Race To Replace Deal Gets Crowded

Friday, May 29, 2009

Brock Clay Weekly Newsletter

9th District Congressional Race Heats Up

Last week, State Representative Tom Graves (R-Ranger) announced his intention to run for Georgia’s 9th Congressional District. That seat will be vacated by Congressman Nathan Deal, who is running for governor in Georgia’s 2010 elections. Graves has been a popular, yet controversial, legislator in recent years, having served as the chairman of the now defunct 216 Group (a caucus of legislators who ranked legislation on how it met certain conservative standards) and a former House Hawk. Graves was removed from his position in leadership for voting to support Mike Evans for re-election as chair of the Georgia Board of Transportation against the wishes of House Speaker Glenn Richardson . However, Graves distinguished himself yet again as the prime author of a series of popular tax breaks during the 2009 session.

On Wednesday, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Stephens sent an email officially announcing his candidacy and the formation of his regional finance committee. Stephens spent eight years in the Georgia State Senate representing 13 north Georgia counties. During his tenure, Stephens served as Governor Sonny Perdue’s floor leader, Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, Senate Majority Leader and Chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus. Stephens currently serves as Vice President of Southern Highlands, LLC in Blairsville, Georgia. Virgil Williams will chair the finance committee, which will also include former Georgia Governor Zell Miller and his wife, Shirley.

In an interesting political twist, former GDOT Chairman Mike Evans resigned shortly after the vote which caused Graves to lose his leadership position, but recently became the first to announce his candidacy for this same race.

Acclaimed Georgia Pundit Bill Shipp Retires

Last week, acclaimed columnist and political pundit Bill Shipp announced that he would retire after a nearly 50 years of covering Georgia politics. Shipp’s career began as a student editor of the Red and Black, the student newspaper associated with the University of Georgia, Shipp's alma mater. He joined the Atlanta Constitution (which was separate from the Atlanta Journal at the time) in 1953. Among his more interesting experiences was having then Lt. Governor Zell Miller go to his office and threaten to kick his posterior, and having then Governor George Busbee push him into the pool at the Governor’s mansion. Shipp later became the first political columnist in Georgia to publish his column online.

New “Superspeeder” Fines Hit Speed Bump

During the 2009 legislative session, the General Assembly passed new rules governing those who drive more than 10 MPH over the posted speed limit, adding an extra $200 onto fines levied for those offenses. However, these new speeding fines will not be implemented until January 1, due to the fact that new traffic tickets must be printed and distributed, allowing law enforcement officials to indicate the new type of offense. The new fines are expected to generate approximately $23 million to fund trauma care in Georgia.

Isakson Successful in Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission

United States Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) has successfully created the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, similar to the 9/11 Commission, to study the people and causes behind the economic meltdown that occurred in the United States last summer. The Commission will have subpoena power and a $5 million budget to execute its mission. The Commission is part of a larger legislative package President Barack Obama signed into law last week, the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009. Senator Isakson worked with Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) on the legislation to create the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.

Georgia Technology Authority Announces Stimulus Dollars for Broadband Expansion

Last Wednesday, the Georgia Technology Authority (GTA) project director Rich Calhoun announced that Georgia would be aggressively pursuing federal stimulus dollars to increase broadband access in rural and underserved areas of Georgia. The federal government has allocated approximately $7.2 billion of stimulus money specifically for these types of projects. In the absence of specific federal guidelines, GTA has set up a web site (www.georgiabroadband.net) to solicit ideas and input from companies, non-profits and local governments. To date, the site has garnered approximately 85 suggestions for how to use the money, which will be available from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Georgia Department of Transportation Meeting Notes

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) held their monthly board meeting on May 20-21 in Douglas, Georgia. The board held its traditional committee meetings on Wednesday, and the full board met on Thursday.

At the meeting, the GDOT Board declared their intent to create a comprehensive state rail plan so the state can apply for federal passenger rail funding. This funding would be available from the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008. GDOT has recently established a Division of Intermodal, as well as hiring a director to oversee those operations.

To date, the GDOT Board has declined to name a new GDOT Commissioner. The position has been vacant for several months since the departure of former Commissioner Gena Evans. Former GDOT Chief Engineer Gerald Ross has been serving in the interim position since that time. The GDOT Board had set a June 1 deadline to conclude their nationwide search for candidates for Commissioner, and it’s widely believed that the Board will not announce their choice until after that date.

This was the first meeting of the GDOT Board since Governor Sonny Perdue signed Senate Bill 200, which took away some of the GDOT Board’s traditional powers. However, SB 200 appears to give the GDOT Board the ability to choose certain privately financed toll projects without the Governor’s approval. A state committee had previously killed a proposal to add toll lanes to Georgia 400, but the GDOT Board has begun discussion about reviving plans for the toll lanes and aggressively forming a strategy to look at metro-wide toll lanes.

