Based on current population projections, the upcoming reapportionment will be the first in four decades in which the number of Georgia’s congressional districts — 14 — remain unchanged from the previous decade. This might seem to be a harbinger of political stability in the decade ahead, but it’s just the opposite.
Tag: politics
Posted inColumns
If you’re bad boys and girls, you might get a runoff for Christmas next year
This year, when you sit down to watch the bowl games or the Christmas shows, you won’t have to worry about your children being frightened by scary black-and-white attack ads. Cherish that. It may not be that way next year.
Posted inColumns
As Senate decision nears, Georgia politics becomes everybody’s business
Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz has shown a lot of interest lately in politicking across state lines. Earlier this year the Fort Walton Beach Republican toyed briefly with the idea of hopping over the state line and running for the U.S. Senate in Alabama. Last week, Gaetz took to Twitter, along with Donald Trump Jr. and others, to advise Gov. Brian Kemp on who he should pick to fill U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson’s seat.
Posted inColumns
In Kentucky and Louisiana, sheriffs and teachers mattered more than Trump
Trump’s opponents have trumpeted Democratic victories in the Kentucky and Louisiana governor’s races as a personal defeat for the president because he campaigned for Republicans Matt Bevin in Kentucky and Eddie Rispone in Louisiana. Trump’s supporters have responded that he made these races closer than they would have been, and credit him for the strong showing of down-ballot Republicans in both states. There’s a little smattering of truth in both these arguments, but not enough to make these races turn out any differently than they would if somebody else was president.
Posted inColumns
While Georgia sings the budgetary blues, South Carolina’s singing ‘Happy Days Are Here Again’
If you think it stung when the Gamecocks upset the Bulldogs between the hedges, wait until you hear about the $50 checks. There’s a much different vibe around the state budget in South Carolina these days than there is in Georgia.
Posted inLatest News
Georgia governor proposes modest increase in Medicaid spending; critics say it’s not near enough
For Kemp’s team, it’s ideally a short-term assist that would boost folks into the kind of jobs that come with health care benefits. For critics, it’s a plan that leaves too many people out.
Posted inColumns
Zuckerberg and Trump both outside the box, Loudermilk says
Last week, about the same time three of his Georgia Republican colleagues were ordering pizza from the secure room where the impeachment inquiry was supposed to be going on, U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk was spending a little time with Mark Zuckerberg. The Facebook CEO is a lot like Donald Trump, the Georgia congressman said.
Posted inLatest News
DeKalb County ballot measure would eliminate ethics officer charged with reporting alleged crime
DeKalb County voters face a ballot issue on Nov. 5 that seeks to eliminate the position of an ethics officer who is charged with reporting suspected crimes to state or federal authorities and replace it with an administrator with no such duties. The ballot question provides none of this information.
Posted inColumns
Funding Kinship Care: Saving children, saving money, doing the right thing
By Guest Columnists STEVE GOTTLIEB and BILL BOLLING, executive director, board member (respectively) of Atlanta Legal Aid
Children in foster care throughout Georgia – and those of us fighting on their behalf to improve their lives – have received some good news about an important program.
As chair of the Judicial Council Budget Committee, Georgia Supreme Court Justice Michael Boggs made the case to the state Senate Appropriations Committee to recommend $375,000 in additional funding to expand Kinship Care, a program created by Atlanta Legal Aid, to the rest of the state.
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State parties fade in influence as politics becomes more stratified
In the old days, legendary campaign reporters were famed for their Rolodexes, crammed with the numbers of local party bosses and politicos who knew the political pulse of their states. Today, if you wanted to reach someone at the South Dakota Democratic Party, you’d have to do so online. Not all state parties have gone virtual, but all face a test of their relevance.
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Georgia lawmakers hearing about affordable housing shortfall statewide
In some parts of the state, even a “pretty good job” won’t get you on the property ladder or in a convenient apartment. It seems like a chance for Democrats and Republicans, rural and urban, to get together on some policy.
Posted inColumns
Democrats coming to Georgia at a crucial time in the nominating process
You could almost get the impression, reading Twitter, that so far the Republicans have been more interested in the Democratic presidential debates than the Democrats. That’s about to change, as the nomination process goes into high gear.
Posted inColumns
Next stop for Atlanta transit: Jobs
By Guest Columnist BETTY WILLIS, president of the Clifton Corridor Transportation Management Association
As far back as 1961, transportation planners at the predecessor of the Atlanta Regional Commission had the foresight to anticipate where MARTA rail lines would best serve the metro region’s transit needs, years before construction began in 1975 on the heavy rail system.
Posted inLatest News
No quick fix for affordable housing shortage, as evidenced by project in Oakland City
Atlanta isn’t likely to swiftly build its way out of the shortage of affordable housing. Case in point: The clock’s been ticking more than a year on one project near the Atlanta BeltLine that’s to be built by a non-profit developer on land that was donated. The first shovel could hit the ground late this year or in early 2020.
Posted inColumns
Georgia Power comes calling for more money in a time of ‘flash droughts’
If you haven’t done so already, take a minute to compare your last two electricity bills with what you paid in September and October of last year. You’re probably all too aware how hot it’s been, but the financial impact of that may still be a shock.
Posted inColumns
Under impeachment clouds, Isakson takes a last shot at stirring Congress to action
When U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson let it be known that he planned to introduce one last big bill before his retirement at the end of this year, there was some speculation he might try to break the knot around background checks. That wasn’t the legislation he introduced last week, but his square-one proposal could prove to have more knot-breaking potential than meets the eye.
Posted inColumns
Wanted: United States Senator, sooner or (preferably) later
Calling on those interested in being appointed to fill out Isakson’s U.S. Senate term was an example of the canniness Gov. Brian Kemp has shown on several occasions. Making it “open and transparent” — i.e., doing it all online and posting the resumes as they come in — was a masterstroke.
Posted inColumns
‘Suffocated’ by traffic: Buckhead residents seek solutions from ATL, ARC, GDOT, etc.
Just one number speaks to the reason traffic is again a major topic in Buckhead: The number of vehicles that every day drives along just one street lined with homes compares to almost the entire population of Decatur.
Posted inMaggie Lee
The high Georgia ranking that’s getting attention: maternal mortality
But though rare, deaths due to pregnancy still happen. The latest data say black women are about three times more likely than white women to be the victims of these largely preventable deaths.
Posted inColumns
BeltLine Rail: Bait-and-Switch?
By Guest Columnist PATTY DURAND, co-chair of BeltLine Rail Now
You’d think if Atlanta leaders had a way to extend reliable rapid transit to dozens of neighborhoods, connecting them to existing MARTA rail at multiple points – and do it relatively cheaply – they’d jump at the chance.
