Election – The Georgia Republican Assembly

S.O.S.: “Save Our State” from Our S.o.S!

December 15, 2022 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Election / Government / Issues

One might be surprised that Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is echoing our calls to see the Republican-controlled Georgia General Assembly go back to the drawing board and pass meaningful election integrity reform. Except that Raffensperger wants to run backwards in his recommended policy suggestions.

Specifically, the Secretary of State is urging the state legislature to put an end to runoff elections and instead adopt rank-choice voting. Since many of us are still skeptical that in an election system that he controls Raffensperger genuinely beat Congressman Jody Hice in the Republican Primary without a runoff, we understand why Raffensperger doesn’t like runoffs, but this is not the kind of election reform we had in mind. The Secretary of State also only narrowly won election to his position after a runoff with Democrat John Barrow in 2018.

However, rank-choice voting has demonstrated itself to be a disaster for small-government conservatives pretty much wherever it’s been tried around the country. If the greatest weakness of primaries and general elections is that they prey upon ignorance, ranked choice voting exacerbates that problem.

It’s no coincidence that the most liberal states like California, Hawaii, and New York have pioneered rank choice voting. Former Governor Sarah Palin twice this year lost a Congressional race to a Democrat in Alaska’s rank choice voting system. “Ranked-choice voting is a scam to rig elections,” U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) tweeted. “60% of Alaska voters voted for a Republican, but thanks to a convoluted process and ballot exhaustion—which disenfranchises voters—a Democrat ‘won.’”

Instead of passing any kind of rank choice system, the Georgia General Assembly should do what they should have done with the much derided S.B. 202. Namely:

First, they should get rid of all absentee drop boxes. Any persons who come in to submit a ballot prior to Election Day (if allowed at all) should only be able to submit such a ballot for themselves, and should have to show their photo I.D. to elections personnel to prove they are really only voting on their own behalf and that they personally are of a sound mind.

Rather than getting rid of absentee drop boxes, the state legislature under Speaker David Ralston and Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan‘s guidance actually increasedthe number of drop boxes—requiring one per county! Only the state of Texas has more counties than Georgia.

Second, they should get rid of the “QR-code” on the Dominion Voting machine ballot printouts. Anything in the digital elections system that could conceivably open up the system for possibly difficult to detect computer alterations should be avoided for obvious reasons. There are many other states that use the Dominion Voting system, but have opted to not use this part of their system. Why should we?

Honestly, we would not be heartbroken if Georgia got rid of the Dominion Voting system altogether. Whatever it was supposed to do to make elections more efficient or trustworthy has clearly failed. It now takes just as long, if not longer, to report outcomes, and now parties on both sides complain about treachery more than ever before.

Third, no county in Georgia should report their numbers from Election Day until all counties have a final tally ready to present simultaneously. This is a simple matter of “keeping” honest election boards honest (yes, we’re talking about you, Fulton & DeKalb).

Fourth, any window for early voting should be shrunk. The policy of Georgia elections should be to maximize the number of people who vote actually on Election Day.

Ideally, we should all vote only on Election Day. That’s why it’s called “Election Day” and not “Election Month.” Both the state and federal government should make Election Day a holiday to encourage all businesses to give their employees the day off to go vote. We should make it normative for people to only vote on Election Day.

Anyone who might be granted an exception to the rule of only voting on Election Day should have the burden of proof on them that they have a special situation that merits such an exception. (Even then, a regular citizen should be allowed to vote no more than a week early.) Serving in the military would be such an exception. Having a mental incapacity would definitely not.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Raffensperger wants large counties to open up more locations for early voting. That suggestion would only encourage more people to vote early rather than on Election Day. This is counterproductive because the whole point of election integrity reform is to increase the trustworthiness of the final reported election outcome, but longer windows for voting only provides cheaters with more opportunities to cheat and ballot harvest.

Seriously, you’d think Raffensperger was being fed these bad ideas from the Democrats themselves.

Even so, this week Secretary of State Raffensperger has been conducting “random” ballot counts around the state in 137 counties to try to demonstrate that the current system can be trusted. Of course, no once suspects that the particular batches of ballots selected for counting were not hand-selected in advance specifically because those particular batches were safe from having any evidence of fraud. One has to wonder if this is little more than an elaborate magic show where the illusionist knows the trick to the art of magic is that “it’s all about misdirection!”

If you want greater election integrity and transparency, let your voice be heard! Contact your State House representatives with their information from this web site, and for the State Senate get their information at this web site. To contact the Secretary of State, go to this web site. If we don’t speak up, if YOU don’t speak up, nothing will change. You can also add your name to the petition below from our endorsed State Senator Colton Moore (R-District 53) to express your opposition to Raffensperger’s proposal for rank-choice voting.

