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Athens Races Are Set
PLUS, PRE-TRIAL DIVERSION, PAPER BALLOTS AND MORE LOCAL NEWS
By Blake Aued, Chris Dowd and Rebecca McCarthy news@flagpole.com
Four years ago, Kamau Hull ran to repre
sent District 8 on the Clarke County School
Board. He lost to John Knox, who is not
running for re-election.
Next year a Hull will sit on the school
board—but it won’t be Kamau. It will
be his wife and law partner, Nicole Hull,
who is running for the seat unopposed.
Meanwhile, Kamau Hull is one of three can
didates seeking to represent District 8 on
the Athens-Clarke County Commission.
The Hulls aren’t the only local power
couple running for office. For months,
Mokah Jasmine Johnson has been running
for the House District 117 seat against Rep.
Houston Gaines (R-Athens). She was joined
last week by her husband, Knowa, who is
challenging Commissioner Mike Hamby
in District 10. The Johnsons formed the
Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement not
long after moving to Athens from Orlando
eight years ago. Knowa generally took a
more behind-the-scenes role while Mokah
was the organization’s public face, but now
he’s stepping into the spotlight.
The qualifying period to run for local,
state and federal office in Georgia ended
Mar. 6. Here’s a look at who’s running for
what.
ACC COMMISSION: Incumbent Mariah Parker is
unopposed in District 2—a bit surprising,
since she won by just 13 votes in a 2018 spe
cial election. Recent UGA graduate Michael
Stapor is challenging incumbent Allison
Wright in District 4. Progressive activist
Jesse Houle is running against incumbent
Jerry NeSmith in District 6. Retired edu
cator and biking advocate Carol Myers and
couples therapist Andrea Farnham join Hull
in District 8, where Commissioner Andy
Herod is stepping down.
SCHOOL BOARD: Three of the four incumbents
whose seats are up this year—Antwon
Stephens, Charles Worthy and Knox—are
not running again. Stephens, who was
appointed to fill the vacant District 2 seat
in January, announced last week that
he won’t seek a full term, and endorsed
Kirrena Gallagher. Mary Bagby, who also
sought the appointment, is running as well.
Mumbi Anderson is the lone candidate for
Worthy’s seat in District 6. Patricia Yager is
unopposed for a full term in District 4.
SHERIFF: Incumbent Ira Edwards faces ACC
police detective John Q. Williams in the
Democratic primary, and the winner will
take on Republican retired sheriff’s deputy
Robert Hale in November.
LEGISLATURE: Law student Zachary Perry is
challenging Sen. Bill Cowsert (R-Athens).
Democrat Dawn Johnson will once again
take on Sen. Frank Ginn (R-Danielsville).
Democrat Jonathan Wallace has a
rematch with Rep. Marcus Wiedower
(R-Watkinsville). Rep. Spencer Frye
(D-Athens) is unopposed.
CONGRESS: Nine Republicans and three
Democrats are vying to replace Rep. Doug
Collins, who’s running for Senate, in the
deep-red Ninth Congressional District.
That includes one familiar name—for
mer Athens congressman Paul Broun.
Other contenders include state Sen. John
Wilkinson (R-Toccoa) and state Rep. Kevin
Tanner (R-Dawsonville). In the 10th
District—including most of Athens—
Republican incumbent Jody Hice will face
either Tabitha Johnson-Green (who won
the Democratic primary in 2018) or screen
writer Andrew Ferguson.
OTHER UNOPPOSED CANDIDATES: Superior Court
judges Lawton Stephens and Patrick
Haggard, Clerk of Superior Court Beverly
Logan, Coroner Sonny Wilson, State Court
judges Charles Auslander and Ethelyn
Simpson, and Chief Magistrate Judge
Patricia Barron. Probate Court Judge Susan
Tate’s staff attorney, Susan Schaffer, will
succeed Tate. [Blake Aued]
The commission passed a resolution last
week in support of pre-arrest diversion, a
program intended to avoid incarceration
for some low-level crimes. Instead of being
arrested for cannabis possession, trespass
ing, shoplifting or underage alcohol pos
session, those detained by police may now
have the option of entering PAD.
According to ACC Solicitor C.R.
Chisholm, who helped develop the program,
PAD lets first-time offenders avoid having
a mark on their record. “Once arrested,
they would have a criminal record that will
follow them for the rest of their life, even
if the case is dismissed,” Chisholm said at a
meeting of the Athens Anti-Discrimination
Movement on Feb. 25.
The program may take a number
of forms, depending on the situation.
