Georgia GOP battles pride festival over exclusion of Log Cabin Republicans

It’s also a sign of how profoundly Georgia’s political landscape has changed in just a few decades.

Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon posted a demand letter late Monday to social media that accused Smyrna officials of playing favorites by rejecting the conservative LGBTQ group and allowing “Democratic candidates running for office and left-leaning advocacy groups.”

“There is no conceivable government interest that serves the public for Smyrna Pride to exclude advocacy groups that align with the Republican Party and conservative ideals but include similar groups that advocate for Democratic beliefs,” read the letter.

Credit: AJC file photo

Credit: AJC file photo

Festival officials said in a lengthy statement late Monday that festival organizers informed the Log Cabin Republicans it would reject any organizations “deemed to be solely politically driven,” such as those supporting a political party or candidate.

“Given the current politically charged climate, we did not think it was appropriate for 2025 Smyrna Pride to have any sponsors or vendors affiliated with any particular political party, let alone at the festival recruiting voters,” the group said in a statement. “As such, the Board decided to exclude ALL political party affiliates for Smyrna Pride 2025.”

Prominent gay Republicans across Georgia promptly attacked organizers of the pride event for its policy. Among them is Bill White, the GOP financier who is President Donald Trump’s pick for ambassador to Belgium.

“This Smyrna thing will backfire nationally,” White predicted.

But consider this sudden fight, too, through a different lens.

In the early 1990s, the conservative Cobb County Commission backed an anti-gay resolution before the Olympics that condemned “gay lifestyles.” Now, local and state Republicans are going to bat for an LGBTQ group that supports GOP candidates.

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Credit: Greg Bluestein/AJC

Credit: Greg Bluestein/AJC

GOOD MORNING! Here are four things to know for today:

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Credit: AJC/Courtesy photo

Credit: AJC/Courtesy photo

SANDY SPRINGS. With the Atlanta mayoral race shaping up to be a snoozefest, politicos can likely get their fix for competitive politics this year in nearby Sandy Springs.

The city was the first in a wave of new municipalities created by the state Legislature two decades ago. Since then, it’s had only two mayors elected in a succession of mostly sleepy elections.

This year, Mayor Rusty Paul — a former chair of the Georgia Republican Party — is running for reelection. He’s picked up a challenge from Jody Reichel, a fellow conservative council member.

Reichel said her focus will be on attracting and retaining young families to “build Sandy Springs for the next generation,” which is something she says “I just feel like we haven’t been doing.”

“I think that after 12 years, that there needs to be new vision, new leadership for Sandy Springs. I think we’re ready,” she said.

Credit: Kevin Lowery

Credit: Kevin Lowery

Paul noted that Reichel is “not very new” since she has been on the City Council with him for the past eight years. Plus, it was during Paul’s tenure that Sandy Springs has become among the Top 10 cities in the U.S. for millennials to move.

“It’s not my job. It belongs to the people,” Paul said. “I think I’ve got a good track record. People seem to be reasonably happy. Nothing’s perfect, but I think it’s a very safe city.”

Sandy Springs business owner Dontaye Carter is also running for mayor. Paul defeated Carter in 2021 with nearly 70% of the vote.

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CUSHIONING THE BLOW. When Georgia lawmakers cut the state income tax rate last year, the math said it would reduce the state’s revenue by 6.25%.

But that’s not what happened. Instead, state revenues fell just 2.4%. That’s a big difference, and it’s one reason why Georgia has a surplus. Lawmakers have more money than they thought they would.

So what happened? While the state tax rate was lower, there was a lot more money to tax. Since the end of 2019, real wage and salary income in the U.S. is up 8%. In Georgia, it’s up 12.1%. In the past year, Georgia wage and salary income has grown 3.1% compared to 2.6% nationally.

“The incomes of Georgians are still growing at a healthy pace,” state economist Robert Buschman told lawmakers during a presentation last week.

And those wages are continuing to climb. That could blunt the impact of another tax cut lawmakers are considering this year. The AJC’s David Wickert reports a bill moving through the Legislature could reduce the state income tax rate to 4.99% by 2027, or about two years faster than lawmakers had originally planned.

“Wage and salary income is truly the main driver of personal income tax revenue growth,” Buschman said.

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Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

TAKE THREE. We finally know which public schools in Georgia are in the bottom 25% of test scores, making their students eligible for taxpayer funding to help them move to private schools.

Last year, Gov. Brian Kemp signed the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act, which is sometimes referred to as a voucher program. It makes families of students in low-performing schools eligible for $6,500 in publicly funded scholarships.

The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement posted the list of schools twice late last year, but later removed them, saying it needed more time to run the calculations. A new list has now been posted.

A quick comparison of the first list with this latest list showed few changes. One nontraditional school was removed from the list in DeKalb County.

Here are the Top 5 districts with the most schools on the list:

The law remains divisive in the Capitol. Democratic state Rep. Floyd Griffin, D-Milledgeville, has introduced a bill to repeal the law. Meanwhile, Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones wants to expand the law to apply to the families of foster care children.

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Credit: Adam Beam/AJC

Credit: Adam Beam/AJC

UNDER THE GOLD DOME. It’s the 18th day of the legislative session. Here are some of today’s happenings:

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Credit: Adam Beam/AJC

Credit: Adam Beam/AJC

LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” state Rep. Lehman Franklin, R-Statesboro, joins the show to discuss his bill to guarantee access to in vitro fertilization. And state Rep Saira Draper, D-Atlanta, will talk about the impact of the Trump administration’s 10% cut to the workforce of Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Be sure to download the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Have a question for the show? Give us a call at 770-810-5297. Episodes are uploaded by noon each day, just in time to have lunch with us. You can also listen live at 10 a.m. EST on 90.1 FM WABE.

On Monday’s show, state Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes, D-Duluth, discussed the politics of immigration. Then, two descendants of Presidents Harry Truman and Grover Cleveland talked about the history of Presidents Day.

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Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP

TODAY IN WASHINGTON:

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UNION BATTLE. Current and former employees at the New Georgia Project will rally today in support of a unionizing effort at the embattled political organization.

In addition to demanding recognition of the union after employees voted last month to join the Teamsters, the workers will also call for the immediate resignation of the New Georgia Project board.

“Our work is too important to be undermined by a leadership that has failed its staff and the communities we serve,” said Klaire Gumbs, who says she was laid off at NGP after the union vote. “We are demanding recognition of our union so that we can fight for fair wages, better working conditions, and an end to the dysfunction that has plagued this organization.”

New Georgia Project, which was founded by two-time Democratic nominee for governor Stacey Abrams, was once at the center of the state’s progressive organizing infrastructure and is credited with registering tens of thousands of left-leaning voters who helped turn Georgia into a battleground.

But it was recently hit with a record state fine for illegally supporting Abrams’ run for governor in 2018. The organization has also faced layoffs and a weakened operation with dissatisfied staff in recent years.

Abrams and Georgia U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who once worked as the organization’s board chair, have both distanced themselves from the group.

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AS ALWAYS, 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.