Democrat Esther Panitch backs former GOP chair for Sandy Springs mayor
Today’s newsletter highlights:
- Rich McCormick backs Houston Gaines for Congress.
- Trey Sheppard announces campaign for Mack Jackson’s state House seat.
- Cobb County Commission will vote on a new stormwater fee.
Crossing the aisle
The Dec. 2 runoff for Sandy Springs mayor is technically nonpartisan — though it sure doesn’t feel that way.
Incumbent Rusty Paul, seeking a fourth term, is a former Georgia GOP chair and ex-state senator with deep roots in the conservative movement. His challenger, Dontaye Carter, is a left-leaning activist whose campaign is buoyed by Democratic heavyweights.
That’s why news that dropped late Wednesday landed with extra force: state Rep. Esther Panitch, a Democrat who represents a large slice of Sandy Springs, said she’s breaking with her party to endorse Paul.
Panitch, the only Jewish member of the Georgia Legislature, said Paul has “consistently stood with the Jewish community” and directly confronted rising antisemitism.
“He understands that leadership means having the moral courage to name the threats facing specific communities, not papering over them with generalities,” she said.
“He has always shown up. This matters profoundly.”
Carter, meanwhile, rolled out a range of endorsements of his own including the left-leaning Georgia Conservation Voters and state Rep. Gabriel Sanchez, the chamber’s only democratic socialist.
Things to know
Good morning! We’re 53 days away from the start of Georgia’s legislative session. The primary for governor, U.S. Senate and other offices is in 180 days.
Here are four other things to know for today:
- The new prosecutor in charge of Fulton County’s election interference case against President Donald Trump would face a host of difficult legal and political issues if he were to continue the case, the AJC’s Tamar Hallerman reports.
- The number of immigrants living in Georgia illegally reached 479,000 as of mid-2023, according to a report released last month, the AJC’s Lautaro Grinspan reports.
- Fulton County is considering raising property taxes to improve deplorable conditions at the local jail, the AJC’s Alia Pharr reports.
- President Donald Trump signed a law compelling his administration to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019. Trump had previously opposed the law, but ultimately bowed to political pressure from his own party.
GOP and MTG
President Donald Trump may have withdrawn his support for U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, but the Georgia GOP is continuing to back both Greene and Trump as the two MAGA favorites feud against each other.
We asked Georgia Republican Party Chair Josh McKoon who the party would support after Trump vowed to back a primary challenge to the Rome Republican in 2026. Here’s what he said:
“President Trump and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene have both been tremendous assets to the conservative movement and the Republican Party here in Georgia and across the country. They share the same ultimate goals — putting America first, securing our borders, growing our economy, and holding the radical left accountable — and I’m confident that any differences of opinion that arise from time to time will be resolved in the spirit of friendship and shared purpose.
“Georgia Republicans are united behind President Trump’s agenda, grateful for the strong leadership Congresswoman Greene has provided in the House, and laser-focused on keeping Georgia in Republican hands and delivering even bigger victories in 2026 and beyond.”
Phone debate
In his nearly nine years as superintendent of Marietta City Schools, Grant Rivera said the toughest challenge wasn’t the coronavirus pandemic or academic gains. It was trying to convince parents of high school students that their children shouldn’t have access to their phones in class.
“Families believe they have a right to reach their child during the school day,” Rivera told lawmakers last week.
Middle and elementary schools must ban phones from classrooms starting next fall. But Rivera’s struggle offers lawmakers a glimpse of the pushback they would get if they tried to expand that ban to high schools, as some in the Legislature want to do.
A recent survey of teachers and other staff in schools with cellphone bans in place found overwhelming support for the policies. Some parents have pushed back because they want to be able to reach their children in an emergency. Among high school teachers surveyed by Georgia Southern University and the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, 91% said they did not think banning student devices would compromise public safety.
Rivera said he believes ill effects of phone use in schools — distracted learning, bullying and mental health issues — are worse in high school.
“Is it your responsibility as legislators to say a parent cannot give their child a cellphone and reach them during the day?” he asked. “That’s above my paygrade.”
Young guns
U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick is throwing his weight behind two young Republicans who have quickly emerged as front-runners in open congressional races.
