The sting is on.

Last week's Citizen had an article explaining that SPLOST supporters were getting organized and openly stating their hope to convince 15 percent of the county's eligible voters to vote their way, counting on resistance from only 10 percent of the people and apathy from the other 75 percent. Of course, setting this one-issue election for Tuesday, Sept. 21, a day of otherwise no particular significance, was designed to deter the voters from showing up at the polls and was the first step in fooling the people.

The Citizen article went on to explain that the SPLOST proponents had registered a committee with the Georgia Secretary of State (as called for by the Georgia Ethics in Government Act, Ga. Code section 21-5-30), so that contributions could legally be accepted and money spent on trying to influence the voters.

Since the opponents of SPLOST are generally opposed to big spending and waste, and since they have nothing to gain in the nature of fat contracts or commissions from SPLOST's defeat, they are less likely to organize and spend money. They'll probably have to rely on the common sense of the people.

If our local newspapers are to perform their job of informing the public properly, they should note that the pro-SPLOST committee will be required to file with the county election superintendent a report of contributions and expenditures. The first report is due in on Sept. 6, which is Labor Day, so chances are it will show up only on Sept. 7.

It will be interesting to see who is financially backing this SPLOST, though we are unlikely to find out till the last minute. In Cobb County, last fall, “contractors and engineers who stand to pick up much of the business” (to use the exact words of the Atlanta Constitution dated 10/21/98) were found to be the main backers of a road construction SPLOST vote. They lost!

What we already know, thanks to The Citizen article, is that an employee of the bond firm A.G. Edwards is “guiding” the SPLOST effort; and we know that A.G. Edwards was earlier selected by the school board to issue the bonds that go with the SPLOST.

That A.G. Edwards was selected without any apparent competitive bidding is just another sign the school board lacks common sense. If SPLOST is approved, A.G. Edwards will get paid a commission out of public money, a payback, indirect as it may be, for its or its employee's successful effort. The deal between the school board and A.G. Edwards represents another act of stupidity and ethical insensitivity by the school board. How much commission? It's never been reported, like it's none of our business.

The idea behind many SPLOST votes is to defeat the public by stirring up a core minority group into voting for the extra tax while keeping the general public away from the polls.

That's why these elections are like an IQ test for the population. Unless you're sharp enough, you get stung.

Claude Y. Paquin

Fayette County

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