Readers write
Is FBI trying to sow distrust in our elections?
The FBI’s decision to add 200-plus staffers to a fraud probe based on unfounded claims raises serious concerns. It looks less like election protection and more like an effort to reinforce doubt and weaken confidence in our democracy.
It is fair to ask whether this is part of a broader strategy to sow distrust ahead of the fall election, especially in Georgia’s largest county, which also has the most African American voters.
If election integrity really matters, why not focus on documented efforts to subvert it? The fake electors scheme tried to overturn the Electoral College, and some even argued that my legally cast mail-in ballot should not count.
Voters’ strongest response is turnout. We must show up in overwhelming numbers and reject any candidate — at any level — who supports, excuses, or praises leaders trying to overturn, undermine or threaten our elections.
JEFF JOSLIN, ATLANTA
Maynard Jackson was Atlanta’s greatest catalyst
In response to “Atlanta created the model for civil rights and prosperity,” by John Hope Bryan, AJC, July 5, Maynard Holbrook Jackson was elected as mayor of Atlanta in 1973, becoming the first Black person to hold that position.
Next to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he was the most intelligent, eloquent and outspoken leader I had ever seen or heard, and he helped create many Black millionaires through his unprecedented affirmative action policies.
So, why isn’t he given the credit he’s due for being the greatest catalyst for Atlanta to be the model for civil rights and prosperity?
JOHNNIE E. JONES, FAYETTEVILLE
Legislation is setback to horse welfare, local government
Last summer, Savannah adopted stronger heat protections for carriage horses after a hard-fought local effort to address real concerns about animal welfare and the conditions on the city’s streets.
People can disagree about the exact policy, but cities should at a minimum have the authority to respond to local concerns about humane treatment, tourist safety, and public space. House Bill 413 strips Savannah, Atlanta, and every other Georgia municipality of that power.
That should trouble anyone, regardless of where they stood on Savannah’s ordinance. If a city cannot even adopt heat protections for working horses, then its authority exists only until politically connected interests object.
What makes this worse is how the law was advanced. By Rep. David Jenkins’s own account, HB 413 began as a sawmills bill and was later used as a “vehicle” for other measures, including language protecting carriage-horse operators from local restrictions. What Savannah achieved through local debate was then swept aside at the state level.
Georgia should not force its cities to stand by while local concerns about horse welfare and public safety are overridden.
KATE LUCEY, RICHMOND HILL