The Crier article below shows that Representative Jill Chambers met with the Citizens for Dunwoody as well as other State representatives and agreed to support the Dunwoody bills with no further changes. A letter from Rep. Fran Millar documented the conversations to the Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman, Austin Scott and he also copied Speaker of the House, Glenn Richardson & Rep. Chambers.
Rep Millar states that he has been ambushed by a fellow legislator and from the looks of the conversation, it is hard to say otherwise.
http://www.dunwoodynorth.org/images/Millar_letter_to_Austin_Scott.pdf
By Dick Williams for The Crier, 2/5/08
For all of her public questions, press releases and web postings about taxes, the fact is that state Rep. Jill Chambers (R-Doraville, Chamblee) interposed herself between the people of Dunwoody and their right to vote on their form of government.
Her flip-flop last week in a House committee - changing her position and preventing a referendum in Dunwoody - was clouded by a haze of her questions and worst-case scenarios.
The essential question to be answered was whether Dunwoody residents were intelligent enough to vote on incorporation, as were residents of Sandy Springs.
“Once a cityhood bill is passed,” said state Rep. Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody), “citizens have months to study the research gathered by volunteers and experts and decide for themselves if the numbers work.”
“The people of Dunwoody were once again denied their right of self determination,” said Oliver Porter, former chairman of the Governor’s Commission on Sandy Springs and an expert on new cities. “Unfortunately, Republican Rep. Jill Chambers who represents a very small number of Dunwoody homes was the most vocal in opposition and cast the deciding vote against the bill. It is a shame. The people of Dunwoody deserve better.”
In the view of many in the Citizens for Dunwoody - volunteers who have worked thousands of hours on the feasibility of a city of Dunwoody - what Chambers did after the committee vote was to add insult to injury.
Less than 24 hours after her vote to kill a referendum, she issued a press release under the headline, “Representative Jill Chambers voices support for self determination for Dunwoody.”
The release pledged her support for the right of Dunwoody to become a township, with control of zoning and parks. She did not mention that township legislation has not yet passed the General Assembly.
A few board members of the Citizens for Dunwoody contacted refused comment on what most privately call treachery. Most of her constituents live in cities.
The history of Chambers and the Dunwoody bills is complicated. Ken Wright, president of the Citizens for Dunwoody, noted that she has not attended a single CFD meeting, nor has she ever asked for information or raised a question.
After her performance last year in denouncing the bill and then twice voting for it, Millar and Wright decided to anticipate any objections in 2008.
At a lunch meeting with them and with state Rep. Harry Geisinger (R-Roswell), vice-chairman of the Government Affairs Committee, Chambers agreed to support the Dunwoody bills with no changes and no further antagonistic questions.
Millar wrote the committee chair, state Rep. Austin Scott (R-Tifton), with copies to Geisinger and Chambers of the agreement all had reached.
Despite the agreement, Chambers began raising new questions. At a meeting of the DeKalb House delegation, she peppered the county’s finance director with new issues. A few days before the hearing, she delivered questions to Millar.
“Many questions asked by Representative Chambers were already answered by me and I had no warning that she had any problems with the legislation,” Millar said “We sit two seats apart and nothing was said to me in spite of the fact that I had asked everyone in the committee (Republicans) to come see me if they had any issues. Bottom line, I was ambushed by a fellow Republican whom I have supported financially and on her legislation and her actions speak for themselves. Chairman Scott was the one who lived up to his word on this.”
The fate of the Dunwoody bills is uncertain. As long as the General Assembly is in session, some hope for them exists. But Wright has written his board suggesting that the matter might wait until next year.
WOW!!! Jill is really popular this week in Dunwoody.
ReplyDeleteBeyond the rhetoric on the Dunwoody legislation, let’s look at some facts. The folks that are climbing all over themselves to congratulate Representative Chambers for preventing a referendum in which Dunwoody residents would chose to incorporate, or choose not to, should look beyond her mendacious platitudes and see for themselves her record on this. While she railed about how terrible these bills were and laid out frightening scenarios that would financially cripple the residents of Dunwoody, this did not seem to be a concern last legislative session, when she voted to approve all of them. I know, those pesky facts get in the way, but see for yourself in the following links. The committee votes are not posted online, but are a matter of record:
1. Representative Chambers YES vote on HB 264 (HOST bill) on the House floor 2007:
http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2007_08/votes/hv0233.htm
2. Representative Chambers vote on SB 82 (Dunwoody Charter) in House Government Affairs Committee 2007:
Voted Yes (in favor of passage)
3. Representative Chambers vote on SB 83 (Transfer of Property bill) in House Government Affairs Committee 2007:
Voted Yes (in favor of passage)
4. Representative Chambers YES vote on SB 82 (Dunwoody Charter) on the House floor 2007:
http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2007_08/votes/hv0381.htm
5. SB 83 (Transfer of Property bill) did not make it to a floor vote last session.
Now, why would someone who voted to approve these last session find so many problems this session? None of these bills changed. The bill (HB 264) that she said would do so much damage and ruin Dunwoody’s viability passed and was signed into law, with Representative Chambers voting for it. Was Representative Chambers duped last session and now suddenly has had an epiphany and made a 180 degree change? Could a campaign contributor have called in a marker? Did this campaign contribution (link below) from DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones to Representative Chambers, which helped her win her first election, carry any weight? http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/contributor.phtml?si=200210&d=9971151
The world, or at least Dunwoody, wonders and waits. It would appear that Ms. Chambers is a proud member of the world’s first and second oldest professions.