Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2011
BARROW JOURNAL
PAGE 3A
WINDER’S NEWLY ELECTED OFFICIALS
Newly elected councilmen Travis Singley (Ward 4) and Larry Evans (at large) got
together with mayor-elect David Maynard Tuesday afternoon outside the city’s poll
ing place in the Winder Community Center. Singley faced no opposition, and Evans
and Maynard won decisive victories. Photo by Susan Norman
Voting continued from 1A
“It lets us know folks in the county are ready
to make a change in the government structure of
Barrow County," said Ray Newman, who served
as the volunteer chairman of the Barrow County
Charter Review Committee that in June recom
mended the approved changes.
“I was predicting that if we’d get 10 percent,
we would be doing well,” he said, adding that it
now is up to the BOC to find someone "with the
experience and credentials" to serve as county
manager.
The changes do not go into effect until the
start of the next BOC chairman's term in January
2013. BOC Chairman Danny Yearwood, who has
openly opposed the measure and walked out of
two regular board meetings where the issue was to
be discussed, missed Tuesday night's BOC regu
lar meeting that started as the polls closed. County
clerk Michelle Sims said he was at a training con
ference sponsored by the Georgia Association of
Regional Commissions at St. Simon's Island.
Chairman pro tem Ben Hendrix, who ran
Tuesday night's BOC meeting and was the prima
ry BOC proponent of moving to a county manager
form of government, said Tuesday night that the
most important thing about the vote was that "the
people had a chance to make the decision.”
WINDER’S MAYORAL VOTE
Maynard spent most of election day on a street
corner in front of the Winder Community Center
and with other candidates waved at passing motor
ists. After the polls closed, the candidates drove
over to the Barrow County Board of Elections &
Registration Office on East Broad Street to await
the results.
The announcement of the voters' decisions
took about two hours because elections officials
were not able to use the commissioners' meeting
room and its large projection screen to electroni
cally post results. Instead, they posted paper tally
sheets for the county and municipal elections on
the windows of the elections office and then taped
the paper strips of early and absentee tallies on the
front door of the building.
Around 9 p.m. Maynard read the following
statement to the media: "I just want to say thank
you to those who made contributions, to those
who worked on the campaign and to those who
voted. I hope in the coming years I can earn the
support you have already given. I look forward
to serving you as well as all of the citizens of
Winder. My door will always be open to discuss
your questions, comments and criticisms. Thank
you again.”
He then drove to 2 Doors East, a storefront
venue on East Athens Street, located a block from
Winder City Hall. Gathered for a victory celebra
tion was a roomful of campaign contributors,
political supporters that included members of the
Winder City Council, and Maynard family mem
bers. When the mayor-elect entered the room, he
was greeted by a musical rendition of "Hail to
the Chief.”
“It was awesome,” he said afterwards. “I've
never experienced something like that.”
He said Thompson called him on his cellphone
during the reception and pledged to do all that he
could to make sure the transition over the next
eight weeks is smooth.
“It was very positive,” Maynard said. He noted
that even though he won the election, Thompson
received the support of 548 city voters, which was
substantial.
He said he would spend the next two months
getting very familiar with the city’s finances and
learning as much as possible from city administra
tor Don Toms, finance director Leslie Ginn, and
the rest of the department managers.
WINDER’S AT-LARGE
COUNCIL VOTE
The happiest looking face Tuesday night at the
elections office was that of Larry Evans, who won
a decisive victory in the race for the at-large seat
that Maynard vacated in order to run for mayor.
When Evans first ran for the same seat in 2007,
Maynard beat him by only 26 votes. So Tuesday’s
victory was especially sweet for the 69-year-old
councilman elect. He received the most votes
of any candidate on Winder's ballot: 828 votes
(65.51 percent) to opponent Tim Bolt’s 431
(34.1 percent). Bolt, who put out more signs than
Evans and built significant grassroots support,
was unable to overcome Evans’ deep roots as the
owner of a popular downtown business for half a
century and was clearly disappointed.
“It is what it is,” Bolt said.
WINDER’S WARD 2 COUNCIL VOTE
Voters in Winder's Ward 2 apparently found
distasteful the contentious politicking of chal
lenger Jim Cooley. They re-elected Councilman
Charlie F. Eberhart by a 4:1 margin over Cooley.
The vote was 158 to 39. Eberhart did not join
the other council candidates outside the Winder
Community Center on Tuesday and he did not
appear at the elections office Tuesday night.
