Gathering draws scant crowd

Judging by the lack of attendance at a candidate forum last week, voter turnout in Fayette’s July 18 primary election may be light.

There were fewer than 100 people in the audience at the Ferrol Sams Auditorium in Fayetteville Thursday night to watch the sparring between candidates for the Post 4 and Post 5 county commission seats. But electors unable to attend can view the event at a later date on the local Comcast cable channel, as the company taped the event for broadcast.

The forum featured some political fireworks, as candidates were allowed to ask one question and a follow up question of any candidate in the event. Participants included all the county commission candidates, including Post 5 incumbent Greg Dunn and challenger Eric Maxwell, and Post 4 incumbent Linda Wells and Republican challengers Sam Chapman and Jack Smith; Democratic candidate Rod Mack, seeking the post 5 seat, also was in attendance although he is unopposed in the primary.

One hot topic was the county’s land use plan, as Smith said he thought that a recent rezoning for a subdivision with small lots off Redwine Road was against the land use plan because of its high density.

Wells said if the county hadn’t rezoned the property, it would have faced a lawsuit that the county would have lost, though she would have preferred the property not be zoned that way.

Smith also asked Wells if she stood on her record and she said that yes she would, having made decisions based on the best available information at the time although, there are some decisions she would have changed if she had the benefit of hindsight.

Wells asked Chapman to explain what she called “hyperbole” in his campaign literature. Chapman responded that he feels it’s time for a change in leadership, and noted that he hasn’t asked anyone for political contributions.

Dunn too questioned Chapman about his plan to build a county-funded equestrian park on the north end of the county, which Dunn said was a proposal to benefit “rich people.”

Chapman replied that he envisioned inspiring the development of homes valued at $500,000 and up in the area, but he also wants more affordable homes “because I want to keep us going in the right direction.”

Chapman asked Dunn why the county didn’t do more for its employees in terms of retirement plans and employee retention.

Dunn replied that defined benefit pension programs had caused significant financial hardships for other local governments, and he noted that older public safety employees blocked the promotion of younger employees. As for employees that leave the county, some of them leave for raises and promotions at their new jobs, Dunn added.

Chapman said during the exchange that he wanted to see the county increase its matching of employees' retirement contributions from the current 4 percent level.

Maxwell, who is an attorney in private practice, asked Dunn about the county’s lawsuits, noting that if he had lost as many suits as the county has in the past few years, he would be out of a job as an attorney.

Dunn replied that the suit against Tyrone was about trying to control growth by keeping sewer from being extended from Fairburn into the county, which he felt was important. Dunn said the county has never filed a frivolous lawsuit, and he noted that Maxwell’s suit with the county over the sign ordinance could have been avoided if Maxwell had taken the violating signs down within the 10-day warning period.

“You should have tried to get us to change the laws,” Dunn said, saying that Maxwell filed his suit intending to use it as a campaign issue.

Maxwell also asked about the county’s increasing legal bills, and Dunn replied that for example, the county has to pay both sides of the two lawsuits between the county commission and Sheriff Randall Johnson. He also said that the suits were necessary “to follow state law.”

Dunn also noted that the county is trying to work out a solution for the problem Peachtree City officials have with city residents paying for the county’s EMS services although the city provides its own EMS service.

Mack asked Dunn about the status of getting a traffic light for the entrance to Piedmont Fayette Hospital on Ga. Highway 54. Dunn said the light was in the city of Fayetteville’s jurisdiction, but he was aware that the city has been working with the Department of Transportation to get the light approved.

The forum was hosted by the Metro Fayette Kiwanis Club, and it was the group’s first time at organizing such an event. Each candidate was given two minutes to respond to questions, some of which were posed by audience members after being sifted through a three-member panel.