Get Mad and Get Moving!

I love serving in the Georgia Senate, but it’s been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster the last few weeks. I’ve been thinking about how the words “emotion” and “motivation” share the same Greek root, “moti,” which means “move.” I’m feeling moved into action, but the reality is that we don’t have enough votes yet to stop all the partisan bombs that are being hurled our way. Can you imagine if we won the Governor’s office and gained the power of the veto? We could stop these shenanigans in their tracks.

I’m seeing an increasing trend toward ignoring the voices of the majority. For example, the Permit-less Carry bill that will allow anyone to easily carry a gun in public, continued to move through the General Assembly despite a recent AJC poll showing that 70% of Georgians oppose such a law. This week it passed the House, the Senate Judiciary Committee, and will be on the Senate floor next week.

The midterm elections are now, and the Governor’s office, State Constitutional officers, and all the state legislative seats are up for grabs. We must win these critical positions so that we have more votes and more veto power.

All Politics Are Local

This old adage hit home this week with so much focus on local redistricting. Normally, local legislation starts with the county delegation of legislators that represent voters in those counties. In recent years, as Democrats won more seats in the metro Atlanta area, the Gwinnett, Fulton, and Cobb county delegations flipped from Republican to Democratic majorities. 

But rather than respecting the will of the majority of voters in their counties, Gwinnett, Fulton, and Cobb Republicans have operated from a power grab playbook. In both the House and Senate, they are circumventing the local delegation process and filing their own county commission and school district maps that disadvantage Democrats and people of color. These maps are submitted as general bills and assigned to state government committees where they’re approved by Republican lawmakers from all over the state rather than those that represent the majority of voters in the county. There are so many redistricting bills flying around right now with different variations of maps and elections, that at one point I almost signed the wrong bill!

A bill to make the Gwinnett school board non-partisan, authored by the county’s lone Republican senator, reached the Senate floor this week. Lots of school boards in Georgia, including DeKalb’s, are non-partisan. However, changing how country school boards are elected should be decided by the local delegation, as has been done in every other Georgia county outside Gwinnett so far this session. 

I spoke from the Senate well against this bill. Speaking from the Senate well makes my heart race. And it should — it’s one of the most public forms of speech there is, and it’s one of the most powerful. After making this speech I was interviewed by Fox 5 News. One thing about the Senate — you never know when you leave in the morning if you’re going to be on the news that night! 

Dueling DeKalb Proposals

This week, the DeKalb House and Senate delegations considered two different proposals for the DeKalb County Commission. The DeKalb House delegation discussed maps submitted by the DeKalb Commission that equalize the district population with minimal changes to the current districts. The DeKalb Senate delegation discussed an alternative map with seven districts of equal size in lieu of five districts and two super districts. This would make each district smaller so that Commissioners could be closer to their communities and more responsive to their constituents. It is not unusual for the House and Senate to consider different ideas. In fact, our bicameral government exists for this purpose. 

While these dual proposals caused some unease and debate, it is now a moot point. Late in the week, Legislative Counsel issued an opinion that Georgia law requires a voter referendum to change DeKalb’s form of government and it is too late for this change to be made for this year’s election. This means the Senate map shouldn’t advance for now, but we will continue to discuss DeKalb County’s governance. The county is long overdue for a Charter Review.

DeKalb residents will be able to weigh in on the maps at a Virtual Public Hearing via Zoom or Facebook livestream on Tuesday, February 8 at 6:30 pm and the next weekly DeKalb House delegation meeting on Wednesday, February 9 at noon. You can find more information here, and register to attend at https://bit.ly/3Hk95gx. 

Cities Galore! 

The idea of smaller county commission districts appeals to me because smaller districts mean elected officials are closer to the people. Perhaps if the number of commissions had gradually increased as the county grew, service delivery would be better than it is today.

When we think of cities, most of us imagine a picture book version with a downtown area, neighborhood fire department, library, schools, sidewalks and a nicely designed City Hall. But in Georgia, how services are delivered at the city and county level is much more complicated than this because of how it is spelled out in our Georgia State Constitution.

