The following will appear as our Democratic nominees in Fulton County on the November 8, 2022 ballot.
NOTE: The elections for Public Service Commission Districts 2 and 3 have been suspended by the Georgia Secretary of State by order of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, pursuant to their ruling in Rose v. Raffensperger (read more here). As a result, the May 24, 2022 nominees for both offices, Shelia Edwards and Patty Durand, will not be listed on this page as the election for both offices will not appear on the November 8, 2022 ballot. We thank all those who campaigned in both Democratic primaries for their participation.
Ballot Referendums
1 -Provides for suspension of compensation of certain State officers and members of the General Assembly.
Senate Resolution No. 134
Resolution Act No. 304
“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to suspend the compensation of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State School Superintendent, Commissioner of Insurance, Commissioner of Agriculture, Commissioner of Labor, or any member of the General Assembly while such individual is suspended from office following indictment for a felony?”
Recommendation: Vote Yes.
2 -Provides for temporary local tax relief after disasters.
House Resolution No. 594
Resolution Act No. 803
“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to provide that the governing authority of each county, municipality, and consolidated government and the board of education of each independent and county school system in this state shall be authorized to grant temporary tax relief to properties within its jurisdiction which are severely damaged or destroyed as a result of a disaster and located within a nationally declared disaster area?”
Recommendation: Vote Yes.
A -Provides for ad valorem tax exemption for certain timber production, reforestation, and harvesting equipment.
House Bill No. 997
Act No. 859
“Shall the Act be approved which grants a state-wide exemption from all ad valorem taxes for certain equipment used by timber producers in the production or harvest of timber?”
Recommendation: Vote No. Timber companies get enough tax breaks.
B -Expands ad valorem tax exemption for family-owned farms and adds qualified products to the exemption.
House Bill No. 498
Act No. 260
“Shall the Act be approved which expands a state-wide exemption from ad valorem taxes for agricultural equipment and certain farm products held by certain entities to include entities comprising two or more family owned farm entities, and which adds dairy products and unfertilized eggs of poultry as qualified farm products with respect to such exemption?”
Recommendation: Vote No. Ad valorem taxes are designed to give counties a source of revenue to cover the costs of schools, fire safety and infrastructure. The way that these referendums are written they favor the wealthiest commodities and entities that can afford to pay these taxes annually. Do not get caught up in the use of the word “family” here–every business entity has to be incorporated regardless of who owns it. We need a law more clearly written–tax abatement can be a good thing as long as it does not create a deficit in funds we need to run our schools and keep communities safe, and as long as these types of credits are given to farms that actually need them. (Thanks to Nakita Hemingway for her guidance in making this recommendation.)
Fulton County School District Homestead Exemption
“Shall the Act be approved which provides a homestead exemption from Fulton County school district ad valorem taxes for educational purposes in the amount of $10,000.00 of the assessed value of the homestead for residents of that county school district who are older than 65 years of age and who have been granted a homestead exemption on property located in Fulton County for at least five years prior to making such application?”
Recommendation: Vote No. We all benefit when we fund out schools.