Friday, December 12, 2003
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Friday, December 12, 2003 |
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Liquor vote is set for March 2 By JOHN THOMPSON Voters in unincorporated Coweta County will head to the polls in March to decide if they want a cocktail with their dinner. By a 4-1 vote Tuesday, the Coweta County Commission decided to let the voters make the decision on liquor in the unincorporated county. Newnan currently allows mixed drinks at restaurants that have at least 50 percent of their sales in food. In January, Commission Chairman Leigh Schlumper, who led the referendum drive, said she would like the county’s ordinance to mirror Newnan’s. In 1997, voters in the county voted down a liquor by the drink referendum, but Schlumper said the demographics in the county have changed dramatically in the last six year. Commissioner Vernon “Mutt” Hunter, who voted against the referendum in January and Tuesday, said there were other ways to get the item on the ballot, such as people gathering 35 percent of the registered voters signatures to put it up for a vote. Commissioner Robert Wood, who supported the issue, rebuffed arguments that drinking was immoral and said “grown-up adults should be able to make their own decisions.” The March 2 vote coincides with the Presidential primary vote. Earlier in the year, county attorney Mitch Powell said all residents would be allowed to vote on the issue.
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