Republican state Sen. Clint Dixon temporarily retreated from his push to overhaul Gwinnett County’s government to neutralize Democratic gains. But Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan seems to have handed him a consolation prize.
Duncan on Wednesday tapped Dixon as chair of a study committee on nonpartisan elections for local school board members across the state. Dixon, a Gwinnett Republican, had wanted to make his county’s school board elections nonpartisan; now he’s pushing to broaden the effort.
“With over 60% of Georgia’s school boards already operating as nonpartisan, and direct calls to remove partisan conflict from local education decisions,” Duncan said, “I look forward to seeing the outcome this committee produces through a transparent and collaborative process.”
Democrats saw the attempt to move Gwinnett’s school board elections to a nonpartisan May contest as a response to the party’s takeover of the education board. Spring elections have typically drawn older – and whiter – electorates in the past.
They also questioned Dixon’s intent to ban critical race theory, a graduate-level framework focused on systemic racism, which officials say isn’t being taught in any K-12 systems in Georgia.
This is not Dixon’s only involvement in education policy. He has been a vocal opponent of mask mandates for school children and said this week he also wants to change how sex education is taught in schools.
Dixon’s study committee will meet periodically between November and the start of the legislative session in January to develop the legislation. Expect a proposal early next year.
***
UNDER THE GOLD DOME, Friday, Nov. 19:
10:00 am: The House gavels in;
10:00 a.m.: The Senate convenes, with a vote expected on the final Congressional maps.
***
With the runoff for the Atlanta mayor’s race scheduled for Nov. 30, we have internal polling from the Andre Dickens’ camp that shows the city councilman in strong position over Council President Felicia Moore heading toward a Nov. 30 runoff. As always, take internal polling with a grain of salt.
The poll shows Dickens leading the race 49%-35% among likely voters.
In an unusual twist, the poll also shows both candidates are well liked by voters, with 66% having a favorable view of Moore and 72% with a favorable view of Dickens.
Moore has a slight lead over Dickens among white voters, 44% to 41%, while Dickens has a large advantage in the poll with Black voters, 60% - 25%.
Geographically, Moore performs best in the neighborhoods north of downtown; Dickens easily wins in wards in south Atlanta; and in the fast-growing East Atlanta neighborhoods, Dickens wins, 54% - 31%.
The poll was conducted between Nov. 13 and 17, with a margin of error is +/- 4.7%. It was weighted to match the demographic turnout from election day earlier this month.
***
POSTED: The Buckhead Cityhood effort took another step forward Thursday when state Sen. Brandon Beach filed a bill for consideration in January’s legislative session.
Maya Prabhu has the details:
If SB 324 passes, Buckhead residents will decide in a ballot question next November whether the community should become its own city. If residents vote in favor of leaving Atlanta, the legislation will set up the city's structure.
Buckhead City government would be comprised of a mayor and six council members, have its own police and fire stations, establish a municipal court that enforces city ordinances and other city operations.
The first municipal election would take place June 20, 2023, and the city operations would begin June 30, 2023.
***
In case you were watching the Falcons’ shut out on Thursday Night Football instead of C-SPAN, let us catch you up.
Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy took advantage of a House custom that allows the top leaders to speak for unlimited amounts of time and talked for hours about all that he dislikes about the Democratic Party.
McCarthy was the only thing standing in the way of a vote Thursday evening on the Build Back Better Act, the $1.9 trillion social spending and climate change bill that Democrats want to pass. His delay tactic worked.
As the clock struck midnight, the House leadership announced that no votes will be held before 8 a.m. today.
Andrew Clyde was among the Republicans who sat in the seats behind McCarthy in a show of support as the hour grew late. And Clyde is still not wearing a mask. Cha-ching.
***
Columbus District Attorney Mark Jones pled guilty to felony charges of misconduct earlier this week. His plea came in the midst of a wild trial that had the judge reprimand both Jones and his attorney for their conduct in the courtroom.
The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer covered the dramatic proceedings from beginning to end. Nick Wooten and Tim Chitwood report this morning that it’s up to Gov. Brian Kemp to name Jones’ permanent replacement as the chief prosecutor of the Chattahoochee Judicial District. Jones resigned as a part of his plea agreement.
***
The redistricting musical chairs in the Georgia Legislature is off to a fast start.
- Democratic state Rep. Josh McLaurin of Sandy Springs plans to run for an open state Senate seat in Fulton County.
- Democratic state Rep. Beth Moore of Peachtree Corners said she’ll run for an open Senate seat in Gwinnett County.
- And Atlanta School Board President Jason Esteves seems likely to compete for the state Senate seat to be vacated by Jen Jordan, who is running for attorney general.
***
There was an Atlanta connection last month when Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff hung a mezuzah on the door of their residence, a tradition meant to symbolize God’s presence.
Rabbi Peter Berg of The Temple in Midtown Atlanta officiated the ceremony and used a mezuzah loaned from the synagogue. The vice president and second gentleman, who is Jewish, had conducted a national search before choosing The Temple because of its history that includes involvement in civil rights and social justice issues.
Emhoff posted on Twitter Thursday about the ceremony that took place last month but had not been made public.
***
Check out the latest edition of the Politically Georgia podcast, when Greg and Patricia are joined by special guest Maya T. Prabhu to discuss the latest in Georgia’s redistricting and former U.S. Sen. David Perdue’s potential primary challenge to Gov. Brian Kemp.
You can listen at the AJC or on your favorite podcast platform.
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Union City Mayor Vince Williams will be sworn in this afternoon as president of the National League of Cities. He will become the fifth Georgia official to serve in this role and the first since 1994. Williams in August ended a 14-month stint as president of the Georgia Municipal Association.
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President Joe Biden has appointed Daniel Blackman to serve as the Region 4 administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, which includes Georgia and seven other states.
Blackman, a resident of Forsyth County, formerly served as senior vice president for environmental affairs at Capital Fortitude Business Advisors. He ran for a seat on Georgia’s Public Service Commission last year, but lost to incumbent Bubba McDonald in the January runoffs.
He is also the chair of the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club’s executive committee and a former board member of the Georgia ACLU.
Separately, Biden has also selected Allen Thomas to fill the Region 4 administrator position for the Small Business Association. Thomas is the former mayor of Greenville, North Carolina.
***
Since it’s Friday, we always like to send you into the weekend with some light reading, including:
- Patricia’s Wednesday column from the Capitol, “GOP can slow change with redistricting, but they can’t make it stop”;
- Jamie DuPree’s Washington Insider column Thursday, “No mask could be a very costly choice for Greene”;
- And a look ahead at Patricia’s Sunday column, filed from a coffee shop in Dawsonville in Lucy McBath’s newly redrawn 6th Congressional District, “Republicans finally figure out how to beat Lucy McBath.”
***
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.
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