Fellow citizens, thank you for you vote in this week’s election, whether you voted for me or one of my opponents: all are decent and honorable men who offered their services to you.

I would take that sentiment further to remind you of this. All across our nation and here in Peachtree City something dark has taken root that we should resist. It has become common to treat anyone running for or in public office as evil or dishonest when we disagree with them, as if they become a mortal enemy.

I pray that we can rediscover the day when we can have friendly and respectful disagreements, because I believe every person serving on our city council is decent and honorable, taking positions on issues they believe to be in the best interests of the city.

We don’t all see things the same way. For example, some of you have speculated I am a clone of Mayor Logsdon and Councilman Boone because we are friends and have played golf together now and then.

We are, indeed, friends and they are good men, but my take on issues and how I vote if elected are quite different, and completely independent.

For example, you and I are the boiling frogs in Peachtree City. As each new development encroaches on the lifestyle we love here, the heat gets turned up ever so slowly and by the time we are sitting in [a] pot of boiling water, well, it’s too late.

It is time the City Council became the Department of NO on big box developments; it is past time we enforce our city ordinance prohibiting big box stores. That includes the Lowe’s of recent controversy, and since the developer withdrew his proposal at a critical juncture, I suspect we will see this issue resurface.

I reaffirm my position that any new development must be revenue positive, it must not detract from our quality of life, must meet or exceed all existing ordinances, and must be something the citizens desire. I would not support anything less.

I am adamantly opposed to extending TDK in the near term which, with the revelation of the planned McIntosh Village, would be sacrificing the lifeblood of Peachtree City for the benefit of a new community. No thanks.

We must do all that is necessary to postpone this project until Coweta County upgrades their existing traffic arteries, Fischer Road and Ga. Highway 154, to I-85. The answer on TDK for a long time should be NO!

Consolidation of trash services has been raised to council level by the city staff in an attempt to reduce redundant trash traffic and a request has been initiated for more information.

I oppose this measure simply because it eliminates the competition between the existing four providers and opens the likelihood of a “trash monopoly.”

Currently, these providers compete against one another for our business and their standard of performance is measured against one another. This is as it should be. Let them compete; if their standards do not meet our criteria, let’s get rid of substandard performers.

I believe the City Council is headed in the wrong direction on the police station problem. It is a difficult issue because the solutions are not pretty, but I am opposed to spending nearly $600,000 on retro repairs that have no assurance of fixing the problem. I’ll have more to say on this later.

These are some of my positions, and the answer NO is often involved. I believe the city would have been better served with more frequent NO answers in recent years. Sometimes saying NO is the best progress of all.

I hope that I can be friends with and have a respectful association with all members of the City Council if elected, even when we are on opposite sides of an issue and vote accordingly. That’s how serving your community is supposed to work, isn’t it?

Please let me hear from you. I am not a politician and I will not put my finger in the wind to decide how to vote, but I don’t know everything and I want to listen to my fellow citizens. This is our town, and you should feel like it is your City Council.

Mike King

Candidate for City Council Post 2

mkingforcouncil@comcast.net

Peachtree City, Ga.

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