Cleland receives White House Appointment; No U.S. Supreme Court Nod for Sears

Last week, the White House confirmed that former Georgia Secretary of State and United States Senator Max Cleland (D) had been named Commissioner of the United States Battle Monuments Commission. Cleland is the first Georgian to receive a full-time appointment from President Barack Obama. The Commission is responsible for overseeing 24 permanent American burial grounds and 25 separate memorials, monuments and markers. Cleland previously served as the head of the U.S. Veteran’s Administration during the Carter administration, Georgia’s Secretary of State, a State Senator and a one-term United States Senator.

Earlier this week, President Obama nominated Appeals Court Judge Sonya Sotomayor to replace retiring Justice David Souter on the United States Supreme Court. Retiring Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears had been considered by many pundits to be on President Obama's short list to replace Justice Souter.

Notes from the Georgia Trauma Care Network Commision Meeting

In the past two weeks, numerous meetings have taken place involving the Georgia Trauma Care Network Commission (GTCNC). The GTCNC held its monthly meeting at the Medical Center of Central Georgia on May 21. The Commission discussed their plans to move forward with building a Web site. Buford-based The Stoneridge Group presented several potential designs for a logo for the Commission and its Web site. The next steps will include establishing guidelines for such projects with the Department of Community Health and issuing an RFP for the creation of a website.

After the Commission issued payments to Georgia’s EMS providers for uncompensated care, some of those services reported receiving payment from the patients. The Commission then voted to allow the extra funds to remain with those EMS providers for trauma-related training.

On Tuesday, the EMS advisory committee to the GTCNC met in Macon at the offices of Mid Georgia Ambulance Service. Much of the discussion at the meeting centered on the best ways for the Commission to distribute money allocated to the EMS community from the $23 million appropriated by the General Assembly to the Commission for FY 2009. The suggestions included providing update trauma specialty equipment for rural EMS services; providing first responder training to counties that do not have an EMS service; allocating money for another round of ambulance replacement grants in underserved areas; and continuing to explore options for increasing EMS reimbursement rates.

The GTCNC will meet again on June 18.

Know Your Legislators

Senator David Adelman grew up in Atlanta and received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Georgia, and is a devoted Georgia football fan. He received his Juris Doctorate of Law degree from Emory University in 1989, and earned his Masters of Public Administration from Georgia State University in 1995. He began his law career as an Assistant Attorney General for the state of Georgia and currently serves as a partner at the firm of Sutherland, Asbill, and Brennan LLP.

Senator Adelman was elected to the Georgia State Senate in 2002. He currently serves as the Minority Whip and as the Chairman of the Senate Urban Affairs Committee. He views his greatest legislative achievements as working to ensure the passage of the Family Violence Shelter Protection Act and a law providing for DNA testing in certain criminal cases. Senator Adelman has also been a key advocate for the development of Georgia Trauma Network.

In his spare time, Senator Adelman enjoys spending time with his wife Caroline and their three children. Senator Adelman is also an active pro bono advocate representing indigent veterans before the United States Court of Veterans Appeals. He enjoys listening to Bruce Springsteen, and reading about his hero, Winston Churchill.

Senator Adelman considers himself an easygoing legislator and believes that when life down at the Capitol starts driving him crazy, it’s time to retire and let someone else take over the reigns!

In Other News

On Tuesday, the Pentagon confirmed that 74 (or 1 in 7) former inmates of the Guantanamo Bay detention site were confirmed or suspected of having returned to terrorism.

A New Zealand mother encountered an abrupt surprise after placing bids on several toys through the online auction site, TradeMe. After she went to sleep, her 3-year-old daughter took matters into her own hands and purchased a $12,300 earth moving machine. TradeMe later reimbursed the seller for their listing fees and the machine was relisted.

Athens, Georgia continues to earn high marks for its Southern charm as Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine ranks the Classic City the fifth best place to live in the United States.

Today in History

May 29, 1453: Ottoman armies overthrow the city of Constantinople, ending the Byzantine Empire.

May 29, 1848: Wisconsin is admitted to the United States as the 30th state.

May 29, 1886: A chemist named John Pemberton places an ad for a new beverage in the Atlanta Journal. The new concoction? Coca-Cola.

May 29, 1919: Einstein’s theory of relativity is tested by Arthur Eddington’s observation of a total solar eclipse in Principe.

May 29, 1990: Boris Yelstin is elected president of the SFSR by the Russian Parliament.

May 29, 2004: The World War II Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.

Have a great weekend,

SM

There are no simple solutions to working with the public or government. At Brock Clay, we integrate our services across lobbying, grassroots and public relations in order to create comprehensive solutions to complex problems. Whether we need to set up a town hall meeting, start a letter-writing campaign, work the halls of the Capitol or create a press release, we will find the right way to meet the challenge. As Harry Truman said, “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”