Rep. Brett Harrell to seek reelection to District 106 seat

First term state representative Brett Harrell of Snellville will seek reelection to the Georgia General Assembly in the redrawn House District 106.  The new district "is comprised of the vast majority of Snellville and smaller portions of Lawrenceville, Grayson, and Loganville."  Harrell is a former mayor of Snellville as well former executive director of the Evermore CID.  

As part of his campaign announcement, Harrell released endorsements from the corners of District 106, including Snellville Mayor Pro Tem Tom Witts, Lawrenceville Councilman Tony Powell, Loganville Councilman Dan Curry and Grayson Councilwoman Allison Wilkerson.

The full text of Harrell's press release is shown below.

Brett Harrell will seek reelection to State House District 106

SNELLVILLE – Representative Brett Harrell, conservative member of the Georgia General Assembly, officially announced his campaign for re-election to State House District 106.

The new State House District 106 is comprised of the vast majority of Snellville and smaller portions of Lawrenceville, Grayson, and Loganville.

“I am grateful to represent the citizens and businesses in District 106 at the State House and I look forward to expanding that representation to include those newly added portions of Lawrenceville, Grayson, and Loganville beginning next session,” said Harrell.

Harrell is the former mayor of Snellville where he cut property taxes by 38% over five successive years. He successfully advanced over $130 million in projects, including vital transportation safety enhancements like the Hwy. 78 improvements as the former Executive Director of the Evermore Community Improvement District.

At the State House, Harrell serves on the Information and Audits, Regulated Industries, and Transportation Committees. He is the author of HB 291, a truth in taxation and property protection statute to prohibit billing non-tax fees such as sanitation and stormwater on citizens’ property tax bills. He has also authored legislation to reduce costs for county government, strengthen our courts, secure patient physician decision-making, and reserve our publicly funded universities for those in our country legally.

In addition, Harrell supported efforts to cut government spending and balance the state's budget without raising taxes, preserve HOPE Scholarships and make Georgia more competitive for new jobs. 

Harrell is especially looking forward to serving citizens in the newest portions of District 106 and appreciates the early support of many friends in Lawrenceville, Loganville, and Grayson in addition to his home city of Snellville.

Lawrenceville Council Member Tony Powell says, “For democratic government to work well, we have to convince smart, committed, honest, public servants to run for office.  Brett has demonstrated that he is all of those things and worthy to be trusted and re-elected.    Lawrenceville will be well served with the addition of Brett Harrell as one of our state Representatives.”

Dan Curry, Loganville Council Member says, “I have worked with Brett previously as a member of the Centerville Business Association and I know he will represent us well at the State House.”

Grayson Council Member Allison Wilkerson says, “I have known and worked with Brett for well over a decade. He consistently delivers for those he serves. Welcome to Grayson Representative Harrell.”

Mayor Pro Tem Tom Witts of Snellville says, “Representative Brett Harrell has an outstanding record of honest public service and has delivered on his promises to the citizens and businesses of Snellville. I am proud to support him in his re-election as our Representative for District 106.”

Over his career, Harrell has started and developed several successful small businesses. For 20 years, he owned and operated an American Speedy Printing franchise that grew from a start-up in a strip center to three locations. And prior to opening his own company, Harrell was an area sales manager for a $30 billion international corporation. Today, he is a garbageman (sales) with Advanced Disposal Services.

A 39-year resident of Snellville, Brett is a graduate of South Gwinnett High School and of the University of Georgia where he earned a BBA in marketing and finance.

http://www.voteharrell.com

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Smith v. Kirby in House 107 runoff

In the likely outcome in a race with multiple candidates, the special election for State House District 107 will go to a runoff.  Paul Smith, a local minister, was the top vote getter with Loganville businessman Tom Kirby placing second by six votes over former Walton County school board member Mark Banks.  By state law, a recount for second place will occur in order to ascertain that Kirby will be the candidate to face Smith in the runoff.  That contest will fall on the date of the Georgia presidential primary, March 6, and both candidates feel that will lead to "a much larger turnout to the polls."

I never made an endorsement in this race but I hope to do so prior to the runoff.  To be honest, in races such as this with multiple conservatives, the differences between candidates are fairly minor and the reality is that both gentlemen would likely serve our district well.  I would like to commend both campaigns for proactive responses to my complaints to their campaigns about their robocalls.  The Kirby campaign did have some issues with their robocall service provider but they continued to work the issue and I multiple received personal calls and emails both from Mr. Kirby and his campaign manager.  That definitely left an impression on me as to possible diligence District 107 residents could expect from Mr. Kirby.  However, I stress that that impression is not to the level of an endorsement at this time.  Once the Buzz decides which candidate to recommend in this race, you will see that clearly indicated.  In the meantime, best of luck to both candidates.

