Wednesday
Oct292008
« Gwinnett Buzz commission endorsements »
Wednesday, October 29, 2008 at 12:27AM
The Gwinnett commission races in the general election are really not all that exciting. Despite shifts in the county's demographics in recent years, Gwinnett is still a primarily Republican county. Thus, I do not expect the two Republican incumbents to have much trouble regaining their seats. Nevertheless, the Buzz is a blog that takes a stand, whether popular or not, so I would like to make formal endorsements in both the Commission Chairman and District 3 Commissioner races.
The Gwinnett Buzz endorses Republican Chairman Charles Bannister to retain his seat as head of the Gwinnett County Commission. The Buzz was a supporter of Chairman Bannister during this summer's primaries and nothing has happened to weaken this backing. Mr. Bannister has done an adequate job as Chairman these last fours years and has earned the chance to continue in this role. He has placed an emphasis on tax cuts, a position that will be welcome as we face the risk of the increased federal taxation in the coming years.
Commission District 3
The Gwinnett Buzz endorses Republican Commissioner Mike Beaudreau to retain his seat on the Gwinnett County Commission. Now, if you are a long time reader of the Buzz and followed the often intense primary campaign in July, you know that I was a strong supporter of challenger Doug Stacks. As such, you may be stunned to see me endorsing the very candidate about whom I wrote several harsh critiques. If so, neither you nor my friends in the Stacks campaign should worry. I would still back Doug today if he were in the race. My positions on land use and property rights have wavered not at all. However, our time to defeat Mike was in July.
The District 3 voters spoke loud and clear that they preferred Beaudreau to Stacks. I don't like that, but I can accept that. I endorse Commission Beaudreau out of political practicality. First, Mike is a known quantity. Whether we agree with him or not, we know where he stands and we know what to expect. Democrat challenger Earn Herndon of Dacula is quite the opposite - an unknown. Given the track record of the Democrat Party, I would expect that Herndon's positions on land use and property rights are likely similar to those held by Beaudreau, if no worse! Second, Mr. Beaudreau is a good person. Setting politics aside, he is active in his church and community. Having spoke with him in the past, I can attest that has an approachable personality. In this day and age of self-serving, arrogant politicians in a sea of political bitterness, such traits count for something. Finally, there is the practical reality that we do not want to allow the Democrats to gain even a single seat on the Gwinnett County Commission. We need to stave off massive increases both in our property taxes and in the size of county government as long as possible.
Thus, all of these reasons points to a single logical conclusion. Endorse the Republican and support the party. That does not mean that you nor the Buzz should not remain vigilant and hold Commissioner Beaudreau accountable for his votes in the upcoming term. This does not mean that you nor the Buzz, if Beaudreau does not change his positions, should not strongly consider any primary opponents in 2012 should Mike run again. However, if on no other day than November 4, 2008, Mike Beaudreau deserves your vote and the Buzz urges you to support the incumbent Republcan commissioner.
Commission Chairman
The Gwinnett Buzz endorses Republican Chairman Charles Bannister to retain his seat as head of the Gwinnett County Commission. The Buzz was a supporter of Chairman Bannister during this summer's primaries and nothing has happened to weaken this backing. Mr. Bannister has done an adequate job as Chairman these last fours years and has earned the chance to continue in this role. He has placed an emphasis on tax cuts, a position that will be welcome as we face the risk of the increased federal taxation in the coming years.
Commission District 3
The Gwinnett Buzz endorses Republican Commissioner Mike Beaudreau to retain his seat on the Gwinnett County Commission. Now, if you are a long time reader of the Buzz and followed the often intense primary campaign in July, you know that I was a strong supporter of challenger Doug Stacks. As such, you may be stunned to see me endorsing the very candidate about whom I wrote several harsh critiques. If so, neither you nor my friends in the Stacks campaign should worry. I would still back Doug today if he were in the race. My positions on land use and property rights have wavered not at all. However, our time to defeat Mike was in July.
The District 3 voters spoke loud and clear that they preferred Beaudreau to Stacks. I don't like that, but I can accept that. I endorse Commission Beaudreau out of political practicality. First, Mike is a known quantity. Whether we agree with him or not, we know where he stands and we know what to expect. Democrat challenger Earn Herndon of Dacula is quite the opposite - an unknown. Given the track record of the Democrat Party, I would expect that Herndon's positions on land use and property rights are likely similar to those held by Beaudreau, if no worse! Second, Mr. Beaudreau is a good person. Setting politics aside, he is active in his church and community. Having spoke with him in the past, I can attest that has an approachable personality. In this day and age of self-serving, arrogant politicians in a sea of political bitterness, such traits count for something. Finally, there is the practical reality that we do not want to allow the Democrats to gain even a single seat on the Gwinnett County Commission. We need to stave off massive increases both in our property taxes and in the size of county government as long as possible.
Thus, all of these reasons points to a single logical conclusion. Endorse the Republican and support the party. That does not mean that you nor the Buzz should not remain vigilant and hold Commissioner Beaudreau accountable for his votes in the upcoming term. This does not mean that you nor the Buzz, if Beaudreau does not change his positions, should not strongly consider any primary opponents in 2012 should Mike run again. However, if on no other day than November 4, 2008, Mike Beaudreau deserves your vote and the Buzz urges you to support the incumbent Republcan commissioner.
Reader Comments (1)
[...] the party to fight the battles that are likely coming down the road. As I discussed in my general election endorsement of Mike Beaudreau, we may have issues with the GOP primary winners, but at the end of the day I trust that Charles [...]