KASIM REED SLAMS BERNIE SANDERS & OVERHAULS ATLANTA'S PUBLIC SAFETY

KASIM REED SLAMS BERNIE SANDERS & OVERHAULS ATLANTA'S PUBLIC SAFETY:

REED HAS ENDORSED HILLARY CLINTON; REACHES FOR U.S. SENATE.

Sources: AJC, CNN, Fox Atlanta, Youtube

**** Mayor Reed on BERNIE SANDERS:

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed stepped up his attacks on Sanders as Sanders' Atlanta visit neared. Our AJC colleague Katie Leslie reports that he predicted a Sanders thrashing in Georgia on March 1.

Our AJC colleague Katie Leslie reports that at a press conference on Tuesday, he predicted Sanders would be clobbered on Georgia’s March 1 primary.

“He’s never led anything in the U.S. Senate. What has he led? How many bills has he passed? He’s no Senator Kennedy,” Reed said of Sanders, comparing his rallies to Republican frontrunner Donald Trump’s raucous events.

“We are not going to put our party in the hands of someone who is not even a Democrat and watch him take this party over a cliff,” he said. “He is not going to get away with this foolishness in Georgia or South Carolina.”

He added: “Stop treating Bernie Sanders like he’s something special. He’s not going to be the nominee.”

**** Mayor Reed on PUBLIC SAFETY:

According to Mayor Reed, 461 individuals were responsible for 10,000 crimes last year and only 16 of them, or 4 percent, spent time in jail.

"Not only are we going to be tough on crime, but we are going to be smart on crime." 

Reed said repeat offenders are no longer getting a "free pass." Approximately 55 percent of repeat offenders are now receiving jail time, according to Reed.

At the briefing, Reed also said officials are working to improve safety on the city's Westside, which will consist of adding more than 1,000 cameras in the area.

"Today gives us an opportunity to keep our eyes focused on repeat offenders, and to let you know what we have planned to keep you and the city of Atlanta safe in 2016."

The briefing was held at the Atlanta Public Safety Headquarters. Reed was joined at the briefing by the city's Chief Operating Officer, Chief of Police, Fire Chief and the head of the city's Department of Corrections.

**** Mayor Reed on WINNING ON ANOTHER ELECTION:(Circa Tuesday, June 23, 2015)

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, long rumored to have his sights on higher political office, said he has “another election” in him before retiring from public life.

“I think I have another election in me, because I love public service,” Reed told WABE radio hosts Denis O’Hayer and Rose Scott on Tuesday.

Reed wouldn’t reveal just which office he’s eyeing, though he’s widely believed to desire a gubernatorial run, if not U.S. Senate. Reed has said he plans to return to the private sector after leaving Atlanta City Hall in 2018, but on Tuesday left open the possibility of another campaign.

He could face stiff competition if he runs in 2018. Former gubernatorial candidate Jason Carter and House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams could run on the Democratic ticket, and several Republicans, including Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, Secretary of State Brian Kemp and Attorney General Sam Olens are said to be considering a bid.

Reed could also wait out until 2022, when shifting demographics could play more into the Democratic Party’s favor. An influx of minorities and newcomers has analysts predicting Georgia could become a purple state by the decade’s end.

Georgia Floods Death Toll Reaches 8+...More Rain Expected

Ga. teen, toddler among 8 killed in floods


(Parts of the southeastern U.S. are bracing for more rain after widespread flooding that has killed at least six people. NBC’s Ron Mott reports from Powder Springs, Ga., and TODAY’s Al Roker tracks the storm’s path.)

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The death toll in Southeast flooding reached eight on Tuesday after rescuers found the body a 15-year-old boy in northwest Georgia after days of heavy rain turned docile creeks into surging rivers.

The teen's body was found in the Chattooga River.

The Georgia Emergency Management Agency also reported a new death in Douglas County west of Atlanta, bringing the toll in that county to four people.

The victims also included a toddler swept away from his family when a swollen creek ripped apart their trailer home in west Georgia on Monday. Many others were drivers whose vehicles were pushed off roads by rapidly rising waters.

Authorities urged people who don't need to drive to stay home, a day after Gov. Sonny Purdue declared a state of emergency in 17 counties.

"It's going to be a long morning. We're asking people to be patient," DOT spokeswoman Crystal Paulk-Buchanan said.

The good news was that the rain was tapering off in many areas. The National Weather Service said there was more rain to come, but the likelihood and severity will decline in the coming days.

Soaking Southeast

Days of downpours and thunderstorms saturated the ground from Alabama through Georgia into eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, just months after an epic two-year drought in the region ended after winter rains.

As Tuesday rush-hour began in the Atlanta area, Interstate 20 west of the city was closed in two spots by water spilling over the major artery for commuter traffic from the sprawling western suburbs. Portions of at least two other interstates in the metro area were also closed, as was I-75 in Houston County in central Georgia.

Hundreds of roads and bridges were under water or washed out in the Atlanta area and other parts of the state, including 17 bridges on state and interstate highways.

As much as a foot of rain fell over parts of the Atlanta area Monday. The town of Dallas northwest of Atlanta had 16 inches in a 48-hour period, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency said.

Aerial shots showed schools, football fields, used car lots and even entire neighborhoods submerged by the deluge, sending some unlucky residents scurrying for higher ground.

"It's a mess all over," said Lisa Janak of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.

"Y'all gotta help us!"

As the storm front rumbled through west Georgia, it turned a normally sleepy creek into a surging headwater that tore apart 2-year-old Preston Slade Crawford's mobile home around 2 a.m. Monday. The body of the drowned boy nicknamed "Scooter" wasn't found until hours later. His parents had been rescued from the raging waters as another son, Cooper, age 1, clung to his mother's arms in Carroll County, west of Atlanta.

Pat Crawford, the boy's grandmother, watched helplessly as the family's mobile home was whisked away.

"Y'all gotta help us! Y'all gotta save us!" Crawford remembers Bridgett Lawrence and Craig Crawford shouting above the roaring water. She said she was on higher ground, but couldn't get to them because the current was so bad.

About 12,000 Georgia Power customers were without power late Monday.

Crews in the tiny Georgia town of Trion worked to shore up a levee breached by the Chattooga River and in danger of failing. The town evacuated more than 1,500 residents, and Red Cross workers set up an emergency shelter.

Emergency officials were often forced to improvise to rescue dozens of people stranded in their homes and cars.

"We're using everything we can get our hands on," Douglas County spokesman Wes Tallon said. "Everything from boats to Jet Skis to ropes to ladders."

Other southeastern states were hit less severely.

In Kentucky, rescue crews went on more than a dozen runs to help stranded people after 4 inches of rain fell on parts of Louisville on Sunday, said city fire department spokesman Sgt. Salvador Melendez.

Water rose as high as window-level on some houses in North Carolina's Polk County, forcing emergency officials to evacuate homes along a seven-mile stretch of road. Flooding in more than 20 counties in western North Carolina closed roads, delayed school and forced evacuations.



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Sources: MSNBC, Google Maps