Gwinnett Buzz

While the GOP swept all county government races yesterday, I must wonder if this is the last election we will see such a result?  Yesterday showed that the Democrats are gaining power in Gwinnett.  Are the days where Gwinnett races are over at the end of the Republican primary coming to a close?  How much of this Democrat strength was due to the very long coattails of Barack Obama and how much of it was from a shifting demographic empowering Gwinnett Democrats?  I agree with Gwinnett GOP chairman Gregory Howard that this is a wake-up call for Gwinnett Republicans.  All of us in Gwinnett must get active, involved and aware of our local government.  This is important to protect our property rights as the County Commission decides various issues, but it is even more important in strengthening 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 Bannister, Shirley Lasseter, Bert Nasuti, Mike Beaudreau, and Kevin Kenerly will make more “right” decisions than a Democrat in their seats.

I plan to promote conservative ideals for Gwinnett County in this blog.  However, I would like to do more and would hope my readers would as well.  I know this blog is read by active members of the Gwinnett GOP and I would ask that you respond to this post with suggestions for what myself and others can do as we head into possibly tougher races in 2010.  Whether you approve of his record or not, Barack Obama showed what can happen if people pull together.  We are at the stage in the history of Gwinnett County where we need to pull together and work hard to ensure that Gwinnett remains great and remains a county we want to call home.  If we do not, we may suffer the consequences of Democrat chairman Mike Berlon’s hopes for our county:

If the Democratic party can improve its methods of fundraising, Berlon said, Gwinnett can look forward to a more balanced local government.

As far as outcomes, there is no change in the result of the Gwinnett races this morning.  However, the near final tally in the District 5 school board race between Republican Louise Radloff and Democrat challenger Ravindra Kumar has the margin down to less than 600 votes.  Depending on the status of absentee and early voting ballot counts, this one might not be over and Gwinnett may face the reality that a Democrat has managed to get a toehold in local government.

On the state level, it now appears that Saxby Chambliss will be forced into a runoff for the U.S. Senate.  If so, turnout will be key in the December 2 runoff.  Democrats across the state are energized with the Obama victory so Republicans cannot stay at home and allow Democrat Jim Martin to come from behind and take away the Georgia Senate seat from the GOP.  Gwinnett as a base of conservative Republican votes must turn out big for Saxby.

With nearly all precincts reporting, Commission Chairman Charles Bannister and District 3 Commissioner Mike Beaudreau have easily won reelection.  In school board races, District 1 board member Carol Boyce and District 3 board member Mary Kay Murphy both won fairly easy victories.  In School Board District 5 things appear to be a bit closer, but Louse Radloff appears headed to victory over Democrat challenger Ravindra Kuma.  Tom Lawler will hold onto his position as Superior Court Clerk.

However, not all incumbents fared well.  In a poor move by Gwinnett voters, Richard Winegarden will fall to Karen Beyers, a candidate who had no judicial experience coming into this election.

In the SPLOST vote, Gwinnett voters extended the 1-cent sales taxes by nearly 20,000 votes.

On a state level, Saxby Chambliss thankfully was relected to the United States Senate.  This was important to keeping enough Republicans in the Senate to maintain the threat of a filibuster against any extremely liberal legislation from Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and their ilk.  Congressman John Linder, who represents a large portion of the county, defeated Doug Heckman handily. All three Georgia constitutional amendments appear likely to pass, though Amendments 2 and 3 are a little tight with about 10% of the precincts still out.  I supported, with some concerns, Amendments 2 and 3 and am glad to see them gain approval.  However, I am disappointed to see Amendment 1 pass with its promise of placing additional funding responsibility for local schools on taxpayers throughout the state.  Amendment 2 was very important to providing the funding needed for the TADs that Gwinnett voters approved in the primary in July.

Thus, overall, a positive night for Gwinnett amidst a sad night for America overall.  Hopefully, as Republican conservatives seek to take back our national party and win back the voters that the big spending GOP of the last six years have allowed to flock to Barack Obama, Gwinnett and it’s strong conservative base can play a role in this effort.  Winning back the wayward center right voters is so critical to protecting the freedoms and values that America holds dear and that are sure to be threatened by the liberal Democrats starting in January.

Apparently, lines at Gwinnett polling places were much shorter than one might have thought given the massive waits of last week.  I voted absentee and turned my ballot in at the electioncs office Saturday morning (if you have not done it this way, I cannot recomment it highly enough…not a minute of wait involved!) and was glad when I passed my polling place this morning and saw cars parked everywhere, even out on the road.  However, waits of six hours did not materialize and reports are that things went fairly smoothly.

Be sure to check into the Gwinnett Buzz all night for the latest on Gwinnett election results (with a few bits on state and national races thrown in for flavor!).  Check the Buzz Tweets on the right hand side or you can follow me directly on Twitter for my commentary as tonight’s events unfold.  As big results are solified, look for new posts that provide my analysis of what they mean for Gwinnett.