State House Republican Caucus Delivers Surprise Speaker Election Results

November 15, 2022 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Candidates / Election / Government / State Legislator

The Georgia State House Republican Caucus came back to Atlanta a little bit smaller Monday morning. Before last week’s election, the Republican Caucus had been 103 members. But at least two seats (maybe three) were projected to have been lost last week, bringing the size down to no more than 101. One of those lost was GRA-endorsed State Representative Philip Singleton (R-Coweta), whom Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) had vengefully and deliberately thrown under the bus by arranging to redistrict him out of his district, apparently because Ralston would rather give more seats to the Democrats than allow a strong conservative to stay in office.

In fact, the House Republican Caucus has been slowly diminishing under Ralston’s leadership for the last six years. In 2020, Republicans lost five seats in the State House. In 2018, Republicans under David Ralston’s leadership lost nine seats. Not since the election of 2016, when President Donald Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton, have Republicans in the State House not lost seats in their caucus. That year they gained a modest two seats.

*How the Republican control of the State House under Ralston has diminished over the last three elections.*

During the wave of the T.E.A. Party movement in the first half of the 2010s, Republicans saw steady gains in Georgia and across the country. But as Republicans have failed to live up to the promises of reform made under that movement, Republican voters have become increasingly disillusioned.

97 of the House Republican Caucus members gathered in Atlanta to vote on who they would support to replace Ralston as Speaker of the Georgia State House. Both State Rep. Jon Burns (R-Newington) and Rep. Barry Fleming (R-Harlem) claimed they had been promised sufficient support by their fellow Republicans to win the election. But the vote was conducted by secret ballot without any way of knowing if someone would violate their pledge.

When the results were announced, members say it was reported that Jon Burns won the vote. However, both candidates agreed not to announce the final tally.

Rep. Burns has served as the Majority Leader in the State House since 2015, and he was reported to be Ralston’s pick for his replacement. We hope that Rep. Burns will learn from the errors of his predecessor and allow legislation promoting Republican principles and possessing grassroots support to freely reach the House floor for a debate and vote. Continuing to go to war with conservatives in his own party will only lead to political suicide.

The errors of Mr. Ralston that we hope Mr. Burns learns to avoid are voluminous. Yet last week, the sycophants for Big Government Corporate Cronyism at Peach Pundit attacked us for celebrating Ralston stepping down as Speaker of the House, even accusing us of somehow being “jealous” of him for being so “successful.” That was funny.

*Comic of Benedict Arnold,*
*traitor of patriots in the*
*War for Independence*

To set the record straight: We’re as “jealous” of Ralston as George Washington was jealous of Benedict Arnold in the middle of the War for Independence. Ralston’s been the best player on the Democrat team. Think about it. No Democrat in the state legislature has blocked more Republican principle-led legislation over the last thirteen years than Ralston. No Democrat has passed more Big Government expansions than Ralston. No one in the GRA is jealous of Ralston’s success at promoting the Democrat agenda.

Time would fail us to recount all the things Ralston has done over the last decade to antagonize heroes within the Republican Party and block the advancement of Republican principles from our platform. Earlier this year he attacked our endorsed Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene publicly on the House floor, and Greene really has been a heroine for our principles.

For years Speaker Ralston prevented the Constitutional Carry bill from reaching the floor for a vote, and he attacked former Republican State House Rep. Charles Gregory (R-Cobb) and then later Rep. Matt Gurtler (R-Tiger) and Rep. Colton Moore (R-Dade)(now elected to State Senate) for trying to advance that bill. (He recruited Burt Reeves to run against Gregory, and now Reeves’ district has flipped Democrat.) Only this year when Governor Brian Kemp thew his weight behind Constitutional Carry did Ralston finally relent and allow the bill to come forward for a vote.

During the pandemic, Ralston harassed fellow Republicans such as Rep. David Clark (R-Suwanee) to get tested, be contact traced, and wear a mask just to be able to perform the role they were elected to do on the House floor, even when they had no symptoms of any illness—the folly of which measures are only now being fully realized.

Speaker Ralston shoved down our throats legislation that many Republicans and conservatives had great alarms over (e.g., the recent “Mental Health Parity” bill). Meanwhile, he blocked legislation to enact real election integrity reform to prevent cheating, making it hard for those of us who have been volunteering at the polls to be able to catch all the ways Democrats may attempt to cheat in these elections. As a result, it is possible that because of David Ralston’s actions Herschel Walker could have been cheated out of a win in the U.S. Senate race. How can we motivate activists to push for a runoff when so many have doubts about election integrity?

But perhaps the worst of all, although Speaker David Ralston had promised before he was elected Speaker that he would allow one pro-life bill per year, for most of the thirteen years he was Speaker he blocked legislation that would have saved the lives of tens of thousands of preborn babies!

