CAT Fight, Angler Ire, Rally Points

Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Good Morning! In the news today: A top-of-the-ticket rally in Savannah, Chatham County officials quash Port Wentworth transit request, and a report card from Savannah officials. Finally, we note some things for your radar. Questions, comments, or story ideas? You can reach me at craig.thecurrent@gmail.com.

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NEWS:POLITICS

‘Mutually beneficial’

For their first joint rally of the general election campaign, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and Democratic gubernatorial Keisha Lance Bottoms came to Savannah over the weekend. And one thing’s for sure — they came out swinging in the made-for-social media rally, showcasing a relationship that one analyst says will be “mutually beneficial” come November, The Current’s Craig Nelson writes.

Bottoms lambasted her Republican opponent Rick Jackson (“slick Rick”) for touting himself as a Donald Trump “with a southern accent” and promised to protect hospitals and public schools from what she described as the ravages of Trump administration policies.

Ossoff blasted what he described as corruption at home and abroad by the First Family and its acolytes. He portrayed his GOP opponent, Mike Collins, as a “bigot” and “antisemite” who had repeatedly demonstrated poor judgement in by retaining a “degenerate” chief of staff, Brandon Phillips, until finally being forced to fire him for mocking rape victim earlier this year.

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NEWS: GOVERNING

‘Do the right thing’

Port Wentworth Mayor Tracy Saunders says the future of public transportation in the municipality is in doubt, following last week’s decision by the Chatham County Commission to bar it entry into the transit system’s tax district.

Officials in Port Wentworth had requested inclusion in the tax district of Chatham Area Transit (CAT) to address the skyrocketing transportation needs of the municipality, one of eight that make up Chatham County.

Led by Chairman Chester Ellis, the commission at its scheduled meeting on Friday voted 8-1 against the request. (For the commission’s discussion of the proposal, click here, starting at 56:36.)

The vote was the latest clash between Ellis and CAT. Citing mismanagement and corruption, local state lawmakers won approval 13 months ago of a new law that reorganized and expanded CAT’s board, effectively diluting Ellis’ influence over the transit agency. He has fought to regain that influence ever since.    

Approval of Port Wentworth’s request would have allowed it to increase its millage rate for property owners and generate some $1 million to finance CAT services and expand them. For the past two years, the city has paid at least $800,000 out of reserve funds to help fund a bus route from downtown Savannah.

The commissioners who opposed the proposal argued that Port Wentworth must hold a referendum on the millage rate before being allowed to join the CAT tax district. District 5 Commissioner Tanya Milton lodged the only dissenting vote.

In a Facebook post on Friday after the vote, Saunders said that prior to the vote, she “truly believed” the Chatham County Commission “would do the right thing” and approve Port Wentworth’s request.

Now, she said, even the future of the current bus route from downtown Savannah to Port Wentworth is “uncertain.” Port Wentworth’s current agreement with CAT to provide the service expires Dec. 31.

While praising Milton’s vote, the mayor criticized Ellis, accusing him of statements during the commission meeting that “just don’t match the facts.”

District 3 Savannah Alderwoman Linda Wilder-Bryan chimed in a day later, praising Saunders and current CAT CEO Stephanie Cutter, as well as local lawmakers for the CAT reform bill.

Wilder-Bryan ended her post with a swipe at Ellis: “We need that route King Chester.”

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NEWS: GOVERNING

‘Right direction’

Economic development. Affordable housing and homelessness. Crime.

Those were the top issues for Savannahians addressed at last week’s latest edition of “Savannah at Night,” hosted by Mayor Van Johnson and City Manager Jay Melder at Kingdom Life Christian Fellowship on West Montgomery Cross Road on the city’s south side.

A few highlights: Melder touted the successes of what he dubbed the “white-truck army” — the city personnel tending to the city’s public spaces to “raise the quality of life.”

Johnson explained the challenges of transforming 80-year-old Yamacraw Village — a development, he was quick to say, the city doesn’t own.

Stephanie Kaple, executive Director of the Savannah-Chatham County Interagency Council on Homelessness, said that since 2023, the number of unsheltered people has dropped by 62 percent in Savannah and the number of chronically homeless has decreased by 59 percent. How those numbers were gathered wasn’t stated.

Savannah Police Chief Lenny Gunther said the city had seen an uptick in property crime this year compared to last. Most were burglaries, theft from vehicles, and auto thefts, he said, adding that many of the vehicle-related offenses were due to cars or trucks “being left unlocked [or] running with keys easily accessible.” Overall, Gunther said, “violent crime has been declining each year since 2022.”

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NEWS: UPDATES

8 things for your radar

• Proposed red drum fishing regulations issued by Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources’ have “stirred dissatisfaction among anglers all along the coast,” The Current’s Kelly Lu reports.
• SCAD President Paula Wallace last year earned $5.7 million including bonuses and other compensation, more than double her previous year’s income, according to a new IRS filing. SCAD’s revenue rose from $883 million to $953 million in the same year, and executive compensation remained about 1% of its total expenses. In 2014, Wallace’s $9.6 million pay package made her the top-paid college leader in the country, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• “Sat down with @RickJacksonGA at his office yesterday and it didn’t take long to see why he’s going to be a great Governor,” said Republican congressional candidate Jim Kingston, reporting on his June 25 visit to what appeared to be the home of the GOP candidate for governor. “Proud to have your support! Jackson replied. Kingston had backed Burt Jones in the runoff.
• The Savannah Chatham County School Board unanimously approves a $704.7 million budget for FY2027. Roger Moss and District 7 representative Stephanie Campbell voted against the tentative millage rate, which is the same as last year’s rate.
• “About half of Georgia households struggle to keep up with the rising cost of basic necessities like utilities and food. That’s despite earning above the federal poverty level,” a United Way study finds.
• Democrat Corey Foreman formally launches his general election campaign against incumbent Republican Ben Watson for the state Senate’s District 1 seat. Asked by The Current what he must do to win, he sounds a familiar refrain for candidates of both parties: “I have to turn people out.” In attendance for the launch at Sandfly’s Driftaway Cafe: former congressional candidate Wade Herring, state Representative-elected Orlando Scott, and Skidaway Democratic notables Mitzi Toth and Rosemary Mackey.
• IHeartMedia announces system-wide layoffs, including conservative radio talk show host Scott Ryfun of Brunswick, whose show was broadcast on WGIG in Brunswick and WTKS in Savannah.
• Democratic congressional candidate Joyce Griggs has asked the secretary of state for a recount of the primary election runoff earlier this month, according to Michael McCord, who came in sixth in the first round of voting and afterward threw his support behind Griggs. Unofficial results showed her losing to Amanda Hollowell by 1,412 votes — or 5.9 percent of the vote.

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