Saturday, August 2, 2008

Retired Marine Brig. General, Denis Shortal announces his candidacy for the Dunwoody City Council, District One designated seat.


Fellow Citizens of the city of Dunwoody,

As you may have read in this week’s Crier, I have announced my candidacy for Dunwoody District One (Local) City Council. When our family moved to Georgia 22 years ago, we chose Dunwoody as the most desirable place to live. We still strongly feel that way today. It would be my honor and pleasure to serve the citizens of District One and the entire city of Dunwoody.

As a quick personal background - I was raised on a farm in the small town of Wright City, Missouri. After graduating from the University of Missouri with a BS in Agriculture Business / Economics, I entered the Marine Corps and served in Vietnam where I flew over 300 combat missions in the F-4 Phantom ... retired from the Marines Corps as a Brigadier General. In my second career, I flew aircraft from the DC-9 to the Boeing 747 for Northwest Airlines before retiring last year. My community service includes six years as the Co-Athletic Director of St Jude Catholic School and most recently as the Co-Chairman and Treasurer of “Dunwoody Yes” in the campaign for Dunwoody cityhood.

Meredy and I have three children:

Our oldest, Brian, a graduate of Notre Dame and Emory Medical School, served as a doctor in the Navy for 11 years and is now a cardiologist in Lincolnshire, IL. Matt, a graduate of the University of Illinois is currently a Major in the Marine Corps and a former Blue Angel F-18 pilot. Our youngest, Andy will graduate from Auburn University in finance next month. We are the proud grandparents of Will, Anna and Dan Shortal.

The following are my ideas on some of the issues as we "Look to the Future of Dunwoody"

• A small, responsive and efficient city government

• A detailed land use and zoning plan for what we want Dunwoody to look like in 2020 and beyond with the RIGHT mix of single and multi-family homes and businesses

• Have an input voice into our local schools with the DeKalb County School Board. Although we will not have a vote, that does not mean we can't have a voice.

• A fiscal balanced budget that includes a contingency fund for unexpected expenses

• Keep our taxes low

• A "right sized" police force that provides adequate protection and peace of mind for our citizens without the perception of a "police state"

• Look at the entire spectrum of the needs of our city and "fix the worst first"

• An enhancement of our parks and recreation facilities that can be used by all of our citizens

• Pursuing the passage of Senate Bill 83 that creates a fair system for the transfer of county property such as parkland and police stations to the city of Dunwoody and/or negotiating a fair price for purchasing for those properties from DeKalb County

• Attempt to create an open dialog with the new leadership of DeKalb County evolving around mutual respect and purpose

• Rekindle the community spirit of the citizens of Dunwoody by putting the welfare of the citizens as a whole ahead of self

I look forward to discussing the issues with you and earning your support for my candidacy on election day September 16, 2008. We are setting up a website at www.DenisShortal.com and our address is Citizens for Denis Shortal, PO Box 888626, Dunwoody, GA 30356. Let us "Look to the Future of Dunwoody" together.

I ask you to please forward this e-mail to all your friends and neighbors in Dunwoody.

Mike Davis is my Campaign Committee Chairman , Maria Richmond the Treasurer and George Stewart the Secretary.

Your Fellow Citizen, Denis Shortal

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