Life is full of coincidences. On Tuesday, Robb Pitts, the incumbent chairman of the Fulton County Commission, survived a stiff Democratic primary challenge from former state lawmaker Keisha Waites.
Pitts won by 1,772 votes out of 83,396 cast. There is no Republican in the contest – so his job is now secure. Three other members of the commission were up for re-election, but none had opposition.
This morning, a call came in from a prominent Atlantan, who reported that his Fulton County tax bill had arrived on Thursday, 48 hours after the race was decided. The good citizen reported an assessment on his house that had increased in excess of 60 percent.
Gosh, this good citizen said, if his re-assessment and others had arrived a few days earlier, think of what it might have meant at the ballot box.
Here's Stephanie Stokes of WABE (90.1FM) on the same topic:
Fulton County officials said they're confident about the accuracy of this year's property assessments. The evaluations, showing about a 30 percent increase in property values countywide, were mailed out this week.
But the county's Chief Appraiser Dwight Robinson added that doesn't mean there won't be any mistakes. He said he's already aware of minor issues.
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Jason Carter, the 2014 Democratic candidate for governor, has a post-Election Day piece in the Bitter Southerner, urging his party to move past racial divisions that surfaced in the primary contest between Stacey Abrams and Stacey Evans. The working title: "The Party of Both." Here's a taste:
Democrats may debate, for example, whether Stacey Abrams can win without convincing a single Trump voter. But why would we?
At our core, Democrats believe America's fundamental project is to live and prosper together, to heal divisions and unify our country as an example to the world. We cannot achieve that if we give up on any group of people.
And if Democrats lose this focus, it's lost. We all know that today's Republicans have no interest at all in that project.
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One of Tuesday's surprises was the failure of state Sen. Josh McKoon of Columbus to scratch in the Republican primary for secretary of state. McKoon had made a name for himself by sponsoring ethics legislation at the Capitol, and becoming the face of the "religious liberty" movement. From an analysis by the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer:
Outspent about 2 to 1 by one candidate and 3 to 1 by another, McKoon said his campaign spent about $350,000 and fell short of advertising resources. "I think we needed about a 4 percent swing in our direction," he said. "I think we did a great job with the resources we had. We didn't have enough at the end of the day. It's unfortunate that so much of our politics come down to how much money you can gather in. Unfortunately, that is the nature of the modern political campaign."
While he expected to be in a runoff, McKoon said he will take a couple of days to see what his next steps will include. He wants to get back to his law practice but admitted that he's not done with politics.
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We are headed into Memorial Day weekend, that time of year when the Georgia coast plays host to a myriad of business and otherwise professional groups whose members are in search of a small vacation they can write off as a business expense.
Certain members of the Georgia Chamber were gathered on St. Simons Island on Thursday, according to the Brunswick News. In an outline of this year's unfinished business, chamber president Chris Clark brought out this item:
Clark said the Georgia chamber is supporting a state constitutional amendment that would divert some taxes toward tourism and recreation.
The Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Act, if approved by voters in November, would take a portion of taxes collected from the sale of recreational equipment and licenses and redirect that money to permanent fund for maintaining state parks and recreational areas….
Currently, there is no permanent funding source for Georgia's recreational amenities. Clark was also quick to note the stewardship act does not create a new tax, but rather reroutes taxes already being collected.
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Not a few people in the state Capitol will be watching this to see how much of the $2 billion project is coming our way. From the blog called ExecutiveBiz:
AT&T plans to broaden its coverage in rural areas and advance software upgrades to facilitate the delivery of 5G services through its cell cites by leveraging its work on a national public safety broadband network with the First Responder Network Authority, Urgent Communications reported Wednesday.
"FirstNet gives us a great opportunity to go into the rural markets. Not only will we be building the network for first responders, it dawned on us that we should also be putting up stores and going after the consumers," John Donovan, CEO of AT&T Communications, said at the MoffatNathanson Media & Communications Summit.
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At last night's Democratic Party of Georgia annual dinner, chair DuBose Porter got teary-eyed when awarding former communications staffer Michael Smith with the group's major leadership award.
“You gave the Democratic Party eight years, and during those hard times your dedication was one of the reasons the party kept going,” said Porter. “You are missed, Michael. But more than that, you are a friend.”
Smith now works for Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
