So, I guess a
lot can happen in 16 days…..I arrived home from a lovely sojourn to the beach,
published an article here
at Georgia on My Mind regarding
Sunday alcohol sales, dealt with some air conditioning issues, was elated to
hear the Douglasville City Council had unanimously decided to allow the people
to vote on the Sunday sales issue this November, dealt
with a fire in downtown Douglasville, and then……….surprise!
Our Mayor decided to veto the unanimous council decision. He also vetoed a resolution that would extend
pouring hours.
His reason?
A press
release stated, ”…both vetoes are based on public safety concerns and his
belief that a majority of Douglasville’s citizens are opposed to the two
measures approved by the City Council.”
He also
said, “I campaigned for mayor on a pledge to help make this a safe community to
live in, to help make it one of the premier places in America to live, work,
play and raise a family. That is what I
intend to do, as I consider the decisions I must make as mayor.”
Apparently
the Mayor’s idea of making Douglasville a premier place is by lifting the heavy
burden of the act of voting from the people and making all the decisions
himself.
So, last
night I Googled the words “mayor”, “Douglasville”, and “veto”….those are the
only three words I needed to find more Google links than I cared to know about…..almost
six pages full of various links ……..regarding Mayor Harvey Person’s veto.
If you
notice I didn’t even need to Google his name.
Some of the
links I expected…. Douglasville Patch
here
(see all of the comments and the Mayor’s complete press release) and a second Patch article here
and the local paper…..the Douglas
County Sentinel.
The
AJC was expected along with the local television stations like CBS-Atlanta
and even WABE our PBS station where my beloved high school teacher, Mr. Goss is
an on-air personality can be found here,
BUT I really didn’t expect to find the story repeated over and over in places
like Macon,
Savannah,
Columbus,
and even Augusta.
Hmmm…seems
like the Mayor has really gotten the attention of lots of people out of
town. Yes, based on the comments at
some of these links people are really
encouraged to come to Douglasville.
Last night I
saw Peach
Pundit had picked up story and in the comments “Three Jack” linked his or
her comment to a Question and Answer for
the Candidates published at Douglasville
Patch here ……and
yes, if you click through you discover I authored the column. I wrote the questions with input from
friends, emailed the questions and then copy and pasted the candidate’s
responses into the column for publication…..just as they were sent to me.
One particular
question I asked was…..Do you think there should be a vote on Sunday package sales allowed? Why
or why not?
Mayor Persons responded, “I personally do not favor Sunday package sales of alcohol, but feel that
there is substantial public opinion to allow it to be placed on the ballot and
allow the citizens to decide. The facts for both sides need to be presented and
the citizens need to decide this issue.”
So.....the citizens
need to decide. Doesn’t that mean they
get to vote?
Apparently the answer
is no per the Mayor.
Since the election the
Mayor has hemmed and hawed regarding the issue. He placed the matter in committee
to “gather information” and “analyze the issue”.
What’s so hard about
letting people vote? Over 100 jurisdictions
across the state of Georgia did just that during last November’s election.
In February, a friend
of mine emailed the Mayor…was passed off to the committee chair and then was
told until there was a full hearing of citizens no action would take place….citizen
input they advised was important.
Citizen input…..doesn’t
that include asking for the right the vote….especially since the General
Assembly thinks it’s okay?
During my Google
search to see who else was discussing events in Douglasville I found the blog The Diction of Politics…..not only did
this blog’s author discuss the situation,and the candidate’s question and
answer forum…..they also named me. The
author decided to write a letter to the Mayor.
Click through and read what Alix has to say here.
I also
invite you to check out the Facebook page for Douglasville and Douglas County for
Sunday Alcohol Sales here.
And then
today the Neal Boortz show picked up the
story. Mr. Boortz railed against Mayor
Person’s for his comments while campaigning and subsequent veto. I had planned sleep in a little this
morning, but my phone began ringing as Dear Husband wanted to alert me that
Neal’s target of the day was none other than our Mayor who was elected just
this past November by the citizens of Douglasville.
Neal Boortz
didn’t just talk about the Mayor and his veto during the first hour when he’s
just heard in the Atlanta area……he continued on and off during his entire show
which is syndicated and reaches 230 radio stations nationwide with a listening
audience of six million people.
Six million
people representing families looking for a new place to live….six million
people representing business owners wanting to re-locate their business…..Damn.
Come to
Douglasville where the Mayor will pat you on the head and decide what is best
for you.
….and I have to tell
you as a lover of history and as a Social Studies educator….the Mayor’s veto
has really broken my heart.
No, it’s not because I
want to purchase a drink on a Sunday.
It has to do with the
vote.
This issue became
convoluted with the rights and wrongs of consuming alcohol…..it was too early
for that, and the last time I checked it is a legal substance. At the council level this
issue was about letting the people vote or not letting the people vote.
What many are losing
sight of…..the Douglasville City Council decided to allow the people to vote, and….let’s
make sure we are clear on the issue….the Mayor did NOT veto Sunday sales.
He vetoed the citizen’s
right to vote.
The right to vote is
precious.
Voting is one of the
things I constantly discussed with students.
I would tell them that once they turned 18 the first thing they should
do is register to vote…..and if they didn’t I would hunt them down and haunt
them.
Why would anyone waste
their opportunity to vote?
Why would anyone appreciate
an elected official who took your right to vote away?
Let the people
vote!!!!
