Of Georgia’s 14 U.S. House members, four of them do not live in the districts they represent.
There is Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Suwanee, the newly elected lawmaker whose house is just outside of the boundary lines of the 6th Congressional District.
The latest round of redistricting led to the Jackson County home of Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens, being drawn out of his district in northeast Georgia.
Neither of them has plans to move.
Democratic Rep. David Scott for years has avoided discussing the fact that he lives in Atlanta city limits while representing voters in the south metro suburbs.
Finally, we have Democratic Rep. Lucy McBath. She told voters that she would move from Marietta to an address in her new Gwinnett-based district if she won, but she hasn’t yet.
None of this is illegal or against the rules. The Constitution lays out qualifications for candidates to the U.S. House, and it only requires them to live in the states they want to represent. Barring a constitutional amendment, that won’t change.
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
But gauging from the response to our article about these lawmakers’ addresses, most voters have no idea their member of Congress might not be a neighbor.
McCormick told us his home address shouldn’t matter much if he is still visible to constituents.
“If you want to talk about spending time in my district, I’m as much in my district as anybody in Congress,” he said. “I’m in every part of my district. I’ve already spent time in Forsyth, I’ve already spent time in north Cobb, I’ve already spent time in north Fulton, and I’ve already spent time in Dawson. And I live right next to Sugar Hill, which is my district also.”
Not on this list, but also facing questions about his address is Republican Rep. Drew Ferguson.
He moved within his district but a couple of counties over some time last year, but he appeared to have failed to update his voter registration ahead of the midterms. It’s illegal to vote using an address where you do not reside.
After The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote about Ferguson’s voting records and his move from West Point to The Rock, a complaint was filed with state election officials. The matter is now under investigation.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
KEMP’S AGENDA. Georgia legislators will soon begin debating key parts of Gov. Brian Kemp’s agenda. The Republican’s floor leaders and other allies introduced a slate of proposals that he urged the General Assembly to adopt this year.
Among them is a measure to repay up to $20,000 in loans for law enforcement officers who serve for five years and another proposing new penalties for gang members who seek to recruit kids.
But one measure that has flown somewhat under the radar would amount to a key health care change.
Kemp’s package includes a bill that would make certain pregnant women eligible to receive benefits from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, commonly known as welfare. Previously, mothers of certain income levels didn’t become eligible until after the child was born.
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Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC
Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC
DNC PITCH. The regional show-of-force behind Atlanta’s bid for the Democratic National Convention included a juicy tidbit: The signature of Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.
Why is that so interesting? Houston officials were informed a few days ago the city was no longer in the running for the prestigious event. And Turner would clearly rather see Atlanta land the convention than Chicago or New York, the other finalists.
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Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
SAUSAGE MAKING. Ever wonder how legislation is drawn up? Sometimes, it’s as simple as an enraging tweet.
That’s what happened a few days ago, when state Sen. Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs, spotted a social media post of a gym company informing a customer they couldn’t cancel by email or phone. “This should be illegal,” the customer wrote.
The Democrat soon posted that he “would absolutely introduce legislation on that.” And a few hours later, the process was in the works.
McLaurin posted a screenshot of his email to legislative attorneys asking them to draft up a proposal — much to the chagrin, we imagine, of the corporate lobbies.
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Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
DRIVE IN. How to thank one of the state’s largest employers? Throw a celebration for them in Georgia’s seat of power.
Today is the first-ever Kia Day at the state Capitol, and Gov. Brian Kemp will join the South Korean automaker’s executives to celebrate the “long and fruitful partnership between the manufacturing powerhouse and the state.”
Also on display: Kia’s latest electric vehicle, as well as the Telluride and Sorento models assembled at the company’s factory in West Point.
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Credit: Casey Sykes for the AJC
Credit: Casey Sykes for the AJC
UNDER THE GOLD DOME (Legislative Day 10):
- 8:00 am: Committee meetings begin;
- 10:00 am: The House convenes;
- 10:00 am: The Senate gavels in.
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POLICE POLICY. On the first day back following the release of the brutal beating of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, state House Minority Leader James Beverly said the culture of the police force there cost Nichols his life. And he called on his colleagues to take preventative action in Georgia.
“Our culture, the Georgia House of Representatives, will not stand idly by while injustice prevails,” he said. “So, I’m calling on this House, the Georgia House of Representatives in general and the Democratic Caucus specifically, to hold hearings and to pass legislation so this tragedy does not happen to our state.”
