COMMUNITY
‘Neighborhood Friendly’ rating
gets unfriendly review
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
City Council, elected in 2005 after resi
dents voted to incorporate the new city.
The first council voted with the neigh
borhoods 44 percent of the time, ac
cording to SSCN.
Council members with lower scores
say the list is unfair and subjective.
There’s also a suggestion that politics
may have tainted the lists objectivity.
City Council elections are Nov. 5 and
four of its current members — Dianne
Fries, District 2; Gabriel Sterling, Dis
trict 4; Tibby Dejulio, District 5; and
John Paulson, District 1 — are running
for re-election.
Three of the candidates running for
office this year are former members of
the Sandy Springs Council of Neigh
borhoods: Barbara Malone in District
3, Tochie Blad in District 4, and Patty
Berkovitz in District 6.
Susan Joseph, who compiled the list
for SSCN, said the bias charge is untrue.
She said the list was created with the in
tent of providing objective information
for voters about the voting records of
council members.
Joseph said she created previous ver
sions of the list with input from Malone,
Blad and Berkovitz when they were
members of SSCN, but they had no in
volvement in approving the most recent
version of the list. Joseph said the candi
dates’ involvement with SSCN did not
affect how the list ranks the votes of cer
tain council members.
“I can assure you that as much as I
would like my personal opinions to be
part of this ... they weren’t,” Joseph said.
So with those caveats in hand, how
did individual council members run
ning for re-election rank?
Paulson, who is running unopposed,
and Fries, received a 0 percent “Neigh
borhood Friendly” rating from SSCN.
Paulson said he doesn’t agree with the
list’s assessment of his record.
“I don’t believe that’s true,” Paulson
said. “I don’t believe my votes have been
‘zero’ in favor of the neighborhood.”
Fries said the SSCN’s affiliation with
candidates for City Council should
make residents question the value of its
rankings.
“I think it’s important for residents
who see that report to understand that it
presents a very one-sided point of view.
They were selective in the zonings chosen
to present, and they did not make pub
lic important, relevant facts that impact
ed cases such as legal rulings,” Fries said.
“With a political candidate on the orga
nization’s board, it calls into question the
timing and motive of this report.”
Councilman Gabriel Sterling drew
a 33 percent “Neighborhood Friendly”
rating from the group. Sterling joined
the council mid-term during a spe
cial election. Fie said the SSCN’s list is
flawed. Fie said some of the votes con
sidered unfriendly to neighborhood in
terests were part of resolving lawsuits,
such as the vote that settled the Church
of Scientology’s suit against the city.
“They were an activist organization,
and now they’re becoming a political or
ganization,” Sterling said. “Not all their
members are doing it for the right rea
sons and believe in the work they’re do
ing .. .They do not by any means rep
resent all the neighborhoods in Sandy
Springs, not even the majority.”
Dejulio received the highest marks
from SSCN. The list concluded he vot
ed with the neighborhoods 71 percent
of the time.
Dejulio said he couldn’t comment
on whether the list was fair to his col
leagues, saying he could only speak for
himself.
“I have to do what I feel is best for the
people who elected me, for my neigh
borhoods and the city,” Dejulio said.
“Even when I first started with the city,
one of our objectives was to protect
our neighborhoods. We’ve got fabulous
neighborhoods, and we have to ensure
they remain fabulous.”
City Councilwoman Karen Meinzen
McEnerny is not running again. She
also received high marks from SSCN,
voting with the neighborhoods 57 per
cent of the time.
McEnerny said the list is a fair assess
ment of the council’s record. “They have
been conducting this survey since Day
One of the city. I think it’s a wonder
ful public service to the community, to
measure the votes of the elected officials
against the goal and mission of the advo
cacy group,” McEnerny said.
Other council members not up for
re-election criticized the list.
Councilman Chip Collins, who was
rated as voting with the neighborhoods
29 percent of the time, said the list over
generalizes the sentiments of the neigh
borhoods.
“I think the entire study lacks credi
bility,” Collins said. “I would urge voters
to ignore the subjective analysis by the
SSCN as to whether any particular vote
was supportive or disruptive of the wish
es of neighborhoods.”
Mayor Eva Galambos, who is not
seeking re-election, only votes in cas
es where there is a tie among the other
six council members. The SSCN deter
mined that none of her votes, or 0 per
cent, were in the interests of the neigh
borhood.
In one instance, Galambos voted in
favor of allowing a developer to exceed
an 18-story height limit on a new office
building along Mount Vernon ITighway.
Galambos said even though the building
will be higher than 18 stories, it will also
be less dense.
“Sometimes they’re just totally irra
tional,” Galambos said. “I was well aware
that I was voting against the Council of
Neighborhoods.”
Galambos added, “The Council of
Neighborhoods doesn’t always represent
the neighborhoods.”
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Occupation: Antiques Dealer and Auction house owner
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Why are you seeking this position? I am running for Mayor so I can continue with
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SS
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