Golden Sleaze Awards - The 2014 Arnies Awards

Not everyone under the Gold Dome is looking out for him or herself. Every year, some men and women rise above the morass and do what’s best for Georgia. Named after Ellis Arnall, Georgia’s last truly progressive governor, we present the Arnies.

The “You Know This is Discrimination, Right?” Award

Rep. Simone Bell, D-Atlanta

When House Republican lawmakers got jealous of all the attention Arizona was receiving for its “religious freedom” bill, state Rep. Sam Teasley introduced his own measure. Bell gave him and his supporters a wake-up call. The openly gay lawmaker surprised political observers with her passion and persuasion in arguing against the proposal, which she and other LGBT advocates argued could be used to discriminate against gays. “It’s not about a cake,” Bell said during a heated committee hearing about the legislation. “It’s not about a wedding event. It’s about us being able to live our lives fully. Not as second-class citizens but being able to go through this world as people we were created to be.” Teasley’s bullshit bill was eventually tabled because big-business groups expressed concern — not because it was repugnant.

The “Hail to the King” Award

Rep. Tyrone Brooks, D-Atlanta

It’s rare to see things change for the better — and quickly for that matter — at the Capitol. One year ago, the longtime Atlanta civil rights activist was part of a growing movement calling for the removal of former Georgia politician and white supremacist Thomas Watson’s statue from the Gold Dome’s front steps. The statue had been in the same location for more than eight decades. After state officials took down the statue last November, and quietly moved it across the street into a park that no one visits, a flurry of proposals were tossed around for a replacement, including a shrine to the Ten Commandments. Brooks’ vision for a Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. monument emerged as the most likely to be constructed. Gov. Deal and other GOP lawmakers have since placed their names on a bipartisan proposal. But it’s Brooks, one of six current co-sponsors, who deserves credit for paying ode to the Atlanta civil rights icon.

The “Kicking and Screaming” Award

Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta

It’s no secret that Fort, along with his upper chamber colleague Nan Orrock, is a staunch backer of progressive proposals. Although the gruff Atlanta senator deserves a tip of the cap for that on occasion, it’s his civil disobedience that is worthy of praise. He called attention to several important issues that likely would have been overlooked. Case in point: Fort joined Moral Monday Georgia protesters who crammed into Deal’s office and insisted they personally hand the governor a letter urging that he expand Medicaid in Georgia. After the group was ordered multiple times to leave Deal’s office, Capitol Police handcuffed the “Medicaid 10” before transporting them to Fulton County Jail. In a lightning-fast Gold Dome session, Fort’s willingness to be thrown into a paddy wagon for a cause deserves a round of applause.

The “Enemy of Three-Eyed Fish” Award

Rep. Jon Burns, R-Newington

During the Great Recession, considered the leanest of the state’s lean years, a state emergency team tasked with responding to toxic and pollutant spills was cut to just four part-time positions. When more than 38,000 fish died in the Ogeechee River in 2011 after a factory spilled pollutants in the waterway, the team was rebuilt. But thanks to Burns, it might never risk being reduced again. Under his bill, the team would be codified into state law. That’s good news for the polluters. Thanks to these employees who can contain their screw-ups, damage could be limited. And it’s really good news for Georgia citizens, who just might be able to avoid a catastrophe on par with a West Virginia disaster that left those residents unable to drink tap water for weeks. These small noble acts of policy are rare under the Gold Dome.

The “Easier Said Than Done” Award

Sen. Sharon Cooper, R-Marietta

In Cooper’s House Health and Human Services Committee, the Marietta Republican put real punch into a wishy-washy medical marijuana bill that otherwise just offered an empty bong. The measure, first introduced by state Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, started as a proposal with its heart in the right place. But it had no brain: It would legalize a liquid medicine made from marijuana to treat juvenile seizures without providing a way to get the illegal substance to the state. Cooper repeatedly pointed out that Colorado can’t send it here due to federal laws and Georgia research universities were unlikely to grow a plant that would jeopardize their federal funding. That pushed Peake into a groundbreaking and concrete proposal: licenses for Georgia nonprofit dispensaries to grow the weed and make the meds. No one wanted to raise the question for fear of looking like a worrywart. But Cooper helped make a feel-good proposal actually somewhat realistic.