Newspaper Page Text
The ADVANCE, December 8, 2021/Page 10A
Stye Aiiuancg
Stacey Abrams running for governor
David Perdue to challenge Gov.
Kemp in Republican primary
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
Former U.S. Sen. Da
vid Perdue Monday an
nounced he will challenge
Gov. Brian Kemp in next
May’s Republican primary.
Perdue is an ally of
former President Donald
Trump, who has been urg
ing him for months to take
on Kemp.
The governor angered
Trump when he refused
to help him overturn the
results of last year’s presi
dential election in Georgia.
Democrat Joe Biden
carried the Peach State by
fewer than 12,000 votes,
the first Democratic presi
dential candidate to carry
the state since Bill Clinton
in 1992.
The primary contest
between Kemp and Perdue
is sure to aggravate divi
sions already apparent in
side Georgia’s Republican
Party between Trump loy
alists and those who want
the GOP to put last year’s
election behind and move
forward.
Perdue’s announce
ment came less than a week
after Democrat Stacey
Abrams, who lost to Kemp
in 2018 by a narrow mar
gin, formally entered the
gubernatorial race again.
In a video released
Monday, Perdue laid the
blame for Republican divi
siveness squarely on Kemp.
“Think about how dif
ferent it would be today if
Kemp had fought Abrams
first instead of fight
ing Trump,” Perdue said.
“Kemp caved before the
election, and the country is
paying the price today.”
Perdue finished first
in last year’s general elec
tion but fell short of the
50%-plus-one margin
needed to win reelection to
a second term. He then lost
a runoff to Democrat Jon
Ossoff last January, which
led to the Democrats cap
turing a 50-50 split in the
Senate, effectively a major
ity since Democratic Vice
President Kamala Harris
can break tie votes.
Perdue said he likes
Kemp but has become
convinced the governor
cannot defeat Abrams.
“I’m running for gov
ernor to make sure Stacey
Abrams is never governor
of Georgia,” Perdue said.
“Make no mistake, Abrams
will smile, lie and cheat to
transform Georgia into her
radical vision of a state that
would look more like Cali
fornia and New York.”
Democrats responded
to Perdue’s candidacy by
labeling him a “failed” sen
ator.
“Republicans like Bri
an Kemp and David Per
due have failed Georgians
at every level of leadership,”
said Scott Hogan, execu
tive director of the Demo
cratic Party of Georgia.
“No matter who
emerges from Republicans’
messy, race-to-the-right
gubernatorial primary, vot
ers know that Democrats
are the only ones who will
deliver on the issues Geor
gians care about, like re
covering from COVID-19
and expanding access to
health care.”
This story is available
through a news partnership
with Capitol Beat News
Service, a project of the
Georgia Press Educational
Foundation.
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
Democrat Stacey
Abrams launched a long-
anticipated bid for Geor
gia governor Wednesday,
potentially pitting her in a
rematch of her 2018 race
against Republican Gov.
Brian Kemp.
Abrams, a former
Georgia House minority
leader from Atlanta, posted
a video Wednesday titled
“One Georgia” pledging to
work for all Georgians re
gardless of where they live.
“Opportunity in our
state shouldn’t be deter
mined by your zip code,
background or access to
power,” she said.
“If our Georgia is go
ing to move to its next and
greatest chapter, we’re go
ing to need leadership ...
that knows how to do the
job, leadership that doesn’t
take credit without also
taking responsibility, that
understands the pain folks
are feeling and has real
plans.”
In a news release an
nouncing her candidacy,
Abrams accused Kemp of
undermining Georgians’
right to vote, failing to
expand Medicaid, under-
funding the state’s educa
tion system and failing to
show leadership during the
coronavirus pandemic.
After losing to Kemp
in a close race three years
ago, Abrams founded the
voting-rights group Fair
Fight Action, which has
helped her keep a high pro
file.
She was on the list of
potential vice-presidential
nominees President Joe
Biden considered last year
before picking then-U.S.
Sen. Kamala Harris of Cali
fornia for that role.
Abrams also has made
a number of public appear
ances across the country,
fueling speculation that she
might run for president.
Abrams had been
widely expected to chal
lenge Kemp’s bid for a sec
ond term in the Governor’s
Mansion.
In fact, she may have
a smoother path to her
party’s nomination than
Kemp, who has been criti
cized in Republican circles
for refusing to help former
President Donald Trump
reverse the outcome of last
year’s presidential contest
in Georgia.
