Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024
Good morning! This week, we look at a survey of legislative priorities, as seen by readers of The Current; a round-up of Coastal Georgia news, including a warning to Brunswick’s neighbors about handling the homeless; and what the results of last night’s Iowa caucuses might mean for a powerful voting bloc in Georgia. Questions, comments, or story ideas? You can reach me at craig.thecurrent@gmail.com.
The Current’s readers weigh in
Access to affordable health care. Salary raises for teachers. Workforce housing.
Those are the needs that readers of The Current want state lawmakers to put at the top of their to-do lists, as work gets underway at the state capitol in Atlanta in the latest session of the Georgia General Assembly, according to an informal survey.
More than 200 of you responded to the survey online, and hundreds more responded to the survey on Instagram and by text on the texting platform GroundSource.
Here’s what you said, The Current’s Craig Nelson reports: Mental health care topped the list, with nearly half of the survey respondents — 49% — ranking it their top priority, followed by rural health care (45.7%) and raises for teachers (41.4%), workforce housing (29.1%) and standards for rental property (24.9%).
The readers’ list of low priorities was led by legalizing gambling (62.7%), firearms training for teachers (55.7%) and school vouchers (38%) — all issues that have received wide attention from either Gov. Brian Kemp, legislative leaders, or both, in the opening days of the legislative session.
Quotable: ‘Dropping off’
- Brunswick’s assistant city manager, Jeremiah Bergquist, told the Downtown Development Authority last week that “surrounding communities” should not be “dropping off” homeless people in Brunswick “at least not without some kind of notice.”
- “I have to tell you the Republicans in this state are just masters at messaging,” former state senator and 2022 Democratic attorney general candidate Jen Jordan told Glynn Women Democrats last week. “I have never in my life seen a state that’s in the worst possible place ever because of the Democrats and at the same time, be the best place ever because of Republicans.”
- An ethics resolution was passed unanimously by the Mayor Van Johnson and the Savannah City Council at its first meeting of 2024 last week, but a civility measure received two “nay” votes, as a long-running dispute — control over the council’s agenda — again reared its head. Said one of the dissenters, Bernetta Bryant Lanier (District 1): “I’m saying that we’re not going to all be singing ‘Kumbaya’ and all voting 100% on every issue, and the day that happens I think our constituents, our city, the stakeholders, the stockholders, the people who pay taxes, need to be concerned.”
- In an interview with Georgia Public Broadcasting published last week, state Sen. Ben Watson (District 1-Savannah), chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, sounded wary about full Medicaid expansion in Georgia. “For the most part, insurance has better coverage, better care, [and] is more accountable relating to the care for that patient,” said Watson, referring to coverage under the ACA marketplace. Georgia is one of 10 U.S. states that haven’t adopted full Medicaid expansion.
Evangelical split?
Obvious questions were answered yesterday in Iowa, as this year’s presidential election got underway in earnest — namely, the margin of victory for Donald Trump and whether Nikki Haley or Ron DeSantis would come in second place.
For Georgia Republicans, a less obvious — but no less important question — remains unanswered until polling data is analyzed: Did Christian evangelicals split over Trump?
Some Iowa pastors were reportedly dismayed over a video posted to Trump’s Truth Social on Friday and played at several Trump rallies. Entitled “God Made Trump,” the video casts the former president and Republican front-runner in messianic terms.
Speaking to reporters last week, Ralph Reed, head of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, said he wasn’t worried about any divide the polling data from Iowa might reveal.
What matters is overall turnout. “The more evangelicals we can get” to vote in caucuses and primaries, the more it ensures evangelical turnout in November, Reed said.
The religious landscape in the U.S. is rapidly changing, but evangelical Protestants have been a crucial GOP constituency in both Iowa and Georgia.
A 2014 study by the Pew Research Center showed some 38% of adult Georgians describe themselves as evangelical Protestants, compared to 28% of adults in Iowa. Of those evangelical Protestants in Georgia, 61% are or lean Republican; 23% are, or lean, Democrat.
Overall, some 79% of Georgia’s population identified as Christian, compared to 77% in Iowa.
ICYMI
- “Savannah to install granite marker giving history of town square named after emancipated Black woman” (GPB, Jan. 12, 2024) “Savannah City Council approved Thursday the installation of a granite ground marker in the center of the square’s western portion, with language reading: ‘Taylor Square. Laid out 1851. 1851 named for John C. Calhoun, 7th U.S. Vice President. 2022 City Council removed the name of Calhoun, a staunch defender of slavery. 2023 named in honor of Susie King Taylor, a formerly enslaved woman, nurse, educator and the first African American to openly teach in the state of Georgia/Erected by the City of Savannah 2024.’ ”
- “Lynching in Bulloch – Emotional marker dedication draws crowd to Boro City Hall” (Statesboro Herald, Jan. 12, 2024) ‘Tonight has been a long time coming,’ said Adrianne McCollar, one of three current Remembrance Coalition co-chairs. ‘Our group formed in 2019 after several members of our coalition visited the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, and returned absolutely committed to the process of community remembrance.’”
- “Federal court dismisses Chatham County district attorney’s appeal in workplace discrimination case” (WJCL, Jan. 12, 2024) “At the end of the day, [Mark Tate, the attorney for Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones] WJCL 22 News he feels his client is not in the wrong. He said he is determined to clear her name.”
- “Voters should have final say on legalizing sports betting” (Brunswick News, Editorial, Jan. 12, 2024) “If sports betting is going to be legalized in Georgia, then it should be done so by the will of the people through an amendment to the state constitution. Last year’s attempt to cut out the people having a say was disgraceful.”
- “House Spends $40,000 on New Member Pins as Republicans Fume Over Spending” (New York Times, Jan. 12, 2024) “Halfway through a congressional session already set apart by extraordinary chaos and a lack of productivity, the Republican-led House rang in the new year with a new set of identification pins for every member that cost a cool $40,000, according to a congressional aide familiar with the purchase.”
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Georgia’s legislative priorities: Readers weigh in
Mental health care topped the list, with nearly half of the survey respondents — 49% — ranking it their top priority, followed by rural health care (45.7%) and raises for teachers (41.4%), workforce housing (29.1%) and standards for rental property (24.9%).
Kemp pushes vouchers, more security for schools
The governor, a potential candidate for the U.S. Senate after his term expires in 2026, also devoted a good part of Thursday’s address to paint a picture of government in Georgia as different from its dysfunctional federal counterpart.
Will this be the year Georgia Republicans soften decade-long refusal of full Medicaid Expansion?
Republican leaders have steadfastly rejected full Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act for more than a decade, so the recent chatter represents a potential shift on the issue here. But there is no concrete proposal and any movement this year is far from certain.
Sports betting bill gains early passage in state Senate committee
The state would retain 20% of the gross revenue from most sports bets and 25% from “high-profit” bets including live bets placed during games. The money would go toward various state programs to be spelled out in a separate constitutional amendment.
Burns says more changes likely for Georgia election laws
New rules could shift investigations of voter complaints of election fraud from the secretary of state’s office to the State Election Board.
Private fire hydrants pose public danger in Hinesville
Nine hydrants, including devices that service Lyman Hall Elementary and Taylors Creek Elementary, are the responsibility of the organizations that own the property on which they are located – the Liberty County School System.
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