Wednesday, July 24, 2002
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Wednesday, July 24, 2002 |
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Incumbents broke Sunshine law, should be voted out After carefully reading the many political letters to The Citizen so far, especially those against Mike Wheat, I feel the need to remind our voters of some past history. At least two of the letters have expressed that [Fayette County Commission Chairman Greg] Dunn is honest and another says he is a man of integrity. Respectfully, I disagree with these viewpoints. Personally, I have no use at all for those who violate the law. Two of our present commissioners, Greg Dunn and Linda Wells, are running for reelection. Both violated Georgia law during the present term. Evidently, they are hoping that time has erased our memory. The law is OCGA 50-14-1 through 6, commonly known at the "Sunshine Law." The law states exactly what subjects may be discussed in an executive session, usually items referring to real estate and personnel. Mr. Dunn and Ms. Wells violated this law shortly after the last election cycle. [State Court] Solicitor [Steve] Harris remained solid to "good old boy" politics and refused to prosecute. His excuse was that they admitted the violation. Ignorance of the law, if there was any, is no excuse, and at the time of violation, the county web site also stated what could be discussed in an executive session. A county attorney was present at this meeting also. I require those representing me to be nothing less than squeaky clean. I cannot accept them discussing forbidden items behind closed doors, and the voters should remove them from office permanently. How many other times have they violated this law, or other laws, without the public knowing? Elected representatives should make themselves fully aware of laws pertaining to them. The "Sunshine Law" lacks teeth in that the offender would not be removed from office, but could be fined up to $500. Let our state representatives know that you want the ethics laws to have substantial penalties. On another note, I have serious doubts about Kathy Cox filling the shoes of Linda Schrenko, state school superintendent. I supported Ms. Cox when she ran for state representative. That was my mistake. Ms. Cox joined our governor, King Roy, when he decided to make political hay and change the state flag. I am not a Southerner by birth, but have spent much of my life in the South. I believe that any flag change should have been put to a public vote. King Roy has been quite busy building one empire after another, such as the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA). These groups control billions of dollars of taxpayer money, but were appointed, and answer only to King Roy. By the way, at the end of the first month, all the original members of GRTA, except one, had violated the law. King Roy did nothing. The northern arc is yet another political nightmare. Too many politicians just happen to own land near the proposed arc. The arc will do nothing to alleviate traffic problems in the Atlanta area, but will do great things for the bank accounts of a few. King Roy is attempting to buy the governor's chair again. My vote goes to Linda Schrenko. Can we trust Ms. Cox with the education of Georgia's school children? I don't think so. Finally, this description of politicians came across my computer (author is unknown): "Only in America ... do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well. 'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning 'blood sucking creatures.'" John Regan Fayetteville
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