Political Breakfast from WABE

Hefty pay raises are being proposed for all city council members come 2026, including for the Mayoral position. 

The Mayor could see a salary increase from $202K to $271K, and city council members would go from roughly $72K to $127K. 

Republican strategist Brian Robinson, the Atlanta Civic Circle's Saba Long and host Lisa Rayam share their thoughts on those raises, and reforms that should come with them. 

Plus, early voting starts this Saturday for a December 3rd runoff election, to fill a vacant Atlanta city council seat. It's between former Atlanta Public Schools principal Nicole Evans Jones, and attorney and former APS teacher, Eshé Collins.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this edition of Political Breakfast, the team discusses strategy on the part of the chair of the Georgia Democratic Party as she prepares to leave the post.  

There was a concerted call for U.S. Representative Nikema Williams to resign after Democrats showed up poorly on November 5th.

Leading the charge is U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff who is up for reelection in 2026. The Atlanta Civic Circle's Saba Long is in for Tharon Johnson this week. 

Saba, along with Republican Strategist Brian Robinson and host Lisa Rayam, talk about how the move to push Williams out is not based on job performance, but good ole fashioned politics.

Plus, why state Republicans have an interest in how all this plays out?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every Georgia county has now certified the results of the 2024 election.

Historically, this has been a relatively uncontroversial procedural step. Since 2020, that hasn't been the case. But with Donald Trump's victory in Georgia, talk of election fraud has died down.

In this week's edition of "Plugged In: A WABE Politics Podcast," reporters Sam Gringlas and Rahul Bali describe how the state is grappling with the fallout of the 2024 election.

Plus, Georgia Democrats assess what went wrong, Georgia Republicans are hyping up for a MAGA-takeover in D.C., a look at what happens to Trump's criminal charges and leadership changes hands in the state legislature.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The General election is over and the dust has settled.

Georgia Democrats are left wondering: What happened?  

As they look inward and search for clarity, Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson and Republican strategist Brian Robinson and host Lisa Rayam take a hard look at Democratic voter turnout in Georgia.

What does the November 5th voter turnout mean for state Democrats moving forward?

Plus, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis soared to re-election. But it seems, her elections interference case against President-elect Donald Trump is fading from the spotlight.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this edition of Political Breakfast, the team sorts through new developments in Georgia after the November 5th election.

There are now calls for the chair of the state Democratic Party to step down after sweeping losses in the House. 

U.S. Representative Nikema Williams insists she can handle the job even while running for reelection.

But, a major push for change is reportedly coming from U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff. 

Republican Strategist Brian Robinson and Democratic Strategist Tharon Johnson both weigh-in.

Plus, they talk about how president elect is tapping members of Georgia's GOP for jobs in Washington. Former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler is one of them.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former President Donald Trump will be the 47th president of the United States.

Nearly 5.3 million Georgians voted, breaking the turnout record set during the 2020 election. Trump received 50.7% of Georgia's vote, turning the swing state red after President Joe Biden's victory four years ago.

On this week's episode of "Plugged In: A WABE Politics Podcast," politics reporters Sam Gringlas and Rahul Bali explain how Trump won the Peach State.

Plus, a look at the results of some competitive down ballot races and three statewide ballot measures dealing with taxes.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Political Breakfast goes live with Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson, Republican strategist Brian Robinson and host Lisa Rayam just hours after the Associated Press called a presidential victory for Donald Trump.

Analysts call the victory an extraordinary political comeback for Trump, a convicted felon who still stands accused of election interference in Georgia back in 2020 and for sparking the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Despite all of this, Brian and Tharon analyze how Trump recaptured Georgia handily and flipped other battleground states.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Heading into November 5th Election Day, Georgia is already on-record with over 4 million voters casting early ballots in a highly contested presidential race.

However, that's not the only important contest on the ballot in Georgia. There are city, state and county offices at stake too.

Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson, Republican strategist Brian Robinson and host Lisa Rayam sort through some of the other prolific races that are drawing voters to the polls.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are making their closing arguments with election day less than a week away. On this week's episode of "Plugged In: A WABE Politics Podcast," politics reporters Sam Gringlas and Rahul Bali preview what to expect on election night.

Plus, a look at some of the competitive state legislative races in Metro Atlanta, an examination of Trump's complicated relationship with Governor Brian Kemp and how it could shape the outcome of the election in Georgia and we hear from some local voters.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's Political Breakfast, we're roughly a week away from Election Day, and Georgians are early-voting in record numbers according to the Secretary of State's office. 

Polls still indicate a tight race between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

The team wanted to engage with WABE listeners and voters in-person ahead of election day.

Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson Republican strategist Brian Robinson joined me in front of a WABE studio audience and addressed their questions. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.