March 5, 2004
Like many of you, I have been wondering about whether or not we were going to be able to raise the bar for our elected Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners during this election cycle. Over the years we have seen many people enter the Gwinnett commissioners' race who were patently not able to do the job. Some of these lightweights have actually been elected in the past and, being in over their heads in this Fortune 500 job, have let the taxpayers down badly. It seemed as though the only qualification for a Gwinnett County Commissioner was to somehow get yourself elected. Hopefully, those days have gone for good.
With an unprecedented $1.4 Billion budget for 2004, Gwinnett County requires keen business acumen, higher education, management expertise, and a good amount of individual restraint in its Board of Commissioners. Not just anybody can fit this bill, as we have most certainly seen. It is also a good idea to have spent some time serving on one of the many county boards and appointed commissions before thinking you might be qualified to run for commissioner. Let's insist upon some high standards here, my friends!
I have had a long face-to-face discussion with
Lorraine Green, who is running for the commission seat in District 1. She began her civic involvement in her own neighborhood in the Sugarloaf area, Jefferson Station, about 10 years ago, watching out for re-zonings, such as Discover Mills, which would impact her neighbors. When the then newly elected District 1 Commissioner
Marcia Neaton's appointment to the Planning Commission,
Diane Kesler, resigned that appointment to take an ill-fated job with the
John Linder re-election campaign, Neaton looked around for a replacement on the Planning Commission. That is when she met Lorraine Green. She knew Lorraine Green was active in her neighborhood and appointed her, thinking Green was an activist.
Green is an engineer. Green solves problems like an engineer. Lorraine Green has an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from Georgia Tech. She also has a masters degree in environmental engineering, also from Georgia Tech. She is a Registered Professional Engineer. She operates her own environmental engineering consulting firm, Green Environmental & Corrosion, Inc., which specializes in U.S. Government facilities around the world. She is a very smart woman who has learned how to be successful in a man's world. I would not consider engineering exactly a woman's world, would you?
Lorraine Green and Marcia Neaton were not friends before Green's appointment to the Gwinnett Municipal Planning Commission, and they are not friends now. Green allows, "We are co-workers for the county." They do not always agree on the issues before them either. Keep in mind that Neaton, as a commissioner, has the vote. The Planning Commission can only recommend. Sometimes things can get acrimonious. No surprise there.
So, my friends, when you hear Lorraine Green's name, please know that she has no connection whatsoever to Marcia Neaton, other than her appointment to the Planning Commission, which was a very good thing for District 1 taxpayers. I would recommend you visit Lorraine Green's campaign Web site at
www.greenforgwinnett.com.
Green told me her only campaign promise is, "I will be fair and listen."
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Things are really moving over there in District 3 as well. Popular Snellville businessman
Dwight Harrison has successfully set his campaign in motion, like a great big tidal wave, to unseat unpopular District 3 Commissioner
John Dunn in the July 20th Primary Election.
With well over 100 people in attendance at a fundraiser event in Snellville last night, the Harrison campaign,
"Leadership for a change!" raised over $50,000 in financial support. Banker
Joel Taylor, who had previously announced that he was running against Dunn, bowed out at the event and threw his support to Dwight Harrison. Taylor said, "Dwight and I entered this race for the same reasons and we are concerned about the same issues. I believe it is in the best interest of our entire community to unite in support of a single candidate that will restore trust to public office, that will deal honestly with all citizens, and that will work diligently to address the issues of traffic congestion, increased crime, school overcrowding, and growth. I am asking my supporters to join me in supporting Dwight's campaign."
Harrison said, "I am grateful for this tremendous outpouring of support. Though I am new to campaigning, I am well seasoned at dealing openly and honestly with people in a straightforward manner. I believe this is why my campaign for District 3 Commissioner is receiving such broad-based support from both the business and homeowner community." You can visit Harrison's campaign Web site at
www.VoteDwight.com.
Harrison, 58, owner of Dwight Harrison Volkswagen on Highway 78 in Snellville, is a founding member of the Highway 78 Community Improvement District, a former member of the Gwinnett County Planning Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals, and Transit Advisory Board. He has owned and operated Dwight Harrison Volkswagen for the past 16 years. Several generations of Harrisons have resided in Gwinnett County's District 3; his father is the former pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Snellville. Harrison and his wife have been married for 40 years and the couple has one son.
Well, that leaves Terry Milton and his tape recorder, and Commissioner John Dunn in a three-way contest with Dwight Harrison for the District 3 commission seat. You will be able to meet and see these candidates at a District 3 Political Forum on Monday, March 8, 2004, at Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center (GJAC), Conference Room C, at 7:30 p.m. This chance to see and compare candidates is a golden opportunity for us all, even folks who do not live and vote in District 3. Be advised that ALL of our county commissioners affect ALL of us! We need to do what we can to see that only the best candidates are elected. See you there.
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Hope all is well and thanks for reading.
030504
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