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THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010
Named the best weekly editorial page in the nation for 2007, 2008
Opinions
“Private opinion is weak, but public opinion is almost omnipotent. ”
- Henry Ward Beecher ~
Mike Buffington, editor • Email: Mike@mainstreetnews.com
our views
Subdivisions:
What to
do now?
W HAT a mess. That
nearly 70 subdi
visions are out of
compliance with county codes
is a terrible situation. Those are
just in unincorporated areas of
the county and don’t include
defunct subdivisions inside the
county’s towns.
There are two real questions
here: How did that happen and
what should be done about it?
Of course, most of the devel
opments went under when the
housing boom became a bust.
Developers either saw their proj
ects in foreclosure, or just walked
away from them in the crash.
Many of the developments on
the list don’t have active bonds
that should have taken care of
a developer’s nonperformance.
In theory those bonded projects
should have had the money in
place to finish incomplete roads
and other infrastructure. That
they don’t is something county
leaders should ferret out.
The second issue is what to
do now? There is pressure on
the county to find a way and
make those projects viable again;
people bought lots that they can
not now build on. Some want the
county to bail them out of those
soured investments.
No doubt banks that hold
those properties, or hold paper
on them, would also like to see
them fixed with public money
rather than their own funds. It
will be difficult for a bank to sell
a foreclosed development if it’s
not in county compliance.
And the county itself would
like to see these properties fixed
since they are causing a massive
downward pressure on the tax
digest. Until these properties are
viable, they will drag down the
surrounding area.
Most of the property involved is
located along the formerly high-
growth West Jackson Area. Some
20 of the properties are pods in
the Traditions development, one
of the county’s premier subdivi
sions that now suffers from a
large foreclosure problem.
Despite all those problems, it
will be difficult for the county
to offer much help. Using tax
payer money to make good on
people’s private investments will
be a hard sell for anyone who
makes such a pitch.
The Jackson Herald
Founded 1875 • The Official Legal
Organ of Jackson County, Ga.
Mike Buffington Co-Publisher & Editor
Scott Buffington Co-Publisher &
Advertising Manager
News Department
Angela Gary Associate Editor
Jana Adams Mitcham Features Editor
Brandon Reed Sports Editor
Kerri Testement Reporter
Sharon Hogan Reporter
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letters
Says husband is good councilman
Dear Editor:
Since you have never met me (Debra Plott) or
my husband (Roy Plott), and we do not recall
ever having met you, I do not understand how you
can make assumptions as to the integrity of my
husband.
In your editorial “Jefferson issues simmering,”
you indicated that the city council votes as if only
one person (Jim Joiner) runs the council and the
city. (“At the minimum, Dubois joining the council
disrupts a fairly solid majority coalition of council
members — Roy Plott, Steve Kinney and Varnadoe
— over which Mayor Jim Joiner has held a lot of
sway.”)
I can tell you right now that Roy never makes an
uninformed vote on any issue brought before the
council. He always studies the issues before the
meeting, i.e going out and looking at properties
that are up for re-zoning, speaking personally with
citizens with issues and studies the laws and ordi
nances that effect the vote.
He has only been on the city council for two
years and in my opinion, has served this city well
with honesty and integrity. You not only will find
that he has shown up for all his meetings (except
one in August, 2009 while we were on vacation),
but he shows up for events that request or require
the councilmen to be there which is more than you
can say about some of the others.
Not only that, but he volunteers his time and ener
gy to make improvements to our city environment
through Mainstreet and Keep Jackson Beautiful.
Not only has he served his district well, but
citizens outside of his district call him because they
know he will listen and follow through.
I hate to paint a big bullseye on his back for you
to take shots at by writing you, but I would certainly
appreciate it if you would not throw him in a pot of
hot water with everyone else unless you know what
you are talking about.
Sincerely,
Debra S. Plott
Barnes and Ox in the lead, for now
THE LATEST campaign disclosure reports filed by
the candidates for governor don’t leave any doubts
about it: former governor Roy Barnes and Insurance
Commissioner John Oxendine have pulled out to
big leads over their primary opponents.
Barnes, the Democratic frontrunner, piled up
more money than any other candidate in either
primary, reporting more than $2.7 million in contri
butions during the last six months of 2009.
Oxendine, who’s been
running ahead in the early
polls among Republican
voters, raised $1.5 mil
lion for the period ending
Dec. 31, although that total
includes a $250,000 loan
from Brand Banking Co. in
Lawrenceville.
The most important statis
tic at this point is how much
money a candidate still has
in the bank and available
to spend. At the first of the
year, Barnes and Oxendine
both had a little more than
$2.2 million cash on hand. That’s a lot more than
anybody else could show.
Oxendine contended that the latest reports show
the governor’s race is narrowing down to him and
Barnes, who was the governor from 1999 to 2003.
“Definitely, when you look at the money, the indi
vidual polls, the name recognition, I think it will be
between the two of us,” Oxendine said. “With all of
these factors, I’ll be the strongest candidate to run
against Roy.”
It’s too early to tell if Oxendine’s prediction is
accurate, of course. Even with the advantages of
money, it’s still possible for a campaign to go into
the ditch.
Even so, there was a severe dropoff in dollars
from Barnes and Oxendine to the other candidates
in the respective primaries, with indications that
some of the contenders are already starting to feel
a financial pinch.
