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Democratic challengers bring messages to Forsyth
State, local candidates
speak at party meeting
By Jennifer Sami
Staff Writer
One’s an educator and the
other a U.S. Army Reserves
colonel.
Though their careers have
taken different paths, they
share a common goal of serv¬
ing as a North Georgia con¬
gressman.
Jeff Scott and Doug
Heckman, challenging
Republicans Nathan Deal and
John Linder, respectively,
spoke to Forsyth County
Democrats Wednesday during
a candidate meeting.
District 9, which Deal rep¬
resents, includes most of
Forsyth County, while
extreme south Forsyth falls in
District 7, represented by
Linder.
Scott, a Chickamauga resi¬
dent, has bachelor’s and mas¬
ter’s degrees from the
Voter registration
deadline
Residents have until June 16
to sign up for July primaries
By Jennifer Sami
Staff Writer
Voters have less than two
weeks to register for July 15
the primary election.
The deadline to register is
June 16, though Forsyth
County Voter Registrar Gary
J. Smith said the earlier peo¬
ple sign up, the better.
“It takes between three
and four weeks to get a voter
registration card from the
secretary of state,” Smith
said.
“The state sends out your
voter registration card so you
know exactly where you’re
voting, rather than having to
call our office and find out.”
Despite the multi-candi¬
date local races, Smith said
this election season has been
unusually slow.
“I’m surprised,” he said.
“There doesn’t seem to be as
much interest as I anticipat¬
ed. I’m sure as we get closer
to it, maybe something more
will happen. I’ve talked to
some candidates and even
they are surprised.”
Smith said he doesn’t
anticipate any records will be
broken during the July pri
mary.
In the Feb. 5 presidential
preference primary, Forsyth
County voters supported
Republican Mitt Romney
and Democrat Hillary
Clinton, both of whom have
since bowed out.
Still, Smith said he
expects the presidential elec¬
tion to be a record breaker.
“I don’t care who is on
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University of Tennessee
Chattanooga in multidiscipli¬
nary education and supervi¬
sion. He also has a doctorate
from the University of
Alabama in leadership, tech¬
nology and policy.
Because of his experience,
Scott said, education would be
among his top priorities if
elected to represent the 9th
District.
“Graduation rate, I’m not
worried about that,” he said.
“What I’m more concerned
about is that every student has
skills. Skills that they can take
to the work force or to col¬
lege.”
Scott also touched on
immigration.
“This country was built on
tearing down walls, and that’s
what we need to do,” he said.
“What I want to do is go to
Mexico, meet with representa¬
tives, meet with their business
5#’ *
• ;
Smith
meantime, the July primary
will feature three races on
both the county commission
and school board, as well as
other elected posts, including
clerk of court and sheriff.
With Democrats compet¬
ing in only two contests, the
winner of the majority of the
positions will be decided in
July, unless an independent
candidate chooses to enter
the race later this month.
To register, visit the coun¬
ty voter registrar’s office or
either of the county libraries
for an application, which can
be filled out on site.
Applications can also be
downloaded online from the
Voter Registration and
Elections Department section
of the county’s Web site.
Applications can also be sent
directly to the secretary of
state’s office.
E-mail Jennifer Sami at
jennifersami @ forsythnews
.com.
On the Net
More election and voter
registration information
can be found online at
www.forsythco.com.
the ballot ...
I think we’ll
hit a record
turnout,” he
said. “I
don’t want
to be too
anxious, but
90 percent
is what I’m
thinking.”
the
.
Scott
leaders and we have to reach a
consensus. They’re going to
have to pay their workers
more.
“We need to make an
immigration policy for the
century we’re in now,” he
added.
Scott also talked about
accountability in spending
taxpayers’ money, the need for
alternative fuel exploration
and expansion and removing a
disconnect between
Congressional representatives
and their constituents.
Heckman’s message of
change was similar, saying he
is “fairly disgusted with
what’s going on in
Washington, D.C., these
amends
Commissioners approve hundreds
of ‘minor’ changes to land-use map
By Frank Reddy
Staff Writer
Despite some opposition,
the Forsyth County commis¬
sion has amended a portion of
the county's comprehensive
plan.
A report by a regional
reviewing organization called
alterations to the future land
use map, which included
about 680 changes, minor.
But some of those who
showed up for Thursday’s
public hearing on the matter
said making changes to the
map was anything but incon¬
sequential.
Commissioner Linda
Ledbetter, cast the lone dis¬
senting vote in the 4-1 deci¬
sion.
“Six hundred and eighty
changes? A minor change to
the future land-use map?”
Ledbetter said. “I find that
laughable.”
Jerry Presley, an analyst
with the Council for Quality
Growth, expressed concerns.
“The future land-use map
is intended to reflect future
plans for this community, not
the existing plans,” Presley
said.
The changes approved
Thursday came from zoning
maps, which reflect approved
rezonings, and as-built maps,
which represent the current
state of property beyond the
rezoning process.