The Suwanee Republican endorsed Jim Kingston in Georgia’s coastal House district earlier this week in the contest to succeed U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, who is running for U.S. Senate. And this morning, he backed state Rep. Houston Gaines’ bid in northeast Georgia to replace U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, who is also running for the U.S. Senate.
Campaign watch
A Republican trucking executive is running for a central Georgia state House seat, hoping to flip a rural district that reelected a Democrat last year by a scant 48 votes.
Trey Sheppard announced his campaign today for House District 128, the seat held by Democratic state Rep. Mack Jackson of Sandersville. Republicans view the seat as a prime pickup opportunity after Republican Tracy Wheeler came agonizingly close to ousting the nine-term incumbent.
Sheppard focused his announcement on Gov. Brian Kemp’s overhaul of civil litigation rules aimed at shielding companies from large jury awards. Supporters say the new rules will reduce insurance costs.
“I want to go to the Gold Dome to make sure that insurance companies pass on those savings to Georgia consumers and job creators,” he said.
Jackson was among the Democrats who voted for that law, earning public rebuke from his party leaders who argue it would prevent people from holding big companies accountable in court.
Stormwater vote
The Democrats who control the Cobb County Commission are expected to approve a new stormwater fee tonight that would help the state’s third most populous county catch up on repairs to its aging system.
Tonight’s vote will add Cobb County to the growing list of local governments changing how they pay for their overburdened systems that prevent flooding by collecting and disposing of rainwater that slides off pavement.
Cities and counties have been imposing fees on property owners based on how many “impervious surfaces” they have that prevents rainwater from being absorbed into the ground. It means businesses, like big box retailers with large parking lots, end up paying a lot more than homeowners.
Local government leaders say this is the fairest way to do it. But business owners have argued these fees are illegal because the state Constitution requires taxes must be “uniform,” meaning they apply to everyone equally.
The state Supreme Court has consistently rejected these challenges, ruling these stormwater charges are fees, not taxes. Cobb County’s proposal would impose a flat $4.75 monthly fee for homeowners. Commercial properties would pay based on a formula accounting for the size of their impervious surfaces.
Listen up
Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe talks about the company’s long-awaited Georgia plant and the future of electric vehicle incentives. (Note: Cox Enterprises, which owns the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, also has about a 3% stake in Rivian.)
You’ll also you’ll hear an interview with Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican candidate for governor, recorded during our recent candidate forum.
You can listen and subscribe to Politically Georgia for free an Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.
No numbers
We might never know what Georgia’s unemployment rate was in October.
The Georgia Department of Labor was supposed to release the October unemployment numbers today, based on a federal survey of households. But the survey didn’t happen because of the federal government shutdown that lasted all of October and ended last week.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday said it could not conduct those surveys retroactively. The agency said it will publish October survey results from employers, but it won’t release those until next month.
Georgia Department of Labor spokesperson Shawna Mercer said it is “still to be determined” whether the state will release its October unemployment numbers.
“Like other states, we are waiting for guidance and are still conferring with the Bureau of Labor Statistics,” she said. “Until we receive formal direction from BLS, the October release remains to be determined.”
Today in Washington
Happenings:
- President Donald Trump will receive an intelligence briefing. He’ll also meet with freed Israeli hostages and their families.
- The House will vote on energy legislation.
- The Senate will consider legislation to revoke a Biden-era rule about coal.
- Funeral services will be held for former Vice President Dick Cheney at the Washington National Cathedral.
Shoutouts
Today’s birthday:
- State Rep. Scott Hilton, R-Peachtree Corners.
Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that. Click here to submit the shoutouts. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.
Before you go
Hyundai CEO José Muñoz recently said a White House official called him to apologize for the September immigration raid at the South Korean company’s electric vehicle manufacturing campus near Savannah.
That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.
About the Authors
Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
Tia Mitchell is the AJC’s Washington Bureau Chief and a co-host of the "Politically Georgia" podcast. She writes about Georgia’s congressional delegation, campaigns, elections and the impact that decisions made in D.C. have on residents of the Peach State.
Patricia Murphy is the AJC's senior political columnist. She was previously a nationally syndicated columnist for CQ Roll Call, national political reporter for the Daily Beast and Politics Daily, and wrote for The Washington Post and Garden & Gun. She graduated from Vanderbilt and holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.
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