On the Republican side, former state senator Eric
Johnson of Savannah reported $680,848 in contri
butions over the past six months, which is less than
half Oxendine’s total. He still had a respectable $1.3
million in his campaign bank account, however.
U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal of Gainesville and former
secretary of state Karen Handel were not in such
good shape.
Deal raised $608,438 during the last six months of
2009, but that was less than half what he was able
to bring in during the first six months. He is also
burning through his campaign funds at a fast rate,
spending more than he raised during the latest six-
month period: $816,830. That left Deal with a cash
balance of $940,275.
“I’m ready for the primary campaign and after
that, we will turn our sights on Mr. Barnes or any
one else President Obama and the Democrat party
should nominate,” Deal said.
Handel continues to be the weakest fundraiser
of the four leading candidates in the GOP primary,
receiving only $515,794 in contributions during the
last six months. She spent $400,810 during that
same period, which left her campaign with only
$439,998 in the bank.
Handel does have one advantage over Oxendine:
because she recently quit as secretary of state, she
can legally solicit campaign funds while the General
Assembly is in session.
Oxendine cannot take contributions for the next
three months because he’s an elected statewide
official, but he does have the money he borrowed
from the bank to keep paying campaign bills during
the legislative session.
On the Democratic side, Barnes raised more than
twice as much money during the last six months as
his three challengers combined.
Attorney General Thurbert Baker brought in
$665,642 and reported $874,564 cash on hand.
House Minority Leader DuBose Porter (D-Dublin)
raised $141,687 and had $303,807 in his campaign
account.
“There are two types of campaigns,” Porter said.
“One is a big money campaign where the candidate
sits in a room and dials for dollars. The second is a
grassroots campaign where the candidate gets out
and creates a dialogue with the people.”
Porter added: “When I look at past campaigns
where grassroots candidates defeated big money
candidates, we are actually a little ahead in the ratio
of money to our largest competitor.”
Retired adjutant general David Poythress report
ed $202,758 in contributions during the past six
months, but that total includes a $50,000 loan he
made to his campaign. He had cash on hand of
$264,353.
That’s the money situation for now. We’ll see how
those dollars translate into votes.
Tom Crawford is the editor of The Georgia
Report. He can be reached at tcrawford@capito-
limpact.net.
Should top public
officials live in
community?
T HE PROPOSAL by Jefferson City
Manager John Ward to move
outside the town has stirred
up a storm of controversy. In his current
contract, Ward is required to live inside
the city limits of Jefferson. He would like
to change that to move on other property
outside the town.
Some have risen to defend the idea
of Ward being
allowed to
move, but oth
ers really don’t
like the idea,
as they’ve
made clear in
comments on
our website
story about the
matter.
This is not
a new issue.
Several top
appointed
public officials
in Jackson
County live else
where. Is that always a bad thing?
Maybe not, but it certainly creates a
tremendous amount of resentment from
those whose tax dollars pay those salaries.
The Jackson County School System, for
example, has long come under fire from
critics because many of its top administra
tive officials live outside the county.
In years past, housing was a major
problem on this issue. As difficult as it is
to believe now, it wasn’t too long ago that
a choice of housing options in Jackson
County was very limited. It was only in the
mid-1980s with the growth in subdivisions
that housing options began to grow in the
county.
Today, housing may still be an issue in
the current recession where newly-hired
people may not be able to sell their old
house quickly and move to the commu
nity. Should the county turn down hiring
good talent over that limitation?
In addition, some argue that people
should not be forced to move to take a
public job, that family issues should be
considered as well. For example, moving
might force a spouse to have to quit their
job because of distance, or force a child
to have to change schools. And there is
an argument that some jobs are so spe
cialized and the pool of available talent
limited such that you have to hire qualified
people regardless of where they live.
But others believe while that may be
true for low-level positions, those who
are top officials of local public agencies
should always be required to live in the
community they serve. To do otherwise,
they argue, is to allow a major disconnect
between the official and the people he or
she serves.
Top appointed officials should have to
face constituents in the grocery store, or
the dry cleaners or other places, they say.
They should become a part of the com
munity over which they hold such sway
and invest in it, critics believe. And since
some of these top officials are highly-com
pensated, over $100,000 in annual salaries,
critics argue there is no reason they can’t
afford a home in Jackson County.
Whatever the view, it’s apparent that
where top appointed officials live won’t
stop being an issue in Jackson County.
The Ward request is just the latest in a
very long battle to answer these questions.
mike
buffington
The recent death of longtime Jefferson
restaurant owner Owen Web brought back
a lot of memories from my childhood.
After school each day, I’d come down
town to the newspaper office and walk
over his restaurant, which at that time was
on the square. The old wooden porch
was still on the upper floor of the building
at the time and Owen Webb’s was on the
bottom floor at street level. A squeaky
screen door greeted customers, along
with the strong smell of onions.
The snack bar was toward the back
right of the building where red stools
stood at the bar. I’d usually get a chili-dog
and maybe a milkshake and listen to
Owen’s tall tales for a while. He loved to
joke around and always had something
funny to say.
That was a long time ago. Much has
changed. But the memories linger.
Mike Buffington is editor of The Jackson
Herald. He can be reached at mike@main-
streetnews.com.