Political Notes

It’s official – the state has a shortage of farm workers, and the state DOT board scuttled plans for a public-private partnership for toll lanes.

State lawmakers descend on the Capitol January 9 with some controversial prefiled bills awaiting them, and some of the names on the official GOP Presidential Preference Primary ballot are already headed for obscurity.

  New Face At The Capitol: Political newcomer John Carson beat former state senator Robert LaMutt in a special runoff election for the House District 43 seat. The two Cobb County Republicans were vying for the office that became vacant…

Georgia picks its primary date and stays in the national GOP’s good graces, and Steve McCoy is the new state treasurer.

After the General Assembly’s special redistricting session, Republicans were smiling – but not Democrats and especially not John Barrow. But there was no agreement on rescheduling the statewide TSPLOST referendum.

New Kids On The Block: Ma-con’s James Beverly defeated fellow Democrat Anissa Jones in a special election to fill Georgia’s House Seat 139, which was vacated by longtime representative David Lucas, who resigned to run for the state senate.  …

Top Lawmakers: House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) and State Sen. John Bulloch (R-Ochloc-knee) are the Georgia Chamber’s 2011 Legislators of the Year. First-year State Rep. Tom Taylor (R-Dunwoody) is the recipient of the chamber’s Freshman of the Year Award.…

Poitevint Redux: Alec L. Poitevint II of Bainbridge, a key GOP player on the national and state levels, has been reappointed to the Georgia Ports Authority Board of Directors by Gov. Nathan Deal. Poitevint will be running the 2012 Republican…

Top Cop Honor: Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Keenan is the 2011 recipient of the Weltner Freedom of Information Award given by the Georgia First Amendment Foundation. The award, named for the late Charles L. Weltner, a former Georgia…

Retooling HOPE: Not everybody was happy about the changes to Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship, but a bipartisan effort resulted in some adjustments proponents believe the state and its college-bound students can live with for the sake of preserving the program. In…