Over Coffee

by Gay Wiley Shook gayshook@mindspring.com

March 10, 2004    My first local political forum of this election season was held on Monday evening, March 8th, at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville, sponsored by the Greater Gwinnett Republican Women. It featured candidates for the District 3 Board of Commissioners' seat, two of whom failed to appear. Present District 3 Commissioner John Dunn bagged the forum claiming he had "a prior commitment to spend time with my family." Candidate Terry Milton also failed to show, saying he had "family unforeseen events." The Republican Women appeared to take a dim view of this. Short of a visit to the hospital or the cemetery, I believe they expect candidates to show up for political forums.    That left the audience to hear candidates Dwight Harrison, 58, and Mike Beaudreau, 29. And that was a gracious plenty.    Mike Beaudreau spoke first. He explained the four points of his election platform and said that he was "the only honest true Conservative in this race." Beaudreau wants to reduce the number of trailers in our schools; foster a more open and accessible county government by refusing developer contributions now and in the future; promote community-friendly growth by enforcing the Land Use Plan; and reduce the county tax rate. Beaudreau would call for a moratorium on apartments in an attempt to stem the ill-planned overgrowth, which he says is causing our school overcrowding and traffic woes. According to Beaudreau, District 3 has most of the buildable land left in Gwinnett.    Dwight Harrison sees the pressing need for new leadership in District 3. "We have suffered from lack of leadership in District 3." Harrison is already working to reduce traffic congestion as a founding member of the Highway 78 Community Improvement District and will continue to find ways to improve traffic safety. He also wants to work to reduce the crime in the district. The CID has already hired off-duty Gwinnett police officers to provide extra patrols in that area. Harrison promised to be accessible to the citizens, a widely perceived problem with the current Commissioner Dunn. "I will not dodge the media, or anyone."    There are some clear differences between these two candidates, my friends, ranging from attitude, civic experience, and manner to stances on such issues as the smoking ban, district courtesy, and support of the gay agenda. Mike Beaudreau is very young to be presenting himself for a job like this. His manner bordered on belligerent when he claimed, more than once, he would have none of developers' financial contributions to his campaign. He said he would have voted against the language of the county's smoking ban, saying, "It is a slippery slope." He would not employ the district courtesy form of joining the commissioner of a particular district's vote in a vote for that particular district. Beaudreau has no experience on any county board and said, "I'm not sure experience is a measure of how someone can perform a job." Mike Beaudreau is a national accounts manager for Ricoh Corporation. He leases and sells copiers.    Dwight Harrison, on the other hand, has plenty of civic experience on county boards having served as a member of the Gwinnett County Planning Commission, the Zoning Board of Appeals, and the Transit Advisory Board. He also runs a successful car dealership on Highway 78, which does business to the tune of $30 to $40 million a year. Harrison previously worked for Jim Ellis for many years before establishing his own business.    Harrison said he would have voted for the smoking ban had he been a commissioner because most businesses are in favor of the smoking ban. On the subject of district courtesy, Harrison said he believes the commissioner of a particular district should know that district better than any of the other commissioners and he could see the guidance would be useful, but said he could not say he would follow district courtesy in every instance.    Now we come to the litmus test for some folks in Gwinnett. Teresa Cantrell wanted to know where the candidates stood on the Ten Commandments controversy and the issue of same sex marriages. Both candidates said they are in favor of a ban on same sex marriage. Harrison said he supports the rule of law in whether or not the Ten Commandments can be displayed in a public building. He said if the whole world were to honor those commandments, we'd have a better world, but that judges must uphold the current law, however that is written. Beaudreau supported keeping the Ten Commandments in public buildings.    Brenda Lee announced that she has a problem with Dwight Harrison supporting gays and giving cars to the Gay Rights parade. Harrison's response was, "I do not discriminate against anybody. I do not understand the gay life style, but I do not discriminate in my business. We don't have to agree or condone, but in business we serve everybody." He said he supplies cars for events to anybody who asks.    Mike Beaudreau said, "That's kind of a double standard. I do not agree with that. The whole gay issue worries me for business reasons." Harrison asked Beaudreau if he would refuse to sell a copier to a business manager who was gay. Beaudreau responded that was "apples and oranges. I am required by law to sell to everybody."    In the closing remarks, Harrison said, "I have worked for Gwinnett for years. I can do what it takes to successfully run this district. On the Board of Commissioners you must work together. You cannot go it alone. I try to bring all parties together, try to find some common ground."    Beaudreau said in his closing remarks, "John Dunn didn't have the courage to be here. My opponents have all the big money. There are stark contrasts between us. I am refusing money from developers. My opponents are looking at the same old solutions and seem happy to maintain the status quo. Sixty-one percent of people say the developers run this county, not the commissioners."    Well, my friends, I encourage you to attend one of these political forums where you can compare the candidates. See for yourself. There will be several more along the way to the July 20th Election. It is always an enlightening experience! I came away from this forum with a number of impressions. For whatever this is worth to you, I want to say about Mike Beaudreau that I believe I have seen this movie before. It was called, "Marcia and John Think They Can Run Gwinnett." That movie stunk, played to immediate plummeting reviews, and got a rating of "F." No taxpayer in his right mind wants to see a rerun.    Beaudreau, well meaning if a little intense, needs to get some bona fide civic experience before he runs for a Board of Commission seat and come back to us in about ten years. This job is decidedly NOT an entry-level position and we have seen what happens when inexperienced people, in over their heads, get elected. Boy, have we! Gwinnett deserves better. Voters must demand better.    Dwight Harrison has the experience and wisdom that life eventually gives you. He knows that people have to work together for the success of the county. He expects to work with all of the county's stakeholders, none excluded. Gwinnett has a whopping $1.4 Billion annual budget that needs to be managed. We cannot trust our tax-saving triple Triple A bond rating to anybody who does not understand the necessary fiscal management to keep it. The election of Dwight Harrison to the District 3 Board of Commission seat should be a huge relief to all of the citizens of Gwinnett. 031004 Archive