But he apparently is facing at least one more
battle with Cooley.
Cooley said Tuesday that he sent a request
Sunday sales
gets voters OK
For the first time, stores in unincorporated
Barrow County and in the cities of Auburn and
Winder soon will be able to sell alcohol by the
package on Sundays after 12:30 p.m.
Voters in all three jurisdictions approved bal
lot measures on Sunday sales.
In the county special election, voters agreed
to allow stores in unincorporated Barrow
County sell beer and wine by the package. The
vote was 2,253 (58.01 percent) to 1,631 against
(41.99 percent). Voters in Winder and Auburn
also approved similar ballot questions.
The vote in Winder was 707 (54.43 percent)
to 592 (45.57 percent). The vote in Auburn
was 155 (74.52 percent) to 53 (25.48 percent).
Though Auburn voters have approved Sunday
sales, the city council still must approve sales
before they go into effect, said city clerk Rafael
Avalos.
“The public has voted but the council will
need to pass the ordinance so that it may be
codified properly," he said. "The changes will
go into effect once the ordinance is approved."
Stores in Auburn and in unincorporated
Barrow County can sell beer and wine. Stores
in Winder will be able to sell beer, wine and
distilled spirits.Winder city administrator Don
Toms said his city’s stores would start selling
alcohol on Sunday, Nov. 13.
County attorney Angela Davis said
Wednesday that the Barrow County Board
of Commissioners also would have to adopt
a code amendment once voters approved the
ballot issue.
“We are preparing that amendment now,
and suspect that it will be placed on the first
available agenda, but that would need to be
confirmed with the Board,” Davis said in an
e-mail.
last week to Georgia Secretary of State Brian
Kemp asking that the state not certify the election
results in the Ward 2 race until the state conducts
an investigation of Eberhart’s residency. Cooley
said in his complaint that Eberhart’s claim that
his city residence is the staff lunchroom of his
funeral home should have disqualified him as a
candidate.
Cooley also asked Kemp to refer the Eberhart
matter to Attorney General Sam Olens for pos
sible prosecution in light of Eberhart's use of the
funeral home address on five candidate qualifying
applications over the past 20 years.
In addition, he asked Kemp to remove Winder
municipal elections superintendent Sabrina Wall
from her elections post because she "failed to
verify Charlie Eberhart’s residency” and "failed
to recognize that Charlie Eberhart was using a
business address on his qualifying application or
just simply ignored it.”
Cooley, a Chicago native, on Tuesday expressed
disgust at the “Southern politics” he feels are at
the root of tacit approval of Eberhart continuing
to hold elective office while married to a woman
who resides in a home in Athens.
The Barrow County Board of Elections recently
approved of Eberhart’s use of his funeral home as
his residence and a Superior Court judge affirmed
that decision.
But Cooley said the BOE didn’t understand
state law, and the judge “didn't want to fool with”
the issue.
BETHLEHEM VOTERS
RE-ELECT MORGAN
Bethlehem incumbent Councilman Scott
Morgan was elected to a second term Tuesday.
With a turnout of 49 voters, Morgan received
22 votes (44.9 percent), former councilman C.L.
Wood Jr. 15 (30.61 percent), and Doug Koestel 12
(24.49 percent).
Though no one received more than 50 percent
of the votes. Mayor Sandy McNab said there
would be no runoff.
“It's the top vote getter,” he said.
He said the losing candidates would have
another shot at elective office in two years when
three seats will be on the city’s ballot.
McNab said he was surprised at the turnout
Tuesday.
“When I was there, it was at nine votes,” he
said. “I went back at a quarter of 7 and it was in
the 40s.”
He said the turnout likely increased because of
the county’s special election.
STATHAM VOTERS ELECT
THRASHER, BARTON
Statham voters re-elected incumbent
Councilwoman Hattie Thrasher and also council
newcomer Perry Barton to the two council seats
on the ballot. Barton received 116 votes, Thrasher
114, and Rudy Krause 71. The city’s turnout was
157. Mayor Robert Bridges won another term
without opposition.
TUESDAY VOTE
Voting in Winder and Barrow County had busy and not-so-busy moments Tuesday.
Many voters now take the opportunity to vote early while others still like to cast their
ballot on the actual Tuesday election day. Photos by Jessica Brown
EARLY BIRDS
Early voters rushed to the polls before 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, to cast their ballots.
Photo by Katie Cofer
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