The Republican-Left candidate: Dar Thompson

I found it quite humorous that, in September, Mr. Thompson would refute (in a recent letter to the editor) a column I wrote in March about his tax and spend mindset.

The old adage about if they cannot fight you on the facts, they will insult your character. Dar is about to run for City Council, again, and it is voter beware.

A copy of the column from March is below:

It appears the new “normal” is we must pay more and more taxes, pressuring our neighbors to do the same, redistributing the wealth if necessary.

Every time I read something from Dar Thompson, I cringe. His pro-taxation letter in the March 11 edition of the Citizen is a prime example rationalizing radical agendas during times of crisis.

Rational thought was left wanting in Mr. Thompson’s thesis on the topic of increased taxation and quality of life. Moreover, you know something is amiss when he begins his attempt at converting our minds with, “I am reminded also of a quote from the governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, when he stated, ‘The last thing I would ever want to be is like everybody else.’”

I can assure the reading audience that Gov. Schwarzenegger is different. With his $40 billion budget deficit, record high taxation and businesses fleeing California, the governor definitely stands out among his peers.

According to Mr. Thompson, “We will have to look no further than the mirror to see who is truly at fault.” And I will agree with Mr. Thompson on the second iteration, meaning that if an elected official deceives the public to gain office, we are to blame if we elect him a second time.

I cannot agree with Mr. Thompson’s elitist position that the government is always right. Yes, this is the same person who stated in a public forum that “we need to get around the state law” and pay the illegal debuts of the Development Authority. His position has been the law and the citizens are of little concern, as he says, “This is not a time for populist government.”

Mr. Thompson says it is the time for truth, but sugarcoats things by saying, “Presently, our school board, superintendent, staff and teachers – together with parents – are working through these tough economic times to keep our schools the best in the state.” Please go back and read some of my past columns on the unabashed mismanagement, misappropriation and lies of the school board and you will not so easily discount such problems concerning the use of our tax dollars.

Selective memory also kicks in when Mr. Thompson fails to mention the financial miscues of the City Council of Peachtree City.

Unfortunately, Mr. Thompson does not know much about land planning, the component having more to do with making our city great than tax revenue. In fact, the reason more people are getting anxious about the future of our city is the planning component has been thrown out, creating more traffic problems, causing more unsightly development.

At the end of his attempt to convert us to be spend-no-matter-what-the-price slaves of government, he says this: “So the real question I must ask myself is this: what am I willing to invest in the company to make my asset more valuable? Am I willing to invest in continued security and safety? Am I willing to invest in quality education for my children and the other children of our community?”

As heart wrenching as those questions are to Mr. Thompson, I am unashamedly not willing to watch the FCBOE spend millions of dollars on schools we do not need and then have to lay off teachers in the classrooms. No, Mr. Thompson, I am not willing to watch my local governments go on reckless spending binges for non-budgeted items. And no, Mr. Thompson, I am against police stations being built on dumpsites, not following the Comprehensive Land Use Plan, the West Fayetteville Bypasses that hurts the citizens and benefits the developers, more big box stores, the TDK Extension that you love so much, using tax dollars to pay other’s illegal debts, city council pay raises in bad economies and annexations with dense residential zoning that further deplete our city’s services.

How about the continued transportation SPLOST tax increase the City Council of Peachtree City wants, Mr. Thompson? I guess you want that tax increase too, it’s only money.

I am worried about your sincerity, Mr. Thompson, when you try to buy our tennis center at a fraction of its value for your personal benefit. Your sincerity also comes into question when you say our “taxes [are] too low to support the quality we all wanted and paid for when we moved here,” but you push for a referendum to build even more expensive facilities including an ice skating rink and fitness center for your personal financial profit.

Candidate Dar Thompson also said, “The only difference is that I’m the only candidate who has come up with ideas to help fund these areas without going into your, the taxpayer’s, pocket,” (Week 3 Elections Forum, The Citizen, 10/30/2007). Did you mean it back then?