Beyond that, he also twice blocked legislation that would have simply said we don’t have to pay for abortion murder with our tax dollars. For these alone, Ralston has blood on his hands before God. He has made himself an enemy of God, an enemy of the helpless (and God has harsh words in the Bible for those who pervert justice for the helpless), and an obstacle of heroes such as former State Senator Mike Crane (R-Coweta) (now 3rd Congressional District GA GOP Chairman) who bravely brought forward the legislation in 2012 and 2013 that would have permanently ended that tax subsidizing of abortion. (Governor Nathan Deal provided only a temporary solution.)

As Proverbs 29:2 says, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” Ralston’s sickness ought to be a warning to others who act as he does that God is just, and just as the Scriptures tell us that God providentially brought sickness upon King Asa and King Herod of old, God sometimes even today brings sickness upon His enemies to stop them from furthering harm.

And we haven’t even brought up the criminal victims who never got their day in court because of the endless case postponements Ralston was able to get as an attorney for his clients while Speaker. As the AJC reported, “Ralston has tied up cases for clients charged with child molestation, child cruelty, assault, terroristic threats, drunk driving and other crimes.”

In short, David Ralston has been the worst thing in Georgia Republican politics over the last thirteen years. Let the newly elected Speaker Jon Burns take note and not repeat his evils.

Key Wins Vindicate Stalwart Republican Fighters!

November 9, 2022 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Campaign / Candidates / Election / Issues

Although several races are still unresolved, true conservatives had some prominent victories to celebrate after last night’s election.

The biggest win was Governor Ron DeSantis‘ sweeping a 59.4% win in Florida over Democrat Charlie Crist. If you watched the gubernatorial debate between DeSantis and Crist, you saw how vicious and numerous Crist’s attacks were against DeSantis on every issue near to the heart of liberals. For example, Crist accused DeSantis of wanting to take away women’s “choice in healthcare” for abortion while simultaneously saying he believed “in science” and thus in keeping the state in lockdown and forcing vaccine mandates and mask mandates. Crist said he unlike DeSantis believed in exposing children to drag queens and indoctrinating children in trans nonsense which encourages them to mutilate their bodies before they can appreciate the long-term impact. Yadayadayada.

But the Democrat’s agenda at war with reality was resoundingly rejected in the person of Ron DeSantis last night. DeSantis is not a Republican afraid of controversy and of advancing the GOP platform principles. He is not afraid to fight the culture war. He won the Hispanic vote, he won Miami Dade County for the first time for the GOP in virtually two decades, and he effectively made Florida no longer a swing state but a solid red state with the trickle-down impact of his candidacy’s coat-tails for other Republican races in the state.

In Georgia, our incumbent Governor Brian Kemp, who hasn’t been as strident as DeSantis, but who was at least courageous enough to also re-open our state at the height of the COVID lockdowns and pass Constitutional Carry, also won a firm victory of 53.4% to 45.8% against radical liberal Stacey Abrams. Sadly, however, Kemp’s win did not help down-ballot races in Georgia the same way DeSantis did in Florida. As a result, Herschel Walker is headed to a runoff with Democrat Raphael Warnock on December 6th.

The GRA saw many wins for our endorsed candidates across the ballot. Among the victories, our endorsed candidate for 14th Congressional District Marjorie Taylor Greene won with 65.88% of the vote, and our endorsed candidate Bruce Thompson won his race for Labor Commissioner with 52.11 percent. In the State House, our endorsed candidates Mitchell Horner (District 3), Charlice Byrd (District 20), Jordan Ridley (District 22), and David Clarke (District 100) had strong wins. Although our endorsed candidate and attorney Catherine Bernard did not win in her race in the liberal heart of DeKalb County, she ran an admirable campaign that forced the Democrats to sweat and spend resources in a district that many other Republicans would write-off.

In the State Senate, our three endorsed candidates won their races, including Colton Moore (District 53). State Senator Burt Jones won election with over 2 million votes as the new Lieutenant Governor, replacing the lousy Geoff Duncan.

These developments, combined with Speaker David Ralston‘s announced resignation as Speaker of the State House, means that the Georgia General Assembly could be moving in a much more conservative direction next year, more friendly to advancing the concerns of the grassroots.

Republican State House Caucus to Vote on Ralston’s Replacement as Speaker on Monday, November 14th

November 8, 2022 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Election / Government / Issues

Things move fast when it comes to finding a candidate to replace arguably the most powerful politician in Georgia politics. But he won’t be chosen by registered voters in the general public. The State House Republican Caucus plans to meet to conduct a secret ballot vote on who to elect as the new Speaker of the House in five days on Monday, November 14th. Over the last week, two State House candidates have emerged to promote their candidacy for Speaker of the House.