For instance, the whole of DeKalb actually began functioning as a city in 1972 with the passage of “Amendment 19” that allowed counties to deliver services such as police/fire, water/sewer, parks/recreation and garbage collection. Prior to that the DeKalb Commission was called “The Commission of Roads and Revenue,” because that’s about all the county did. Outside cities, services were provided by the state.

Further, the Georgia Constitution defines what a city is, and it says a city must deliver a minimum of three services. The Georgia constitution does not allow for a layer of government such as “townships” or “villages” that you sometimes see in other states.

Sometimes it feels like we’re trying to squeeze our new cities into the kind of box our constitution offers, but what we really need is a different sized box. This is why Sen. Elena Parent and I are considering authoring a constitutional amendment that specifically spells out which services need to stay with the county. Currently, every time a city forms the county services contract. This not only makes for difficult management, but there are some services that are just better off being managed county-wide. I’ll keep you posted on how this effort develops.

So when you think about cities in DeKalb county, and perhaps whether or not you want to live in one, I encourage you to think less about cities you might see in picture books, and more about how services are best delivered.

That being said, there are many cityhood proposals being batted around by the legislature this session. They are all far from the same, and must be discussed individually on their own merits and demerits.

The most visible is the secession of Buckhead, and it is not a pretty picture. It’s reminiscent of the 2018 Eagles Landing referendum, which was rejected by voters. Had it passed, Eagles Landing would have siphoned half the tax revenue from the city of Stockbridge while creating a new city one-third the size, made up of the neighborhoods with the highest tax bases. Not only does this Buckhead proposal put Atlanta Public Schools at risk, but the loss of bond ratings would put the entire state at risk.

Cobb county has several cityhood proposals: 1) HB 826 “Vinings”, population 7000; 2) HB 840 “Lost Mountain” in west Cobb, population 75,000 and 3) HB 841 “East Cobb,” population 60,000. These are being rushed through the legislature now.

During the last two years I have spent a significant amount of time discussing and researching the impact of forming a city in unincorporated DeKalb north of Decatur — which happens to be where I live. There are several reasons why this has become urgent. 

A new city in north DeKalb would protect DeKalb County Schools by permanently defining school district lines relative to cities that have their own school systems (Decatur and Atlanta). This keeps them from annexing commercial areas that have a strong tax base and few students, which would drain revenues from DeKalb schools.

Second, surrounding cities with their own police departments are actively annexing unincorporated neighborhoods, which enlarges their city police force. A recent study conducted by the Carl Vinson Institute on Government concluded that expansion of city police departments in north DeKalb is significantly and adversely impacting the DeKalb Department of Public Safety. There is now a consensus that any new city will contract with DeKalb for police services.

Finally, residents of this area need a stronger local voice in regional planning. For example, the mayors along the 285 corridor have been working on adding Bus Rapid Transit to the 285 express lanes plan, but the residents in the unincorporated areas are not at the table.

In the past, Republicans have used their majority power to ram through cityhood bills without getting the consent of local elected legislators. Instead, DeKalb Senators will utilize the “local bill” process, which requires the support of the majority of legislators in the entire DeKalb delegation for passage. This process ensures that residents of the whole county have a voice in what is decided.

Stay Focused on the Finish Line

It’s time to take action and move out of your comfort zone — donate to candidates and volunteer on their campaigns. Send an encouraging email to a candidate that says you’ve got their back. Get involved in primaries to ensure the strongest candidate wins. Click here for an up-to-date list of candidates. We’ve got a lot of work to do! 

Links

Georgians Oppose Permitless Carry https://www.ajc.com/politics/ajc-poll-georgians-oppose-permit-less-gun-carry-repeal-of-roe-v-wade/AWT3EBPIY5GYLINCHDRERGIKSQ/

Georgia Candidates spreadsheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18AB95CtoUi0BA7z0Vmi2txYaneobu6ALnnR0zMbGYrQ/edit?usp=sharing

Georgia GOP and Local Districts https://www.ajc.com/politics/power-grab-republicans-revamp-local-districts-over-democratic-objections/E334LVYFRJE3PLFE5LQQNHEU6Y/ 

Sally speaking against the Gwinnett School Board bill https://youtu.be/yOAcbaDyzeg 

