This evening I attended and recorded the DeKalb County Commissioner Candidate Forum sponsored by the Dunwoody Homeowners Association and the Dunwoody Crier where all five candidates looking to replace Elaine Boyer were in attendance. Candidates Wendy Butler, Larry Danese, Nancy Jester, Tom Owens and Holmes Pyles were questioned by Ms. Stacey Harris the President of the Dunwoody Homeowners Association.
Of the five candidates, it is my opinion that there are several serious contenders with great backgrounds and several others on the other end of the spectrum where by they either don't have a clue or were running because they had a specific agenda or vendetta to satisfy. Please take the time to time view the video for yourself and then do your own research on the candidates. I will be interested to read some of the recaps of this forum as some of the answers were either off the wall or quite odd. I will link to them in a comment when I see them. If you were there or have an opinion of the video, please feel free to share your comments on the blog.
The five questions were...
1. Since the majority of District 1 either is or may be incorporated, what can DeKalb County do to improve the quality of life for district 1?
2. What is your philosophy about development/land use in DeKalb? What principles will guide your work in this area?
3. With the incorporation of Dunwoody, Brookhaven and the probably incorporation of Tucker/Lakeside, the amount of HOST money that is available for capital projects (20%) will be directed towards the new cities leaving 2/3 of the county without funds to pay for paving and other capital projects. How would you address this countywide issue?
4. What is your knowledge of the general fund - which departments have the largest operating fund? Following the lead of the new cities, which departments would you move towards privatization?
5. DeKalb County Fire has been running all fire trucks a man short compared to the national average (3 vs. 4). In addition, the number of retiring fireman is the same as the number of fireman coming out of the fire academy. This equals a net zero gain. How do plan to address this issue?
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How can one little forum generate so much discussion when by all appearances most of it is irrelevant or just a distraction to the key players who actually have a shot at being elected? In the post above I said I would publish links to the various reviews and commentary regarding the forum therefore I will do so even though I just see all of this as a smokescreen to the real election.
Dunwoody Crier - DHA, Crier host candidates for DeKalb commission
After the forum, as the DHA board convened for its regular meeting, a row developed outside the meeting room. Owens and a friend, Joe Newton of Gwinnett County, got into a shouting match with George Chidi, a blogger for Peach Pundit. Chidi has published a blog post investigation of Owens’ background, discovering stalking charges, restraining orders, harassment of candidates and a lingering feud with the imam of a mosque behind his home. Owens didn’t appear to like it.
Peach Pundit - Tom Owens, A Man Amok
Georgia Unfiltered - DeKalb County Commission Candidate Obtains Restraining Order against Peach Pundit Blogger
Huffington Post - Georgia Reporter Served With Stay-Away Order After Writing Critical Profile Of Candidate
George Chidi - Journalism is not a crime.
Political Vine - The strange case of George Chidi…
Political Vine - George Chidi is Gonna Need a Bigger Shovel
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