Peach Pundit has a post about the death of Zoo Atlanta’s pregnant elephant, likening the tragedy to the devastation that befell the Republican Party on election night.
In other news, a donkey assumed dead in a catastrophic 2004 landslide (well, not really) was discovered alive and grinning late Tuesday.
Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight pulls some factoids from Mark Blumenthal’s Exit Poll FAQ and tells you why exit polls — the go-to resource for pundits and journalists in post-election maelstroms where viewers and readers want a lot of information and fast — should not be trusted. Each reason is worth a read; you can do so here.
Could the actual votes cast in Georgia really be as close as AJC readers perceive? Could Obama and McCain be neck-and-neck? Or are all those big-city liberals skewing the numbers to make the state appear more blue?
Hmmm …
By the time Georgia polls close at 7 p.m. tonight, we here at CL will already be snookered on Diet Coke and moonshine, liveblogging in this digital Utopia about all the races up for grabs.
CL Editor Ken Edelstein will hold court at Manuel’s, staff writer Scott Henry will report from Jim Martin’s party at Park Tavern, and senior writers Mara Shalhoup and Andisheh Nouraee will monitor results and send dispatches from undisclosed locations. I’ll be in Stepford — oops, Buckhead — at the Intercontinental Hotel where the Georgia GOP is holding its fete. If you have any questions you’d like me to ask lawmakers, leave ‘em in the comments or send me an e-mail here.
Here’s a good list of key states to watch and what time their polls close. Here’s a neat-o map of the United States that shows where the presidential race stands. Here’s a place where you can win $20 of Andisheh’s money. And here’s a picture of a kitten dressed as a pirate.
Be sure to return and join us in a liveblogging celebration of America and insomnia. And if you haven’t done so already, go vote.
When it comes to characterizing the way Georgia might swing in tomorrow’s presidential election, the state alternately has been depicted as sure-fire red, demure pink, ever-ambiguous gray, wishy-washy yellow and half-assed red-striped.
How close do you think it’s gonna be?
a) Toss Up
b) Leaning McCain
c) Strong McCain
d) Leaning Obama*
*Not pictured, ’cause I couldn’t find a map with Georgia painted baby blue
The polling organization says incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss leads Democratic nominee Jim Martin 48-43. It also says if Libertarian nominee Allen Buckley’s support remains consistent, a runoff is likely.
Senator Saxby Chambliss leads Democratic challenger Jim Martin by five percentage points in his bid for re-election in Georgia. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the race finds the Republican incumbent with 48% of the vote and Martin with 43%. Libertarian Party candidate Allen Buckley picks ups seven percent (7%) of the vote while two percent (2%) remain undecided.
But, under Georgia law, a candidate must win at least 50% of the vote or face a run-off election in December.
If Buckley’s support stays at current levels, it would be difficult for either Chambliss or Martin to win the majority needed to avoid a run-off. It is also possible, however, that some Buckley supporters may choose instead to vote for one of the major party candidates.
A week ago Chambliss was ahead by just two points, the closest the race has been all year and the highest level of support for Martin, whose campaign has spent roughly half-a-million dollars on attack ads against Chambliss over the past month. Just three weeks ago, Chambliss held a six-point lead.
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard — who as you may recall was ordered handcuffed during a trial by Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford — says that contrary to a recent piece in the Fulton County Daily Report, he and the controversial judge haven’t exactly made up and become best buds.
The DA’s office sent the following message to the Superior Court today. (It was also posted in our comments):
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2008
Statement from District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr.
Refutes Claim of Reconciliation with Judge T. Jackson Bedford, Jr.
On Tuesday, October 28, 2008, The Daily Report published a story about the judicial election between Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford, Jr. and his opponent, Magistrate Judge Keisha Lance Bottoms. As part of the story, the newspaper report quoted Judge Bedford as saying, “Howard and I have shaken hands and have spoken since then. We’re fine.”
Since my election as District Attorney, I have refrained from participating in judicial elections involving incumbent judges. National Prosecution Standards require prosecutors to avoid any activities which may appear to conflict with the duties and responsibilities of the prosecutor’s office. My belief is that involvement in incumbent judge elections is one such activity. That position notwithstanding, the statement made by Judge Bedford demands clarification. We have not shaken hands and resolved this matter. We are not fine.