Sally on Fox 5 news about the Gwinnett School Board bill https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/georgia-senate-approves-bill-making-gwinnett-school-board-elections-non-partisan 

DeKalb House Delegation Meeting Info https://www.facebook.com/100066453410151/posts/281157930775985/

DeKalb House Delegation Zoom Registration link https://bit.ly/3Hk95gx 

DeKalb County Service Delivery Strategy https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/sites/default/files/2020-02/2019%20Service%20Delivery%20Strategy_VERIFIED.pdf 

Cobb County Cities http://eastcobbnews.com/cupid-speaks-out-on-cobb-cityhood-bills-local-redistricting/ 

City of Atlanta Annexation of CDC and Emory https://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/dekalb-schools-sues-city-atlanta-over-emory-cdc-annexation/Zisg5mVVfisr0KGbcCpxXK/ 

Carl Vinson Study on impact of city police forces on the county https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/chief-executive-officer/cvi-study-local-government-dekalb

A Little Inside Baseball: The Georgia Budget

The sole constitutional requirement of the Georgia legislature is to pass a balanced, annual budget. This translates into two bills, both of which must originate in the State House. The “little budget” amends and updates the current fiscal year budget that ends June 30, 2022. The “big” 2023 budget funds the government for next year, beginning July 1, 2022. The budget process doesn’t draw many spectators from the public, but it is the single-most important thing we do. 

“Budget Week,” traditionally begins right after the MLK holiday and lasts for three days during which the Governor, the State Economist, and all State Department Heads present their budgets to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. These hearings offer important insight into how each department works, or doesn’t, for our state. 

After running down to the Capitol on Tuesday to take my COVID test which was thankfully negative after last week’s exposure, I watched the hearings from home to avoid Omicron which was starting to spread among the administrative staff, including my own assistant, Keridan. Thankfully Keridan has remained symptom-free and will return to the office this week.

A Great Day to Play Ball

The Governor’s budget is based on revenue estimates established by our state economist. During his presentation, Governor Kemp joked that while we always estimate conservatively, we’ve never been this conservative. Last year, thanks to a booming economy and federal pandemic relief, our state economist underestimated our state revenue by $4 billion. Normally, there’s not much discretionary funding after mandatory spending on schools, Medicaid, etc. This year, we have an unprecedented $4 billion fund — every Governor’s dream.

The report from State Economist Dr. Jeffrey Dorfman was equally optimistic. He believes the odds of a recession are very low, but there will be some economic slowing as our economy returns to a more normal pace. Pandemic disruptions like labor shortages, supply chain issues, and inflation should normalize over the next year. 

Behind in the Count: The Governor’s Proposal

The Governor’s proposed budget offered lots of seemingly good news with state employee pay raises, increased education and public safety spending, and long overdue cost of living increases for state retirees. But much of it simply makes up for decades of deep Republican austerity and budget cuts. During his first years in office, the Governor slashed the budget by 10% and even with record revenues this year he told department heads to keep their budgets flat. The Governor proudly announced that Georgia has fewer state employees now than in 2008, yet department heads revealed how shortage of staff has taken a heavy toll on their ability to serve Georgians. 

While there was a collective sigh of relief for having more revenue, many state agency heads were candid about their challenges attracting and retaining good employees due to low employee pay. Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black told a story about a strong, well-trained 4-year employee who left Georgia to take the same job in Iowa for almost double the pay. GBI Director Vic Reynolds spoke at length about his struggle to attract and retain Medical Examiners for the state. Even with a $5,000 pay increase, Georgia will have a hard time attracting employees in a competitive labor market.

The Pandemic Throws Georgia some Curve Balls 

COVID related shifts and disruptions were evident in several presentations. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger reported record increases in corporation filings and professional license applications, demonstrating how Georgians are re-evaluating and shifting career paths. Our judicial system is struggling to dig out of COVID-related disruptions and backlogs. Presiding Justice Michael Boggs gave one example of a metro court circuit that never had more than 400 state court cases pending prior to the pandemic. As of November 2021, it had more than 1,800 pending — a 450% increase. The GBI has similar increases in crime lab backlogs and autopsy demands. 

Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson reported interesting shifts in tourism. While our metro-based tourism and convention business suffered, destinations outside of Atlanta, like our state parks, Helen, and coastal Georgia had some of their best years during the pandemic. There is hope that this trend will continue. Once tourists experience one terrific destination, they’re more likely to try another, bringing an economic boost to our smaller cities and counties. 

Foul Balls

Technology is a double-edged sword in government. Until the pandemic, being “in the room” during budget hearings was an important way to signal to the Appropriations Chairs that you’re paying attention and engaged. Technology served that purpose for me this year as I watched remotely and texted some questions directly to Senate Appropriations Chair Blake Tillery during the hearings. Unfortunately, lobbyists and other luminaries often have that same direct line to elected officials during committee meetings, giving them unfair access that the general public does not get.

Questions posed at the hearings by some Republican Committee members hinted at the controversial issues we’ll be battling this session. Education Superintendent Richard Woods, Acting University Chancellor Teresa MacCartney, and Technical College Commissioner Greg Dozier all fielded pointed questions about our education curriculum. One Republican legislator asked, “Can you confirm that the state doesn’t use taxpayer dollars to encourage teachers or their children to be taught that certain characteristics inherently designate them as being privileged or oppressed?” Superintendent Woods explained new transparency rules passed by the State Education Board that will require local school systems to post information on curriculum, student records, and district budgets on a soon to be developed dashboard. Commissioner Dozier replied, “I’ve never been asked that question before!”

Timing and Teamwork for the Win

During her presentation, Acting University Chancellor Theresa MacCartney gave Senate Higher Education Chairman Tippins and me a wonderful shout out for our work together on my University Fees Study Committee. Our committee report ultimately recommended that the Special Institutional Fee, a temporary fee to make up for lost government funding during the Great Recession, be eliminated. A member of the Office of Planning and Budget had attended our meetings and brought the recommendation back to the Governor for consideration, and funding to eliminate the fee was included in the Governor’s proposed budget.

When I saw Governor Kemp at a Martin Luther King event last week, I thanked him for including our recommendation in his budget and he said, “I’m tired of paying it!”  It’s often the personal pain points of people in power that help move the needle on certain issues.

Planning Our Next Play 

Budget week provides those of us not on the appropriations committees with some time to do some early session planning. I met with fellow Working Families and Women’s Legislative Caucus leaders to outline our agendas. The Gwinnett delegation met to continue our redistricting work for county commission and school districts. At this time, there are no plans to change the number of districts and we are cautiously optimistic this will hold. But we must be prepared for anything given prior attempts by Gwinnett Republicans to take these efforts out of the delegation’s hands.

I also met with disability community advocates and staff from Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities to develop a multi-pronged strategy to tackle the most disappointing part of Governor Kemp’s proposed budget. The number of Medicaid waivers offered to people with developmental disabilities each year remains unchanged. In a strong budget year, we have a moral obligation to help these families that carry enormous financial and emotional burdens. This is the year to take substantial steps toward eliminating the decades-long waiting list for these families. 

This week, we’ll be back in regular session while more detailed budget hearings continue in House appropriations subcommittee meetings.

We will not quit!

2022 is an election year. And with it comes the rush to pass extreme, far-right bills as Republican candidates push to come out on top in Republican primaries. As one of my constituents said to me, “Sally, Republicans are making it easier to carry and harder to vote.” I am ready to push back on that agenda with policies that make our communities safer and friendlier.

Instead of “guns everywhere,” let’s provide gun safety training for anyone who chooses to carry a firearm — a bill I intend to file on the Day One of Georgia’s 2022 Legislative Session. While Republicans toss real people’s ballots in the trash because someone showed up at the wrong polling place, I’ll push SB 314, my bill that allows election day voters to vote at any polling place in their county — just like voters already do during the early voting period.

To amplify this message, I need your financial help. It’s been a tough year filled with violence, bad voting bills and gerrymandered maps — all designed to wear us down and minimize our voices, but I will not quit! Due to redistricting, I have some new neighborhoods I need to reach out to, and that takes money. Also, we have new candidates that need my assistance. 

