About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (March 11, 2020)
rm± city dope 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. 4 FLAGPOLE.COM | MARCH 11, 2020