I regard Judge Bedford’s treatment of me and the office I represent during this incident as one of the most sinister, ignominious and personally painful actions that I have witnessed or experienced as a lawyer and as a person. I believe that illegally limiting or curtailing the freedom of any citizen violates one of the highest protections guaranteed by the Constitution and our system of laws.
I stand strongly behind the findings of independent special prosecutor Danny Craig, who, incidentally, is now a judge in the Augusta Judicial Circuit, that Judge Bedford’s actions constituted “an unlawful arrest”.
The state Supreme Court unanimously ruled today that Public Service Commission Democratic nominee Jim Powell can stay on the ballot.
UPDATE: Grift has some discussion on his site about the ruling, plus the actual opinion. You can also download it here.
Here is the release from the court:
STATE SUPREME COURT AFFIRMS POWELL’S RUN FOR PSC
Atlanta, Oct. 30, 2008 – The Supreme Court of Georgia today upheld James R. Powell’s right to run in Tuesday’s election for a seat on the Public Service Commission.
Secretary of State Karen Handel had appealed a Fulton County Superior Court ruling that sided with Powell and overturned her decision finding Powell ineligible to run based on where he lived. In June 2008, Handel first challenged Powell’s qualifications a month after he filed his intent to run as a Democrat against Republican Lauren McDonald for the PSC District 4 post. She argued that a homestead exemption Powell had on his Cobb County property established an irrefutable presumption of legal residence and proved Powell did not live in the North Georgia district he seeks to represent. In her appeal, Handel argued that under state law, the trial court should have given deference to her interpretation of the law on residency that she is in charge of enforcing.
But in today’s unanimous decision, written by Justice Robert Benham, the Supreme Court disagrees. “It is the role of the judicial branch to interpret the statutes enacted by the legislative branch and enforced by the executive branch…, and administrative rulings will be adopted only when they conform to the meaning which the court deems should properly be given,” 8-page opinion says. The facts of the case are not in dispute, merely the interpretation of the law, the opinion points out.
In 2006, Powell purchased a second home in Towns County, which is in District 4. In 2007, he attempted unsuccessfully to transfer his homestead exemption from Cobb to Towns County, but he missed the filing deadline. Evidence shows Powell spends more than 60 percent of his time in Towns County, where he has voted three times, attends church and pays taxes.
The residency law, which is Section 21-2-217 in the Official Code of Georgia, lists 15 rules for determining a candidate’s legal residence. At least seven apply to Powell, the Supreme Court has found, “but the Secretary’s decision did not take into account any of the applicable rules other than the homestead exemption rule.”
“We agree with the superior court that the Secretary committed an error of law that authorizes reversal of the Secretary’s decision,” today’s opinion says.
More to come.
It’s one thing for a public agency to argue in support of a cause, says a honest-government watchdog group. It’s another to contribute cash, however.
Common Cause Georgia yesterday filed a complaint with the State Ethics Commission against several public agencies — including the Atlanta Housing Authority, Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District — that allege the groups contributed nearly $125,000 to Georgians for Community Redevelopment, a booster group that is campaigning in favor of Amendment 2 on the General Election Ballot.
A successful passage of Amendment 2 would allow school boards to participate in tax allocation districts, a somewhat controversial redevelopment mechanism that uses future increases in property taxes to pay off bonds sold to build infrastructure in blighted areas. TADs have been used throughout the state since 1985 — most notably at Atlantic Station. In February, however, the state Supreme Court ruled that the use of educational funds — in this case, the school’s portion of property taxes — for redevelopment purposes violated the state Constitution.
“Common Cause Georgia fully acknowledges the right of the development community to lobby for the passage of this constitutional amendment,” Bill Bozarth of Common Cause Georgia said in a statement. “That is free speech, and we take no issue with that. However, we do take issue with doing so in violation of the law. We are filing our complaint with the State Ethics Commission because we believe that Georgians for Community Development – a campaign committee organized for the purpose of gaining voter approval of Constitutional Amendment 2, has accepted contributions from several public agencies which are clearly prohibited by Georgia statute from contributing to this kind of political activity.”
