Fresh Loaf

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.

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For you political junkies out there **cough**Grift, sara**cough**, here’s the state Supreme Court case summary of the Jim Powell and Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel residency slugfest. These excellent write-ups are penned by Jane Hansen, the court’s public information officer. She’s a former AJC reporter and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Monday, October 20, 2008

10:00 A.M. Session

HANDEL V. POWELL (S09A0074)

This appeal stems from a dispute between Secretary of State Karen Handel and James R. Powell, who is running for a seat on the Public Service Commission. Handel is appealing a Fulton County Superior Court ruling that sided with Powell, overturning Handel’s decision that Powell was ineligible to run based on his residency. The Supreme Court agreed to expedite oral arguments in the case.

(more…)

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A source sends word that the Georgia Supreme Court will hear arguments in the Jim Powell residency kerfuffle on Monday, Oct. 20 at 10 a.m.

Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel started fighting Powell — the Democratic nominee for the Public Service Commission’s Northern District — shortly before the primary. Even with that cloud hanging over the race, Powell still walked away with 85 percent of the vote. The nominee’s had a tough time raising funds and campaigning because of the legal challenges, but he’s pushed on regardless. (To read CL’s coverage, click here.) No telling if the justices will issue a ruling before the Nov. 4 General Election.

Powell faces Republican nominee Lauren “Bubba” McDonald and Libertarian Party nominee Brandon Givens.

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Jason Pye of Peach Pundit reports the residency of Public Service Commissioner Doug Everett has been questioned by Libertarian Party nominee John Monds, the lone challenger in his re-election bid.

Pye writes:

The complaint alleges that Everett lives in Clarkesville and Atlanta, but not at any of the addresses provided in official filings to the State Ethics Commission.

The Atlanta residence is rented, though paid for with campaign funds since 2006. The home in Albany that Everett has used in filings is actually owned by his son, Michael C. Everett. A homestead exemption has been filed to this effect as well.

Monds writes, “It is very reasonable to ask Mr. Everett to come forward and provide evidence of his residency. I ask that you use all means within your power to expeditiously resolve any questions that exist concerning this matter.”

As Pye notes, it may be too late to file a residency challenge.

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Andre Walker at Georgia Politics Unfiltered reports that three former opponents of Ralph Long, the Democrat who won the state representative district that includes Atlanta, have filed a residency challenge against him with Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel. Long does not face a Republican challenger in the general election and is therefore the presumptive state Representative-elect.

Paul Lockhart, Tony McCann, and Keisha Waites –who came in 5th, 6th and 2nd in the July 15th Democratic primary respectively [Source: Georgia Secretary of State, Georgia Election Results, July 22, 2008]– claim that Ralph Long “will not have met the Constitutional and Statutory residency requirements for the office of State Representative” and that by claiming to live in the 61st district, Long “intentionally deceived and defrauded the voters of the 61st District.”

The residency challenge also alleges that Long never claimed homestead exemption for his residence and that he did not reside in Georgia for one year prior to his candidacy. The challenge says that based on utility bills, Long was actually living in an apartment in Washington, D.C.

If the challenge to Ralph Long’s residency is successful, it’s expected that a special Democratic primary will be held to fill the vacancy on the Democratic ticket.

To view the residency challenge, click here.

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