Chisholm put together a committee includ
ing representatives from local government
and law enforcement agencies to advise him
on appropriate components for the pro
gram. These will vary based on the offense,
and are designed to address the behaviors
that might lead to future offenses. For
example, a first-time offender caught with
less than an ounce of cannabis would have
to pay $75 and take a three-hour course
designed to reduce recidivism and increase
moral reasoning. After completing the
course, their case would be dismissed and
expunged. If the PAD participant can
not afford the $75 course, they would be
allowed to complete eight hours of commu
nity service instead. Other PAD program
components might include treatment for
substance abuse, random drug or alcohol
screens, mental health treatment or recon
ciliation with victims.
This program falls short of full decrim
inalization. For example, participants
would gain access to PAD only if offered by
police and if their eligibility is confirmed
by the solicitor’s office. Those with a prior
conviction on their record would not be
eligible. Additionally, it may be more diffi
cult to enter the program again if stopped
for a second offense. Re-entry after a third
offense would require the explicit approval
of the solicitor and police chief. Participants
would have between three and six months
to complete their assigned program. If they
fail to complete it during that time, a war
rant would be issued for their arrest.
Entry into the PAD program would also
require the consent of the accused. Some
may want to fight the charge in court,
but if you’re ever offered PAD by a police
officer, the advice of Commissioner Tim
Denson is to accept. Denson, who is not a
lawyer but who serves on the PAD commit
tee, said that the alternative for cannabis
possession might be up to one year in jail
and/or a $1,000 fine. He said he has “high
hopes” that PAD will help prevent many
people from facing charges and possible
jail time for these low-level offenses. Even
so, Denson wants the commission to do
more to prevent the harm that he believes
mass incarceration is doing to the Athens
community.
At the commission meeting on Mar. 3,
Denson called for a “parallel ordinance” to
decriminalize cannabis, which other cities
around Georgia, including Atlanta, have
already done. This would allow police to
issue citations for cannabis possession,
similar to getting a traffic ticket. Until
such an ordinance is passed, Denson said
that institutions like the local government
“are being irresponsible by unnecessarily
punishing and harming people’s lives over
behaviors that are not a danger to the
community.” Commissioner Mariah Parker
agreed, adding a concern that police officers
might deny access to PAD along racial lines,
and it might be “weaponized against certain
communities.”
The resolution in support of PAD passed
unanimously, but a parallel ordinance to
decriminalize cannabis does not appear to
be soon forthcoming. Chisholm opposes
such an ordinance, and has said that he
would simply ignore it and continue pros
ecuting cannabis possession under the
harsher state law. Mayor Kelly Girtz also
prefers pre-arrest diversion to a parallel
ordinance.
Drivers on the northeast side of Athens
might have noticed that Athena Road is
now closed near the CertainTeed plant. This
is due to a rusted metal culvert underneath
the road that recently collapsed. It has to
be replaced with more durable concrete at a
cost of at least $690,000.
But it gets worse—there are rusted cul
verts waiting to collapse across the entire
city. “We’re still trying to get a handle on
how many of these things are out there,”
said Manager Blaine Williams. He estimates
that the cost to repair Athens’ stormwater
infrastructure might run as high as $22 mil
lion over the next 10 years.
$500,000 is available in SPLOST 2020,
which could be supplemented by other
SPLOST programs if they come in under
budget. Other funding options may include
the next TSPLOST, but it’s possible the
bulk of the funding will come from the
current stormwater fee. Commissioner
Ovita Thornton, who opposes stormwater
fee increases, voted yes on the $690,000 in
emergency funding to replace the Athena
Drive culvert, as did the other commission
ers. However, she urged that an alternate
means of funding future stormwater needs
should be found soon.
One advantage to using the stormwater
fee to fund utility projects is that all prop
erty owners pay the fee—including UGA,
nonprofits and churches, which do not pay
property taxes. This means the overall bill
is lowered for residents, even if it could still
be difficult for some low-income homeown
ers to afford. [Chris Dowd]
The Clarke County Board of Education
unanimously approved the appointment
of Antonio Derricotte as the new principal
of Cedar Shoals High School last week.
Derricotte has been serving as an interim
co-principal at Cedar Shoals with Aaron
Carter since Derrick Maxwell resigned last
October.
Also at the Mar. 5 meeting, District
2 representative Antwon Stephens
announced that he isn’t running for the
seat in the upcoming election. He asked his
supporters to stop harassing and battering
student journalists at Cedar Shoals, who
broke the story about his not having grad
uated from the high school as he originally
implied. Stephens said he’s supporting
Kirrena Gallagher, who is running for the
District 2 slot. Mary Bagby is also running.
Before the board turned its attention to
the agenda, members heard from several
speakers. Former teacher and CCSD parent
Marci White presented a petition with more
than 770 signatures calling for a living wage
of $15 an hour for all CCSD employees,
including bus drivers, bus monitors, custo
dians and paraprofessionals. She said if the
board is committed to working for equity,
Mokah (left) and Knowa (right) Johnson at the 2016 Athens Hip Hop Awards.
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FLAGPOLE.COM | MARCH 11, 2020
