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4B Weekend Edition - August 1-2, 2020 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com STATE/SOUTHEAST 7 seek to follow Lewis in House BY JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA — A Georgia special congressional election for a successor to the late John Lewis is likely to produce someone who will hold the seat only for a short time, pos sibly only weeks. Seven candidates qualified Friday for the Sept. 29 election, but declining to run is replacement Democratic nominee Nikema Williams, a state senator and chair of the state Democratic Party. Also not running is the Republican nominee, Angela Stanton-King. They both said they’re holding their fire for the Nov. 3 general election, which will decide a full two-year term. If no one wins a majority on Sept. 29, a runoff would be held on Dec. 1. Lewis’ successor would serve only until the current Congress ends on Jan. 3. The veteran congressman died July 17 at the age of 80 and his funeral was Thursday. He was eulogized by three former presidents and others who urged Americans to continue the work of the civil rights icon in fighting racial injustice. Lewis was the youngest and last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists, led by the late Martin Luther King Jr. He was best known for leading protesters in the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where he was beaten by state troopers. The 5th Congressional District includes most of the city of Atlanta, as well as some suburban areas of Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton counties. The district is overwhelm ingly Democratic and Lewis rarely faced any serious chal lenge in his 17 terms. Candidates who qualified Friday are Democrats Robert Franklin, former Morehouse College president and cur rent Emory University president; Kwanza Hall, a former Atlanta City Council member and mayoral candidate; Bar rington Martin II, who lost the June Democratic primary to Lewis with 13% of the vote; “Able” Mable Thomas, who lost Democratic primaries to Lewis in 1992 and 2008 and is retiring from the state House after three separate stints totaling 22 years; and former state Rep. Keisha Sean Waites, who finished second to U.S. Rep David Scott in the June Democratic primary in the 13th Congressional District. Also qualifying are Libertarian Chase Oliver and inde pendent Steven Muhammad, an East Point minister. They will run together with the Democrats on an all-party ballot. None of those candidates will be on the November bal lot, which was set months ago, although any of them could still declare by Sept. 8 that they will run as a write-in can didate in the Nov. 3 general election. When Democrats tapped Williams in the days after Lewis’ death, some in the party had wanted a placeholder candidate who would agree to step down in 2022 and give all candidates a fair shot at the seat. But 37 of 41 members of the state Democratic executive committee voted to give the party nod to Williams, with the understanding that she would not be a placeholder. “I am focusing my time on maximizing turnout, making voting more accessible regardless of ZIP code and deliv ering Georgia’s 16 electoral college votes for Joe Biden,” Williams said in a statement explaining why she wasn’t running. “I will fight tirelessly to earn the support of voters in the 5th Congressional District and would be honored to serve as their voice in Congress in January. A spokesperson for Republican Stanton-King, a reality TV personality pardoned earlier this year by President Donald Trump for her role in a stolen car ring, gave much the same rationale for skipping the Sept. 29 vote. “She’s 100% focused on the November election,” said Trevian Kutti. “She wants to show the voters they have a real choice.” Franklin was one of the other four finalists chosen by a screening committee that the party passed over in favor of Williams. He and others are likely to campaign as continu ing Lewis’ legacy. “I’m just the placeholder for every single person that lives in the district & believes a better future is possible,” Martin wrote on Facebook on Thursday. “Please pray and help me continue the legacy of cour age, valor and service to the people,” Thomas wrote Tues day as she announced her candidacy. Lewis Hurricane Isaias churns through Bahamas as Fla., N.C. prepare TIM AYLEN I Associated Press Residents wait in line to fill their containers with gasoline before the arrival of Hurricane Isaias in Freeport, Grand Bahama, Bahamas, Friday, July 31. BY DANICA C0T0 AND ADRIANA GOMEZ LIC0N Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Forecasters declared a hurricane warning for parts of the Florida coast Friday as Hurricane Isaias drenched the Bahamas on a track for the U.S. East Coast. Officials in Florida said they were closing beaches, marinas and parks in Miami-Dade County begin ning Friday night. Mayor Carlos Gimenez said the county had 20 evacuation centers on standby that could be set up with COVID- 19 safety measures. “We still don’t think there is a need to open shelters for this storm, but they are ready,” he said. But authorities in North Carolina ordered the evacu ation of Oracoke Island, which was slammed by last year’s Hurricane Dorian, starting Saturday evening. Meanwhile, officials in the Bahamas evacuated people in Abaco who have been liv ing in temporary structures since Dorian as well as peo ple living in the eastern end of Grand Bahama. Isaias had maximum sus tained winds of 80 mph Fri day night and was expected to strengthen in the coming hours, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. The storm was cen tered about 175 miles south- southeast of Nassau in the Bahamas and was moving northwest at 15 