Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024
Good morning! We begin this week with an update on a state ethics commission investigation of campaign contribution reports by Chatham County’s district attorney. We then look at support for Savannah and Brunswick dockworkers from a very prominent person. Finally, we consider a Coastal Georgia offspring of DOGE and some stories you may have missed. Questions, comments, or story ideas? You can reach me at craig.thecurrent@gmail.com
NEWS: POLITICS
Case dismissed
The state ethics board that investigates Georgia’s elected officials has recommended that a campaign finance complaint against recently re-elected Chatham County District Attorney be dismissed, The Current’s public safety reporter, Jake Shore, reports.
The complaint, filed by Savannah attorney Wade Herring less than a month before the Nov. 5 election, alleged that Cook Jones failed to meet the state’s deadline to file reports listing her campaign contributors.
However, five days after the state deadline and Herring’s complaint, Cook Jones filed the required reports. According to Haley Barrett, the spokesperson for the ethics commission, she was allowed to do so under a grace period put in place due to Hurricane Helene.
The commission’s board is scheduled to formally approve the staff’s recommendation at its quarterly meeting in March.
NEWS: BUSINESS
‘Distress, hurt and harm’
Union dockworkers at the Georgia Ports Authority marine terminals in Savannah and Brunswick have received a boost from president-elect Donald Trump last week in their bid for a new labor contract.
The current six-year contract expired in early October without the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance reaching an agreement on a new pact.
A subsequent three-day strike by dockworkers in Savannah, Brunswick and 13 other ports along the East Coast and Gulf Coast ended with an agreement to extend to Jan. 15 the deadline to reach a new deal. About 2,500 ILA members work alongside more than 1,400 GPA personnel on the docks in Savannah and Brunswick.
After meeting with two ILA officials in Mar-a-Lago last week, Trump appeared to side with the dockworkers in their bid for a new contract.
A sticking point in the negotiations has been the extent to which the use of automation at port terminals will be enshrined in the contract. The alliance wants to expand the use of automation; the dockworkers fear it will cost jobs.
Writing on Truth Social, Trump said he understood the problem.
“I’ve studied automation and know just about everything there is to know about it. The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt and harm it causes for American Workers, in this case, our Longshoremen. Foreign companies have made a fortune in the U.S. by giving them access to our markets.”
Dennis Daggett, one of the two ILA officials, lauded Trump: “In over 25 years of working in Washington, I have never seen a Republican take up the mantle of working-class people. President Trump proved me wrong yesterday.”
Whether Trump’s apparent support for the dockworkers would extend to supporting another work stoppage is unclear. Amidst last fall’s presidential campaign and devastating storms that ravaged the southeastern U.S., 1st District U.S. Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter was among those condemning the strike, calling it the “worst thing that could happen right now.” He urged Joe Biden to step in to negotiations and “encourage a settlement.”
NEWS: GOVERNING
‘Corrective measures’
DOGE is catching on.
Following his victory in last month’s presidential election, Donald Trump established DOGE — formally known as the Department of Government Efficiency — to suggest budget cuts and named the world’s reputedly wealthiest person, Elon Musk, and another billionaire, Vivek Ramaswamy, to lead it. Musk has vowed to cut $2 trillion in federal spending and Ramaswamy has said some federal agencies will be “deleted outright.”
Last week, Coastal Georgia Congressman Earl “Buddy” Carter, a deficit hawk, announced he was joining the newly formed Congressional DOGE Caucus. “I am proud to join the Congressional DOGE Caucus and tackle the rampant waste, fraud, and abuse that defines our government’s bureaucracy,” Carter said in a statement issued by his office.
Jay Moreno of St. Marys is getting in the DOGE spirit, too.
In an email over the weekend to dozens of fellow residents of the city, the 77-year-old Moreno proposed the creation a group of retirees who would, in teams of two and three, embed in city agencies as observers and report to the city manager on each department’s “best practices, worst practices, most efficient practices, least efficient practices, and wasteful practices.”
Under Moreno’s proposal, the city manager would report within 30 days what, if any, corrective measures recommended by the teams have been implemented.
