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Law officers gather
to mourn fallen K9
officer
^DawsonCountyNews
WEDNESDAY I JANUARY 16, 2019 DaWSOflNeWS >COnri DAWSONVULE, GEORGIA $1.00
New city elections rules coming
Clarifications among proposed voting changes to Dawsonville charter
By Allie Dean
adean@dawsonnews.com
Citizens qualifying for the
Dawsonville city council elec
tion this year will have a differ
ent experience than past candi
dates, as they will be vying for
specific district posts depend
ing on where they live.
The previous city council
voted in December 2017 to
amend the city’s charter to con
tain four district posts, much
like the Dawson County Board
of Commissioners. In prior
elections, council members ran
for any open seat. Beginning in
this year’s election, citizens can
only run to be on the council if
the seat in the district where
they reside is up for re-election.
This year, the seats held by
council members Caleb Phillips
and Jason Power are up for re-
election, meaning candidates
must live in either post 1 or
post 3, respectively, to run.
Likewise in 2021, post 2, cur
rently occupied by Stephen
Tolson, will be up for election,
as well as post 4, currently
occupied by Mark French.
The mayor seat is also up for
re-election this year, but the
mayor can reside in any of the
four district posts.
All are elected at-large,
meaning eligible city residents
can vote for any of the candi
dates regardless of where they
live.
The district posts will go to
the general assembly this ses
sion to be ratified as local legis
lation, and though Mayor Mike
Eason has said the local legisla
tion is not required for the posts
See Elections 16A
Brian Kemp takes oath as
Georgia’s 83rd governor
Governor-Elect: ‘I’m going to be working hard for you’
Austin Steele DCN Regional Staff
Governor-Elect Brian Kemps speaks to a crowd during a Georgians First pre-ina-
guration celebration on Jan. 11 at the Gainesville Civic Center.
By Megan Reed
DCN Regional Staff
Republican Brian Kemp
was sworn in at a university
stadium Monday as
Georgia’s 83rd governor.
Kemp visited the
Gainesville Civic Center on
Jan. 11, three days before
his inauguration, and
thanked his supporters as
well as outgoing Gov.
Nathan Deal and first lady
Sandra Deal.
Kemp was joined by his
family and state legislators
on the eighth of nine cele
bration events statewide.
The tour was a way for him
and his administration to
connect with Georgians,
both supporters and people
who may have voted for
another candidate, Kemp
told media.
“It’s been an opportunity
for us to see a lot of hard
working Georgians like this,
tell them thank you, tell them
thank you for supporting the
transition. ... It’s also a way
to let people know that we’re
not going to forget them. I’ll
be a governor who is going
to represent this whole state,”
Kemp said. “My whole mes
sage at most every stop has
been, even people who didn’t
vote for me, as governor, I’m
going to be working hard for
you.”
Savannah Emerich, the
second vice chair of the
Lumpkin GOP, attended
Friday to show support for
Kemp. She said she hopes
his administration upholds
conservative values, such as
opposing gambling and
abortion.
“I think Brian Kemp pro
vides a conservative view as
far as where Georgia might
go in the
future, and
I think he
holds true
to a lot of
values our
president
has, and I
think that’s
something
to admire,” Emerich said.
State Sen. Butch Miller,
R-Gainesville, introduced
the Deals at the event,
thanking them for their
eight years of service.
“You’ve planted trees
under which you will never
enjoy the shade. ... You have
changed
tens of mil-
lions of
Georgians’
lives and
the trajecto
ry of their
lives, and
we are so
very, very
grateful,” Miller said.
Deal said he saw some
familiar faces when he
looked out at the crowd in
Gainesville.
“Some of you were intro
duced to me and Sandra
during the 2010 governor’s
race,” he said. “Many others
of you from this area of the
state have been with us for a
very, very long time, going
all the way back to my days
in the state Senate in 1980.”
Deal also praised Kemp’s
character in the face of a
difficult campaign cycle.
“He stood steadfast, he
carried through with the
things he said he was going
to do in the campaign, and I
think we can be assured
he’s going to do that when
he is sworn in to the office,”
Deal said.
Kemp is 56 and a native
of Athens. He and his wife
Marty have three daughters.
Deal
Judge Bearden
reflects on first
year on Superior
Court bench
By Nick Watson
DCN Regional Staff
One day after being sworn in last year,
Superior Court Judge Clint Bearden
already was taking pleas and handling
arraignments in Dawson County.
Bearden was no stranger to this forum, but
it comes with a whole new vista at the top
of the bench.
“Once you get into the routine of doing
the work that you need to do that day,
everything just fell into place,” he said.
See Bearden |6A
Austin Steele Dawson County News
Judge Clint Bearden has been on the
Superior Court for Hall and Dawson
counties for one year.
Board of commissioners
delays comprehensive
plan update for county
By Allie Dean
adean@dawsonnews.com
The Dawson County Board of
Commissioners conducted a public hearing
Jan. 10 on the proposed comprehensive
plan, which must be updated every five
years in order for the county to retain its
Certified Local Government Status.
That status is administered by the
Georgia Department of Community Affairs
and makes the county eligible for state
grants and programs.
The plan is a road map for elected officials
to use when planning for the future, and the
county began the process of updating the
See Board 13A
THE MOST
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Inside
Volume 4, Number 17
© 2018, Dawson County News
Dawsonville, Georgia
Church Events
3B
Classifieds
7B
Dear Abby
6B
Legals
8B
Opinion
7A
Sports
1B
TV
5B
3A City of Dawsonville
waiving annexation,
rezoning fees for
unincorporated
parcels
5A Former
Lanier Tech
president
mourned at
service
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