MDJ story HERE [1]
Another update: CBA Atlanta covered this story at 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM news and updated with THIS [2] on their 11:00 PM news. Thanks to Renee Starzyk and CBS Atlanta Channel 46. I can’t find the video online, but did see it live.
UPDATE – 5:00 PM Friday – Just got a call from Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott. He tells me that he has asked that language of ordinance be changed to actually reflect requirement that Cobb contractors apply for IMAGE certification. Good work sir! Great news and great work commissioner Ott! We don’t think Chairman Lee is going to like this!
FAKE ORDINANCE! BREWING SCANDAL IN COBB COUNTY GEORGIA –
COBB COUNTY GA: This is rather like a third-world dictator scenario – Selling it as an IMAGE certification [3] requirement, and at the direction of Cobb County Board of Commissioners recently elected Chairman Tim Lee, Cobb County code-writer Rob Hosack has produced a nonsense, scam ordinance that merely restates fed and state law for two commissioners (Bob Ott & Joann Birrell) who want and intend to create requirement that all Cobb contractors swear to application to become IMAGE certified. Anyone who has worked on legislation can easily see the scam here.
Despite the claims – and the headline – the new ordinance language is unrelated at the slightest to any part of the federal IMAGE certification program. Here is the proposed language from Hosack/Lee, sponsored by Ott & Birrell that is being presented as a requirement to apply for IMAGE certification:
Sec. 2-143. Employment of Unauthorized Aliens Prohibited. It is the policy of
Cobb County that unauthorized aliens shall not be employed to perform work on
County contracts involving the physical performance of services. Therefore, the
County shall not enter into a contract for the physical performance of services
within the State of Georgia unless the contractor shall provide evidence on
County-provided forms that it and its subcontractors have registered for and are
participating in the federal work authorization program as defined by O.C.G.A. §
13-10-90 et seq. to verify information of all newly hired employees.
13-10-90 is the definitions section for the 2006 Ga. state E-Verify law —The Cobb BOC itself signed a publicly signed their own agreement with ICE on IMAGE certification in May and they should have no confusion about the IMAGE system of protecting jobs.. This ordinance language is an intentional ruse. Anyone slightly familiar with legislation/immigration and employment verification can see what Tim Lee & Co. hope no one will.
Ott & Birrell are apparently completely unaware of the real meaning of the proposed language and the fact that it is unrelated to IMAGE in any way – or the fact that the fairy tales are now pouring out of the Cobb BOC office – or the fact that Lee now apparently even has the Cobb spokesman in on the deal.
I have had my own conversations with Robert Quigley and he has admitted to me that he knows the ordinance language is unrelated to IMAGE certification, and says they won’t consider altering it unless I come to speak at a public hearing. Uh, yeah, right. That will do it.
The truth is they think they can get this by the local newspaper and the public with a who-do-you- trust “D.A. King said, we said” scenario. To be clear- Hosack, Quigley and Tim Lee all fully understand the fact that their fairy tale may indeed work because of the ignorance of most of the public.
The MDJ reporter is honest, balanced and fair, but equally uneducated on legal language and doesn’t know who to believe. HERE [4]is today’s news report. On the bottom is a roundup of stories and OPEDs on the IMAGE effort in Cobb from last year.
I was asked – yesterday – to resend my proposed language. Again. I had sent it several times last year at the request of Tim Lee, Ott and Birrell. It is here:
*July 1, 2013: Before any bid may be considered or any contract extended or signed, all potential contractors shall sign an affidavit swearing to having completed a valid and correct application to USCIS/ICE to become IMAGE certified. Affidavit shall contain the date of application to ICE for IMAGE certification or a copy of the ICE agreement/IMAGE certification document
Penalty for false swearing on the affidavit is the same we do for E-Verify/SAVE – see OCGA 16-10-20…Any person who knowingly and willfully makes a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement in an affidavit submitted pursuant to this subsection shall be guilty of a violation of Code Section 16-10-20 and, upon conviction, shall be punished as provided in such Code section. Contractors and, subcontractors of any level or tier and any person convicted for false statements based on a violation of this subsection shall be prohibited from bidding on or entering into any Cobb public contract for 12 months following such conviction.
New businesses must present above within 30 days of incorporation and swear to date of incorporation.
BOC shall keep and post on official county website a list of all contractors and date of affidavit and IMAGE application/certification.
Round up of IMAGE stories from last year: MDJ editorial
Illegal Immigration — Cobb right to approve IMAGE program
The Marietta Daily Journal
May 24, 2012
Immigration reform has finally moved onto the public’s radar screen in recent years, and more so in Cobb County than in many other places. That’s a function partly of the county’s generally conservative outlook and also stems from residents seeing the county inundated by the illegals who flooded here when times were good and the local economy was booming. That flood brought with it a few “pros” (depending on one’s outlook), such as a seemingly inexhaustible source of labor willing to work very hard for much less in wages than would have
Read more: The Marietta Daily Journal – Illegal Immigration — Cobb right to approve IMAGE program [5]
The Marietta Daily Journal – Activist lauds Board of Commissioners … [6]
May 23, 2012 – Nicholson said he has been proud to partner with Cobb County, starting with … Lee said the IMAGE agreement will help prevent possible terrorist attacks and …. Great news for Cobb. we have D.A. King to thank for all of this.
The Marietta Daily Journal – Chairman Cobb needs to be careful in [7] …
Jul 12, 2012 – Chairman: Cobb needs to be careful in expanding IMAGE – MARIETTA — D.A. King an anti-illegal immigration activist in Cobb wants county …
The Marietta Daily Journal – Putting Americans back to work should … [8]mdjonline.com/…/article-Putting-Americans-back-to-work-should-be…
Jul 20, 2012 – by D.A. King The Marietta Daily Journal … By now, many people know that here in Cobb County, the Board of Commissioners has taken …
Federal IMAGE Certification Program Designed to Expose Illegal [9]…You +1’d this publicly. Undo
Aug 13, 2012 – Sadly, governments and agencies in Cobb County (including the Cobb School … (Note from D.A. King: We’ll offer more information on IMAGE …