Rep. David Ralston (R - Blue Ridge) Elected Georgia's Second Republican House Speaker

Yesterday, the Republican Caucus of the Georgia House of Representatives held a historic caucus meeting and elected Rep. David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) , an easy going yet widely respected former State Senator, as the next Speaker of the Georgia House. While Ralston will still have to face a vote by the entire House of Representatives, Republicans hold a sizeable margin, and his victory is all but certain. Let's review a quick timeline of the events that led up to this historic event (Ralston is only the second Republican to serve as Speaker in modern Georgia history):

2006 Bobby Kahn, then Executive Director of the Georgia Democratic Party, files an ethics complaint accusing Glenn Richardson of having an affair with an Atlanta Gas Light lobbyist, which would constitute a clear conflict of interest. The complaint was dismissed for lack of detail and evidence.

2007 Glenn and Susan Richardson agree to a divorce. No details of the affair are mentioned.

2008 Rep. David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) challenges Glenn Richardson for Speaker but loses. As a result, Ralston is sanctioned by the House Leadership with the loss of his chairmanship of the House Judiciary Committee.

November 2009 Glenn Richardson tearfully admits that he attempted to commit suicide, in a bout of depression and agonizing over the loss of his family. Friends and colleagues from across the state rally to support Richardson.

Late November 2009 Susan Richardson participates in a devastating live intervew with Fox 5's Dale Russell, in which she accuses Richardson of being insincere in explaining his suicide attempt, instead offering that he was simply attempting to control her. Additionally, she talks about the alleged affair, indicating that she had emails and text messages which would prove that the affair took place, and also that her ex-husband threatened to use state resources to make her life miserable.

First week, December 2009 Glenn Richardson resigns as the first Republican Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives. Rep. Mark Burkhalter (R-Johns Creek), who had served as Speaker Pro-Tempore for five years, declines to accept the Speakership, a position which was automatically passed to him according to the Georgia Constitution. Burkhalter explains that he is pursuing other career opportunities, and also declines to remain Speaker Pro-Tem.

Second week, December 2009 The House Republican caucus meets and agrees that an election for a new Speaker will be held on December 18. The candidates for Speaker are Rep. David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge), Rep. Larry O'Neal (R-Warner Robins), Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Cassville), Rep. Tommy Smith (R-Nicholls), and Rep. Bill Hembree (R-Winston). Smith and Loudermilk will later withdraw. Rep. Jan Jones (R-Alpharetta), Rep. Rich Golick (R-Smyrna), Rep. Clay Cox (R-Lilburn), Rep. Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody), and Rep. Len Walker (R-Loganville) enter the race for Speaker Pro-Tem. Rep. Ed Lindsey (R-Atlanta) and Rep. John Lunsford (R-McDonough) enter the race for Majory Whip, the position previously held by Rep. Jan Jones.

Third week, December 2009 Rumors continue to fly about additional stories that might run, accusing other Republicans of impropriety and abuse of power. Conservative activists across the state call for the entire slate of the House leadership to stand for election, including House Majority Leader Jerry Keen, the lone figure of stability in the midst of the entire process.

December 17, 2009 Rep. David Ralston is nominated as the Republican candidate for the Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives on a second ballot by a vote of 55-48. Both Speaker Glenn Richardson (who had earlier given a powerful and tearful farewell address) and Speaker Pro-Tem Mark Burkhalter are present for the election. Rep. Jan Jones is elected the next Speaker Pro-Tem, and Rep. Ed Lindsey is elected Majority Whip. A petition to call Jerry Keen for re-election as Majority Leader fails.

Chuck Clay, Senior Partner at Brock Clay Government and Public Affairs, wrote an evaluation of Ralston's election which was published in Insider Advantage Georgia.

Kasim Reed Next Mayor of Atlanta

Last Wednesday, former State Senator Kasim Reed was certified as Atlanta's next mayor. Reed emerged from the runoff election on December 1 with a .84 percent advantage over his opponent Mary Norwood. State law, however, allows the second place vote getter to request a recount when the margin of victory is 1 percent or less. After the recount, Reed received 42,549 votes while Norwood received only 41,835, a margin of 714 votes. One of Reed's first official actions was to appoint George Turner as acting chief of the Atlanta Police Department. Turner, a lifelong Atlanta resident who has been a member of the police force since 1981, will assume his responsibilities on January 4, 2010 when the new mayor is sworn in. Reed appeared to be quickly making good on one of his campaign promises to fight gang violence within the City by appointing an officer with a wealth of experience in dealing with Atlanta's violence issues.

Georgia Mourns the Loss of Transportation Leader

This week, community leaders across Georgia mourned the loss of Billy Langdale, a 25-year veteran of the Georgia Transportation Board. Langdale's close friend Buck Hartley summed it up perfectly when he said Langdale would be able to spend this Christmas with Mrs. Langdale, whom he'd missed terribly since her death in 1999. Langdale was buried at Sunset Hill Cemetery, and the family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donors make a donation to their favorite charity in the name of Mr. W. P. "Billy" Langdale, Sr.

Anyone Care To Guess November Revenue Numbers?

According to Senate President Pro-Tem Tommie Williams (R-Lyons), speaking at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce's winter government affairs briefing, the November revenue numbers for Georgia are down approximately 16 percent. When the Governor's office released the numbers, it was revealed that collections for November 2009 totalled $1,188,879,000 compared to $1,419,543,000 for November 2008, a decrease of roughly $230,664,000. A couple of interesting notes presented themselves: first, the largest block of revenue collections suffering are corporate income taxes, which are down 77.5 percent; individual income taxes are down 16.7 percent, and motor fuel collections are currently on their projected course, down by 1.2 percent.