All donations must be made this weekend, as once the 2022 Legislative Session starts on Monday, January 10th, Georgia law makes it illegal for me to accept political contributions until the close of the 40-day session toward the end of March. Primary elections follow close behind on May 24th.

It’s time to “be loud” again starting Monday, January 10th, when Georgia’s 2022 Legislative Session begins. Our democracy is worth fighting for. And I will not quit!

P.S. Attention DeKalb County residents!

The DeKalb County House & Senate Delegations will host two DeKalb Delegation Pre-Session Virtual Town Halls, to listen to constituents’ questions and legislative priorities for the Legislative Session, which begins Monday, January 10th, 2022.  

Registration is Required. 

Register for Saturday, January 8th, 2022 at 9:30am 

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkceippj0tGNAhhmJ7Ybm2a04ZMYh_9Chy

Register for Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at 7:00pm

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0tceugrj0jHd1TFiAQ0d7-CYMh7DCJyBG

Submit Questions and Feedback: To help us prepare, please submit your questions and feedback about legislative priorities here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1lRxdDhwYKp1GZ_JR0hXrlHPBtgCHbXzuqP_6bo-HKV4 

We also plan to also take questions and feedback from the audience as time allows.

Everything was going just as expected. Until it wasn’t . . .

We have hit the halfpoint for Georgia’s once-in-a-decade Special Session on Redistricting and everything is going as expected. The Senate map has passed the Senate (but not the House) and the House map has passed both chambers, awaiting signature by the Governor. Work on the Congressional map should start next week.

Approximately one million new residents have made Georgia their home over the last decade — almost all from minority populations. Yet these new residents have gotten lost in these maps. Georgia’s Senate map adds only one Democratic seat, consisting of approximately 191,000 people, and Georgia’s State House map adds five Democratic seats, consisting of about 300,000 people.  Where have all the new people gone? This is what gerrymandering looks like in Georgia in 2021.

We may not have the votes to stop these maps, but your elected officials have engaged in the struggle! The fight we’ve started at the State Capitol will finish in the courts.

Look what the cat dragged in . . . 

Tuesday morning I walked into my Senate Democratic Caucus meeting only to find out from my colleague Sen. Nikki Merritt of Gwinnett county, that the sole Republican in the Gwinnett Senate delegation filed two local bills. 

Before I tell you what those bills are, let me explain to you that there is a rule in the Senate that local bills must be signed by four out of seven members of the local Senate delegation before they are filed. None of the other members of the delegation knew anything about these bills — none of us. There were no signatures. This was a unilateral act by the lone Republican member of the Gwinnett delegation — Georgia’s most diverse and fastest growing county.

The first bill, Senate Bill 5EX, changes the Gwinnett County school board elections to non-partisan, and redraws the district lines. Gwinnett county is majority non-white county, and the new map includes zero majority-minority districts.

The second bill, SB 6EX, doubles the size of the Gwinnett County Commission and sets new district lines.

As a bit of background, during the last couple of election cycles, these two governing bodies — the Gwinnett School Board and the Gwinnett County Commission, have flipped from all white to majority representation by people-of-color.

I was sad but not terribly shocked that the Senate Rules were being bypassed to ram these bills through because the Republican majority has done this in the past, but I was shocked that this bill was moving forward during Special Session because according to the Governor’s set agenda, local bills are only allowed during Special Session if they (in the words of the Governor’s convening proclamation) “avoid unreasonable hardship or to avoid undue impairment of public functions if consideration and enactment thereof are postponed.”  County-level redistricting is set to be done during the regular session in January, and there is no legitimate reason for an exception in Gwinnett.

I was so floored by this blatant disregard for the legislative process that I decided to formally address my colleagues in the Senate Chamber Tuesday by taking a Point of Personal Privilege on the matter. This is the first time I have ever gone to the well without prepared and well thought out remarks, because anything you say from the well could end up in news outlets — which it did, and it was well worth it. Honestly, I didn’t get every technical detail perfect in my speech, but it still got the point across and brought needed attention to the matter.

