With Georgia Senator Jason Carter announcing that he’ll challenge Gov. Nathan Deal for the Georgia governor’s seat next year, the Georgia 42nd district seat will be vacated.

DM has confirmed that Decatur attorney Kyle Williams has filed the paperwork to run for the open Senate seat and plans to make a formal announcement mid-week this week.  With the announcement, Williams says he also plans to release a list of first round endorsements.

“Numbers support our run and we can win.” Williams tells DM.

Mr. Williams’ registration form lists Jesse A. Davis as his Campaign Manager and Christa Dell Sobon as his Treasurer.

After nearly dying in committee, the AJC reports that after four hours of debate, the Georgia Senate has approved legislation 32-22 that would allow local jurisdictions to decide for themselves whether to allow the Sunday retail sale of alcohol.

The bill will now go to the House of Representatives “where passage is considered probable”, according to the AJC’s Jay Bookman.

As we’ve mentioned before, Gov. Nathan Deal has already stated publicly that he is willing to sign the measure.  So, if passed, Decatur and/or DeKalb residents will most likely soon be given the option to vote on whether to allow Sunday sales.

In terms of Decatur, I don’t think I’m going out on a limb thinking that such a measure would pass rather easily here.

This is the week Georgia’s candidates for Congress, statewide offices, district attorneys and the General Assembly are required to formally submit their applications to appear on the ballot. The hip kids refer to this ritual as qualifying. It’s not exactly thrilling, but the list inevitably yields a couple “who’s running and who isn’t” surprises.

Rep. Karla Drenner (D – Avondale) is the only Decatur or Decatur-ish representative on the list so far. We’ll keep an eye on it this week and let you know if there are any surprise additions or omissions.

If you have an extraordinarily high tolerance for boredom, the Secretary of State’s office updates its online list as the papers come in.

(Post by Andisheh Nouraee, filling in for Mr. DM)

Tom Stubbs writes in to confirm that he will indeed be running against Jason Carter for the State Senate seat being vacated by David Adelman, who will be President Obama’s new ambassador to Singapore.  The seat will be filled in a special Spring election.  Tom writes to DM…

I just wanted to pass along to you the press release issued today regarding the commencement of my campaign for state senate. The district encompasses far more than the City of Decatur. However, I think it would be nice for at least one of the legislators who represent us to lay their head on a Decatur pillow at night. I hope to fill that void.

In his attached press release sent out today, Stubbs cites his 18 years of living and 15 years of working in Decatur, his legislative experience chairing the legislative committee of the State bar, and a “leader in the bar.”

Stubbs lists “education, the environment and public safety” as the “key issues” facing DeKalb County.

Earlier this week we learned that former Decatur commissioner John Ridley was considering a run for Georgia Senate seat that’s being vacated by David Adelman.  This morning, everyone is talking about how Jason Carter, grandson of former President Jimmy Carter, has announced he is running for the glorious seat of District 42 power.

Michelle sent in the link to Carter’s website, which is honestly pretty sparse at the moment, but luckily both CL’s Thomas Wheatley and the AJC’s Jim Galloway are already talking about the announcement.

Galloway has the note that was sent to supporters and speculates that Carter might have trouble in the 42nd District, which includes Decatur, Chamblee and Stone Mountain, due to his grandfather’s recent stance on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and the area’s large Jewish population.  In Galloway’s words, “Jimmy Carter’s approach to the Middle East does not draw applause in these neighborhoods, and it will be worth watching how his grandson approaches the dilemma.”

Galloway also reports there are rumors that Tom Stubbs – of recent political yard sign fame for a Superior Court seat – has also expressed interest in the seat.

Oh!  And the most Decatur hook of all!  From Carter’s email to supporters…

To kickoff the campaign, I am going to have an event at Twains in downtown Decatur, next Wednesday, December 9 at 6:30. You are cordially invited. My kids are going to be there, and your kids are certainly welcome. If you are willing to be on the host committee for the event, please let me know.

P.S.  The image above was lifted – with great relish (and mustard) – from the Fresh Loaf post.

John Ridley sends in this announcement…

Former Decatur City Commissioner John Ridley (1998-2002) is considering a run for the State Senate District 42 being vacated by David Adelman. Senator Adelman has been nominated by President Obama to be ambassador to Singapore.

Former Commissioner Ridley has served as a Vice Chair of the Dekalb County Democratic Party, a Policy Analyst for the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress, a Tax Policy Analyst for the Georgia General Assembly, is a third generation alumni of Emory University, a graduate of The American University’s College of Public Affairs, and has lived in Decatur for over 25 years.

In case your interested, on Friday the Georgia Senate voted to kill the Homestead Tax Relief Grant for the coming year.

No big surprise there, right?  The state needs to balance its housing bubble-induced budget, so the $428 million saved should help.  We all pay a couple extra hundred bucks on our property taxes, but hey whatcha gonna do?

However, since most people won’t be thinking “Hey, whatcha gonna do?” when they see they gotta pay hundreds more in property taxes in a crappy economy, the senators at the GA capital are looking for ways to cover their behinds from angry taxpayers.

And who better to hide behind than local governments?!

So, on the same day that the Senate voted to nix HTRG, they also voted to increase the homestead exemption from $2,000 to $4,000, decreasing the amount of tax revenue sent to local governments already struggling to balance their individual budgets.

So, that means your local government will be in the unenviable position of choosing between cutting services and raising taxes right after the state has already done it by eliminating HTRG!  Hooray!

So, when you’re looking to spread the blame this coming year,  make sure to save a little extra for your state legislator.