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.
Associated Press
Be kind and compassionate to one
another, forgiving each other, just
as in Christ God forgave you.
^IWorstlip - Ephesians 4:32
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