Fresh Loaf

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.”

(more…)

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Here’s a quick rundown on the July 15 Georgia primary results. The big news was generated by high-stakes runoffs:

* U.S. senator: The two experienced Democrats — Vernon Jones and Joe Martin — vanquished three first-time candidates and will face each other in an Aug. 5 runoff. With 91 percent of precincts counted, DeKalb CEO Jones won 40 percent of the vote, while Martin got 35 percent. Martin — who entered the race late and has been criticized for a lackluster campaign — may have a slight edge in the runoff: He has more money in the bank, he seems more likely to pick up support from supporters of other candidates, and his largely white base historically shows up for runoffs better than does Jones’ base of black voters. What does Jones have going for him? A runoff in the contest for who will replace him as DeKalb CEO could spur turnout in his home county. The winner takes on Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss in November.

* DeKalb County CEO: The contest for the most powerful local government post in the state heads for a runoff as well, although DeKalb Commissioner Burrell Ellis turned out an impressive showing with 46 percent of the vote. No surprise that he’ll face well-liked state Rep. Stan Watson in the runoff. But a 20 point head start has gotta give Ellis the edge. (more…)

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UPDATE: As mentioned in the comments and this post, a Fulton County Superior Court judge has ruled Jim Powell is still a candidate for the Public Service Commission District 4 Democratic primary.

Big news coming from Dick Pettys at InsiderAdvantage. Secretary of State Karen Handel has booted Jim Powell, one of the Democrats vying for the District 4 Public Service Commission race, off the ballot because of residency concerns. Odd judging that just a few weeks ago a judge ruled he had met the requirements.

From Pettys:

In a statement issued by her press office shortly before noon, Handel said James R. Powell does not meet the residency requirements for PSC District 4, a seat now held by retiring Commissioner Angela Speir.

Handel said notices of his disqualification will be placed at the polling places tomorrow, and votes cast for Powell will not be counted.

She said she found that Powell owns a home in Towns County, which is within District 4, but that at the time he qualified, he received a homestead exemption and continued to receive mail at a home he owns in Cobb County, which is not within the district.

The ruling leaves Bob Indech the only Democratic candidate in the race while Lauren McDonald and Pam Davidson are competing for the GOP nod. The winner will compete with Indech and Libertarian Brandon Givens in November.

UPDATE: Blog for Democracy has an interesting post up about Powell’s disqualification.

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