The AJC has more on the story here.
After the jump, the full release from Common Cause and links to the recently filed complaints.
It’s not just the Democratic and Republican Senate campaign committees shoveling money and resources into Georgia’s U.S. Senate race.
The Virginia-based Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life women’s organization with a well-connected advisory committee, has jumped into the tight race and sent a heartwarming mailer that accuses Democratic challenger Jim Martin of campaigning against a ban on partial-birth abortions while he served in the General Assembly. Joy Yearout, the group’s policy director, says the mailer was sent to “identified social conservative voters statewide.” Yearout says the group has also contributed to and endorsed Deborah Honeycutt’s campaign in her race against incumbent Congressman David Scott for District 12.
There aren’t any graphic images on the mailer, but because of the issue’s sensitivity, I’ve posted photos of it after the jump.
U.S. Senate Democratic nominee Jim Martin is touring Georgia in a final push to convince undecided voters. Today, Martin and Public Service Commission Democratic nominee Jim Powell make several stops during the former state lawmaker’s “Road to Change” bus tour.
After the jump, the full list of stops.
This is going to be an interesting week. And a busy one.
Pollster, a website that somehow eats every single political poll IN THE WORLD and then burps them out in color-coded maps, says Georgia is now a “toss up” between John McCain and Barack Obama. Yep, Georgia.
Wonkette says no way, but we’ll see.
Pollster’s also calling “toss up” about Georgia’s U.S. Senate seat. Nearly everyone thought incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss would easily win a second term in his race against Democratic nominee Jim Martin and Libertarian challenger Allen Buckley. Turns out all of ‘em — me included — were wrong. Signs point to a run off in that race.
If you’re stuck at college in Atlanta or Macon without a car and those damn campus buses don’t go anywhere near the polls, the Barack Obama campaign is here to save you.
Workers from the presidential nominee’s Hope Depots© will offer free bus rides for students from select colleges and universities next week for advanced voting.
Full list with details follows after the jump:
The Savannah Morning News reports U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss — the incumbent Republican who’s facing an unexpectedly tough race against Democratic challenger Jim Martin — has been ordered to provide evidence for lawsuits stemming from the Imperial Sugar refinery explosion that killed 14 workers earlier this year.
The action surfaced less than two weeks before the Nov. 4 election, which pits Chambliss in a tight race against Democrat Jim Martin.
Savannah attorney Mark Tate says Chambliss might be part of an Imperial “effort to shift responsibility” away from the company.
…
Tate says he thinks Imperial enlisted Chambliss to help “denigrate the reputation” and “bias the Chatham County jury pool” against Graham H. Graham, Imperial Sugar’s vice president for operations.
Graham said at a July Senate hearing that the company stymied his efforts to make the plants safer.
At the hearing, Chambliss, who in 2007 received $1,000 from Imperial’s political committee, badgered Graham and questioned the Imperial executive’s sincerity.
To read more about Chambliss rushing to Imperial Sugar’s defense, click here. To read CL’s coverage of Georgia’s U.S. Senate race, click here.
(Hat tip to Jim Galloway at Political Insider)
The latest poll from Rasmussen is the fourth straight snapshot that shows John McCain with more than 50 percent of the vote.
From the polling organization:
The race for Georgia’s Electoral College votes is getting closer.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state shows that John McCain’s lead over Barack Obama is down to five percentage points, 51% to 46%. In September, McCain led by 11. Earlier in October, that lead had slipped to nine points.
However, while Obama continues to gain ground, this is the fourth straight poll of Georgia voters to find McCain at the 50% level of support or above. In August, McCain led Obama 50% to 43%.
Sixty-eight percent (68%) of voters in the state expect McCain to win Georgia on Election Day.
An Atlanta-based transit group has posted results of a survey in which legislative candidates were asked whether they support funding for a bunch of different transit stuff.
Most of the candidates gave the same answer to most of the questions. Some of them offered insightful explanations of their answers, including: “We MUST have this rail system in place SOON.” Of course, considering that the group behind the survey is called Citizens for Progressive Transit, the candidates might have been more liberal with their use of ALL CAPS. The more enthusiasm for progressive transit, the better.