Georgia's Newest State Senator on the 2010 Legislative Session

At the Georgia Chamber of Commerce's winter government affairs meeting, newly elected Senator Buddy Carter (R-Savannah) offered the most accurate summary of the session priorities, essentially stating that the session would revolve around five "T's", Trauma, Transportation, Taxes, Thirst (water), and Teachers (education). The expectation is that if a bill or an issue doesn't fall into one of those categories, it will not receive any attention this session.

Water Update

Last week, Governor Sonny Perdue was presented with a set of draft recommendations from the task force he recently appointed to make recommednations in Georgia's ongoing struggle over water rights with Alabama and Florida. The task force recommended a set of strategies they labeled the "3 C's":

Conservation - aggressive conservation measures and fixing of leaks.
Capturing - expansion of existing reservoirs and building new ones.
Control - restrictions on outdoor water use and requirements for plumbing upgrades.

The Governor and other state leaders will provide feedback on the draft, and the task force will make final recommendations later this month.

This week, Governor Perdue also met with Alabama Governor Bob Riley and Florida Governor Charlie Crist. The three Governors came out of the meeting with vague yet encouraging statements that they had made progress towards finding a water-sharing agreement that is mutually beneficial to all parties involved. The three state executives have asked their respective teams to come up with a water use agreement they can present to their respective state legislatures next year. Ultimately however, the plan will have to be approved by Congress. Governor Perdue, often painted by the press and by the courts for being the antagonist, called the meeting "productive, candid, and willful," according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution 's Jeremy Redmon. The three Governors face a tight deadline, as Perdue and Alabama Governor Riley will leave office in 2011 due to term limits, and Florida Governor Crist is running for the United States Senate. U.S. District Judge Paul Magnusson issued an order earlier this year that will severely restrict metro Atlanta's access to Lake Lanier. When pressed for more details, Governor Riley simply said: "What we are trying to do is have an apportionment of the reservoirs - of the inflows - that adequately reflects the needs of every one of our constituents. If we get much more specific than that, then it is going to be something… that I think adds an impediment to the success.”

Congressman Hank Johnson Reveals Health Issues

Our thoughts and prayers are with Congressman Hank Johnson (D-Atlanta), who revealed last week that he was fighting a deadly liver disease, Hepatitis C. Johnson, 55, has served two terms in the United States House of Representatives. He was diagnosed with the ailment in 1998, and has used his experience to try to help the nearly 4 million other Americans who struggle with the disease.

Statewide Candidates Take Stand on Ethics

Last week, in the wake of the high profile resignation of House Speaker Glenn Richardson, two candidates for statewide office released their own opinions about how the laws regulating ethics in Georgia government should change. Secretary of State Karen Handel , a candidate for the Republican nomination for Georgia's governor, released a proposal that would: ban gifts to elected officials valued over $25 (would ban most dinners and trips currently available to legislators); apply the Georgia Open Records Act to the Georgia General Assembly like all other state entities; and give the State Ethics Commission the jurisdiction to regulate conflicts of interest for legislators, state officials, and their spouses; and require the disclosure of travel and expense reimbursement by elected officials as is currently required of state agency heads.

Later in the week, State Rep. Rob Telheit (D-Smyrna), a candidate for Attorney General, chimed in with a statement of his intent to file a similar ethics proposal. Key to all proposals being discussed would be moving the ability to police the behavior of lawmakers to the Georgia State Ethics Commission, a duty that is currently reserved to a panel of lawmakers. Gary Horlacher , a Democratic candidate for Secretary of State, took it a step further, criticizing the practice that allows members of the Georgia Ethics Commission to be appointed by the Governor, Speaker of the House and Lt. Governor. Horlacher is advocating that the members of the Commission be appointed by the Georgia Supreme Court or a watchdog group like Common Cause Georgia.

Son of Former Secretary of State Lands Major Television Role

Last week, Chandler Massey, oldest son of former Democratic Secretary of State Lewis Massey, announced that he would fill a recurring role in the soap opera Days of Our Lives.

Today In History

December 18, 1602: The Mayflower lands in Plymouth, Mass. with 102 Pilgrims on board.

December 18, 1777: America marks it's first Thanksgiving, celebrating a recent victory over General Burgoyne in the Battle of Saratoga.

December 18, 1787: New Jersey becomes the third state to ratify the United States Constitution.

December 18, 1912: Charles Dawson discovers the Piltdown Man, which was thought to be the remains of a previously unknown early human, in Piltdown, an England village. It was later discovered to be a hoax.

December 18, 1996: The school board of Oakland, Calif. passes a resolution officially recognizing "ebonics" as a language.

December 18, 1997: HTML 4.0 is released by the World Wide Web Consortium.

Weekend Humor

According to a recent government publication, a billion seconds ago Harry Truman was president; a billion minutes ago was just after the time of Christ, a billion hours ago man had not yet walked on earth, and a billion dollars ago was about 4:30 P.M. yesterday at the U.S. Treasury.

This will be our last report to you before the beginning of the 2010 Legislative Session. From all of us at Brock Clay, thank you for your friendship, and we hope you have as much fun reading this update as we do writing it. Please accept our best wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

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.”