Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011
BARROW JOURNAL
PAGE 15A
Election 2011
Politics and prank in spotlight at ‘Evening with the
By Susan Norman
snorman@barrowjournal.com
With key questions provid
ed to all of the candidates
ahead of time, the political
forum hosted Oct. 26 by the
Barrow County Chamber of
Commerce should have held
few surprises.
But enter, stage left, the
irascible Jim Cooley, a
Chicago native who has
been troubling Winder’s
political waters almost
daily in his effort to unseat
20-year, Ward 2 incumbent
Charlie F. Eberhart.
In dramatic fashion,
Cooley accused the current
Winder administration of
corruption and blasted the
city council for covering it
up — then walked out of the
Winder Community Center
to a chorus of chuckles.
Because the event was not
a debate, there were no win
ners or losers. And since it
was not taped for rebroad
cast as originally planned,
its greatest impact was lim
ited to the 75 or so people in
the audience.
But the forum was the
only pre-election event that
brought together all of the
candidates in this year’s
contested races in Winder
and Statham.
And what happened dur
ing the two hours of orga
nized politicking brought
into focus a clearer picture
of the significant choices
facing voters next week on
Tuesday, Nov. 8.
Thompson vs. Maynard:
Strong mayor versus
consensus builder
The two longtime city residents
who want to be Winder’s mayor in
2012 showed during the forum that
they have very dif
ferent approaches
to the office of
mayor.
Mayor Chip
Thompson, a
retired public
school teach
er, said he sees
himself as “the
ambassador of the
city” and works
full time at the
city, county and
state levels of
government to try
to help the city.
He said he sup
ports economic
development and
works closely
with Linda Moore
of the Barrow
County Economic
Development Council to try to bring
in industry and noted the city’s bud
get provides $10,000 annually to
the EDC.
He said private developers from
outside the county are thinking
of locating in some of the empty
buildings downtown, but he said he
often is unable to talk about such
economic development possibilities
because the businesses don't want
him to.
Thompson said improving the
appearance of the city is a major
role of the mayor, and he specifical
ly noted that the street department
“for the first time in history cleaned
the right of way for the railroad
tracks” during his first term.
At-large councilman and chal
lenger David Maynard, who owns
a local construction business, said
he thinks Winder's mayor has two
major roles in supporting economic
development.
The first, he said, is to make the
THOMPSON
MAYNARD
city more business friendly.
"As mayor I will make sure every
city employee understands that part
of their job is to be an ambassador,”
Maynard said. “They all need to
offer encouragement and assistance
to business owners.”
He said the city’s process for
opening a business also needs to be
streamlined.
"I'm not suggesting that we less
en the standards but that we make
the process easier to navigate,” he
said.
Maynard said the mayor’s second
role in encouraging businesses to
come to Winder is as a facilitator
who would bring together all cur
rently unrelated groups for a more
coordinated effort.
He said he would try to pool the
efforts of the chamber, the down
town association, the economic
development council and local mer
chants who all want to save down
town.
"As mayor I will try and bring
these groups together for orga
nized efforts,” he said. “All parties
should agree on what role each
plays. It was recently suggested
to me that we need to hire a Main
Street (Program) director. I want to
hear from all interested parties so
we can decide how to proceed. By
making the city more inviting and
by bringing more talented people to
the table, surely we can recruit and
retain businesses in a way not yet
seen in Winder."
In response to a second question
— “What are your top three areas
of concern for the City of Winder,
and how would you prioritize them,
given the financial restraints?” —
Thompson and Maynard again gave
very different responses. Thompson
listed downtown traffic problems
and the new affordable housing
program as his two top concerns.
He ran out of the allotted time
before getting to his third concern.
He said state transportation officials
had wanted to put off for a year the
intersection improvement at Athens
Street, Horton Street and McNeal
Road.
"We made the decision to move
forward and not put that off another
year," Thompson said.
He said he also has worked with
the Winder Downtown Development
Authority on the downtown
streetscape project that is to begin
next summer along North Broad
Street. And he said he has worked
with county officials on the two
planned railroad crossings west
of Winder: the one at Ed Hogan
Road and Highway 8, and the future
bypass.
Thompson said such projects
require laying much groundwork
with the Georgia Department of
Transportation.
As for the housing program, he
praised the partnership with the
Winder Housing Authority, Habitat
for Humanity and the First Baptist
Church of Winder. And he said bet
ter code enforcement also would
help improve the appearance of the
neighborhoods that are the subject
of that housing initiative.
Maynard also mentioned traffic
flow as one of his top three pri
orities, but he said his first priority
would be to improve the way the
city government functions.