What about our senior citizens on fixed incomes, our widows, the families who have lost employment and our single mothers in the midst of the horrible economy? Do they matter to you, Mr. Thompson?

But the saddest part of your attempt to convert us, Mr. Thompson, is you would not even follow your own advice. You say we need to spend more in taxes in this bad economy and not look at reduced spending (I would settle for sensible spending at this point), but if people started cancelling gym memberships at your facilities, you would, according to your logic, keep everything exactly as-is and increase the gym membership fees to maintain the same level of service. Right, Mr. Thompson?

[Steve Brown is the former mayor of Peachtree City. He can be reached at stevebrownptc@ureach.com.]

Nuk and Spyglass talking about the maturity of others?

Submitted by Steve Brown on Thu, 09/24/2009 - 9:31pm.

You must be kidding, Dar would not have benefitted from the referendum with his fitness center and government guaranteed loan? Sure.

Dar pursued the tennis center in writing and now denies it, ouch.

Nuk, if by “criminal conduct” you mean the old Peachtree City Development Authority boys, you need to go listen to the cassette tape of the meeting when the City Council paid off the illegal loans, Logsdon saying he was “closing a dark chapter in the city’s history.” The fact a handful the authority members were employed by or on the bank’s board of directors made their outlandish actions downright disgraceful.

You can count on Dar wanting to jump in the race for Haddix’s old seat. Old candidate Dar, as quoted above, raved about staying out of the taxpayer's pockets, but post-candidate Dar said spend, spend, spend.

Do not let the facts get in the way guys. The mud is always darker on the other side of the fence.

login to post comments

I mentioned your maturity level where?

Submitted by Spyglass on Fri, 09/25/2009 - 8:53am.

I stand by my "blithering" comment. You continue to prove me right, in regards to this subject.

login to post comments

Brown and Dar: Step outside and settle it

Submitted by NUK_1 on Thu, 09/24/2009 - 11:15am.

I am worried about your sincerity, Mr. Thompson, when you try to buy our tennis center at a fraction of its value for your personal benefit. Your sincerity also comes into question when you say our “taxes [are] too low to support the quality we all wanted and paid for when we moved here,” but you push for a referendum to build even more expensive facilities including an ice skating rink and fitness center for your personal financial profit.

For anyone who read Dar's letter, he states the exact opposite, and had repeated several times before the referendum that he wouldn't benefit personally from it and went into detail about why he would not. He also flatly stated he never made any kind of offer at all for the tennis center.

Obviously, one(or both) of you are lying. I kind of come down on the side that Dar would in fact "personally profit" if the referendum had passed since there was a "fitness center" involved and there are ways to be a silent and anonymous investor that is pretty easy, but also think Steve has never been hesitant about accusing others of criminal conduct(without PROVABLE facts that have been actionable) and has attacked people without any regard for simple decency or common sense.

In other words, why don't you two clowns both take your spat elsewhere? Neither of you are going to ever have much of a part in PTC moving forward and the voters have made that pretty clear. Both Dar and Steve at various times had some solid ideas and vision, but both of them are too immature and childish to ever see them accomplished because they alienate more people than they will ever have supporting them. It's either grow up or become irrelevant.

login to post comments

Well said Nuk, their blithering

Submitted by Spyglass on Thu, 09/24/2009 - 1:56pm.

gets VERY old.

login to post comments

Blithering

Submitted by PTCGOIL on Thu, 09/24/2009 - 2:00pm.

Good word, blithering...has a nice ring to it.

login to post comments

Another good word is immature - both of them

Submitted by Robert W. Morgan on Thu, 09/24/2009 - 6:29pm.

Good post NUK. These 2 need to take it outside - outside the city and don't come back.

login to post comments

steve and dar

Submitted by ddodge on Thu, 09/24/2009 - 9:57pm.

For one, I am really getting tired of both of these guys. Neither one would win my vote again. Like kids on a playground fighting except the city is the playground. All you two are doing is splitting the city up and that will not do any good. How about a dual, at least one will then not be able to be heard from again. Thats winning half the battle anyway.

login to post comments