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Brown's take on Fayette County elections - be a smart voter and do your homeworkTYRONE. Post 2 is mostly between Eric Dial and Gordon Shenkle. Shenkle has been a definitive citizen advocate in the public forum (council meetings, newspaper) in the past on slow, controlled growth. He has clearly stated that increased sewer capacity would result in increased housing density and more traffic, etc. On the other hand, Dial is a lobbyist by trade and takes a stance on property rights akin to not wanting mandatory tree buffers and letting developers run amok in the community. I always try to avoid voting for anyone for elected office who depends upon special interest groups for a living or who knows how to work that system to his advantage. Gordon Shenkle is a proven advocate of the town and will put the interest of the citizens of Tyrone above that of the developer gang. In Post 1, Ken Matthews and Tracy Young both want to uphold low-density growth models. Young has done an exceptional job articulating where he stands on a broad range of issues including growth, public access to government, promoting technology and the sewer issue. If Young follows through, he would make a great town councilman. The mayor’s race in Tyrone is one of the most critical races in Fayette County. This is one of those situations when actions speak louder than words. Current councilman Mike Smola has proven – based on his council voting record – he will choose high density and more traffic over the current low-density alternative. Based on his council voting record, Smola will support more sewer for higher housing densities every time. Smola has also maintained a loose affiliation with the developer circle. He supported the rotten transportation SPLOST – which cheats Tyrone and Peachtree City — with a resolution in favor while his constituents overwhelmingly voted against it. Don Rehwaldt, on the other hand, has vigorously defended the character and charm of Tyrone. He has been an advocate of the people in the public forum on subjects such as traffic congestion, safety, appropriate land use and intergovernmental cooperation. Without doubt, Don Rehwaldt has earned your vote. ---------- PEACHTREE CITY. Post 1 includes Don Haddix, Mike Harman and Thomas O’Toole. I have written previously about Harman’s exploits on the Water and Sewer Authority and how he tried to circumvent the city council’s authority by attempting to route 2 million gallons of sewage capacity into Coweta without the council’s permission. Do you really need to hear more about Mayor Logsdon’s hand-picked councilman? Haddix has lived in the city for two decades and knows the issues. He is a definite advocate of the citizens. Haddix has been very specific in his opposition to big box development and radical rezonings. Also important, Haddix has the time to devote toward being an effective council member. O’Toole has been around for a year and was somewhat wishy-washy about running for office in the first place. My advice to O’Toole is to hang around a while and continue your involvement. Haddix is an obvious choice for the post. Post 2 is about as tricky as they come. Dar Thompson supports more big box development. He was also a strong supporter paying off the illegal Development Authority loans and moving forward with the TDK extension. Mark Hollums has been in Peachtree City for 15 years and I cannot find one person who knows of any issue he has been vocal on in the past. His candidate posts are exceptionally broad and I could not make a determination on how he would vote on any of the issues. Another red flag — his “family’s commercial property management business” which could lead to a soft-on-development stance. Mike King appears to be saying all the right things on all of the hot-button issues; however, like Hollums, he has resided in the city for 20 years and no one can find a single issue he has raised that entire time. King appeared to be confused on the Kohl’s action of the developer withdrawing a request from the agenda as a “win” for the people when it was really just a ploy. The biggest red flag I found is King’s statement, “Mr. Logsdon did convince me to run in the council race.” Many people are wondering whether the King candidacy will mimic the Logsdon candidacy by telling everyone what they want to hear and voting the other way once elected. This leaves Doug Sturbaum. He too gives the right answers on the issues. The only drawback on Sturbaum is his short residency in the city. I am voting for Sturbaum who, realistically, has as much political advocacy experience as his opposition who have resided here much longer and not as many red flags. ---------- FAYETTEVILLE. I have a lot of good friends and acquaintances in Fayetteville, but I have to wonder if apathy will continue to rein in the county seat. Voting percentages are very low and few members of the council ever face a challenger. The race between Al Hovey-King, unseated in a recent election, and Mickey Edwards, can only be viewed as a message from the constituency. There is a strong voting block on this council and Hovey-King will make it stronger and Edwards will increase the chances of making it weaker in the future. Jones's blog | login to post comments
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