The week in local news.
Tag: Democracy
Posted inAtlanta Civic Circle
Raffensperger on Trump, election reform and his legacy
By Tammy Joyner for Atlanta Civic Circle Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger isn’t one to call attention to himself. But the last two years have thrust Raffensperger and his family under the white-hot glare of national scrutiny and contempt from members of his own Republican party. The millionaire, civil engineer-turned-politician garnered unaccustomed attention after […]
Posted inColumns
MLK to white Lutheran youths in 1961: ‘an old order is passing away….’
Sixtyone years ago in Miami Beach, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of doubling the number of Black registered voters in the South through a campaign of peaceful protests at places that had barred them from registering.
Posted inColumns, David Pendered
CPA ID’s companies that funded lawmakers who restricted voting access
Corporations that funded Georgia lawmakers who voted to restrict voting access are under increasing scrutiny that goes beyond national headlines about Coca-Cola Co. and Delta Air Lines reversing their positions in the face of public outrage.
Posted inColumns
Georgia companies lead, trail in disclosing political spending: CPA index
Five of Georgia’s S&P 500 companies are among the most transparent in the nation about their political spending. Three companies are in the bottom tier, according to an annual index.
Posted inLatest News
Reed dominated fundraising; Ends with almost as much as four top candidates combined
Editor’s note: See charts at the bottom of this story for campaign finance information. / Kasim Reed dominated campaign contributions in his losing bid for Atlanta mayor.
Posted inLatest News
$4.1 billion in sales tax proposals on ballots; Oct. 4 deadline for voter registration
With the Oct. 4 deadline looming to register to vote, MARTA on Tuesday is helping to register voters for local elections that include $4.1 billion in proposed sales taxes to improve school facilities and mobility.
Posted inLatest News
DeKalb County’s ‘Indian War’ cannon may be removed by county commissioners
The debate over human rights issues related to DeKalb County’s “Indian War” cannon has now reached the U.S. Supreme Court, even as a new resolution to remove the cannon is pending before DeKalb County’s Board of Commissioners.
Posted inLatest News
Redistricting data to arrive at Georgia’s Capitol by Aug. 16; final town hall is Friday
The Census confirmed Wednesday it expects to provide to states by Aug. 16 all the information states need to start the redistricting process, which is the creation of boundaries for posts ranging from U.S. House to city councils and school boards.
Posted inTom Baxter
Justice Department to take a harder look at harassment of election officials
In most stories last week, the news that the U.S. Justice Department is forming a task force to investigate and prosecute violent threats and intimidation of election officials and poll workers was played several paragraphs below the news that the feds were challenging Georgia’s voter law.
Posted inColumns
Gathering in smaller rooms: Counting the chairs at the counting party’s convention
It wasn’t remarkable that Gov. Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr got booed at the state Republican convention last weekend. Johnny Isakson, Saxby Chambliss and Nathan Deal are among those who’ve been booed in previous conventions. What was notable was the room they got booed in.
Posted inColumns
Creating liberated spaces: Lessons from Decatur
By Guest Columnists FONTA HIGH and PAUL MCLENNAN, co-chairs of the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights’ Decolonize Decatur Committee
As organizers and board members of Decatur’s Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights, we are grateful for all we have learned from our movement-building work over the last year. We believe we are creating an organizing model other communities can replicate.
Posted inColumns
Tax Day, stretched across the calendar, is still a time for tribulation
The pandemic has played havoc with our national calendar. There was a time not long ago when April 15 was looked upon as a shared day of tribulation, that day every year when our taxes were due.
Posted inColumns
Biden marks his first 100 days with another trip to Georgia
So far, Joe Biden has been the most deliberative of the past several presidents, seldom making a move without carefully weighing its political implications. On the eve of his 100th day in office, the president and First Lady Jill Biden will travel to Atlanta for a rally Thursday. We can be sure the location was chosen carefully.
Posted inLatest News
Coca-Cola’s James Quincey: Voting is ‘a foundational right’
Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey reiterated his company’s support to protect voting rights in Georgia at the company’s virtual annual meeting Tuesday morning.
Posted inColumns
As region becomes more diverse, Atlanta Regional Commission trying to catch up
The in-person gathering of former chairs of the Atlanta Regional Commission drove home the point.
Posted inColumns
Duncan looks ahead to GOP 2.0, as Big Money looks for a political home
Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan has been the most interesting character in the Georgia Republican soap opera of the past year, if only because he’s the one whose intentions haven’t been entirely clear.
Posted inLatest News
New round starting in battle over Georgia election bills
There are a lot of overlapping bills.
Posted inTom Baxter
Absentee voting laws are really about one party’s identity
What is truly dangerous for Republicans about all this tinkering with election laws is that it prolongs the idea that eliminating drop boxes or requiring more identification for absentee voting would really change very much, no matter what the merits of any particular measure may be.
Posted inAtlanta Civic Circle
After a Contentious Year of Elections, Look to Local Races in 2021
Photo by Kelly Jordan Municipal races key to mapping growth in your city By Tammy Joyner The big-money, high-stakes elections may be over but don’t shelve your voting obligations just yet. Some of the most crucial elections are just getting primed in the 60-plus cities and towns throughout the 10-county metro Atlanta region. Who’s running […]