Three fire stations to open this fall

From the insert in this month's water bill:

Gwinnett officials will open the doors to three new fire stations in November. Fire Station 18 is moving from its previous location on Braselton Highway into a larger, three-bay station located at the corner of Mineral Springs Road and Hog Mountain Road in the Hamilton Mill area. The station includes living quarters for firefighters, a commercial-grade kitchen, office space, and a community classroom.

Also in northeast Gwinnett, the County's 29^th fire station is located on five acres at 2800 Thompson Mill Road just east of Sardis Church Road. Fire Station 29 is a two-bay drive-through facility and includes a commercial-grade kitchen, exercise/fitness room, offices and living quarters for firefighters. Construction for both fire stations was completed by C.P. Richards Construction. The official ribbon cutting ceremonies for stations 18 and 29 will be held on November 2.

Over in Loganville, Fire Station 30 will open with a ceremony on November 16 and is also a three-bay station with a community classroom that holds 49 people. The station is located at 1052 Ozora Road and was constructed by CRS Building Corporation.

Funding for the three stations were provided by the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax Program (SPLOST).

Economy delays movie theaters

A little more than a year ago, Spotlight Theatres announced plans for a 12-screen cinema in Loganville.  Access Loganville is now reporting that the facility, originally scheduled to open this summer, will be delayed until 2010.  This would explain why I have seen no construction at the site since the announcement.  Yet another casualty of the current economic malaise.

Progress on GA 20 widening south of Ozora Rd.

John R. Conley reports in his blog that Gwinnett County has agreed to pay for "an estimated $2.5 MM of sewer and water relocation" costs along GA Highway 20 between Ozora and Brand Roads.  Work on widening the road to four lanes with a raised center median between Plantation Blvd. in Lawrenceville and Ozora Rd/Cooper Rd. south of Grayson is nearing completion.  This is good news as the expanded highway been needed for many years and should improve the commute for those traveling between Lawrenceville and Loganville.

Store opening dates for North Logan Commons

Access Loganville has the scoop on the grand opening dates for several major stores in the North Logan Commons retail center in Loganville.

Dollar Tree - Scheduled to open their Loganville store on Tuesday, 2/24 or Wednesday 2/25


Best Buy - Scheduled to re-open at their Loganville location on Friday, 2/27


PetSmart - Scheduled to have a “soft opening” on Monday, 3/2 followed by their grand opening on Saturday, 3/7


OfficeMax - Projected to have a “soft opening” on Thursday, 3/5 followed by their grand opening on Saturday, 3/7

More quality growth coming to Loganville!  Welcome to the new members of our community!

John Linder to hold town hall meetings in Gwinnett

Congressman John Linder (R-GA) will be holding two town hall meetings in Gwinnett on Saturday, February 7. 

Congresssman John Linder Town Hall Meeting
City of Loganville
February 7, 2009
Loganville Municipal Complex
605 Tom Brewer Road
Loganville, Georgia 30052
9:00A- 10:00A

Congressman John Linder Town Hall Meeting
City of Sugar Hill
February 7, 2009 
Sugar Hill Community Center
1166 Church Street
Sugar Hill, Georgia 30518
11:00A-12:00P

(Ok, technically the Loganville meeting is in Walton County but it is a stone's throw from Gwinnett and the City of Loganville is in Gwinnett as well!)

Come out and share your thoughts with Congressman Linder.  Gwinnett is very lucky to have a strong conservative Republican voice representing us in Congress.  When we hear political observers urge us to contact our representatives to oppose big government legislation, we can rest assured that John Linder is going to do just that without having to be prodded.  In fact, Congressman Linder just showed his backbone today in voting against President Barack Obama and the Democrats' pork-laden "stimulus" plan.  Thank you, Congressman Linder!

Loganville Best Buy to open in Spring 2009

As the new North Logan Commons bows today with the opening of Lowe's, AccessLoganville.com is reporting that the Best Buy store in Loganville will not open until Spring 2009.  The store will replace the current Best Buy at Park Place in Lilburn.

Anchor Church in Grayson to host Fall Festival

Anchor Church on Ozora Rd. in Grayson will host its annual Fall Festival tomorrow night from 6:30 to 8:30.  There will be hamburgers and hot dogs for all as well as rides, games and treats for the kiddies.  More information can be found here.


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Access Loganville blog launches

Earlier this week a new blog dedicated to Loganville launched.  Gwinnett Buzz welcomes Access Loganville to the blogosphere and looks forward to keeping up with Loganville happenings on your site!