Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025
Good Morning! Your Soundings editor is taking a break, but the news is not. Our lineup today includes: The Glynn County Sheriff hiring his son for a lucrative law enforcement position; the ongoing fight over control of Chatham County’s public transportation system; and the upcoming arrival of political candidate forums. Finally, we note some accolades for officials and some news you may have missed.
NEWS: PUBLIC SAFETY
Sheriff taps son for top job
Robbie Jump, son of Sheriff Emmett “Neal” Jump, has been appointed as the undersheriff of Glynn County with an annual salary of about $120,000. This makes him the highest-paid undersheriff in the state, and means that he makes more than some comparable counties are willing to offer the most highly-credentialed candidates, as The Current GA‘s Jabari Gibbs reports. The promotion has raised eyebrows, as it is atypical for a sheriff to appoint a family member to the senior role, and Robbie Jump’s career history is not as extensive as some of his predecessors. However, Georgia law gives sheriffs a great deal of autonomy over personnel matters and salary disbursements, and there are no rules against hiring family members.
NEWS: GOVERNING
CAT fight
Two attempts to end the monthslong dispute over Chatham Area Transit’s new board of directors have hit rough waters, with one — by state Sen. Derek Mallow (D-District 2) facing criticism from his own colleagues and another — by Chatham County Commissioner Patrick Farrell (District 4) — foundering altogether.
The dispute has become an expensive legal struggle and an embarrassing political one that has shed unflattering light on longstanding issues and tensions in the county’s governance, The Current GA’s Craig Nelson reports.
It has also raised worries among the transit system’s thousands of users, with Ellis calling CAT’s new board “unconstitutional,” threatening to withdraw the county from the widely used transit system and leveling so far unsubstantiated allegations of financial improprieties against members of the new, 11-member CAT board, which was seated July 1.
NEWS: ELECTIONS
Candidate forum season arrives
Yes, the primary isn’t until May, but statewide and Congressional candidates are already traversing Coastal Georgia. The 2026 Georgia governor’s Democratic candidate forums open in Savannah on Jan. 8. Governor candidates Derrick Jackson, Olu Brown, Jason Esteves, Geoff Duncan, Ruwa Romman, and Michael Thurmond are listed as attending. A notable absence is former Atlanta mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms. The event is organized by the Democratic Party of Chatham County and WJCL. If you want to see the candidates in action, mark your calendar for 6:30 p.m. Jan. 8 at Jonesville Baptist Church, 5201 Montgomery St. in Savannah. Registration for the free, public event is requested at this link. The event is the first in a series that includes a Republican Primary Forum and a final debate after the primary for candidates who make it to the November general election.
Officials honored
• Savanah Mayor Van R. Johnson II has been elected First Vice President of the National League of Cities. He’s the first Savannah mayor to hold the organization’s top leadership role since Mayor John P. Rousakis in 1979 and only the 5th Georgian to lead the organization in its 101 year history. NLC represents more than 19,000 cities and is the largest organization devoted to strengthening local governance, advocating on behalf of municipalities in Washington, D.C.
• State Rep. Rick Townsend (R-Brunswick) was honored as a 2025 Torchbearer for Education by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators for his leadership on House Bill 235, the Georgia Supporting Living Donor Educators Act, which he sponsored during the 2025 legislative session, as well as his support for public education and public educators. HB 235 requires employers of school employees, teachers and postsecondary employees to provide leaves of absence for the donation of bone marrow and organs.
• Chatham County Sheriff Richard Coleman will be honored with the Georgia Association of Black County Officials’ 2025 Sheriff of the Year for South Georgia Award. The same group will honor Chatham County Commission Chairman Chester Ellis as the 2025 Commission Chairman of the Year.
ICYMI
• The National Park Service has removed Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Jr. Day from its list of free admission days for parks, adding among other dates President Donald Trump’s birthday, which falls on Flag Day, WABE reports. The sites affected include the 11 NPS-managed sites in Georgia, like Cumberland Island National Seashore and Fort Pulaski National Monument.
• One new law going into effect Jan. 1 looks at curbing the abuse of temporary car tags and sets some business parameters for online used car dealers. The Current GA’s Jasmine Wright looks at what the law does — and doesn’t do — in the second of two stories looking at used car dealer practices and abuse of temporary tags that costs the owners and the state.
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Attempts to settle CAT dispute flounder
State Sen. Derek Mallow attempted to broker a deal to end the dispute over Chatham Area Transit’s new board of directors, but his plan was met with anger from other local lawmakers who felt he had failed to consult them.
Glynn County sheriff taps son as undersheriff with $120K salary
Sheriff Emmett “Neal” Jump of Glynn County, Georgia, has appointed his son, Robbie Jump undersheriff with a base salary of approximately $120,000 — more than some comparable counties are willing to offer the most highly-credentialed candidates.
In two-day effort at sea, team partially frees whale of fishing gear off Georgia coast
A team from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources disentangled a four-year-old male North Atlantic right whale, nicknamed Division, from commercial fishing gear after two days of exhausting and dangerous work.
Georgia prisons push for drone mitigation as contraband deliveries rise
The Georgia Department of Corrections is struggling to retain enough guards for its growing prison population, while also lobbying for permission to use technology to stop drones from delivering contraband into prisons.
Georgia public schools to receive overdose reversal kits
Georgia is installing overdose reversal kits at all 2,300 public schools in the state using money from a legal settlement with the pharmaceutical industry, in order to combat the spread of opioids.
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