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COMMUNITY
Candidates’ forum runs short, produces little heat
BY DAN WHISENHUNT
danwhisenhunt@reporternewspapers.net
DAN WHISENHUNT
Clean Sweep Candidate Sam Eads, Post 3, answers a
question while Post 2 candidate Heyward Wescott and
Incumbent Candidate Doug Thompson, Post 3 listen.
There was something odd about the
candidates’ forum held in Dunwoody
on Oct. 6.
The organizers of the event at Dun-
woody United Methodist Church
scheduled it to last two hours, but it was
an early night for everyone. The forum
wrapped up in just over an hour, even
though there were seven politicians shar
ing a stage.
The candidates had been provided
the questions in advance, and several
read their answers off cards.
The audience sat quietly in the au
ditorium as the rain drummed on the
roof. There was little spontaneity. No
one clapped. No one cheered. No one
booed.
The candidates answered questions
with clockwork precision. On the off
chance a candidate overshot the allotted
two minutes, the moderator strummed
a guitar — playing the theme to “Deliv
erance” — to silence him.
Two incumbents — Denis Short-
al, who’s running for District 1, Post 1,
and Doug Thompson, who’s running for
District 3, Post 3 — shared the stage, and
many awkward looks, with three “Clean
Sweep” candidates.
Henly Shelton, who’s running for
District 1, Post 1; Jim Riticher, who’s
running in District 2, Post 2; and Sam
Eads in District 3, Post 3, have an
nounced they are running as a slate of
candidates seeking to oust the incum
bents.
Heyward Wescott, a member of the
Dunwoody Homeowners Association,
also running in District 2, Post 2, was
described as a political insider by his
Clean Sweep opponent, Riticher.
In the middle of all this sat William
Mercier, a District 2, Post 2 candidate
unaligned with either side of the argu
ment. He tried to rise above it all, tak
ing middle-of-the-road stances, and the
Clean Sweep candidates mostly spoke
past him to the candidates they accuse
of ruining Dunwoody.
Another candidate, David Davis,
who seeks the seat in District 1, Post 1,
did not attend.
Clean Sweep candidates are running
to join the council and oppose Mayor
Mike Davis, who is not on the Nov. 5
ballot. They contend that Shortal and
Thompson have backed Davis, nota
bly on the Project Renaissance devel
opment. They also have a beef with the
way council members treated retiring
District 2, Post 2 Councilwoman Adri
an Bonser.
Over the last two years Bonser has
been the subject of ethics investigations
that accused her of leaking information
from closed-door meetings about Proj
ect Renaissance.
During the forum, Bonser sat near
the front row and nodded as the Clean
Sweep candidates defended her for ques
tioning the mayor’s policies.
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2 | OCT. 18 —OCT. 31, 2013 | www.ReporterNewspapers.net
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