The Gwinnett Buzz - your Gwinnett election night headquarters!

I had not paid a lot of attention to the Gwinnett Superior Court race but I received robocalls from both sides so I wound up looking at the candidates a little more closely.  (I really hate to admit that the robocalls got my attention because I abhor those obnoxious intrusions that candidates rudely unleash on voters.)  I don’t have a really strong opinion on this race but one thing struck me as I poked around the Internet for more information.  After a short time, I could see which candidate was the clear choice.

Superior Court is the highest profile local court in Georgia.  This court is where life and death decisions literally can be made.  This court is where the guilt of violent criminals is adjudicated.  While all courts are serious, Superior Court is particularly serious because of the cases that are heard within.  As such, what should we expect of a Superior Court judge?  First and foremost, fairness.  Not everyone defending themselves in court is guilty or liable and fairness is paramount to ensure that an injustice is not done.  Second, experience.  Because of the grave nature of many of the issues in this court, a judge should have extensive judicial experience and a strong understanding of the law.  This is not amateur hour.

Challenger Karen Beyers lists no judicial experience on her website.  Judge Richard Winegarden has over 25 years of judicial experience.  There are numerous allegations of personality flaws for Judge Winegarden including being rude to those in his court and not efficiently managing his calendar.  In fact, these seem to be Beyers’ primary reasons why she should be elected.  (Frankly, all the blog and message board chatter seems too much “Inside Baseball” to me with bickering between those in the legal profession of those who have had cases heard in Judge Winegarden’s courtroom.  Who knows what the truth is!)  While I do not condone being rude, what is more important is whether the judge is honest and fair.  Beside,s being rude is such a subjective thing.  As for calendar management, it is easy to make an allegation on the surface but there legitimate reasons for such things that typical politicking chooses to ignore.  As in court, there are two sides to every story so I cannot get too upset over a judge’s schedule based on a campaign claim.  In summary. given Beyers’ lack of judicial experience, she needs to have a better arguments than these.

Finally, if there were any doubt remaining as to which candidate to back in this race, one key endorsement seals the deal.  District Attorney Danny Porter has endorsed Judge Winegarden.  Porter’s many years of service to law and justice in Gwinnett County commands respect and his backing of Judge Richard Winegarden make me confident that that I have endorsed the better candidate.

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.

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.

The focus of the Gwinnett Buzz is, obviously, Gwinnett County.  I have managed to keep national and state politics fairly limited on the blog.  As such, you may be asking why is the Buzz making an endorsement in the U.S. Senate race especially when the candidate you are endorsing is not from Gwinnett?

Very simple.  This is a vital race for not just Georgia but the United States as a whole.

As one of the most populous counties in Georgia, how Gwinnett votes in the senatorial race will have a significant impact on who will stand alongside Sen. Johnny Isakson as U.S. Senator from Georgia in the next Congress.  To explain the importance of this race and how Gwinnett can help Saxby fight to protect our county, our state and our country, I ask my readers to briefly indulge me a brief excursion into national politics.

First and foremost, Saxby has a strong conservative record during his tenure these last six years in the United States Senate.  He is the kind of strong, conservative Republican that has been too rare in the Congress in recent years.  He is a reflection of the core, traditional values that are characteristic of Georgia and its residents.  Saxby has done an admirable as our U.S. Senator and deserves reelection on that basis alone.  However, a second term is now at risk due to the potentially long coattails of Sen. Barack Obama.

Barack Obama is, unfortunately, a virtual lock for the Presidency at this point.  Despite having one of the most liberal records, despite openly espousing socialistic “spread the wealth” views, despite a questionable association with a radical domestic terrorist, Barack Obama is on the cusp of being the next President of the United States.  What exacerbates this threat is the who cohorts who will lead the U.S. Congress: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.  As the Marietta Daily Journal wrote in their endorsement of Sen. Chambliss, this left-wing trio, if left unchecked, could lead to an “onslaught of liberal legislation unseen from Washington since the days of Lyndon Johnson’s ‘Great Society.’”  To protect America from the long-term damage from unfettered liberalism, the Republicans must hold enough seats in the Senate to raise a filibuster against radical legislation that Obama, Pelosi, and Reid would attempt to foist upon this country.  Maintaining a seat that few probably considered “up for grabs” when the election started is absolutely crucial if we are to have any hope of placing some sort of check on the Democrats’ ultra-liberal legislative agenda.  This is where Gwinnett comes in.

Gwinnett County has traditionally been a base of strength for Georgia’s conservative candidates.  Though Gwinnett’s demographic shifts suggest that there may be changes in this pattern, Gwinnett is likely one of the areas that has to come in strong for Saxby if he is to defeat opponent Jim Martin.  Thus, turnout in Gwinnett is very important if we are to send Saxby back to Washington.  In fact, this may well be the most important race in which you vote in this election.

