Political Notes

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…

Ox In A Ditch: Former Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, who used his last day in office to grant himself some insurance licenses without taking the exams that mere mortals are required to pass in order to acquire such licenses, may…

Oops: Looks like the state gives, and the state takes away. Georgia’s new revenue commissioner Doug McGinnitie had an embarrassing little brush fire to extinguish during his first weeks in office. His department wired state tax refunds to some 30,000…

Have A Seat: Results of the 2010 Census (some 307 million Americans as of last April’s official count) will give Georgia a 14th seat in Congress. Geor-gia is one of eight states to gain congressional representation in the U.S. House…