Over Coffee

by Gay Wiley Shook
gayshook (at) bellsouth.net

July 5, 2008

   In Gwinnett County, Georgia, we are coming down to the last days before our Primary Election on July 15, 2008. That is the day that several of the races will actually be decided. Candidates are running as hard as they can, trying to wrap up those last few votes. Turnout by voters for this election is expected to be low, as one might reasonably expect for mid-July in the midst of a very hot and dry summer. Every last vote will be extremely important. The few will elect the folks to office who will serve the many.

   There are three contenders for each of two seats: the chairmanship of the Gwinnett Board of Commissioners and District 1 Commissioner. There are other races up for grabs in this election, but these are the two that I am dealing with today. They have relevance in my neck of the woods.

   When this election cycle began, I was beginning to believe that Gwinnett might have achieved my long-sought goal for it, and that was to have every candidate for office well qualified and able to serve. It would be a voter’s dream: We, as voters and taxpayers, would win no matter who won the election. What a state of grace that would be! 

   But, no, that goal still remains an elusive one. In the Chairman’s race, candidate Glenn Pirkle has never been elected to a public office before. He thinks he can run our county in the top elected job and manage our $1.5 BILLION budget with no advance preparation. Well, his learning curve would be straight up! I know this is America and anybody can run for any office, but we have to be realistic here. This is not a job that just anybody can do. Good grief! Let me see some real credentials! Gwinnett County might as well be a Fortune 500 company; the county government must be run like one.

   Our current Chairman Charles Bannister hopes the voters will award him a second four-year term. His tenure has been lackluster at best. It is commonly believed that much of what he has accomplished was actually set in place by his predecessor, Wayne Hill . And now his campaign tactics have certainly taken a “spin” for the worst. He is lambasting his very viable and able opponent, the current District 1 Commissioner Lorraine Green , just as if she was no better than some itinerant snake oil salesman. Bannister has stepped a long way off the high road in this campaign and I am terribly disappointed that he has done this. All the voters of Gwinnett should be disappointed, too. Unfortunately, what we are seeing here is the measure of the man.

   Fortunately, candidate Lorraine Green has not stepped off the high road to political office and has conducted herself and her campaign with dignity and grace. I’m pleased that she is giving the voters the respect that we are due. Bannister evidently thinks we are all idiots. We should definitely go GREEN for Gwinnett! Mrs. Green has the experience, education, and ability to manage the chairman’s job. Bannister’s campaign against her has been absolutely ludicrous and only the most uninformed among us would believe his accusations. Green has patiently answered them all on her campaign Website at www.GreenforGwinnett.com . I encourage you to read all about it.

   District 1 Commissioner is the other county race that needs a cup of expresso dashed all over it. Candidate Shirley Lasseter unfortunately sent out an attack mailer against her opponent Carol Hassell and then in a pretty astonishing interview in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on June 30th , admitted her culpability. “This flyer is not something I wanted to put out,” Lasseter said. “I hasseled with people in my camp about it for days. It’s not like me. I don’t like playing dirty politics—I don’t like playing politics period. I don’t know why we can’t stay focused on the issues.” 

   But, Lasseter didn’t stop this flyer. It got mailed. My friends, don’t look at what Lasseter says, look at what she did. Carol Hassell has patiently responded to it on her campaign Web site at www.carolforgwinnett.com . Lasseter’s stepping off the high road like this was so unnecessary and I am sure it greatly disappointed many of her supporters. It certainly disappointed me because I regarded Shirley as being a lot smarter than that. She’s given us her measure now though, Bless her heart.

   I have been an advocate for the high road in politics for years and if I see a candidate step off, I’m on it like a duck on a June bug. There are no degrees here. If a candidate takes a small step off or a big giant leap, it’s still off. Off is off. I think it is a little bit like being pregnant; you either are or you aren’t! I may be the last voice in the wilderness calling for civility in political campaigns, but I’m not giving up. I think that those who allow their campaigns to get dirty just might allow their elected offices to get dirty, too. Indeed, why would anybody think anything different?

   Carol Hassell would be my choice for District 1 Commissioner if I could vote for her, but I do not live in that district. Like Lorraine Green, Hassell brings a great deal of experience and integrity to this commissioner’s job. She is of the ilk that I want to see at the heart of our county government. As we say in the South, Carol is top drawer.

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Hope all is well and thanks for reading.