Word has it Speaker Ralston is favoring State Rep. Jon Burns (District 159) from Newington, which is reason enough for grassroots Republicans to oppose his candidacy for Speaker. We do not want a new Speaker who will run things like Ralston or who will be his puppet and continue to attack and primary fellow conservative Republicans. Besides this, Jon Burns has a legislative vote scorecard of 43%, which is a D rating. Tell your State House Republican Representative: “We do not want to get Burned!”

Another candidate under consideration is State Rep. Barry Fleming (District 121) from Harlem. Fleming’s legislative vote scorecard, however, is only marginally better with a score of “48,” which is still a D.

Fleming’s previous voting record leans serious doubt as to whether or not he will be anywhere near conservative enough for the speakership.

Both of these candidates voted in favor of the terrible original version of Speaker David Ralston’s “Mental Health Parity” legislation last session. Surely the Republican Caucus in the State House can find someone better to succeed David Ralston as Speaker of the House! 🤷‍♂️

We urge you to call your Republican Representative in the Georgia State House and encourage them to vote for a Speaker who will allow legislation promoting issues that will advance the Republican Party platform, to make it to the House floor for a debate and vote. A Speaker who will not try to attack and shoot down his fellow Republicans when they work to advance the GOP principles.

North Metro RA Solidarity Petition Aims to “Ditch Dominion”

August 11, 2022 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Election / Issues

The North Metro RA chapter (Cherokee & Pickens counties) is helping to spearhead an effort to secure 10,000 signatures in seven days (1,500 daily) on a petition demanding that we “Ditch Dominion” in favor of PAPER Ballots!

Time is of the essence! Click here to sign onto the petition!

This effort is joined with the non-partisan Cherokee Citizens for Election Integrity, an organized community action group dedicated to the preservation of Honest, Fair, and Transparent Elections, and hereby demand that our Cherokee County Board of Commissioners “Ditch Dominion” now in favor of Paper Ballots for the November General Elections.

The Sour Grapes of Wrath

June 7, 2022 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Election

Some Establishment people are really biting on sour grapes.

Blogger Elliot Pierce posted a hit piece a few days ago that appeared on various online forums and printed local newspapers in the Northwest Georgia community. In it, he complains about some of the GRA’s officers, and GRA-endorsed GA GOP Chairman David Shafer. He decries how some GOP officers, who also happen to be GRA members and GRA officers, worked personally to help certain Republicans in contested primaries win the Republican nomination. While he complains about “bias,” he neglects to mention his own biases and preference for Democrats over conservative Republicans. (See more on that below.)

*Screenshot taken from Pierce’s social media.*

Elliot Pierce published Joanna Hildreth’s conversation about promoting a group of candidates—which is not against GOP rules. However, Mr. Pierce failed to share with readers in the piece his threat to vote for Stacey Abrams, and his efforts to stand against candidates like Marjorie Taylor Greene—who has high support from the voters in her district and the GRA. He was actually even encouraging Democrats to mobilize against the Republican Congresswoman Greene!

*Post from Elliot Pierce on social media*

The Georgia Republican Assembly’s (GRA) primary goal is to live up to its reputation as “the Conscience of the Republican Party.” To do this, we must be involved in selecting and supporting honorable candidates who align with the GRA’s Principles and Goals. Thankfully, contrary to Pierce’s misleading reporting, the GA GOP rules do not prohibit GOP officers from personally supporting candidates in contested primaries.

The “sour grapes” piece in particular complains about our GRA Secretary Joanna Hildreth, who is also the local Catoosa County GOP Chair, and our GRA Assistant Secretary Denise Burns, who is also the 14th Congressional District GOP Chair. Pierce doesn’t like that they worked behind-the-scenes (not using their titles in the GOP) to help stellar candidates such as Colton Moore, Mitchell Horner, and Marjorie Taylor Greene to win their Republican nominations in their races.

In fact, Joanna Hildreth and Denise Burns were already known to be officers of the GRA when they were elected officers of the GOP. While Mr. Pierce has suggested that these GOP officers are biased and lack impartiality, the fact is, we must vet all candidates, sifting their background against our principles and values—selecting the best, most qualified candidates for the good of our Republic.

The GRA is calling on all GOP officials to guard our party from Democrat infiltration. We do not want Democrats in Republican clothing pushing policies that hurt our Georgian families.

