NEWS Archive
Environmental Protection Division Director Carol Couch Resigns Environmental Protection Division Director Carol Couch ResignsOn Monday, Dr. Carol Couch, who has served for six years as the Director of Georgia's Environmental Protection Division, announced that she would be resigning from her position to accept a post at the University of Georgia's College of Environment and Design. Dr. Couch served in that post during one of Georgia's busiest times of environmental planning, spearheading the draft of Georgia's first statewide water management plan. Governor Sonny Perdue Certifies Water, Sewer ProjectsThis week, Governor Sonny Perdue authorized five (5) environmental infrastructure project loans for the Eatonton-Putnam County Water and Sewer Authority, the City of Hagan, the Macon Water Authority, the City of Waleska, and the City of Walthourville. The project loans totalled approximately $6.7 million with two of the projects ($936,550) financed through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). According to Matt Beasley, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority and Mayor of Hartwell, these projects indicate that the State of Georgia is interested in stimulating economic development and environmental stewardship in communities of all sizes. Rep. Jill Chambers To MARTA Board: "Look Out"Recently, the Board of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, better known as MARTA, issued an RFP asking for bids to provide contract government affairs consulting services to the cash strapped agency. Currently under legal requirements that 50 percent of their revenue be spent on capital (leaving only 50 percent for maintenance and operations), MARTA's government affairs staff have been working feverishly for the last several legislative sessions to loosen that requirement and give the agency more balanced rules under which to operate. Having met with little or no success due to various political forces, the agency issued the RFP this summer. It was reported that MARTA recieved a large number of bids from some of the best and brightest of Georgia's government affairs professionals. When word got out that the MARTA Board would be voting to approve up to $480,000 for three years worth of such services, MARTA Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Jill Chambers (R - Atlanta) issued a directive to the MARTA Board that served only to further strain relations which had heretofore been stressed at best. Said Chambers: "The MARTA board is expected to vote to approve the hiring of a contract lobbyist for aprox $400K+. I hope I have made it clear to the Authority that I feel this is a waste of taxpayers money – MARTA already has two staff lobbyists and the firm of Holland & Knight to represent them in government issues. The Board Governance Sub-committee of MARTOC will examine the votes for the Ethics changes and the contract lobbyist issue. Should either of these two issues come before the Board, those members who vote in agreement to these staff proposals may see their Board seats eliminated with any future restructuring of the MARTA Act..." The next day, the MARTA Board voted to approve the expenditure and last week the MARTA Board voted to accept the proposal from the lobbying firm Williams Consulting Group, lead by Ellen Williams.Jeb Bush Comes to Atlanta to Discuss EducationFormer Florida Governor Jeb Bush will be in Atlanta on October 30 for a special symposium to discuss “Education for the 21st Century.” The event is being co-sponsored by the Heritage Foundation, the Foundation for Excellence in Education and the Center for an Educated Georgia at the Georgia Family Council.Gov. Bush will be joined by Patricia Levesque, Executive Director of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, Goldwater Institute’s Vice President of Research Matthew Ladner, Jennifer Marshall and Dan Lips of the Heritage Foundation, Jamie Self of the Georgia Family Council and Georgia Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers. Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue and other members of the Georgia General Assembly have alson been invited to participate.To RSVP email Roger Whyte at The Heritage Foundation at specialevents@heritage.org or call at (202) 608-1524. Political Diary: Augusta Chronicle Says Deal Is Radioactive, Oxendine Has Bad Week, Congressional Candidates Report Cash on Hand...Earlier last week, the Augusta Chronicle opined about the furor over statements made by Congressman Nathan Deal about "ghetto grandmothers" several weeks ago. Since making the statement at a local Republican party meeting, Deal and his staff have decried the criticism of his statements as "taken out of context." Nonetheless, the Chronicle took exception to that explanation, saying that under no circumstances would it be appropriate for a "white gubernatorial candidate to be talking about ghetto grandmothers." The paper went on to also refer back to questionable communications Deal and his staff had with the state of Georgia in reference to one od Deal's private businesses. The conclusion? "Nathan Deal [is] radioactive now and quite likely unelectable." The last few weeks have also included difficulties for the gubernatorial campaign of Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine. Two weeks ago, Oxendine's father, Jim Oxendine, was dismissed from his post as a Senior Superior Court Judge in Gwinnett County. The senior