Kemp already faces
a primary challenge from
former state Rep. Vernon
Jones, while there’s been
open speculation former
U.S. Sen. David Perdue will
get in the Republican race.
The Republican Gov
ernors Association (RGA),
which supports Kemp,
greeted Abrams’ entry into
the gubernatorial contest
by accusing her of ulterior
motives.
“Stacey Abrams is
once again using Georgia
to boost her own star while
she plots a path toward her
real career goal: president
of the United States,” RGA
spokeswoman Maddie An
derson said.
"Over the past four
years, Governor Kemp has
exhibited courageous lead
ership for Georgians and
guided his state through
a turbulent time. Stacey
Abrams spent her time
touring the country in
search of fame and for
tune.”
This story is available
through a news partnership
with Capitol Beat News
Service, a project of the
Georgia Press Educational
Foundation.
Raffensperger pushing feds to
disclose potential collusion
on election law challenge
State audit finds high
default rate on need-based
student loan program
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
Georgia’s need-based,
low-interest student-loan
program has a high default
rate that serves to limit its
success, a new state audit
has found.
About 31% of bor
rowers participating in
the Student Access Loan
(SAL) program default
within three years of enter
ing repayment, the Geor
gia Department of Audits
& Accounts concluded
in a report issued late last
month.
That’s more than three
times the default rate of
federal student loan par
ticipants.
“Borrowers were more
likely to default if they were
enrolled in a technical col
lege (vs. a four-year insti
tution), were eligible for
the federal Pell Grant, did
not receive HOPE or Zell
Miller aid (with the excep
tion of the HOPE Grant),
or did not earn a postsec
ondary credential prior to
repayment,” according to
the audit.
“We also found that on
average defaulted borrow
ers earned approximately
40% less than those who
remained in good stand
ing.”
Since its inception
in fiscal 2012, the SAL
has provided about $266
million in loans to nearly
36,000 students. SAL re
ceives $26 million in Geor
gia Lottery proceeds each
year to help borrowers
with postsecondary costs.
Since the lottery-fund
ed HOPE Scholarships
program is purely based
on merit, the SAL is the
primary vehicle for need-
based student aid in Geor
gia.
Because of the HOPE
and Zell Miller Scholar
ship, which goes to HOPE
recipients with the high
est grade-point averages,
Georgia awards more grant
dollars per undergradu
ate student than any other
state in the country. How
ever, Georgia devotes a
smaller proportion of its
state assistance to need-
based aid compared to oth
er Southeastern states.
The audit concludes
it’s no surprise a program
that primarily attracts low-
income students would
suffer from a high default
rate.
The report recom
mends that the General
Assembly codify into state
law SAL’s intent and define
the program’s goals and pri
orities. It also suggests the
Georgia Student Finance
Commission consider eas
ing some of the program’s
overly burdensome repay
ment terms.
This story is available
through a news partnership
with Capitol Beat News
Service, a project of the
Georgia Press Educational
Foundation.
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
Georgia Secretary of
State Brad Raffensperger
has filed a lawsuit to prod
the Justice Department
into acting on a Freedom
of Information (FOIA) re
quest the state agency sub
mitted last summer.
The request sought
information on any com
munications the Biden
administration may have
had with prominent liberal
groups concerning a Justice
Department lawsuit chal
lenging the election law re
forms the General Assem
bly passed last March.
Other than confirma
tions of receipt, the state
has received no response to
the FOIA request.
“Considering how bla
tantly political the Biden
lawsuit against Georgia’s
common-sense election
law was from the begin
ning, it’s no surprise they
would stonewall our re
quest for basic transpar
ency,” Raffensperger said
Wednesday.
The administration’s
lawsuit, filed in June,
claimed Georgia’s election
reform law violated the
federal Voting Rights Act
by discriminating against
Black voters.
The new law replaces
the signature-match verifi
cation process for absentee
ballots with an ID require
ment. It also restricts the
location of absentee ballot
drop boxes.
“The provisions we are
challenging reduce access
to absentee voting at each
step of the process, push
ing more Black voters to in-
person voting, where they
will be more likely than
white voters to encounter
long lines,” Kristen Clarke,
the assistant attorney gen
eral overseeing the Justice
Department’s Civil Rights
Division, said at the time.
Raffensperger’s legal
complaint charges the Jus
tice Department stonewall
ing “is depriving plaintiffs
and the public of vital in
formation needed to deter
mine the extent to which
and by what methods the
government is colluding or
conspiring with outside en
tities to carry out a political
agenda.”