Today’s Air Loaf features CL’s Chanté LaGon and Thomas Wheatley discussing upcoming elections and CL’s Voter Guide.
Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.
Part 1: Download
Part 2: Download
Subscribe to the Air Loaf feed to download every new episode automatically.
I have to say that the first time I saw a campaign sign for Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford Jr., it kind of creeped me out. His tag-line is “Re-elect YOUR JUDGE.” OK, I live in Fulton, and he’s on the county’s highest bench, so I guess he’s my judge, but isn’t there another way to word that?
I suppose it’s marginally better than “I want to be YOUR JUDGE” and a significant improvement over “Give me the opportunity to JUDGE YOU,” but Judge Bedford — whom we at CL affectionately call T-Jack — has chosen a campaign slogan with an arguably Big-Brotherly ring to it.
Slogans aside, Bedford is in an unusual position for a Superior Court judge in that he’s facing a serious challenge for re-election. His opponent, Atlanta Magistrate Court Judge Keisha Lance Bottoms, is mounting a highly visible campaign that seeks to bring attention to some of the controversies surrounding T-Jack.
Something to keep in mind when you go into the voting booth. The pro-conservation nonprofit organization gives its seal of approval to the following candidates:
UPDATE: An eagle-eyed viewer reminds me via e-mail that Jacobs is no longer a Democrat.
Senate
District 6 – Doug Stoner (D)
District 29 – Seth Harp (R)
District 42 – David Adelman (D)
District 46 – Bill Cowsert (R)
Public Service Commission
District 4 – Jim Powell (D)
House
District 8 – Charles Jenkins (D)
District 11 – Barbara Massey Reece (D)
District 13 – Katie Dempsey (R)
District 28 – Jeannette Jamieson (D)
District 34 – Rich Golick (D)
District 44 – Sheila Jones (D)
District 80 – Mike Jacobs (D) (R)
District 81 – Jill Chambers (R)
District 85 – Stephanie Stuckey Benfield (D)
District 177 – Mark Hatfield (R)
Jim Powell, the Public Service Commission candidate who’s been both campaigning for a seat on the powerful agency and fighting a residency challenge through Georgia’s legal system, will get his day in state Supreme Court.
The candidate, a former U.S. Department of Energy official, says the court has denied Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel’s request to send the case back to the Court of Appeals and have placed it on the calendar for November. (I think it’s safe to say they’d hear the case prior to election day on Nov. 4 — it’s early and I’m awaiting confirmation from the court’s spokesperson.)
Powell’s fought a long battle so far. He first faced a residency challenge posed by Bob Indech, his opponent in the July 15 primary. After Powell cleared that obstacle, Handel booted him from the ballot in an eleventh-hour decision. A Fulton County Superior Court judge granted him a stay the day before the primary and he went on to trump Indech 85-15. Since then, it’s been a game of legal ping pong between Powell and the state’s guardian of the polling place. The state’s highest court is where the back-and-forth must end.
“It’s hurting me,” Powell says when asked of the legal battle’s impact. “It’s obviously been a distraction. The biggest disadvantage is in fundraising.”
Distractions aside, he says he’s continuing his campaign. Today’s schedule is nothing but fundraising meetings and phone calls.
To read CL’s ongoing coverage of the Battle of Powell©, click here.
One of the other less-publicized fights amidst all the November election brouhaha has been between Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel and Michelle Conlon, an independent candidate for state House District 80. In late July, the secretary threw out a petition Conlon circulated to be considered eligible to face Rep. Mike Jacobs, R-DeKalb, the incumbent. Conlon then appealed Handel’s decision in Fulton County Superior Court.
And now, according to her press release, she’s won. You’ll see her name on the ballot come November against Jacobs.
From a campaign release:
Michelle Conlon, Candidate for House District 80, has prevailed in her lawsuit to compel the Secretary of State to place Ms. Conlon on the ballot in November.
“This is exciting news not only for me but for the voters in the district who deserve a choice on the ballot. I am looking forward to moving past this distraction,” said Conlon.
