Help Move Georgia Forward
This week, Georgia Senate Republicans passed out of committee along party lines legislation to reconfigure the Gwinnett County Commission and the Board of Education, one year after Gwinnett residents voted to elect people of color to lead the County Commission and Board of Education for the first time in history.
The sole Republican representing Gwinnett in the State Senate, supported by a small group of non-Gwinnett Republicans, blindsided lawmakers and voters alike by introducing the bills just days ago with no advance notice, offering virtually no time for consideration or public feedback before ramming them through committee to a full vote in the Senate.
In response, Scott Hogan, Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Georgia, issued the following statement:
“The undemocratic power grab that Republican lawmakers are attempting is one of the most egregious abuses of power under the Gold Dome in recent memory. It is unfathomable that any legislator would seek to drastically reshape local government of the most diverse county in Georgia of nearly one million people without consulting fellow lawmakers or voters who would be affected by the proposal, without doing any analysis of the cost to taxpayers, and without allowing more opportunity for local elected officials and residents to testify.
“This is nothing more than a desperate attempt to subvert local control and rig local elections for partisan gain after Democrats and people of color made their voices heard in the 2020 local elections. Echoes of ‘this is the way it’s going to be’ and efforts to strip people of color of their political power invoke painful memories of Jim Crow and voter suppression schemes that belong in the ash heap of Georgia’s history – not under the Gold Dome in 2021.
“The disdain Republicans are showing for their peers, Georgia voters, and the hallowed body of the state legislature is disgusting and will not soon be forgotten. If the bills approved this week were honest, necessary, and in good faith, the Republican bill sponsor would not have felt the need to blindside his peers, and the Republican committee chair would not have felt the need to violate Senate procedure to advance them. This fight is not over – Georgia Democrats will do everything in our power to ensure Gwinnett voters’ voices are not silenced.”
More on Republicans’ Gwinnett power grab:
Republicans’ proposal diminishes the voting power of people of color and hurts all Gwinnett residents.
Republicans are violating established rules and procedures as they ram their proposal through the legislator.
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November 26, 2024
November 22, 2024
November 21, 2024