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Candidates who should — and who shouldn’t — be elected My recommendations: Don Haddix, Peachtree City Council Post 1 Mike King, Peachtree City Council Post 2 Don Rehwaldt, Tyrone mayor Tracy Young, Tyrone Council Post 1 Gordon Shenkle, Tyrone Council Post 2 Mickey Edwards, Fayetteville Council Post 2 You may disagree about the choices above, so I’m adding a category — Candidates to vote AGAINST: AGAINST Mike Harman, PTC Post 1 — You won’t like PTC after he teams up with Mayor Logsdon and Councilman Boone for the next two years (I’m assuming — hoping — that voters will rectify their 2005 decision and send Logsdon and Boone back into well-deserved retirement two years hence). AGAINST Mark Hollums, PTC Post 2 — A blank slate upon which the developers and annexers may rewrite the entire PTC land use plan and rezoning map. Every time he talks, he obfuscates. AGAINST Mike Smola, Tyrone mayor — What a huge mistake that he ever got elected. Correct this mistake, please. On the two tax-me-more $6.92 million PTC bond referenda, I’m voting NO on both. As a 30-year resident of Peachtree City, I’m pinning my hopes for the city’s future on the candidates who can best connect to its past. In that sense, I’m a conservative — one who wants to conserve the best of what we have. Because of our current council, we stand on the brink of losing our city to new visions of what the future should look like. A majority on the current council acts and votes as if residents’ wishes are simply a minority part of the decision-making process, rather than the most important factor in the equation. This election will either reverse the council’s “we know best” trend, or it will cement it for years to come. In Tyrone, it’s much the same as well, though a sizable number of citizens there have risen up against the arrogant paternalism of the council majority — a smug attitude best exemplified by current Councilman and mayoral candidate Mike Smola — and is likely to sweep a more representative slate into office. In Fayetteville, it’s old guard trying a comeback against a political newcomer. The newcomer, Mickey Edwards, is not in the “in crowd,” and for Fayetteville, that’s a good thing. In Peachtree City, two posts are open, and all are honorable men. I like Thomas O’Toole’s rhetoric, but he’s simply too new to take over running the city. Same for Doug Sturbaum. You just should not turn over the future of your city to somebody who measures his residency in months, not years. Guys, get some PTC history under your belt, send a few kids through several years of schools, and then come back to the voters with some local seasoning, some track record of local experience. You just ain’t ready yet. Haddix will bring some “regular citizen” perspective to the council, and will stand up for the regular homeowner. King admits being long-time friends with Logsdon and Boone, but he asserts his strong independence from them, particularly in a letter in today’s edition. King says the PTC Council should become a “department of NO” and he’s willing to be known as “Mr. NO” when the developers come a’calling. I like that. About the two bond votes: One would tax us for $4 million synthethic turf on some perfectly good natural turf ballfields. The other would build a new senior center for $2.88 million. By the way, count how many playing fields we have in PTC: At least 26. TWENTY-SIX ballfields! That’s about one for each 1,300 residents. With build-out upon us and few additional residents moving into Peachtree City, it’s past time to say, “Live within your means,” to the recreation folks and seniors, especially when only about half the kids who use the ballfields actually live inside PTC. That brings me to the sad news of the death this week of a solid conservative lawmaker, Rep. Dan Lakly. I’ve known Dan since he stood with his poker face and “Vote Dan Lakly” sign on the corner of Wynnmeade Parkway and two-lane Ga. Highway 54 back in the 1980s, seeking his first elective office as PTC councilman. Dan and I sat together at this year’s Rotary Club political forum and traded jokes about which candidates were straight-talkers and which were tailoring answers to obscure their real positions. Dan was an original, a straight-talker and a straight-shooter. You may not like his voting positions, but you could never accuse him of saying one thing while voting another way. At the forum, Dan asked about my kids — about the same age as his and fellow graduates of McIntosh High — and talked with pride about his children and grandchildren. He seemed hale and in great spirits. It was a great shock to hear of his sudden death by heart attack Monday. My condolences and prayers go out to Donna, their children and grandchildren. I endorsed him for his comeback House race, and I personally will miss him. login to post comments | Cal Beverly's blog
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