So what’s the emergency? According to the bill’s author, in regards to the school board, it’s something his constituents have requested. Here’s what Sen. Clint Dixon, Governor Kemp’s floor leader, had to say: 

“Currently in my district it is the number one issue I have with concerns from my constituents with the unreasonable firing of our long-term superintendent . . . is what started some of the issues with our school board. Moving on from that, certain board members have indicated that they would be in favor of introducing CRT along with other, in my mind, radical agendas on their part.”

He went on to state that a new nonpartisan election must be held as soon as May 2022.

What we are seeing here, and what we are seeing over and over again, is made-up narratives that are then used to justify bad laws, or in this case, to change the structure of government.  The result is the cancelling of elected minority voices and the voters who elect them.

What can we do? I believe that in the Senate, our hope lies with the Lt. Governor. I have personally shared with him my concerns about ignoring rules and the need for him to protect the deliberative nature of the Senate body. Contact his office and tell him that if he wants to remake the Republican Party, he needs to start by putting an end to this kind of abuse of the legislative process. You can call his office at 404-656-5030, email him at geoff.duncan@ltgov.ga.gov or fill out this form. If you can do more, contact the following people:

Bill Sponsors:

• Gov. Brian Kemp: 404-656-1776 | brian.kemp@georgia.gov
• Sen. Clint Dixon: 404-656-7454 | clint.dixon@senate.ga.gov
• Sen. Lee Anderson: 404-656-5114 | lee.anderson@senate.ga.gov

Senate Leadership:

• Sen. Butch Miller: 404-656-6578 | butch.miller@senate.ga.gov
• Sen. Mike Dugan: 404-656-7872 | mike.dugan@senate.ga.gov
• Sen. Jeff Mullis: 404-656-0057 | jeff.mullis@senate.ga.gov
• Sen. Bill Cowsert: 404-463-1366 | bill.cowsert@senate.ga.gov

House Republican Members from Gwinnett:

• Rep. Chuck Efstration: 404-656-5125 | chuck.efstration@house.ga.gov
• Rep. Bonnie Rich: 404-656-5087 | bonnie.rich@house.ga.gov
• Rep. Timothy Barr: 404-656-7857 | timothy.barr@house.ga.gov
• Rep. Tom Kirby: 404-656-0178 | tom.kirby@house.ga.gov

Other News from the Capitol

These political shenanigans suck the energy out of the room and distract from all the positive work being done by our community leaders. But I did still find time this week to stand up for mental health services, advocate for “Full Funding in Five” for people living with disabilities who are waiting for Home & Community Based Services Medicaid slots. Also, my Senate Resolution 300 University Fees Study Committee met to hear comments from the public.

While Republicans complain about “cancel culture,” let us stay firm to ensure they don’t cancel democracy. I often say that our efforts are not a sprint, but a marathon. An even better metaphor may be a relay marathon — so grab the baton and make some calls —  “Be LOUD” on behalf of all the people in Gwinnett county who have worked so hard to get their people elected.

Links

• https://youtu.be/NA5jQC9Wewg
• https://www.ajc.com/neighborhoods/gwinnett/gwinnett-legislator-surprises-democrats-calls-for-sweeping-changes-to-local-government/2ZVM3JUALRFJ7FLRYF2WRMFL2Y/
• https://ltgov.georgia.gov/contact-lt-governor
• http://www.georgiahealthnews.com/2021/11/lawmakers-reach-aisle-call-2022-the-year-mental-health/
• https://www.gpb.org/news/2021/11/04/high-university-fees-concern-lawmakers

Next Wednesday, Nov. 3rd, I head back down to the Georgia Capitol for a “special” legislative session. Technically, it’s “special” because it’s being called outside the “regular” 40 day legislative session required by Georgia’s constitution. But it’s also “special” because its function, the redrawing of political districts, only happens once every ten years — to rebalance the populations of legislative districts based on new census numbers.

Only the Governor can call a Special Session and set its agenda, and the Governor has chosen to keep the agenda narrow —  1) to redraw Georgia’s districts for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives; 2) to redraw Georgia’s state House and Senate districts; 3) to possibly adjust the motor fuel tax to align with federal tax changes; 4) to possibly consider limited local legislation and 5) to confirm executive appointments to various boards.