Many of the challenges facing Georgians require courageous leaders who are unafraid to stand for issues such as the sanctity of life, election integrity, and the trouble in our schools. One such courageous leader is David Shafer, who was twice the GRA’s endorsed candidate for GA GOP Chairman, and has twice been elected. He has improved the state party, fulfilling his promise to get the party organization out of debt, establish a state party platform and support efforts to improve the problems within Georgia’s election systems. While his call for accountability among some incumbents has been met with pushback, he and other GRA members who serve as officers of the GOP all agree—we must align with our principles—which means holding fellow Republicans accountable for actions that are not in the best interest of Georgians.

There is a high standard among GRA members—and it’s our Republican Principles and Goals. The GRA will continue to do everything within its power to live up to what makes us the Conscience of the Republican Party. It’s what our constituents deserve, value and expect. For more information about GRA, go to: https://georgiara.com/about-us/

Primary Victories for GRA-Endorsed Candidates!

May 25, 2022 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Election

Tuesday was a big night for many of the GRA’s endorsed candidates! In spite of some disappointing outcomes and strange anamolies in certain high-profile primary races, there was much success to be excited about in Georgia politics when the tallies were reported. We are pleased to report the following highlights:

In the State House, we have 13 primary winners & 2 runoffs!
In the State Senate, we have 3 primary winners& 1 runoff!
In the U.S. Congress, we have 2 primary winners (Marjorie Taylor Greene & Caesar Gonzales)
In the State-wide races, we have 3 primary winners (Burt Jones, Tim Echols, & Bruce Thompson)

The GRA website has been updated on the 2022 Endorsements page to note which of our endorsed candidates have won their primaries.

Northwest Georgia in particular pulled off several notable wins. A tough race was fought between GRA-endorsed former State Rep. Colton Moore (Dade) and a County Commission Chairman Steve Henry (Catoosa) to see who would replace retiring State Senator Jeff Mullis (Chickamauga), Chairman of the State Senate’s powerful Rules Committee. Mullis had made Steve Henry his “heir apparent” for the seat.

But the final numbers reported late Tuesday night showed Colton Moore beating Steven Henry, and the Rome newspaper called the race for Colton.

Henry had distinguished himself as a the Chairman of the Catoosa County Commission by having a citizen thrown out when exercising his 1st Amendment right to bring his concerns before the county commission, and Henry is being sued for this action. In another video interview, Henry told a caller to “shut up.” Perhaps even more concerning, Henry had said in a video that citizens could have medical freedom conditioned upon whether they took a mandated vaccine.

Meanwhile, Colton Moore stands for real medical freedom without the government being able to coerce us into putting things into our bodies against our will. He said repeatedly on the campaign trail that “our natural rights are given to us from God and cannot be taken away by government!” Colton was an early proponent of Constitutional Carry in the legislature as a State Representative, and the first to call for a special session to investigate the allegations of voter fraud in 2020. Colton had earned a solid “A” rating from the GRA during his term in the State House, coming in second place only to former State Rep. Matt Gurtler(Tiger), and so we expect big things from him in the State Senate next year!

*State Rep.-elect Mitchell Horner (right) with GRA 3rd Vice President Abigail Darnell and her baby Patience Darnell*

Mitchell Horner also easily won his race for State House District 3 in the Ringgold area. Mitchell is a homeschool graduate who works entrepreneurially as a pontoon boat maker, and has formerly done mission work with his family. He was endorsed by the Georgia Republican Assembly as well as Georgia Right to Life.

Mitchell has led the Catoosa Committee on Taxation, a liberty-watchdog that aided in the defeat of several proposed Tax Allocation Districts (TADs) in the area. He campaigned on school choice and eliminating the state income tax.

Of course, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s big win Tuesday night put a lot of wind in the sails of conservative stalwarts.

Greene blew her array of opponents out of the water with a huge margin of victory (69.54%) that affirms her constituency’s loyalty to her in spite of all the attacks from Democrats, RINOs, and the “fake news” media. Greene had been the only candidate in Georgia to earn the GRA endorsement by an unanimous vote of all of the delegates from across the state. She’s taking the fight to the Democrats, and we love her for it! Would that more of our Republican men would man up and fight with as much zeal.

*Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene with her family on stage at her*
*Victory Party Tuesday night*

In Cherokee County, our endorsed State Rep. Charlice Byrd successfully defended her seat with the help of the GRA-PAC in spite of much antagonism from the Atlanta Establishment. Byrd is one of only three state representatives this year who voted against the original terrible version of Speaker David Ralston‘s H.B. 1013 (aka “The Everyone is Crazy Bill”). Byrd was endorsed by the GRA as well as Georgia Right to Life PAC, and at a GRTL event a few weeks ago on camerashe reinforced her commitment to join with other Republicans in the State House in voting against re-electing David Ralston as Speaker in Georgia next year. She won her primary against two opponents by an overwhelming vote of 66.5 percent!

