It has been a heavy few days in politics. But for once, most of the drama wasn’t coming from the Gold Dome in Atlanta. Just last week we saw news of the mass deportations, a slate of erratic executive orders (and some recissions), and now millions of federal employees are uncertain whether they will be able to stay in their jobs. 

Welcome to a new term of the Trump presidency, where sowing chaos and confusion is a fundamental part of the strategy to wear down well meaning citizens.

Am I concerned by all the news coming out of Washington? Absolutely. To the extent that it impacts my constituents, it’s a matter of concern for my office. But part of what I’m trying to figure out, not just as your legislator but as a citizen, is how to focus on the parts we can control. What is under my sphere of influence and impact?

So if you are feeling mad, hopeless, or confused, I have a very specific way for you to get engaged this week (See Demand Integrity from the State Election Board, below), and I’ll try to offer more opportunities for engagement as the legislative session proceeds.      

We’re navigating this together. And while I can’t guarantee an outcome, I can assure you we're going to fight, and we’re going to do so strategically.

In this Edition of the Draper Paper

• Demand Integrity from the State Election Board

• DeKalb Elections Seeks Feedback on Precinct Maps

• A Fork in the Road (and what that means for Georgia workers)

• ICE Raids

• Let me appreciate you!

• Highlights from this Week at the Capitol

It’s hard to believe that it was only a few months ago that the MAGA-controlled Georgia State Election Board was actively trying to subvert the election (quick refresher of the saga here, here and here.) If it hadn’t been for ordinary citizens and election workers speaking out, and, ultimately, the courts stepping in, we could have had a disastrous election - and a constitutional crisis - on our hands.  

Ever since Trump won the election, his loyalists on the board have been pretty quiet. (*Said in satire* I guess all that rampant voter fraud from 2020 simply disappeared this time around…) But just because they’ve been quiet doesn’t mean they aren’t still extremely dangerous. 

The good news is we have an opportunity to break up the MAGA block on the board, and replace some of the current members with people who will work in service to the people of Georgia - not to a political party or Trump.

A refresher: the SEB has five members. One is selected by majority vote of the House, one is selected by majority vote of the Senate, one is appointed by the Georgia Republicans, one is appointed by the Georgia Democrats, and the chair is voted on by the entire General Assembly. 

The current MAGA block (quaintly referred to as “the three pitbulls”) comprises the House selection (Janelle King), the Senate selection (Rick Jeffares) and the GOP selection (Janice Johnston).

During this legislative session, the House and Senate will vote on their two SEB appointees, and the full General Assembly will vote on the chair. Legislators can either re-appoint the people on the board to another term, or select new people to serve. 

As a member of the House, I am focused on breaking up the MAGA block by replacing the House’s appointee, Janelle King, on the SEB. Like the other “pitbulls," she has shown contempt for the law and indifference to the limits of her authority as a board member. She has elevated conspiracy and misinformation around our elections, and cost Georgia taxpayers thousands of dollars by taking illegal actions that required judicial intervention to stop.

MAGA far right extremists are putting pressure on the Speaker of the House to support Janelle King for another term. We need to counter that effort and make clear that we demand a State Election Board with integrity. The job of members of the SEB is not to ensure certain political outcomes. It's also not to elevate their own personal status and political opportunities. It is to make elections better and to serve the people of Georgia.

Help me flood Speaker Burn’s inbox with this message. I’ve tried to make it easy for you by pre-drafting a message that you can personalize with your details. It will only take two minutes of your time, and it’s a way you can make a difference! Send your message today and every day until the Speaker makes a decision.

You can also help by sharing this newsletter with a friend and amplifying my social media posts on this topic. 

In next week’s Draper Paper, I’ll report how many emails we’ve sent. 

Let’s talk in numbers too big to ignore.

DeKalb Board of Voter Registration and Elections (DeKalb VRE) will host a community meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 6 p.m. to discuss proposed polling site location changes and gather insights from voters. 

The meeting will be held in person at the DeKalb VRE office, at 4380 Memorial Drive, Suite 300, Decatur, and it will also be live streamed via DCTV. 

To make participation more convenient, DeKalb VRE also will have three satellite locations where voters can watch the meeting and share their input: 

Satellite Locations: 

• Northlake-Barbara Loar Library 3772 LaVista Road, Tucker, GA 30084 

• Chamblee Library 4115 Clairmont Road, Chamblee, GA 30341 

• Wesley Chapel-William C. Brown Library 2861 Wesley Chapel Road, Decatur, GA 30034

District 90 has many federal employees, and I’ve heard from many of them this week. People are distraught. Some are demoralized. Others are angry and ready to fight. 