A huge thank you goes out to many of you who sent contributions to my re-election campaign since my last email! Once the special session begins, Georgia law prevents me from accepting donations. If you would like to contribute, please click on this link to donate online or locate instructions for sending a check. Please make sure donations are made and checks are postmarked by Nov. 2nd. Off-year fundraising is an important part of our campaign strategy.

The Redistricting Process

Sadly, the U.S. Supreme Court has said maps can be drawn to protect partisan advantage, so expect the maps to favor Republicans, who are of course in the majority. But the legislative process should still allow for public scrutiny. So far the Republican majority is not off to a good start, as no Georgia state House and Senate maps have been released in preparation for the likely very short special session. Once the redistricting bills are filed next week, I expect things will move very quickly through legislative committees and to floor votes, each step closing off opportunities for public input.

On the other hand, my Democratic Senate colleagues and I have been hard at work listening to voters at community forums, and drawing maps that reflect ALL Georgia voters. Georgia is a 50/50 state both politically and demographically, and the maps should reflect this. Our maps, released to the public, do just that.

Georgia Democratic Senate Caucus Maps

Congressional Map: Since the 2010 census, Georgia’s Black population has increased by 22% (350,000 people). Likewise, the Hispanic population has increased by 31% (147,000 people). Finally, the Asian population has increased by over 45% (100,000 people). With two-thirds of the population growth occurring in Metro Atlanta, it will be challenging for Republicans to create a map that allows them to hold on to the kind of power in numbers they held ten years ago.

Currently, Georgia has 14 seats in the U.S. House. Six are held by Democrats; eight by Republicans. In a map proposed by the Senate Republicans and the Lt. Governor, Democrats would lose one seat, giving Republicans 64% of the congressional seats — in a 50/50 state, that’s a partisan gerrymander. I feel confident, however, this will not be the final map — they could try to go even further.

The Senate Democratic Caucus Congressional map demonstrates that more accurately reflecting the will of voters in Georgia is possible. It creates seven Democratic leaning districts and seven Republican leaning districts.

Georgia Senate Map: The State Senate consists of 56 seats. Currently, Democrats hold 22 of those seats, and 18 of the 22 are held by people-of-color. The proposed Senate Democratic Caucus map contains 22 districts in which minorities are a majority of the voting age population. This reflects the shift in demographics that has occurred during the last ten years.

The Democratic Senate Caucus State Senate map contains 25 state Senate districts that would likely elect Democrats, 27 that would likely elect Republicans, leaving four remaining districts competitive. This balance in representation closely reflects Georgians’ political preferences, encouraging meaningful political debate and compromise — which I believe will result in better policy for the people of Georgia.

These maps matter because they will affect people in the voting booth, and in the everyday lives of Georgians. The Senate Democratic Caucus maps allow more voices to be heard — voices that have been consistently silenced throughout Georgia’s history. It’s time that history be reversed.

In Memoriam

Many of us have grieved the loss of loved ones during the past couple of years. This includes our campaign, as we have recently lost two beloved voting- rights warriors and campaign volunteers: Deborah Anne Gaventa Brown and Jonathan Grant.

Deborah died peacefully and unexpectedly in her sleep last July shortly after returning home from visiting old college friends in the northeast. She leaves behind three adult children in their twenties, who are now living together in Deborah’s home. Right now, all three children are enjoying a trip to the Caribbean, a family trip Deborah was planning when she died. Deborah’s unique gift was to lovingly encourage anyone, now matter their political beliefs, to leave behind politics of hate and judgement. She didn’t think anyone was a lost cause.

Jonathan Grant died suddenly due to a traumatic head injury when he fell from a ladder. He leaves behind his two grown children and his wife Judy, who chaired my fundraising committee during my first campaign and term. Jonathan can be credited with bringing reform to the DeKalb Elections Board. He was a talented writer and kept us all informed. As several people said at his memorial service, Jonathan always “showed up.” Democracy is safer in DeKalb because of Jonathan’s efforts.

These two warriors are already missed, both for their friendships and their advocacy. Let us carry on in their memory.

—Sally