"I put this first because it is so
easy to correct,” he said. "All it
takes is willingness on the part of
the mayor.”
He said he believes the council
should be involved in all decisions
and all plans as they develop, not
after time and money have been
spent in developing them.
"I am confident that making this
change will lead to better decisions
and will save time and money,” he
said.
Maynard said his second priority
as mayor would be to save down
town, which he said is “symbolic of
who we are.”
"Streetscape will improve the
appearance of downtown and the
county moving to the courthouse
will bring more people downtown,
but that is not enough,” he said.
"We always have to work to bring
in more businesses. The city should
take a lead in bringing in new
businesses... (and) bring everyone
together to improve the heart of
Winder.”
Maynard said he would prioritize
traffic improvements as his last of
three top concerns because it costs
so much to correct.
He said while the intersection
improvement at Athens and Horton
streets, as well as the future West
Winder Bypass, are good projects,
he thinks something should be done
east of downtown to improve the
flow of traffic.
The third question for the may-
oral candidates was how they would
capitalize on the presence of Fort
Yargo State Park in the city.
Thompson pointed out that the
chamber had produced a brochure
featuring the park on its cover and
had placed it in visitor centers in
Georgia. The city government also
placed a sign in the park inviting
visitors to dine and shop in down
town Winder, he said.
Maynard agreed that Yargo is an
asset to the city, but he said the way
to capitalize on the influx of park
visitors, the community needs first
to determine what kinds of goods
and services appeal to them and
then make those goods and services
available.
“I’m not sure what role the city
government should play in that,"
he said. “It sounds more like some
thing the chamber or a Main Street
director should do."
In their final statements, Maynard
said if he is elected mayor, he
would work hard to make the city
of Winder more customer friendly
and business friendly; he would
clean up the streets and rights of
way; improve traffic in and around
town; be as fair as possible to all of
the people by trying to understand
all sides of issues; and be a good
steward of the city's resources.
Thompson said that when the
national economy took a nosedive
shortly after he became mayor,
there were a lot of things that he
would have liked to have done but
wasn’t able to do.
He said the city’s former Main
Street director was among the 30
positions eliminated in 2009 due to
the downturn.
He said the number of city
employees on the payroll when he
took office was 240, and that num
ber has been reduced to a little over
160, but the remaining employees
are having to provide the same level
of services.
“I have had to deal with reality as
opposed to what I think would be
nice," Thompson said.
As a result of the layoffs and con
tinued belt tightening, the city today
has more than $1.2 million more
cash than it did when he took office
in 2008, he said.
Winder’s at-large council
candidates all about business
One of the most telling moments
during the Oct. 26 forum came
when the two businessmen vying
for David Maynard's at-large coun
cil seat responded to the question
that elicited such a strong response
from Jim Cooley.
Asked how councilmen should
relate to the office of mayor, Tim
Bolt, the owner of Master Tech
Auto on Candler Street, said work
ing with the mayor is part of the city
council's job.
But he said there should be “no
more closed-door meetings” and
less red tape and easier and more
friendly city codes.
“More open and honest govern
ment is one of the most important
things we have to deal with right
now,” he said.
Larry Evans, who owns Evans
Jewel Box on North Broad, was
even more specific: “The coun
cil should be involved with the
mayor in hiring a city administrator,
and also should make decisions on
all major items. The city’s budget
should be monitored weekly by
the mayor and council... Topics
need to be discussed in public by
the mayor and council. The budget
should be monitored all of the time,
and they should look for ways for
the city of Winder to bring in more
revenue..."
As to his top concerns about the
city, Evans’s total focus was on the
downtown business district where
he runs his store.
He said his chief concern is the
traffic congestion.
“As you know, the traffic in down
town Winder... is horrific," he said.
“It starts early in the morning and
continues even on into the night.”
Evans, who has operated his jew
elry store for 50 years, said he once
stood outside his store and counted
the big trucks.
“One out of every 18 vehicles that
comes through downtown Winder is
an 18-wheeler,” he said. “So we’ve
got to find a way to divert these
18-wheelers from coming through
downtown Winder.”
He said his No. 2 concern about
the city is downtown parking.
When he served on the Winder
Downtown Development Authority,
he said, “I guarantee you every
other meeting we had talked about
parking.”
He said there are three park
ing lots downtown, but people who
would walk the distance of a couple
of blocks to go to a shopping center
don’t want to park the same dis
tance from a downtown store.
Evans said his third concern is the
revitalization of downtown.
“The only way to do this is to
hire a Main Street Program director
for Winder, and he or she can help
recruit new businesses," he said.
Bolt, whose business is not
directly on Broad Street, said his
first priority is for Winder to attract
more businesses.
