As the weekend began, Republican candidate for governor Clay Tippins was basking in his new bad-boy image, having launched a TV assault that labeled GOP rival Casey Cagle as a financial mentor for strip clubs, and a second rival, Hunter Hill, as a Benedict Arnold.
The Tippins campaign happily passed on harsh judgments like this: "Hill Campaign Disgusted by Tippins Ad" – presumably, on the theory all publicity is good publicity.
But the charge against Cagle was worth exploring. From what we can tell, the Tippins ad alludes to House Bill 308, a tax measure passed during the 2015 session of the Legislature, aimed at the restoration of historic sites. As is well known, the famous Clermont Hotel in Atlanta had been mostly vacant during the previous decade, save for the Clermont Lounge – the aforementioned strip club – in the basement.
Cagle was present at the 2016 re-opening of the hotel, where he was thanked effusively for the passage of a tax bill that included this language:
"The maximum credit for any other individual certified structure shall be $563 million for any taxable year, except in the case that the project creates 200 or more full-time, permanent jobs or $5 million in annual payroll within two years of the placed in-service date, in which case the project is eligible for credits up to $10 million for an individual certified structure."
We only know of Cagle’s role because of that 2016 appearance. The lieutenant governor rarely casts a vote in chamber. But we wondered if there is more collateral damage to come as a result the Tippins attack.
HB 308 received two votes in both chambers, passing with strong majorities each time. But we found only one other GOP statewide candidate who supported it – an indication that word of one of its beneficiaries might have gotten out.
In the Senate, gubernatorial candidate Hunter Hill, representing Buckhead, voted against it. Michael Williams of Cumming, another candidate for governor, was excused from the first vote, and voted against it the second time.
Josh McKoon of Columbus, now a candidate for secretary of state, voted no the first time – and didn’t vote a second time. David Shafer, then Senate president pro tem and now a candidate for lieutenant governor, didn’t cast a vote either time. Lindsey Tippins of Cobb County, uncle to Clay Tippins, voted no. Rick Jeffares, a candidate for lieutenant governor, voted yes.
In the House, Buzz Brockway of Lawrenceville, now a candidate for secretary of state, voted no. So did Geoff Duncan, who is now running for lieutenant governor.
***
As mentioned above, Clay Tippins, a former Navy SEAL, also hyperbolically accused GOP gubernatorial rival Hunter Hill of high treason for musing that perhaps one ought to be 21 before being allowed to purchase an AR-15. (Hill has since backtracked.) But given that Hill is a former Army Ranger, the attack has given some heartburn. From the campaign Facebook page of U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, R-Monroe:
"Likening Hunter Hill for Governor - an honorable veteran who led soldiers on 3 combat tours overseas - to "Benedict Arnold" (our nation's first traitor) is just plain wrong.
"I believe as Republicans we are lucky to have many good candidates running statewide. I would urge all Georgia voters to do their research and reject these kinds of desperate political attacks."
***
This could either be a burst of positive news for Georgia's pursuit of Amazon's second headquarters - or the last nail in the coffin.
The Washington Post reports that the e-commerce giant has "quietly made rights for and acceptance of gay and transgender people part of its criteria in choosing" the $5 billion campus.
Amazon executives were apparently more disenchanted by the Senate's support of a measure that would allow adoption agencies to refuse to place children with same-sex couples than they were by the Legislature's embrace of the NRA over Delta Air Lines.
On the other hand, Gov. Nathan Deal and business leaders were said to have reminded Amazon officials during their visit to Atlanta last month that that the adoption restrictions were blocked in the Georgia House.
***
Fox News commentator Sean Hannity has some extensive real estate holdings in Georgia, according to The Guardian. Courtesy of the British newspaper:
The real estate holdings linked to Hannity are spread across more than 20 shell companies formed in Georgia. Each of the companies uses a variant of the same name, which combines the initials of Hannity's children. Public records show the companies have bought up dozens of properties in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Vermont....
The Georgia purchases were funded with mortgages for $17.9m that Hannity obtained with help from HUD, which insured the loans under a program created as part of the National Housing Act. The loans, first guaranteed under the Obama administration, were recently increased by $5m with renewed support from Carson's department.
***
After the raid on the offices of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, former House speaker Newt Gingrich on April 12 likened the FBI to the Gestapo of the Nazi era. Four days later, Dentons, the global law firm with a sizeable office in Atlanta, announced that it had ended its three-year relationship with the former Georgia congressman. We've come across reliable chatter indicating that the two events were connected.
***
The aforementioned Clermont Lounge isn't the only club stirring up dust. From Dyana Bagby with Reporter Newspapers:
A federal civil rights lawsuit alleges the city of Brookhaven is targeting African-American clubs to put them out of business through the recent overhaul of its alcohol ordinance that now requires certain venues pay $100,000 in alcohol license fees and not sell booze on Sundays…
"To stem what it perceives as an influx of 'hip hop' restaurants, the city of Brookhaven has adopted and enforced a set of confusing, content-based ordinances that it believes will cripple the city's restaurants which cater to African Americans," begins the lawsuit filed April 13 in U.S. District Court by attorney Cary Wiggins on behalf of his clients Josephine, Medusa Restaurant & Lounge and XS Restaurant & Lounge.
Brookhaven officials deny any racial profiling.
