Peach State Politics (August 7, 2021)
More counties, districts implement mask mandates, Reed hit with ethics complaint, This Week in Washington, and more
Welcome to a special Saturday edition of Peach State Politics! I normally try to get my newsletter together on Thursday nights, but I was too busy this week to finish this week’s letter. But not to worry! I’m still here to go over this week’s biggest stories in Georgia politics!
With COVID-19 cases once again on the rise, we will take a look at which counties and school districts are implementing mask mandates. Plus, former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is now facing an ethics complaint as he seeks to reclaim his old job. And as always, we’ve got the latest from Washington. Let’s get started!
More GA counties, school districts issue mask mandates
Several counties and school districts across metro Atlanta are issuing new mask mandates as concerns grow over new COVID-19 variants.
This week, the Athens-Clarke County Commission voted to reinstate a countywide mask mandate. The commission also voted to require vaccines for county employees. The news comes as students at the University of Georgia, which is located in Athens, prepare to return to campus for the fall semester. However, UGA itself is not governed by the county commission, but by the University System of Georgia. The USG oversees all of the state’s public colleges and universities and says it does not plan on requiring masks on its campuses.
Elsewhere, when students and teachers in Fulton County return to classrooms on Monday, they will be required to wear some form of face covering. The district says that masks will be required in areas with 100 cases per 100,000 people. Only one city in Fulton County falls below that threshold: Johns Creek, which is currently recording 98 cases per 100,000 people, according to a database on the district’s website.
Reed hit with ethics complaint in comeback bid
Former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is being accused of accepting illegal campaign contributions as he seeks to reclaim his old job.
William Perry, the founder of Georgia Ethics Watchdogs, claims that the contributions amount to $38,000. A spokeswoman for the former mayor says that the contributions will be returned.
Reed’s administration has been the focus of several criminal investigations. Several of his closest associates have been fired, fined and even imprisoned on corruption and bribery charges. Reed himself has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime.
But Perry, a longtime critic of Reed, had harsh words for the former Mayor: “Kasim Reed has promised he would be much tighter and take a more focused look at corruption and has said the same things won’t happen again. But to me … we’ve got the same old Kasim Reed.”
This Week in Washington
Let’s turn our attention to Washington, where President Biden’s job approval on the COVID-19 pandemic is lowering as the country faces another increase in new cases. Plus, former President Barack Obama was criticized for planning a lavish party for his 60th birthday. And a favorite of the progressive left was defeated in an Ohio special election this week.
Quinnipiac: Biden maintains +13 approval on COVID-19, down from +35 in May
“Biden touts electric vehicle goals as boon for climate, economy and jobs”
Report: Obama scales back 60th Birthday bash after criticism
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) blasts Biden as state sees rise in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations
Progressive firebrand Nina Turner falls short in contentious Ohio special election
CNN: “GOP fears grow over Herschel Walker as party leaders seek other candidates in Georgia Senate race”
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) defends her support of filibuster in rare TV interview
Major forecaster explores Georgia redistricting
With state lawmakers preparing to redraw Georgia’s political boundaries, one of the top political forecasters in the country is now weighing in on the redistricting outlook in the Peach State.
The University of Virginia’s Center for Politics argues that Georgia Republicans do not face an easy task. They will have to find a way to both stop the bleeding in the metro Atlanta suburbs while shoring up all eight of their incumbents.
The forecasters at UVA that Georgia Republicans will likely combine the bluest parts of Georgia’s 6th and 7th districts into a safely Democratic “vote-sink,” a move that would in turn allow them to create a new solidly Republican seat in rural north Georgia.
They have also drawn comparisons between this year and the early 2000s, when Democrats concocted creative but unsuccessful gerrymanders to hang onto power. “[Republican] majorities in the state legislature are getting smaller, the minority party has been surprisingly successful in recent statewide elections, and they are facing a grim outlook in areas of the state where they once dominated,” they said. “Republicans are aware that redistricting could be their last chance to forestall new Democratic gains in state government.”
The full piece can be read here.
Abrams teams up with Michelle Obama in fight against GOP election laws
As the fight over access to the ballot box rages on across the country, former First Lady Michelle Obama and Georgia’s Stacey Abrams are now teaming up to urge Congress to pass federal voting rights legislation.
Abrams, who gained national attention in 2018 following her historic but unsuccessful campaign for governor, has become a leading voice in the fight for voting rights. Since her defeat, she launched a new voting rights organization called Fair Fight, which has raised hundreds of millions of dollars and has helped to register thousands of new voters.
Though Obama has largely stepped away from politics since leaving the White House in 2017, she has been quite active on the campaign trail both during and after the 2020 election, from giving a speech at the Democratic National Convention, to holding fundraisers for Joe Biden and now this partnership with Abrams. She also has a voting rights organization of her own: When We All Vote.
In a video, which can be seen above, the two women announced the new partnership between their organizations. They warned against what they call “dangerous legislation” being passed in Republican state legislatures, arguing that they will disproportionately harm voters in minority communities. They then ask viewers to join them in their fight to protect the right to vote.
“Are you in,” they asked at the end of the video.