Beverly concluded, “Morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated.”
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
RALSTON CASH. We told you recently how the folks who work influencing legislators at the Capitol were all in for Sheree Ralston — the wife of the late House Speaker David Ralston — in the race to win his seat.
Turns out current and former legislators — including the late speaker’s campaign account — have joined in, our campaign finance guy James Salzer noticed.
Ralston faces bank executive Johnny Chastain in a runoff today for the former speaker’s seat.
In reports filed late last week, Sheree Ralston reported having raised $173,000 for the contest, with Chastain taking in about $96,000.
Salzer found that over half of the $76,000 she raised in the past month came from state lawmakers or former legislators. About two dozen lawmakers or former lawmakers contributed in recent weeks, including $1,600 from House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, and $3,000 from the campaign of her late husband, who died in November. David Ralston’s campaign account still had more than $900,000 in it as of the end of 2022.
The Ralston-Chastain runoff in the Blue Ridge-based House District 7 is the big contest on the ballot today. But there are three other races on the docket.
State Rep. Sam Watson is running to succeed state Sen. Dean Burke in Senate District 11, and there’s an open House race for Watson’s seat.
There’s also a contest in northeast Georgia to replace Danny Rampey, a Republican who stepped down before he took office after he was charged with swiping prescription narcotics from a retirement complex where he works.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
YOU’RE OUT. Former state Rep. Christian Coomer of Cartersville became an appeals court judge in 2018, but on Monday a three-judge panel said it’s time for him to leave the bench.
Shaddi Abusaid and Bill Rankin detail the 50-page opinion recommending Coomer’s fate, which described “steadily recurring abuse of positions of trust.”
Among Coomer’s many, many ethics abuses were drafting a will for a client and naming himself as a beneficiary; using campaign funds for family vacations to Hawaii and Israel; and using campaign funds to cover expenses for his law practice.
The panel was overseen by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, now a Jolt regular.
The Georgia State Supreme Court will make the final decision on Coomer’s fate.
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Credit: Charlie Neibergall/AP
Credit: Charlie Neibergall/AP
RALPH REED’S TEA LEAVES. A politically astute Jolt tipster flagged Ralph Reed’s interview on the PBS NewsHour last night, detailing why Reed does not think former President Donald Trump is a shoo-in with evangelical voters for the 2024 presidential nomination:
“There’s great affection for President Trump. But there is such an embarrassment of riches. There is — in part because of him, there is such a deep bench. I mean, let’s remember, three of the most compelling candidates served in his Cabinet. So, this is not a bad thing. And there’s nothing wrong with a healthy primary. And from our standpoint, we think the more candidates who go after these voters, the better off we will be, as long as we can unify when it’s over.”
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END IN SIGHT. The White House announced Monday that President Joe Biden will allow emergency declarations related to the coronavirus pandemic to expire on May 11.
That announcement came ahead of the U.S. House planned votes today on legislation that would require Biden to end the emergency acts sooner and eliminate vaccine mandates for federal workers. Those measures have no chance of passing in the Senate, but some Democrats had expressed uneasiness about opposing the measures without clearer direction about the Biden administration’s plans to enter a post-pandemic era.
Executive orders related to the public health emergency were first signed by then-President Donald Trump in 2020 and have been extended multiple times since then. Biden’s administration said the May deadline will make good on his promises to give s 60 days notice before the emergency declarations end.
The end of the public health emergency will also have implications at the southern border because the Title 42 policy that allowed the U.S. to expel migrants seeking asylum could no longer be enforced. The Department of Homeland Security had already been planning for an end to that policy and established new processes for individuals from certain countries seeking asylum.
The House bills on today’s agenda are the wrong way to go about it, the White House said in a statement.
“An abrupt end to the emergency declarations would create wide-ranging chaos and uncertainty throughout the health care system — for states, for hospitals and doctors’ offices, and, most importantly, for tens of millions of Americans,” it said.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- The U.S. House has scheduled votes on two bills related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The Senate remains slow: in session but with not much to do yet.
- President Joe Biden will travel to New York City to talk about the use of infrastructure dollars to help complete the Hudson Tunnel Project.
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Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
MORE ASSIGNMENTS. The announcements just keep rolling in:
- U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-The Rock, was appointed chairman of the House Subcommittee on Social Security, and he was also assigned to the Subcommittee on Tax. Both fall within the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.
- U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, will serve as vice chairman of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee, which falls within the Energy and Commerce Committee.
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AS ALWAYS, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.