Moreno, a Navy veteran who describes himself as a conservative activist in the style of Ronald Reagan, William Buckley and Mark Levin, has dubbed his proposed group “Retired Experts for Government Efficiency,” or REFORGE.
He told The Current on Monday that he’s received no response yet to his proposal from either interested retirees or the city manager. He’s hopeful, though, something can be done to make city agencies more accountable.
“There’s an awful lot of inefficiency in the way this city operates, and there’s a lot of public dissatisfaction, particularly with the Public Works Department.”
What DOGE and its offspring succeed in accomplishing remains to be seen. During the recent presidential campaign, Musk, Ramaswamy and others frequently argued that the federal government was overrun with unelected decisionmakers working without authorization from Congress and the Constitution.
DOGE critics point out that that is exactly what DOGE is — an independent advisory body, with no limits on its purview and one that Musk and Ramaswamy personally control — an example of the administrative state they decried.
NEWS:UPDATES
ICYMI
- “Kemp declares Helene relief top priority for General Assembly” (The Current, Dec. 10, 2024) “Besides relief to hurricane victims, Kemp said other issues he will prioritize early in the General Assembly include tort reform, strengthening education and the workforce in Georgia, and public safety, including additional steps to combat human trafficking.”
- “Georgia makes many more students than expected eligible for school vouchers” (Associated Press, Dec. 11, 2024) “Hundreds of thousands of students in Georgia will be eligible for $6,500 vouchers to pay for private school tuition or home-schooling expenses — far more than many legislators expected — under an expansive interpretation of the law by the new agency running the program.”
- “Georgia Republicans recommend further law to restrict transgender women’s participation in sports” (Associated Press, Dec. 13, 2024) “It’s an issue that’s already been addressed in Georgia. . . . [but Lt. Gov. Burt] Jones and others argue that doesn’t go far enough and that lawmakers themselves need to act.”
- “Trump Is About to Betray His Rural Supporters” (The Atlantic, Dec. 13, 2024) “Donald Trump’s support in rural America appears to have virtually no ceiling. In last month’s election, Trump won country communities by even larger margins than he did in his 2020 and 2016 presidential runs. But several core second-term policies that Trump and the Republican Congress have championed could disproportionately harm those places.”
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Ethics board recommends complaint against Chatham district attorney be dismissed
State Ethics Commission recommends dismissing campaign finance complaint lodged against Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones. She filed necessary paperwork, following complaint by a Savannah attorney.
Warnock pushes to finalize plan blocking medical debt from credit reports
The bureau proposed rules this summer that would eliminate medical debt from most credit reports, prohibit consumer reporting agencies from sharing medical debt information with creditors, and ban the repossession of medical devices like prosthetics.
Debate over Georgia’s tort laws pits pro-business forces against defenders of public’s court access
Gov. Brian Kemp pledged to prioritize tort reform next year as part of his push to keep Georgia’s economy friendly to corporations.
Proposals to rein in child care costs in Georgia gain early support from Senate leaders
The lieutenant governor says he’ll back an increase in the tax credit for child and dependent care expenses from 30% to 40%, a new Georgia Child Tax Credit of $250 per child under 7 and an expansion of Georgia’s tax credit for employer-sponsored child care.
Residents struggle to tame Brunswick’s ‘dust bowl’
Wood-pellet operation at port blamed for steady coats of dust on houses, cars and streets in Brunswick neighborhood.
Flemington considers first property millage rate
The final public hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 12 at City Hall, 156 Old Sunbury Road. The council will vote on whether to pass the millage rate at a special called meeting set for 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17.
Former DA charged for interfering in Ahmaud Arbery case finally in court
Jackie Johnson, former Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney, appeared in Glynn County court as her attorney, prosecutors argued ahead of Johnson’s criminal trial for her role in the Ahmaud Arbery murder investigation.
Midway budget vote on hold until Dec. 16 as fire talks continue
Negotiations continue with the Liberty County Board of Commissioners about whether Midway will contract with the county for full fire services within the city limits.
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