“Traffic is surely a problem, but
we've got storefronts closing down
weekly, some daily, and we have
(former) bank buildings that are
empty,” he said.
“We need to move businesses
into this town. We need some kind
of high-tech businesses in here...
We've got to figure out a way to get
jobs into this town. Without jobs, all
these other storefronts are not going
to happen. When
people don’t have
jobs, they can’t
spend money.”
He said Winder
needs high tech,
pharmaceutical or
data processing
companies, or all
of the things cur
rently in the city
officials’ pipeline
will become a
“pipe dream."
In response to
a third question
about the city’s
2020 vision, both
candidates say they
support it.
Bolt said the
only way to real
ize the vision is
by bringing more
economic development to generate
additional revenue.
Evans said in addition to re-estab
lishing the position of Main Street
director and addressing the down
town traffic problem, the city gov
ernment needs to work on replac
ing outdated water, sewerage and
stormwater infrastructure that is
probably 75 years old or older.
In closing, Bolt said his greatest
distinction as a candidate is that he
is a "face of change.”
He said he had never had political
aspirations, but that changed over
the past few years.
“Instead of sitting around and
talking about it, I decided to get in
there. The city needs someone with
fresh, good ideas — someone who
is able to get down and get dirty and
get things done."
In the worst economy in nearly a
century, Bolt said city leaders must
take control and try to get things
done to try to make Winder more
business friendly.
“We need to make our town a
better place to live and more pros
perous. I would do my very best
to bring new businesses to Winder
and to try to do what's right for the
people.”
Evans said he could remember
when downtown Winder had 30
viable businesses, and he has man
aged to be one of the few remaining
in business by being very careful.
He said he wants a city govern
ment that is working for a better
Winder and to have “a mayor and
city council that will work togeth-
BOLT
EVANS
Candidates’
er and make all major decisions
together.”
Ward 2 council candidates:
Before and after the tempest
The forum's most dramatic
moment occurred after the candi
dates in the Ward 2 race took the
stage.
On the table was the first of
three planned questions: “How do
you think your position as council
man should relate to the Office of
Mayor?"
Handed the microphone first,
longtime incumbent Charlie F.
Eberhart gave his first public com
ment about the ongoing power
struggle between the mayor and
half the city council.
Directed as much to his council
colleagues as to the chamber’s audi
ence, he said: “It is just as important
to consider the mayor as it is for
the mayor to consider council. The
council needs to go by city hall and
see what's going on and look into
things and find out what is going
on with the city and see what they
are facing. There are situations you
don’t know about because you are
not going there.... We need to go
by there and let (employees at city
hall) know we are behind them.
That's the way I ran the last 20
years. I ran on doing what’s right.”
Cooley, who in recent weeks had
gone by Winder City Hall for cam
paign-related assistance only to be
rebuffed, had a far different take.
He read the following written
statement:
“Well, I can tell
you how it's not
going to relate.
It will not relate
to corruption. It’s
sad to say that is
what we are fac
ing right now,
from someone try
ing to fix an elec
tion, to a council
man who doesn't
live in Winder,
a city clerk who
tried to get me
removed from the
ballot when she
should’ve been
getting my oppo
nent removed, an
entire city coun
cil who covers up
the corruption and
doesn’t realize it’s
going to come back and bite them.
When we rid the offices of those
who only thought of themselves,
instead of what was best for Winder,
then and only then can there be a
relationship between the council
and the office of mayor. It’s never
wrong to do the right thing. It's time
we take a stand and do what is right
for Winder."
Cooley then stood up from his
seat, handed his statement to the
forum moderator, Brad Bishoff,
and walked past chamber president
Tommy Jennings, saying there was
no point in answering the other
questions until the issues raised in
his answer to the first question were
addressed.
As the 75 people watching him
tried to process what was hap
pening, at first there was stunned
silence.
But ripples of laughter soon
followed Cooley out the door. Yet
Eberhart, who then had the entire
stage to himself, did not seize the
political opportunity Cooley handed
him. His responses to the remaining
two questions were brief— that one
of his chief concerns about the city
is getting jobs and new businesses
into Winder and that he supports
the goals of the 2020 vision. But his
answers had little substance and no
bite during the forum.The audience
was even forced to read between the
lines when Eberhart pointed out that
he — in apparent contrast to Cooley
— is a “calm person” who "doesn’t
get upset much.”
And sounding more like the
funeral home director that he has
been in Winder for 40 years, he
wound up his presentation with this
plea: "We need to show love in the
world. I’m just kinda full right now.
But I know when prayer goes up,
blessings come down. That's about
all I have to say right now."
COOLEY