But perhaps few have been as much of a thorn in the sight of David Ralston recently as has our endorsed State Rep. David Clark (Buford). He’s called for Speaker Ralston’s resignation for years after hearing the reports of his abuse in his legal practice and witnessing Ralston’s tyranny in the State House. Clark was even bold enough to attempt to run against Ralston for the Speakership. As a result, Clark was repeatedly harassed about taking COVID tests twice weekly, and was kicked out of the capitol by a state trooperat Ralston’s behest. In spite of this persecution, on Tuesday night Clark defeated State Rep. Bonnie Rich (Suwanee), the Chairwoman of the House Reapportionment Committee.

Also at the behest of Ralston, Rich’s committee had redrawn the maps during redistricting to put Clark in the same district with her, thinking Clark would be sure to lose. She also put State Rep. Philip Singleton (Coweta), another GRA-endorsed legislator, into a Democrat-controlled district to make Singleton lose. Now Rich is the one soon to be out of a legislative job. Clark beat her 59.4% to 40.76% Tuesday night.

Yet another legislator willing to stand up to Speaker Ralston is our endorsed State Rep. Sheri Gilligan (Forsyth), who came in first place in her primary out of three candidates, and will have to continue in a runoff this summer. Gilligan was another one of the only three State House members willing to vote against the original version of Ralston’s awful H.B. 1013. We would encourage you to throw any support you can offer to help her win that runoff over the next couple of months.

With Republicans holding a slim majority in the State House already, these new wins there ensure that the Atlanta Establishment will not be able to easily ignore our GRA-endorsed candidates pushing for Republican policies implementing our stated principles. Ralston may even be in danger of losing his Speakership.

*State Senator Burt Jones with his family*

Yet another remarkable win came for State Senator Burt Jones (Jackson), our endorsed candidate for Lt. Governor, who successfully won the primary election against three other candidates. Jones had been persecuted by current Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan last year for promoting efforts within the legislature to investigate the allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 election. Duncan had Jones stripped of his Chairmanship Insurance and Labor Committee, and took away chairmanships from two other senators as well. Jones’ election without a runoff provides him with some vindication, and we trust he will bring better leadership to the State Senate.

We wish to thank all of our endorsed candidates who were willing to run and improve Georgia’s politics—win or lose! 2022 will long serve as a significant milestone of advancement in Georgia because of your effort.

Catoosa RAs & Liberty Watchdogs Defeat Redevelopment Powers in Ringgold, GA

November 5, 2021 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Election / Issues

Northwest GA—On Tuesday, voters in Ringgold, Fort Oglethorpe, and Catoosa County all overwhelmingly rejected a controversial Redevelopment Powers proposal on the ballot that would have given the local municipalities the authority to create “Tax Allocation Districts” (TADs) and provide Tax Increment Financing for redevelopment.

These redevelopment powers operate on the premise that “blight makes right”! That is, any part of the community which the local government agency deems to be “blighted” can become a “project area” and be artificially stimulated by tax dollars through corporate welfare to developers. A similar measure was defeated earlier this year in Whitfield County.

One of the concerns expressed by voters was the permanence of this proposal, if adopted. Like many additional or emergency powers, when once surrendered by the people and seized by the civil government, they have no expiration date and power thus surrendered is not easily restored.

Joanna Hildreth wears many hats as an activist in the area. In addition to serving on the GRA Executive Committee, Joanna was elected this year as the Catoosa County GOP Chair, and she serves as the Vice President of the Northwest GA Republican Assembly chapter. She was very pleased with the outcome of the vote on Tuesday: “I opposed the referendum because at the root it increases the government’s power. I believe in small government, and this was a step in the other direction. We can’t trust that every county board in the future will wield these additional powers wisely. If the referendum had passed, the people would never be able to vote to end it. Only the governor has that authority.”

The Catoosa GOP voted to publicly oppose the Redevelopment Powers—in opposition to their state legislator and fellow Republicans State Rep. Dewayne Hill (R-Ringgold) [who has an “F” on his GRA Voting Scorecard, by the way] and Rep. Steve Tarvin (R-Chickamauga) who together co-authored HB 778, HB 764, and HB 766, the legislation that put the Redevelopment Powers question on the ballots in the first place. “The GOP precinct chairs were instrumental in calling voters, door-knocking, and sign-waving,” Hildreth explained. “Mitchell Horner, Ringgold precinct chairman of the Catoosa GOP and chair of our policy committee, started the Committee on Catoosa Taxation to raise money and purchase signs.”

State Rep. Steve Tarvin (left) / State Rep. Dewayne Hill (right)

The Catoosa GOP partnered with other groups like the Northwest GA Republican Assembly and also utilized social media, radio and television interviews.

