Tag: DeKalb County

DeKalb Elections Board: Consultants are coming! Also, good news on Presidential Primary early voting

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…

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DeKalb ethics update: Several lawmakers out of step with voters

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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Election map tells the tale of DeKalb Ethics Referendum downfall

By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman First of all, follow Eli! First of all, I want to thank Eli Spencer Heyman for digging through the data and drawing up these maps, as well as providing me with originals to use in this blog. A Georgia native, now a student at Brown, he does a lot of mapping, data compilation, and analysis. Lately, he’s been compiling a spreadsheet of Georgia’s municipal election results. His pinned tweet, as of today, is a geographic breakdown of Georgia’s momentous 1868 elections. So, if you’re on Twitter, and interested in politics–especially but not limited to Georgia–his twitter account is a must follow. So follow Eli!  A closer look at DeKalb’s referendum vote Just say NO: DeKalb strongly rejected Tuesday’s ethics referendum,…

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DeKalb ethics referendum gets no love at town halls. Want to know why?

DeKalb Ethics Board: Is this construction—or demolition? Update: Turns out the referendum gets some love–from the DeKalb NAACP, which has issued a limited edition statement urging a “yes” vote (posted below, at end of this article). This shouldn’t be surprising, since the local civil rights organization has had an antithetical relationship with the board. Check out chapter President Teresa Hardy’s comments in this AJC article on the Supreme Court ruling against the Board’s appointment process, which ends with this sentence: “The NAACP had initially asked to be one of the outside groups that made appointments to the board.” Interesting. By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman After observing three town halls, I’ve seen no public support for DeKalb’s ethics referendum. Here’s why: It’s a sausage…

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DeKalb ethics referendum: Town hall reveals lack of consensus among legislators

Advance voting is now under way. Check early voting sites and times. By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman On Nov. 5, DeKalb County voters will decide one countywide issue: “Shall the Act be approved which revises the Board of Ethics for DeKalb County?” It’s the exact same question they were asked in November 2015. But it’s not the same issue at all. In 2015, DeKalb County voters decided to police corruption more effectively by setting up an independent Board of Ethics with investigatory powers over DeKalb County government officials. Think of it as voting to buy a shiny new police car. Now, they’re being asked to strip off the tires and siphon the gas from the tank, many people are saying. Legislators divided Many…

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