…“It is unfortunate that it took a lawsuit to get the Secretary of State to abide by her statutory responsibility to review the petition, but we are pleased with the result,” said Ms. Conlon. “I look forward to campaigning on the issues that matter to residents of House District 80.”
Conlon will be listed on the ballot as an Independent Candidate; however, she plans to officially announce her victory at an Obama Acceptance Speech event Thursday evening at Galla’s Pizza. Conlon hopes her message will appeal to Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike.
“Mike Jacobs needs to be fired. This is not the guy we elected. And he has not given us the representation that we were promised. He switched parties’ mid-term, voted for predatory lending, to cut public education funds and for guns on MARTA. When your representative cannot decide who he is or want he wants, he is ineffective in representing you,” said Conlon.
Now that she is on the ballot, Conlon is optimistic regarding her chances in November. She notes: “More people signed my petition than voted for my opponent in his July Primary.”
Click here to visit her campaign website. The full release from the Conlon campaign is pasted after the jump.
Whoa. The shadowy organization that controls the oil market, weather patterns and the never-ending career of Pat Sajak has a name — The Fraternal Order of Eagles.
And on Saturday night, U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss will campaign at their DeKalb County meeting hall, or as they like to call it, “aerie.” The incumbent senator, who’s leading Democratic nominee Jim Martin by six points, will stop by the organization’s location in Doraville. Chambliss arrives at 7 p.m. and leaves an hour later. That’s ample time to rib him about his bipartisan energy plan, ask him about Imperial Sugar, or inquire if he’d consider giving you some money.
(OK, really, the event is the county GOP dinner and DeKalb is one of three counties where Chambliss will make the rounds today. Barrow and Banks are the others. The Fraternal Order of Eagles is a civic organization originally founded to benefit the arts but has gone on to conduct some commendable — and controversial — service work. Read all about them here.)
Tell my fellow Members of the Avian Order that Brother FlameLocks sent you.
Jim Powell, the Public Service Commission candidate who’s been wrangling with Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel over whether he was eligible to run for office, told CL minutes ago he has won his appeal.
“I just got a two-word e-mail from my attorney saying, ‘We won,’” Powell said.
No other details to report at the moment. If Powell or Handel release a statement, we’ll post it here. A spokesperson for Handel says the office is “disappointed” with the Judge’s ruling and are reviewing it. They’ll have a lengthier statement to offer tomorrow.
Powell won nearly 85 percent of the vote in the July 15 primary against opponent Bob Indech. He will now ostensibly go on to face Lauren “Bubba” McDonald in the November’s general election. To read CL’s coverage of the PSC brouhaha, click here.
UPDATE: Griftdrift posted his thoughts about the case plus a good collection of links to news stories.
(Photo courtesy of Jim Powell for PSC)
Polling giant Rasmussen notes in its latest poll the Georgia U.S. Senate race between incumbent Saxby Chambliss and his opponent Jim Martin is starting to look a bit more competitive.
The former state lawmaker is now trailing Chambliss by just six percentage points — that’s a much closer margin than the 11 percentage point lead the incumbent boasted in last month’s poll.
From the polling group:
Though the latest numbers could represent a temporary primary “glow” for Martin, the poll marks the lowest level of support for the incumbent since tracking of this year’s election began. Last month, Chambliss had a 51% to 40% lead over the Democrat.
Chambliss has come under fire from his fellow Republicans in recent days for pushing compromise energy legislation as a member of the so-called “Gang of 10.” His critics insist he is weakening the GOP push for offshore oil drilling even as it continues to resonate with voters nationwide.
Jim Powell yesterday said he’s not going to let the legal issues hanging over his head taint the buzz of winning Tuesday Democrat primary for the Public Service Commission’s District 4 seat.
Powell bested opponent Bob Indech 85-15, a surprising feat for someone who’d not only been disqualified the day before, but also reported signs were still hanging at polls on Tuesday wrongly advising voters his race was essentially over.
“I’ve got a lot of folks I need to talk to,” Powell said during a phone interview. “I won the primary. So obviously, I’m going to run my campaign as if I’ll be [on the ballot] in November.”
