Friday
Jun062008
« Doug Stacks - a strong choice for District 3 »
Friday, June 6, 2008 at 5:23PM
As I blogged earlier this week, Doug Stacks has launched a campaign website. I was able to sit down and read through his site today and I must say I am very impressed. Doug makes several points in his "Vision for Gwinnett" that I find very accurate:
I think this is a spot-on characterization of many of Mike Beaudreau's decisions as a county commissioner. Doug points out that Beaudreau's anti-growth position shifts more of the tax burden to us as Gwinnett citizens and taxpayers. Growth broadens the tax base and takes away some of the funding responsibility from the biggest "investors" of the Gwinnett County government, the Gwinnett property owner. Beaudreau misses this benefit to Gwinnett taxpayers in his demonstrated efforts to only look out for the interests of part of the Gwinnett community, homeowners.
I touched on this very point in a post earlier this week. Too often politicians get the credit when they have done little to earn such credit. Doug is exactly right that us - the residents of Gwinnett have created these parks through our sales tax funds that go to Gwinnett County. I appreciate that Doug recognizes that elected officials are little more than an approval stop in the conduit for channeling of funds from taxpayers to projects.
Initially I had the perspective of hoping for a challenger who could defeat Mike Beaudreau, but, after reading Doug Stacks' website, I see that there is a lot to like about Doug. I now view supporting Doug Stacks as being less about ousting Mike Beaudreau and more about supporting a candidate that has a sensible approach to governing in Gwinnett County.
Our current commissioner’s term can best be summed up as anti-growth/anti-capitalist and inconsistent with Republican free-market philosophy.
I think this is a spot-on characterization of many of Mike Beaudreau's decisions as a county commissioner. Doug points out that Beaudreau's anti-growth position shifts more of the tax burden to us as Gwinnett citizens and taxpayers. Growth broadens the tax base and takes away some of the funding responsibility from the biggest "investors" of the Gwinnett County government, the Gwinnett property owner. Beaudreau misses this benefit to Gwinnett taxpayers in his demonstrated efforts to only look out for the interests of part of the Gwinnett community, homeowners.
So often, the County Commissioner that currently holds the office takes the credit, when in actuality, it is the citizens that brought these parks to fruition. We voted to tax ourselves through SPLOST. We supported the vision and the Master Plan that the Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation Department created and through many SPLOSTS the county was able to purchase land over the last 20 years.
I touched on this very point in a post earlier this week. Too often politicians get the credit when they have done little to earn such credit. Doug is exactly right that us - the residents of Gwinnett have created these parks through our sales tax funds that go to Gwinnett County. I appreciate that Doug recognizes that elected officials are little more than an approval stop in the conduit for channeling of funds from taxpayers to projects.
Initially I had the perspective of hoping for a challenger who could defeat Mike Beaudreau, but, after reading Doug Stacks' website, I see that there is a lot to like about Doug. I now view supporting Doug Stacks as being less about ousting Mike Beaudreau and more about supporting a candidate that has a sensible approach to governing in Gwinnett County.
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