Liberty activist Nick Ware attended the October 4th Town Hall meeting about Redevelopment Powers that was held at the Colonnade. “After I heard that presentation I knew I had to push forward,” he said. “I wan’t going to let the ‘powers that be’ have power forever and not stand up!” With that inspiration, Nick decided to put his liberty convictions in action and prepared a presentation about the potential danger of this measure and began spreading the word in the County. Ware and many Catoosa voters believed this measure was problematic for various reasons: it’s interference with the free market, the indebtedness it would create, the lack of accountability, and the special favors and deals it would allow to be given to the political elite and their friends.

“I utilized as many tools as I could to educate the voters,” said Ware.

Threat of Eminent Domain Prompts Emotional Response

Catoosa homeowners were also concerned about the threat of property seizure through eminent domain under this proposal.

“Supporters say if you keep your property looking tidy, you have nothing to worry about. But what about the elderly and disabled who can’t keep their house tidy?” said Nick Ware.

Nick expressed concern for people like the elderly couple who live and operate a small fruit stand on Boynton Road against whom a complaint had recently been filed or the woman overcome with worry and brought nigh to tears because her property borders an area intended to be developed. “I advised her to just hold out and see how the vote goes”, he said, “and she was very happy to hear about the outcome.”

Originally, eminent domain required proof that a property was being taken for “public use” such as the widening of a road, but in 2017 Georgia law was amended to allow local governments to use eminent domain to condemn blighted property and transfer it to a private developer for purposes of economic development. Of course, the original property owner is still entitled to receive what the civil government officials deem “just compensation,” but what is that to the owner of his childhood home or the property that has been passed down through family generations?

Not all Catoosa citizens share these concerns, however. John Pless, the Public Information Officer for Catoosa County told the Chattanooga Times Free Press, “What this would have done is essentially leverage the power of government to redevelop blighted areas. This was not a tax increase, and it was absolutely not a land grab.”

The referendum question was only narrowly defeated in the City of Fort Oglethorpe with only 51.05% voting “No” to Redevelopment Powers, and in the City of Ringgold 60.29% voted “No.” However, in Catoosa County voters rejected it by a staggering 82.55 percent! The fact that the measure failed in all three districts, to the local GRA and liberty activists, is a triumph worth celebrating. Voter turnout was remarkably low with only 4,927 ballots cast for the entire County, a mere fraction of the 32,099 votes cast in Catoosa in the 2020 Presidential election. Some voters have suspicions that controversial measures like these are intentionally put forward in election years where voter participation is expected to be low in order to increase their chances. But the vigilance and community organization of grass roots activists were able to win the day in spite of the low turnout.

George Bettersby protested the TAD in the public comments portion of the October 21 Catoosa Board of Commissioners Meeting. He said, “The county has a horrible reputation for conflicts of interest… The County has had so much problems trying to explain the TAD to taxpayers, they even brought in an expert from Atlanta to try and explain it to us old rednecks. Certainly the devil is in the details. However, one thing you can bank on: the local builders, developers will get richer on the aching backs of our taxpayers young and old.”

While some voters may not fully understand Redevelopment Powers, Tuesdays polling showed they were nonetheless skeptical and may have reasoned intuitively that, if government officials were not asking for more money and more power, they wouldn’t have to get voters permission with a new ballot referendum.

An Ideological Ballot Question

The proposal was very broad and generic in nature and did not specify a certain area or a private developer that would benefit from it. This means the underlying question put to the voters was ideological:

Should local government have the power to artificially stimulate or develop an area that the free market has rejected and is therefore not developing organically?

Should the government provide enhancements that were not merited in the free market?

Should local government have the power to seize private property, against the will of the property owners in order to accomplish the community enhancements that elected officials deem beneficial?

The triple rejection of this proposal by the Cities of Ringgold, Fort Oglethorpe and Catoosa County is likely an indication of voters core worldview and fundamental beliefs about the role of government in the lives of the citizenry. A belief that would appear to differ from their elected representatives Dewayne Hill (R-Ringgold) and Steve Tarvin (R-Chickamauga) who sponsored the legislation.

GRA President Alex Johnson Elected President of the NFRA

October 11, 2021 by Georgia Republican Assembly in conventions / Election

Scottsdale, Arizona—Over the weekend, Republican Assembly leaders and delegates from all over the country met for the National Federation of Republican Assemblies (NFRA) Convention. Attendees heard from elected officials such as House Freedom Caucus Chairman Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ), candidates such as Mark Finchem for Arizona Secretary of State, and spokesmen and educators such as Charlie Kirk with Turning Point USA.

*A portion of the GRA delegation attending the 2021 NFRA Convention in Scottsdale, Arizona*

On the final day of the convention, participating members of the NFRA Board voted to elect a new President for the national organization. Mr. Willes Lee (originally from Hawaii, but more recently moved to Virgina) has served as the NFRA President for the last four years, and has been a noted board member as well of the National Rifle Association (NRA).

