Tuesday, July 9, 2024
Good morning! We start today with a look at the move by Liberty County commissioners to seize control of a bank account from the county’s sheriff. We then look at the divisions in the Democratic Party over what to do about Joe Biden. Finally, we look at news you may have missed in this busy political season. Questions, comments, or story ideas? You can reach me at craig.thecurrent@gmail.com
NEWS: GOVERNING
‘Not focusing on them’
A high school marching band. A high school football team. An Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball team.
They were just a few of the recipients of tens of thousands of dollars in speeding fines collected by the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office and distributed by the county’s sheriff, William Bowman, on his own say-so and from a bank account he controlled.
Last week, the county’s board of commissioners said enough. It voted 4-2 to seize control of the account from Bowman.
But whether Bowman acknowledges the new arrangement or seeks to overturn it is uncertain. He has yet to sign a July 2 draft agreement that codifies it.
The 59-year-old Bowman, who took office in 2021 as the county’s first Black sheriff, told The Current that he hasn’t read the draft.
“I’m not focusing on them right now,” he said, referring to the commission.
Looming over the controversy is the question whether Bowman broke county regulations or state laws, either in the way he operated the account or how he spent the funds, reports The Current’s Liberty County reporter, Robin Kemp.
ANALYSIS: POLITICS
‘Given the alternatives’
First lady Jill Biden made a campaign swing through Florida, North Carolina and Georgia yesterday. The professed purpose of the one-day trip was to contrast Joe Biden’s policies on veterans and military families with those of his opponent in November, Donald Trump.
The main aim of her visits to Tampa, Wilmington and Columbus, however, was to shore up her husband’s support among Democrats disappointed with his dreadful debate performance two weeks ago.
How much that disappointment has curdled into anger over his refusal to bow to the vagaries of age and end his reelection bid will be seen this week. So far, Georgia’s top Democrats have voiced their support for Biden. At the same time, it isn’t a party that appears to be rallying around him.
U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, chair of the Georgia Democratic Party offered a qualified expression of support to Biden on Sunday, saying she was standing with the president “as long as he’s at the top of this ticket.”
Democrats don’t have to wait for their national convention in Chicago next month — and the inevitable comparisons to their party’s tumultuous gathering in the Windy City more than a half century ago — for stories of intraparty drama.
In his fight to save his candidacy, Biden is turning to Black Democrats and union allies for backing, depicting his critics, including big-dollar donors, as mostly elite white liberals who are out of step with the more diverse and working-class grassroots of the party.
“Joe Biden isn’t going anywhere,” said Antjuan Seawright, a Black Democratic consultant who is close to House Rep. Jim Clyburn, a Biden ally. But if he does, “anyone other than [Vice President] Kamala [Harris] would be malpractice — and it would tear the party apart.”
“Given the alternatives, Joe Biden is the best choice to lead our nation,” said Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, a Black Democrat, who will be attending the Chicago convention as a delegate.
“What the Biden-Harris team has meant for Savannah has been historic in terms of resources and support. So, I want to stick with the team we got.”
Meanwhile, there’s no news from Trump campaign or about his legal entanglements to divert attention.
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity last week, the former president’s sentencing in New York after his conviction on 34 felony counts, originally scheduled for July 11, has been put off until at least Sept. 18.
NOTES
ICYMI
- Abortion: As the GOP prepares for the start of its four-day national convention starting Monday in Milwaukee, its platform committee rejects basis for a federal ban on abortion for the first time in 40 years.
- Georgia delegation: Along with 59 delegates, Amy Kremer, who helped organize the Jan. 6, 2021, pro-Trump rally that led to a mob storming the U.S. Capitol, will be attending the convention as one of Georgia’s two representatives to the Republican National Committee following her election at the state GOP convention last month.
- Indy candidate: Independent Laura Khurana says she has the requisite 3,600 signatures (and more) to appear on the November ballot for the Glynn County Commission’s At-Large Post 2 seat.
- Not building bridges: Michelle Solomon has a go at Reed Dulany III over his Savannah bridge proposal.
- Bible study: In his Sunday sermon at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) applies the Book of Samuel to last week’s ruling on presidential immunity by the U.S. Supreme Court.
- State prisons: Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington) announces the creation of a special committee to help improve safety in state prisons. Appointees include Reps. Al Williams (D-Midway) and Bill Hitchens (R-Rincon).
- Protecting poll workers: U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) urges the Justice Department and the FBI to ensure the safety of poll workers.
- ‘Second revolution’: The president of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank cobbling together plans for a massive federal government overhaul if Donald Trump wins election in November, says the U.S. is in the midst of a “second American revolution” that will be bloodless “if the left allows it to be.”
- Higher education: Gallup says Americans now split into roughly equal thirds as to whether they have a lot of (36%), some (32%) or very little (32%) confidence in higher education.
- ‘Most-wanted’: Savannah Mayor Van Johnson says he plans to release a “top 10 most wanted” list after several shootings.
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Liberty County Commission takes control of funds from speed-camera violations
By Robin Kemp
An investigation by The Current uncovered how the funds were spent, as well as a possible legal loophole that might justify spending on youth activities as a form of community policing.
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A woman has challenged the validity of nearly 900 voters after Georgia Lawmakers pass a law changing the way voters’ registration can be challenged.
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