mph. The hurricane knocked shingles off roofs and tum bled trees as it carved its way through an archipel ago still recovering from Dorian’s devastation. Baha mas Power and Light Co. cut off power in certain areas for safety. Paula Miller, Mercy Corps director for the Baha mas, told The Associated Press that while the islands can normally withstand strong hurricanes, some have been destabilized by the coronavirus pandemic and the damage caused by Dorian. “With everything not quite shored up, property not secured, home not pre pared, even a Category 1 will be enough to set them back,” she said. The Hurricane Center said heavy rains associated with the storm “may begin to affect South and east-Cen- tral Florida beginning late Friday night, and the east ern Carolinas by early next week, potentially resulting in isolated flash and urban flooding, especially in low- lying and poorly drained areas.” A hurricane warning was in effect from Boca Raton, just north of Miami, about 150 miles north to the Volu sia/Brevard County Line. A hurricane watch was in effect from the Volusia/ Brevard County Line to the Flagler/Volusia County Line and from south of Boca Raton to Hallendale Beach. Florida Gov. Ron DeSan tis said that the state was “fully prepared for this and any future storm dur ing this hurricane season,” with stockpiles of personal protective equipment, generators, bottled water and meals ready to be distributed. But he urged people to have seven days with of food, water and medication ready and said that state-run coronavirus testing sites in the areas where the storm could hit will be closed. “Our sites, because they’re outdoors with tents, if it were to get 40-, 50-mile- per-hour winds, it would just collapse,” he said. “Safety is paramount for that.” Miami’s mayor said that social-distancing measures prompted by COVID-19 meant each person in shel ters needed to have 40 square feet and no more cafeteria-style dining would be allowed. People who are infected with the new coronavirus and need to evacuate will be isolated in classrooms separate them from the general population, Gimenez said. In Daytona Beach and Polk County, authorities began distributing sandbags and other officials advised people to have emergency provisions at home suffi cient for three to seven days. A hurricane warning was in effect for northwest and central Bahamas. “Continue to hunker down,” said Trevor Basden, director of the Bahamas meteorology department. Two of those islands, Abaco and Grand Bahama, were battered by Dorian, a Category 5 storm that hov ered over the area for two days and killed at least 70 people, with more than 280 reported missing. People are still living in tents on both islands, and officials said crews were trying to remove leftover debris ahead of Isaias. Prime Minister Hubert Minnis relaxed a coronavi rus lockdown as a result of the impending storm, but imposed a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew. He said supermar kets, pharmacies, gas sta tions and hardware stores would be allowed to be open as long as weather permitted. The Bahamas has reported more than 570 con firmed COVID-19 cases and at least 14 deaths. It recently barred travelers from the U.S. following a surge in cases after it reopened to international tourism. Given the pandemic, the prime minister urged young people to stay safe from the approaching storm to respect social distancing measures. “Please do not engage in hurricane or COVID(-19) parties,” he said. “It can be devastating.” On Thursday, while still a tropical storm, Isaias toppled trees, destroyed crops and caused wide spread flooding and small landslides in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, where hundreds of thou sands of people were left without power and water. P °i db HEALTHY AGING Health System VIRTUAL EXPO SEPTEMBER 2, 2020 Wednesday, starting at 10 a.m. Fired transgender fire chief seeks reinstatement again BYRON — A transgender fire chief in Georgia is ask ing again for reinstatement and back pay from the City of Byron. Rachel Mosby’s demand argues that the city admin istrator had no authority to fire her just over a year ago because she was a depart ment head and that only the mayor and council could make such a decision, The Telegraph reported. “This demand is quite different from the one last year,” Mosby’s attorney Kenneth E. Barton said in an email to the newspaper. “In June 2019, we demanded that the city should have pro vided Chief Mosby with the opportunity to appeal her termination. “Now, based upon our review of all of the city’s charter, ordinances, and personnel policies, it has become clear to us that the city failed to properly termi nate Chief Mosby. Whether or not Chief Mosby, as a department head, was enti tled to an appeal shouldn’t matter. She should still be considered an employee of the city and entitled to her old job.” Mosby also has a discrimi nation lawsuit pending in federal court in Macon. Mayor Michael Chidester said in an email that the city’s lawyers are reviewing Mosby’s latest request. “I have nothing to add at this time,” Chidester said. The city fired Mosby on June 4, 2019, citing fail ing job performance, but her attorney charged that the action was discrimina tory based on her gender identity. Mosby, who was assigned male at birth, identifies as a female. She alleged in the lawsuit that she was fired because of “her sex, gender identity, and notions of sex stereotyping.” The lawsuit, filed in late April, seeks a jury trial. In late June, city attorneys asked that the lawsuit be dismissed claiming many of Mosby’s allegations “mis- characterize key facts or are outright falsehoods.” Barton has until mid- August to file a response. 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