When the tally of the ballots was reported, the Georgia Republican Assembly’s President Alex Johnson was announced to have won the election. GRA NFRA Directors Debra Williams and Nathaniel Darnell were both present to vote for Alex, who won by three votes. In addition to working as an attorney from DeKalb, Alex has helped to revitalize and rebuild the GRA over the last six years.

Watch Alex Johnson’s speech for his candidacy at the 2021 NFRA Convention.

In addition, GRA member James Jordan, CPA was elected as the NFRA Treasurer when his opponent decided to drop out of the race at the last moment.

“The NFRA will now become the organization it is meant to be,” said GRA NFRA Director Debra Williams. “Look forward to see great things happen!”

“Alex has built a great team, set a fine example, and spear-headed relentlessly over the last several years to build the GRA,” said GRA NFRA Director Nathaniel Darnell. “We know he’ll do a great job taking that same success to the national Republican Assembly organization.”

The NFRA announces Alex Johnson as the winner of the election.

GRA endorsees Brant Frost & David Shafer Win Re-Election to GA GOP Leadership

June 5, 2021 by Georgia Republican Assembly in conventions / Election

Jekyll Island, GA—Congratulations to all of the GRA members participating in the GAGOP elections today, as candidates and delegates! We are excited to report that two of our leading endorsed candidates for state-wide party office have once again won election: David Shafer and Brant Frost V were both overwhelmingly re-elected for GA GOP Chairman and 2nd Vice Chairman, respectively. Each of them received a more than super-majority of the standing vote at the state convention in Jekyll Island.

Last Monday, the GRA membership met online via Zoom for an live electronic endorsement convention with members from across the state. Participants were able to pose questions to each of the candidates online. Using the online system Runkeeper, GRA members were able to cast ballots in favor of endorsing each of the contested GA GOP officer candidates, the Over 80,000 Chair candidates, and the Under 80,000 Chair candidates. The system enables users to pre-cast their initial ballot as well as any secondary or tertiary ballots in the case of a runoff between multiple candidates. As usual under the rules of the GRA, a candidate can only be endorsed if he or she receives at least a two-thirds majority vote of the participating GRA membership.

Brant Frost V (who also serves as the 1st Vice President of the GRA) was the only candidate endorsed on the first ballot. Pamela Rearden earned the endorsement for 1st Vice Chair of the GA GOP in her race on the third ballot; Shafer received the endorsement for GA GOP Chairman on the third ballot as well.

In a three-way contest this Saturday, endorsee Pamela Reardon ran a strong campaign for 1st Vice Chair and received the second-highest number of votes, but ultimately lost to Establishment-candidate B.J. Van Gundy. GRA member Surrea Ivy received a standing ovation at the state convention during her exceptional speech in the GA GOP Chairman’s race, ultimately coming in second. Jason Shepherd was another GRA member who has in many ways made some strides for improvement in Cobb County as the former county Chairman, but he came in third place in the race for GA GOP Chairman.

David Shafer and Brant Frost V were also endorsed by the GRA two years ago when they each first won election for state party office. Over the last two years Brant Frost’s hard work substantially increased his margin of victory from his more narrow win in 2019.

Brant Frost V’s campaign speech at the 2021 GA GOP State Convention

David Shafer ran in 2019 under a pledge to raise funds and cut spending to get the GA GOP out of debt—something GRA leaders on the state committee had been pushing for over six years! Shafer made good on his promise, having the debt paid off by March of 2020. Shafer also promised to do something else the GRA has been pushing for years: allow the GA GOP to establish its first ever state party platform. Not only did Shafer accomplish that, but he appointed prominent GRA members such as former State Senator Mike Crane, Kay Godwin, and GRA 3rd Vice President Nathaniel Darnell to the committee to draft the platform, and he appointed Brant Frost V to Chair that Resolutions Committee. He also appointed GRA President Alex Johnson to the GA GOP’s standing Rules Committee. In addition to this, Shafer helped to setup party organizations in all of Georgia’s 159 counties for the first time ever. This track record of working with the GRA to promote its objectives, rather than against the GRA as the two previous GA GOP Chairs have done, had a lot to do with why he earned their endorsement once again.

GRA Members Alex Johnson & Salleigh Grubbs were among those appointed to the Nominating Committee

We appreciate all the GRA members who offered themselves as candidates at the state convention and were willing to serve. We look forward to continuing to elect the best candidates to positions of influence in the GA GOP who will prove themselves eager to work to help us promote Republican principles in Georgia.

Category: Election

Threat of Eminent Domain Prompts Emotional Response

An Ideological Ballot Question