The complaint spe
cifically names 62 outside
individuals and entities,
including Fair Fight Ac
tion, a voting rights group
founded by 2018 Georgia
gubernatorial candidate
Stacey Abrams; the Ameri
can Civil Liberties Union,
and the Southern Poverty
Law Center.
It also argues that
states including Delaware,
New York, Rhode Island,
New Jersey, Maryland and
Wisconsin have similar
election rules yet are not
being sued by the feds.
This story is available
through a news partnership
with Capitol Beat News
Service, a project of the
Georgia Press Educational
Foundation.
Mixed
continued from page 9A
but both measures remain
alive heading into the 2022
General Assembly session.
Some states that have
chosen to go with inde
pendent redistricting have
run into bumps along the
way. Ralston cited Virgin
ia, Ohio and the state of
Washington as examples.
In all three states, re
districting commissions
missed deadlines this fall
for delivering their recom
mendations, citing delays
in delivery of census data
caused by the coronavirus
pandemic. Missing those
deadlines forced them ei
ther to turn over the job
to the state legislature or
- in Virginia’s case - have
the state Supreme Court
choose a special master to
draw new maps.
Even when re district
ing commissions have met
their deadlines, they have
been subject to the same
accusations of partisanship
that plague maps drawn by
state legislators, particular
ly in the way commission
members are chosen.
“The California ap
proach tried to keep parti
sanship out,” said Charles
Bullock, a political science
professor at the University
of Georgia who has writ
ten extensively about re
districting.
“There was a lengthy
selection process, and
candidates had to jump
through a series of hoops.
[But] some argued Demo
crats figured out how to
get their partisans through
the selection process.”
In New Jersey, an
equal number of Republi
cans and Democrats were
appointed to the redis
tricting commission, but
the chairman was given
the deciding vote in case of
ties, Bullock said. Which
ever party the chairman
supported thus got the ad
vantage, he said.
Parent said the key
to success with redistrict
ing commissions lies in
the membership selection
process.
“You need to make
sure the people on it are
actually independent, or if
members of a party are on
it, they’re not elected,” she
said.
Parent also opposes
creating commissions that
let legislatures have the
final say over their recom
mendations.
“[Commissions] need
to have powers to reform,
to have teeth,” she said.
Bullock said Iowa
stands out as a state that
has carried out indepen
dent redistricting success
fully for years.
Rather than have a
commission draw the
maps, Iowa gives that role
to Iowa’s Legislative Ser
vices Agency. Under state
law, maps are not allowed
to protect incumbents.
“The legislature can
reject their proposals,”
Bullock said. “After two
rounds of rejection, the
legislature takes it over.
But with the congressio
nal plan, that’s never hap
pened.”
Republican legislative
leaders in Georgia aren’t
anxious to voluntarily give
up their power over redis
tricting to an independent
commission.
Democrats weren’t ei
ther in 2001, the last time
they controlled the Gener
al Assembly during redis
tricting and drew heavily
gerrymandered maps to
try to retain legislative ma
jorities in a state that was
fast trending Republican.
That strategy ultimately
failed when the GOP won
full control of the General
Assembly in 2004.
Bullock said Repub
lican worries of a similar
meltdown after the 2030
census could create the
only scenario that might
convince GOP leaders to
change their minds about
turning over redistricting
to an independent com
mission.
Georgia has been
trending Democratic in
recent years, as shown by
Stacey Abrams’ narrow
loss to Republican Gov.
Brian Kemp in 2018 and
the capturing of Georgia’s
two U.S Senate seats in
last January’s runoffs by
Democrats Jon Ossoff and
Raphael Warnock.
Minority population
growth across metro At
lanta during the last de
cade makes it likely Dem
ocrats will gain seats in the
General Assembly next
year, even in districts that
have been redrawn by Re
publicans.
“In 2030, if the
Democrats are poised to
take over the legislature,
the Republican major
ity might say, ‘We can’t
let control go over to the
Democrats. Let’s create an
independent commission,’
” Bullock said.
Absent creating an
independent redistricting
commission, Parent said
help in making redistrict
ing in Georgia less parti
san could come from the
federal level.
The Freedom to Vote
Act Democrats have intro
duced in the U.S. Senate
would prohibit drawing
maps for partisan advan
tage. However, Republi
can opposition to the bill
in the 50-50 Senate ren
ders its chances dubious
at best.