Presley took issue with the
way the zoning and as-built
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Heckman
maps were being used.
Information from those
maps was added to the future
land-use map “to show the
reality of how certain areas of
the county have changed,”
according to county senior
long-range planner Vanessa
Bernstein.
Bernstein and county staff
submitted the proposed
changes to the Georgia
Mountains Regional
Development Center, a
research organization that
studies community growth and
natural resource conservation.
The organization respond¬
ed that the changes were
minor and there was no need
to seek approval from the state
Department of Community
Affairs.
Bernstein said moving for¬
ward with changes was “an
interim step before we go into
the major update process, in
which there will be full public
participation.”
Major updates to the com¬
prehensive plan are scheduled
for December 2009.
The last major update to
the future land-use map in
2004 included information on
rezonings current at the time,
while the new composite ver¬
sion of the map reflects
approved zoning changes from
December 2004 to December
2007.
Cindy Mills, a resident
who was involved in the 2004
process, said she was disap¬
pointed that there was little
days.’
“We need people in
Congress that are not worried
about partisan politics and are
more worried about the
American people and finding
solutions for these national
level problems,” said
Heckman, a Gwinnett County
resident and managing direc¬
tor of an asset management
firm.
A self-proclaimed conser¬
vative Democrat, Heckman is
a graduate of the U.S. Military
Academy and Duke
University. He served in
Afghanistan shortly after Sept.
11, 2001, and returned last
year from a one-year tour of
duty in Iraq. His military
experience, he said, is some¬
thing unusual in Congress.
“So many of the people
making the decisions for
American soldiers to go to
war are ... people who have
never seen combat,” he said.
“I’ve held a man’s hand as he
died.
“I think somebody who’s
had that experience, or any¬
thing like that, has a much
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS - Sunday, June 6,2006
higher bar for going to war
and putting people’s lives at
risk.”
Heckman said the most
difficult questions to field are
those from people who say
there is no reason for war.
“There are some reasons,
but let me tell you that the bar
is way up there, and it better
be the last, last, last resort,” he
said.
He also addressed what he
sees as Congress’ failure to
provide adequate funding to
help soldiers returning from
combat.
“They have no problem
funding soldiers going to war,
but they have problems fund¬
ing them coming back,” he
said.
Army aside, Heckman said
he is simply “one of those
guys that’s attracted to come
up to Washington, be the naive
idealist, learn quickly and help
solve our nations problems,
and not to be a professional
politician.”
During the candidate
forum, District 4 candidates
Jon Flack, running for county
public participation with this
round of changes.
“People won’t know
what’s going on till it affects
their property,” she said.
“They should be piled in this
room right now, but they don’t
see the effects till it’s too
late.”
Her chief concern is what
she called the “feathering
down” of residential rezomngs
and densities.
Mills said the county tends
to make zonings and densities
“flow as best as possible,” and
t h at as-built representation on
the future land-use map will
negatively affect property val
ues.
“My fear is that nobody’s
thought this through from a
business standpoint,” Mills
said. “It’s not what the map
says. It’s what we know is
going to be done with the
"
map.
Commissioner David
Richard summed up his stance
on the issue: “Forsyth County
is changing, and you’ve got to
make changes to reflect what
you've done in the past couple
of years so you know where
we’re *going to be.”
E-mail Frank Reddy at
frankreddy @ forsythnews. com.
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PAGE 5A
On the Net
For more statewide
election information, go
online at
www.sos.georgia.gov.
Local information is
available at
www.forsythco.com.
commissioner, and Sheila
Elliott, school board, also
spoke about their positions.
Flack will face the winner
of the July Republican pri¬
mary, Patrick Bell or incum¬
bent David Richard, in
November. Elliott will face
Darla Sexton Light or Fletcher
McCone.
Public Service
Commission District 4
Democratic candidates Bob
Indech and Jim Powell also
spoke. The two are running
against Republicans Pam
Davidson and Lauren W.
McDonald Jr., who has
Forsyth County ties.
E-mail Jennifer Sami at
jen n ife rsam i @fo rsyth news
.com.
Other business
Also at Thursday’s meet¬
ing, the Forsyth County com¬
mission voted to approve the
following:
• An alcohol license for The
Firkin & Crown. Named
licensee is Parag Prakash Patel.
• An amendment to a coun¬
ty ordinance that states “vehi¬
cles having more than six
wheels” will be considered
trucks and subject to fines if
not on a county or state truck
route.
• A variance request by
Burnt Bridge at Settendown
Creek.
• Franklin Goldmine’s
request for a variance and to
amend zoning conditions.
• Oxford Properties’s
request to amend zoning con¬
ditions.
• Also: The board gave the
OK for the county to apply for
the 2008 Secure Our Schools
Grant. The school system and
county will each provide
$12,000 in the match grant,
which would allow some sher¬
iff’s deputies to view school
surveillance from patrol cars.
Note: All votes were 5-0
unless otherwise noted.
— Frank Reddy