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If I voted today, here’s who I’d vote for and whyIt’s probably lucky I am not called upon to vote today, because I feel ill-informed, but whose fault is it if I’m ill-informed? So read on, and correct me wherever I am wrong. First off, I’ll ask for a Republican ballot, because you have no influence on local politics in Fayette County unless you do. That will get me mail from the Republican National Committee (always asking for money) which begins with “Dear fellow Republican,” but that’s OK: it goes in the trash. For county commissioner, I have three elections to look at. I am asked to choose between Greg Dunn and Robert Horgan, then between Bob Fuhrman and Herb Frady, then between those three: Stuart Kourajian, Lee Hearn, and Peter Pfeifer. Horgan looks like a mediocrity to me, but Greg Dunn is still worshipping an old county attorney who is past his time, and his attitude is more pugnacious than progressive. Dunn is hard to like, so I’ll go with Horgan. The Fuhrman-Frady contest is easy for me. Frady is reported as having trouble focusing on the issues at hand and not preparing for meetings. He has little education and can’t see both sides of an issue. And he is too pro-Peachtree City, at the expense of the citizens in the unincorporated part of the county. That leaves Fuhrman for me to vote for, though I don’t know anything about him. The Kourajian-Hearn-Pfeifer contest is another matter. Pfeifer sounds too much like a crybaby who can’t get along with anybody, although he is good at communicating with the voters and raises valid issues, like the defined benefit pension plan matter. I hear that Kourajian was ineffective as a Peachtree City councilman. Hearn, on the other hand, seems to have been liked enough when he was county public works director. Would Hearn view things from the perspective of county employees more so than from the point of view of the taxpayers? I don’t know. I am inclined to vote for him. I have now made four enemies (Dunn, Frady, Kourajian and Pfeifer) --and the other three will hardly consider me a friend-- but let’s go make some more. Tax commissioner George Wingo is now opposed by former county commissioner Linda Wells. Wingo has been involved in controversy with his shotgun-toting incident, and he has not shown himself to be terribly polite toward the public. He has caused some older homeowners to pay more school tax than they owed for many years, by failing to explain the local exemption properly, though he is doing a better job now. His staff recently published a letter to the editor saying they all support him, but hey, how voluntary could all of that have been? One saving grace is that the tag section of his office seems to be running smoothly. Wells, however, earned a good reputation as director of the program for victims of domestic violence, and she seems pretty competent. I’ll go with the new blood and vote for Wells, who probably has better judgment. The sheriff competition offers me four choices: Barry Babb, Wayne Hannah, Thomas Mindar and Dave Simmons. There will likely be a run-off there, so I’ll have the opportunity to vote twice. A lot of people focus attention on the law enforcement aspect of the job, but it includes running the jail and guarding the courthouse too. It’s only in the relatively sleepy unincorporated area of the county that the sheriff enforces the law. So I’m dismissing Simmons, because his only focus is on crime-busting Detroit-style, and that’s not what we need. The other three are current deputy sheriffs trying to move up. Babb, I am told, has diversified management experience within the department, but is affected by too much religiosity. I am sorry to say I know nothing about Mindar. Hannah seems to be the favorite of many and is apparently the current sheriff’s choice. I’ll vote for Hannah. For probate judge, I am asked to choose between Ann Jackson, Steve Kiser and Jim Whitlock. All three are lawyers. Jackson has worked in probate court for years and seems to be the most competent of the bunch, and I understand she has a nice personality. Kiser is smart enough to be able to learn and be competent early, but I have to wonder if he does not view this job as a nice, cushioned little pre-retirement job. Whitlock seems to think it’s prayers, not voters, that will get him elected, and his professed religiosity signals he might be unfit for a judge’s job. His legal experience has largely been to defend drivers charged with DUI. I’ll vote Jackson. The school board contests are a bit like the commissioners’. I am asked to choose between David Houston and Janet Smola, between Mary Kay Baccallao and Terri Smith, and among Carol Jensen-Linton, Mark Aasen and Marion Key. I consider Smola rude, stubborn and pushy. Her opposition would have to be pretty bad before I’d ever vote for her. So there’s an easy vote for Houston, whom I don’t know at all. Smith has chaired the board for quite a few years now. I give her credit for having been able to put up with Smola. Baccallao is an unknown. The Smith years have not been without controversy, and I am not sure I am ready to vote for Smith. I might just abstain there. Key has been a sphinx on that board, with the flattest of personalities. But I know nothing about Jensen-Linton and Aasen, so my lack of enthusiasm makes me abstain there too. For district attorney, I have a choice between Rudjard Hayes and Scott Ballard. Hayes has been a professional criminal prosecutor in Fulton and Coweta counties and he has not even lived in Fayette county until a few months ago. He is highly critical of Ballard, but Ballard has brought to the job the perspective of someone who has had experience from the other side of the street, and he is less prone to persecute people out of sheer meanness. A young attorney who worked for Ballard until recently volunteered a highly complimentary letter about him in a local paper, as a good mentor and an able prosecutor. Sure, Ballard is not perfect, but I’ll vote for him. Since the election is not being held today, this may not be my final vote. It’s up to the candidates and the people who know them best to give the rest of us good reasons to elect them. Some of my reasons are not very good, but I am doing the best I can with whatever information I have been given. Notice there’s not a single one of them I am voting for because of his or her yard signs. loanarranger707's blog | login to post comments
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