For those of you who may not yet know, over 2 million federal employees received an email last week asking them to resign from their posts in exchange of an eight-month severance pay and retention of all the benefits through September. The employees were told they have until Feb. 6 to make their decisions.

Employees who do not take the buyout cannot be given “full assurance regarding the certainty” of their position or agency, the email continued, and they risk their job being eliminated.

I’ll note this particularly offensive and demeaning line from the FAQ (emphasis added):

The subject line of the email was "Fork in the Road." In case you were wondering who is running things in Washington, the subject line of the email is the same as the ultimatum message Elon Musk sent to his employees at Twitter in 2022.

Reactions from constituents are varied. Many don’t believe they will actually be paid and retain benefits through September if they take the buyout. Others feel that if they don’t take the buyout, they will be fired anyway. And others who were originally thinking about leaving are, post email, inspired to stick around. Almost everyone I’ve spoken to is deeply insulted by the insinuations that they are not productive employees, that their work is unimportant, and that their service and sacrifice to our nation is not valued.

But let’s get into some different framing. An extreme federal workforce reduction will hit Georgia hard. Not only are we talking about thousands of federally-employed Georgians being unemployed (exact numbers to be determined), the trickle down effects will run through county and local programs, and government contractors too. Thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in circulation may be impacted.

It’s clear there are more questions than answers at this juncture. But as this issue evolves, I encourage impacted constituents to reach out with information and thoughts on the strategic path forward. I appreciate all the communication so far and I’m actively working through your suggestions.

One thing I will say now and will repeat until the next election cycle: hold accountable any Georgia elected official who didn’t stand up to Trump, or worse, helped him win. This is on them as much as it is on the Trump Administration.

I am deeply troubled by the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids conducted in our nation and in our communities. Many of those detained have no criminal records and pose no threat to public safety. The raids have disrupted families and inflicted unnecessary trauma on innocent people. 

I am hopeful that the legal system will provide checks on these activities and I am grateful to the public servants that have espoused stances that will limit their reach (for example to schools, see Dekalb and APS statements). 

At the moment, one of the most important things we can do is support individuals who are vulnerable to these actions. The ACLU has provided a helpful summary of rights and recommended actions. Know Your Rights should be widely shared. We should also be advocating with our senators and congresspersons to condemn these raids.

But I know from my time in politics that not everyone shares my view that basic tenets of civility, understanding, and respect should be extended to immigrants.

So as I think about other ways to approach this issue, conversations I’ve had with Republican colleagues about how critical immigrants are to vital segments of Georgia’s economy stand out. Agriculture, the poultry industry, and construction are just a few fields that are mentioned again and again. My colleagues are concerned about what they will do without the immigrant workforce. Bear in mind that Georgia already struggled with substantial labor shortages before the raids began.

So while I find the current rhetoric about immigrants vile and reprehensible, I am hopeful there is a path forward with a bi-partisan coalition to mitigate the damage.

So many of you canvassed with me this year for the Harris campaign or assisted in other ways. I’m teaming up with Mike Lynch, our local chair from the DeKalb Dems to host an event to appreciate you. Please join us this Friday, Feb. 7 from 5-7 PM at Argosy Restaurant in East Atlanta Village. Please RSVP below.

This week, my colleagues gathered in the House Chamber for a special event for the unveiling of former Dean of the House Calvin Smyre’s official portrait at the Georgia State Capitol, celebrating his remarkable 48-year career in the Georgia House of Representatives.

Smyre is the longest-serving member in the state’s history, and he is only the seventh African American to have such a distinction. The ceremony was attended by former Georgia governors, lieutenant governors, a United States congressman, friends, family, and colleagues — many of whom spoke of Dean Smyre’s contributions to Georgia’s political landscape. Former Gov. Roy Barnes and former Gov. Sonny Perdue were among those attending, and former Gov. Joe Frank Harris also shared a heartfelt letter read during the event. Dean Smyre’s legacy will be immortalized at the State Capitol for future generations to admire.

We also took time to celebrate Lunar New Year at the Capitol, a significant cultural holiday observed by many across Asia. Lunar New Year marks the start of a new year based on the lunar calendar. The celebration, featuring a lion dance, was organized by the Georgia Asian American Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus (AAPI), of which I am a member. During the celebration, several House Resolutions were presented to members of the AAPI community to honor and recognize their accomplishments. Among those recognized was the first Indian female Olympian to win gold in track and field in 1954. The Chinese-American Business Association of Atlanta was also celebrated on their 32nd anniversary of serving the Atlanta area. 

And I was grateful to see several advocacy organizations at the ropes. I am passionate about gun safety and I love it when the Georgia Majority for Gun Safety comes to lobby. I loved the opportunity to speak with the incredible advocates with Fair Districts. And I can never pass up a photo with my Georgia Tech friend Buzz.

Yours in service,