DeKalb County Archives – Page 4 of 9

Double trouble: Opponent Rhonda Taylor and residence challenge cast cloud over Rep. Vernon Jones’s re-election bid

The Latest: If Rep. Vernon Jones isn’t eligible to run in District 91, how can he keep his House seat? Did Jones duck the issue when he quit the race? Click here to read post. Crucial Update: This post has been rewritten and updated to cover Vernon Jones’s endorsement of Donald Turmp. Click to read: “Man Overboard! In midst of residence challenge, Georgia State Rep. Vernon Jones jumps to Trump” By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman The residency challenge to Democratic State Rep. Vernon Jones hasn’t generated many headlines during the coronavirus pandemic, but it’s a big issue for DeKalb County and a serious threat to the legislator’s checkered political career, despite his claim that it’s “baseless and without merit.” Jones currently represents House…

Is Rep. Vernon Jones going to get kicked out of the Georgia House?

Podcast: Greenhaven cityhood, ethics bill dominate DeKalb legislators’ town hall

By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman The DeKalb House delegation hosted a town hall at Porter Sanford Auditorium town hall Tuesday night. The meeting was dominated by discussions of cityhood issues—Vista Grove and Greenhaven, but mostly Greenhaven. Discussion centered on the summary of a study, commissioned by the county. and presented at Tuesday’s meeting by an official with the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government. Download the study here. While Vista Grove advocates spoke, there was plenty of comment about Greenhaven, along with some drama. Both cityhood proposals appear stalled in the General Assembly—as in not moving forward at this time. Here’s audio of the town hall, split into two parts. Please note I did not record every second of the…

DeKalb offers wide array of early voting locations, longer hours for presidential primary, sheriff’s race

Clarkston Mayor Ted Terry spoke out for expanded early voting hours, locations Early voting: March 2-20, 2020 By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman The DeKalb County Board of Elections stepped up its game for the presidential primary and sheriff’s election, unanimously approving on Thursday a staff plan to open 12 early voting sites across the county, many of them with expanded hours. (DeKalb operates two polling locations at its main office, with one set up for voters with disabilities.) Several polling locations will be open on two Saturdsays, March 7 and 17 and one Sunday, March 15. The big change from the past is keeping three polling locations–main office and Dunwoody Library, and South DeKalb Mall–will have extended hours of operation until 8 pm.…

DeKalb Elections Board: Good news on early voting sites for Presidential Primary

Above: This. Is better. By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman The DeKalb Board of Elections met Thursday in a different venue, down the hall and to the right, that actually looks like a meeting room. Much nicer, as you can see. The Board should hold every meeting there. Don’t make us go back to that dungeon room—step up and show some style! It’s 2020, and people are watching! The reason for the nicer digs: a rare visit by DeKalb commissioners. We even said The Pledge of Allegiance for the first time in forever. About 30 people attended the hour and a half meeting, which attracted an AJC reporter. He was there to cover the presentation of a plan by County Commission Presiding Officer Jeff…

Will DeKalb lawmakers who voted for ethics board downgrade change their tune this session?

Above: DeKalb vote on ethics referendum by House district. Note: * denotes district with portion outside DeKalb By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman My Twitter colleague Eli Spencer Heyman (follow @Elium2) loves data, maps, and politics. He’s broken down results from November’s DeKalb ethics referendum by House district (see maps). Here’s what jumps out from his work: While DeKalb voters rejected the controversial proposal by a whopping 61-39 percent margin, several legislators were completely out of sync with their constituents on the issue. Eleven of DeKalb’s House districts voted in resounding fashion against the controversial referendum that would, among other things, eliminate the county’s ethics officer. However, only six DeKalb representatives opposed the bill that set up the measure. During the General Assembly session,…

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Tag: DeKalb County