’s legislation pass, voters would elect a county commission chairman, who would preside over a commission but wouldn’t have direct control over hiring and firing.
Committee chair Ed Rynder, R-Albany, admitted that the sudden presentation of the legislation was “very rare,” but cited the looming Feb. 28 deadline of Crossover Day as a reason to proceed. One Republican, state Rep. Buzz Brockway, R-Lawrenceville, worried out loud about the pace, suggesting that a study committee might be more appropriate and pointing out that the bill targeted a “prominent and powerful politician.”
State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Decatur, voiced the strongest concerns about the lack of subcommittee scrutiny given to a bill that would affect 800,000 DeKalb County residents. Nonetheless, her motion to table the bill was defeated by Republican members of the committee, who then approved the measure.
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You may not know this, but if an active member of your organization declares that the governor reigns over the seventh circle of Hell, there's a chance that said governor won't sign your favorite piece of legislation.
We’re told that the leadership of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association met with Gov. Nathan Deal on Tuesday to disavow Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, who last week referred to Deal as “Lucifer” in a criticism of the governor’s effort to reform Georgia’s cash bail system.
The group told the governor that Sills has resigned from all leadership positions within the GSA. Look for a broader mea maxima culpa from the group today.
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State Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, who has led the fight for medicinal marijuana in the Legislature, this morning abruptly announced his decision not to seek another term this year. From his email:
"Twelve years is a long time, longer than I thought I would serve in the State House. I've always believed that an elected official should know when it's time to leave. I've also committed to myself that I would not make a career of politics.
"So, for all these reasons, I have decided that it is time to call it a career in politics and I have made the decision that I will not be running for re-election in 2018.
"My biggest disappointment will be that we have not come to a solution on cultivation of medical cannabis in our state, but I am confident that there is a strong group of colleagues that share my passion who WILL continue this fight."
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Former Savannah congressman Jack Kingston took to public radio on Wednesday to try and clear the air after he suggested students pushing for action on gun control action were being controlled by left-wing forces.The Republican and former Trump surrogate told GPB's "Political Rewind" that "I absolutely do not doubt these kids' sincerity." "Their hearts are broken and I absolutely support their right to go up and be heard," he said.
But he said there are groups that have a history of taking advantage of national tragedies such as last week's mass shooting at a Florida high school. He cited actor George Clooney and TV mogul Oprah Winfrey, who announced donations to the organization behind a March 24 gun control march on Washington."I know that unfortunately things like this turn rapidly to politics and there are people who will take that agenda and run with it," he said.
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Years ago, the National Rifle Association pushed the Atlanta-based U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to shut down their gun research program. Democrat Stacey Evans, a former state lawmaker now running for governor, said she would push for state research into gun violence if she's elected.
Evans said she would direct the Georgia Department of Public Health to conduct the research “so that we aren’t relying on the federal government to take steps that could save Georgian lives.”
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Another gun control bill has been introduced, this one by state Rep. David Dreyer, D-Atlanta. HB 970 would ban the carrying of "a long gun while knowingly participating in the assembly of two or more persons upon any public way or public property."
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You know about the GOP legislative effort to de-annex a major portion of Stockbridge in Henry County in order to form a new city of Eagles Landing. The move has been condemned by the Georgia Municipal Association as a dangerous precedent.
Many have pointed to a Buckhead secession from Atlanta as a worst-case scenario.
But former Atlanta mayor Sam Massell said Buckhead isn’t about to travel that route. He sent us notes from a “state of the community” address he delivered to the Buckhead Business Association on Tuesday. Said Massell:
"I have spoken out in opposition to such consideration of Buckhead becoming a separate city, because of the obvious result that would project a Wall Street headline of our capital city bankrupting, a simple path to devastation for Atlanta and its growth, with parallel damage to Buckhead's on-going prosperity."