In addition to simply voting for Saxby, Gwinnett residents can help our senator by voting early.  Why?  The State Board of Elections is saying that waits of up to six hours on election day are possible.  Lines this long could possibly discourage even the most ardent voters.  However, by taking advantage of early voting, you help reduce the lines at Gwinnett polling places on election day and possibly reduce the number of voters, voters who are likely Chambliss supporters, who may be deterred by the long lines and wind up not voting.

This is a crucial election, my friends.  If you are like me, you may feel discouraged at what we are likely to wake up to on November 5.  However, ensuring that Saxby is reelected to the United States Senate may be on the most instrumental things you can do to serve your country this election and help create a barrier to Obama, Pelosi and Reid.  Saxby has earned a second term, American desperately needs him in this dark hour.  I encourage you to support Saxby Chambliss for Senate and, if possible, to cast your ballot before election day.

When you go to the polls on November 4 (or earlier if you decide to take advantage of early voting), there will be a ballot question seeking approval of an extension of the SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) for Gwinnett County.  Now you may find it odd that after constantly opposing taxation I would endorse a tax program.  There are several reasons this tax should be renewed by Gwinnett voters:

1.  The SPLOST more evenly spreads out the tax burden for Gwinnett County capital investments.  As a sales tax, the funding source does not rest solely on the backs of homeowners.  All Gwinnett residents who spend money in the county contribute to the costs of Gwinnett infrastructure.  This includes those who are do not directly pay property taxes by virtue of living in apartments or rental housing.  Also, non-Gwinnett residents who visit shopping districts within the county pay the tax.

2.  The tax goes to fund capital investment projects and cannot be used for operational expenses.  Over half of the tax proceeds will go to pay for roads and bridges as well as recreational facilities.  Public safety and libraries will receive approximately 10% of the funds.  Gwinnett cities will receive around 15% of the SPLOST for similar projects on the municipal level.

3.  Taxpayers can see how their money is used and, generally, it is used effectively.  Just last week, Gwinnett parks were named the best in the nation.  I noted several years ago the high quality of Gwinnett’s transportation infrastructure.  As you travel through Gwinnett, you can see for yourself new parks being constructed and expanded as well roads such as the Sugarloaf Parkway extension being built.  You can find more information on how Gwinnett County has used SPLOST proceeds in the past here.

SPLOST is an example of how government taxation should work.  The tax requires everyone in a community to contribute to funding county infrastructure.  The proceeds are only used for projects that fall within the legitimate responsibilities of government.  The results of the program are clearly visible and available to all who call Gwinnett home.  The Gwinnett Buzz, therefore, is pleased to continue to support this worthy tax and encourages you to do likewise.

This article is a little dated but I am still trying to clear out a backlog of articles that accumulated during my recent travels.  I was intrigued to read that the Gwinnett Democrat Party (Gwinnett has a Democrat Party?  Who knew!) is hoping to use anger over the Gwinnett Braves stadium fiasco to propel their candidates in November.  As readers of the Buzz know, I am certainly not happy with the stadium situation myself.  However, I am also a political pragmatist and I can say with great confidence that voting for Democrats in Gwinnett is the absolute wrong thing to do.  Many people say vote the person not the party, but in general I think this is naive.  Often, even the reasonable, more conservative Democrats wind up toeing their party line, a party that is among it national leadership ranks, very liberal and strong believers in the nanny state.  That is precisely what Gwinnett voters do not need to empower in this county.  While our current commissioners may have tossed fiscal responsibility out the window with the latest stadium funding vote, they provide  far more instances of fiscal rationality than we would likely see from a board dominated with Democrats.  Perhaps not, but with the track record of big spending, higher taxes, and big government is that really a risk we want to take?

The time to speak against current commissioners was in this summers’ primaries when we were choosing between two or more Republicans.  That ship has sailed.  Even though I was adamantly opposed to Mike Beaudreau in the primary, I certainly will not vote for his Democrat opponent in November.  I might not vote for Mike, but I have enough sense to do nothing foolish at the ballot box - well, I might write in Georgia Tech Coach Paul Johnson but I doubt he would get enough votes to unseat Beaudreau!  The best recourse now is to be vocal, visible and active as a voter and resident for the next two to four years leading to the next elections.  Work to hold our commissioners accountable for their decisions.  Call, write or visit your commissioner during office hours.  Write letters to the editor, participate in forums such as TalkGwinnett!, or comment here or on another of the Gwinnett blogs listed at left.   (I would say start a blog but I don’t need the competition!)  Do something, don’t just go home and vent and certainly don’t cut off your nose to spite your face by voting for a Democrat!