Oxendine left under allegations that he had signed documents surrounding questionable land deals in which the county allegedly used tax dollars to illegally purchase land from well connected land owners. Last week, Jim Oxendine was summarily dismissed from the Board of the Roosevelt Warm Springs Rehabilitation Fund in a unanimous vote by the board's executive committee. The reason? The senior Oxendine had authorized payments of $392,000 from the Rehabilitation Fund to a political consultant named Wayne Reece. The catch? Wayne Reece, who is the head of Reece & Associates, has close ties to Insurance Commissioner Oxendine and also sat on the Board of the Rehabilitation Fund before being dismissed by its executive committee. News reports have stated that the minutes from the meeting in which both men were removed from the Board reveal that they both actively tried to conceal the contract from the rest of the Board.In the same week, The Georgia Ethics Commission rejected a request from the Oxendine campaign to dismiss a complaint alleging that the campaign knowingly accepted $120,000 in illegal contributions. Earlier this year, the Atlanta Journal-Constituion reported that a Rome-based insurance executive funnelled the money to the campaign through a series of 10 PACs based in Alabama. It is illegal for political candidates to accept more than $12,200 from one source or from any entity they regulate. Oxendine later returned the contributions, but an ethics watchdog based in Rome named George Anderson immediately filed a complaint alleging that Oxendine knowingly accepted the contributions. Rather than dismissing the complaint, the Ethics Commission voted to expand the investigation. Today, Rasmussen released new polling numbers in the Georgia governor's race. 27 percent of likely conservative voters prefer Oxendine, a 4 percent drop since August. Twelve percent prefer Secretary of State Karen Handel, and 9 percent said they would vote for Congressman Nathan Deal. Eric Johnson, Rep. Austin Scott, and Ray McBerry each received 3 percent. This is first major poll this year to show Oxendine polling below 30%.On Monday morning, United States Congressman Hank Johnson, a Democrat from DeKalb County, endoresed State Senator Kasim Reed in the Atlanta Mayor's race. Last week, Roll Call reported that Georgia State Representative Mike Keown (R - Coolidge) had raised $105,000 and currently has $101,000 cash on hand in his race to challenge Congressman Sanford Bishop (D - GA). Keown is serving his third term in the Georgia State House and is currently a member of the Education, Health and Human Services, and Natural Resources and Environment Committees. Last week, candidates in the Republican primary for Georgia's 9th Congressional District began to announce their most recent fundraising numbers. Mike Evans' fundraising has noticably slowed, as he raised $51,000 and currently has approximately $123,000 cash on hand. Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Stephens raised $21,000 and has $18,000 cash on hand. State Senator Lee Hawkins (R - Gainesville) made a big splash in the fundraising pool as he announced $280,000 cash-on-hand. However, that number did include a personal loan to himself in the amount of $145,000. Tom Graves raised $162,000 raised with a cash on hand balance of $194,000. Report From October Meeting of Georgia Transportation BoardAt the recent Georgia Department of Transportation meeting held in Columbus, the Board took the opportunity of being in the Commissioner’s home community and recognized two of the Valley’s local leaders with resolutions as well as naming the Tom Buck Parkway and George W. Ford Interchange. As well, Columbus Chamber President Michael Gaymon gave a presentation on economic development efforts for the Valley Partnership and the incredible growth in the area due to BRAC expansion at Fort Benning and the Kia auto plan.During Commissioner Vance Smith’s report, he stated that motor fuel collection is estimated at $208 million, almost an 18 percent decrease from last year. The Commissioner also stated that staff levels are down, which creates savings, but makes work tough. He complimented the existing staff for their efforts and expressed confidence that the department would continue to perform at high levels of efficiency.Staff reported 21 Georgia counties that have recently experienced severe flooding have been declared disaster areas. The November letting will amount to $198 million, $32 in state dollars, and $167 million in ARRA funds. Out of 31 total projects, 26 are stimulus projects, and 1 project is a local letting.Today In HistoryOctober 23, 1707: The first meeting of the Parliament of Great Britain.October 23, 1850: The first Women's Rights Convention is held in Worcester, Massachusetts.October 23, 1861: President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus in Washington, D.C., for all military-related cases.October 23, 1911: The first use of aircraft for war when when an Italian pilot uses an aircraft for surveillance during the Turco-Italian War. October 23, 1929: The first American intercontinental air service begins between New York City and Los Angeles. October 23, 1946: The first convention of the United Nations General Assembly occurs in Flushing, Queens, New York City.October 23, 2001: Apple releases the first iPod. Have a great weekend,Seth MillicanThere 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.”
