Newspaper Page Text
CITY PA GES
CANDIDATES BRAG
ABOUT THEIR $$$
Campaign fund raising useO to be a nec
essary evil of public life, and a brimming
war chest—though a definite plus—was
best kept hush-hush.
That’s not necessarily true today, even in
local races. Perhaps taking their cue from
George W. Bush—who offers no apologies
for outspending every presidential candi
date in US history—several area candidates
seem to be leading with bottom lines rather
than issue platforms.
District Attorney Harry Gordon kicked
off his re-election campaign by proclaiming
he had raised “$30,000 in 30 days "
Despite having never campaigned before
(Gordon was appointed to his office in 1972
and has never faced opposition), the incum
bent Democrat had amassed almost $27,000
by June 9. when initial campaign disclosure
reports were due His challenger, fellow
Democrat and former Solicitor Genera) Ken
Mauldin, had raised just $5,300
Democrat and Athens civil attorney Doug
McKiliip is running against Republican Rep
Ralph Hudgens for his 24th District State
House seat A June 9 press release from
McKiliip touts his $7,450 war chest as “more
than double what the incumbent raised in
the same five months "
The release goes on to quote McKiliip as
saying that "money is not. and should not
be, the deciding factor in a campaign.” but
that it will allow the candidate to reach
voters on issues such as “improving our
schools, making classrooms safer, and con
tinuing to reduce the tax burden on Georgia
families ’
Republican state Senate candidate Jim
Ivey tssued a June 12 statement boasting of
his status as ‘the top fundraiser as a chal
lenger in 46th District history.** Ivey's disclo
sure report clocked his total contributions
at $27,344.
A local businessman trying to unseat
long-time Democratic Incumbent Paul
Broun, Ivey claims to offer "new, effective
leadership with a positive vision for our
future.” Unlike McKilllp’s, however, Ivey’s
post-disclosure release stops short of
specifics, focusing instead on his fiscal via
bility as a candidate.
“People have been saying *it’s time for a
change’ and now we see they mean it,” the
release states. But a dose look of Ivey’s dis
closure statement reveals that. In addition
to $9,000 in candidate loans, Ivey has
received $4,500 from the Republican party
and committees to elect other Republican
candidates. The remainder—$13,844—is
just slightly more than Broun’s Democratic
challenger, Doug Haines, has collected.
Haines has also stressed the issue of
campaign contributions, albeit from a dif
ferent perspective. He is urging voters to
‘follow the money” by scrutinizing his and
Broun’s campaign disclosure forms, as well
as Broun’s voting record. Haines, an Athens
public interest attorney, has criticized
Broun for accepting money from "corporate
special interests," for running a billboard
campaign, and for refusing to debate the
Issues. Haines, meanwhile, is canvassing
neighborhoods door to door, and is sched
uling a round of "town hair meetings to get
his message across to voters.
"The most important thing any candidate
can do Is listen to the people," reads a
recent Haines press release.
As for Broun, when the Athens Daily
News called on him to respond to Haines’
candidacy, he replied: "Well, he better be
ready to come on. He needs to start raising
a bunch of money." Broun has nearly
$100,000 in contributions, including dona
tions from lobbyists and corporations out
side Georgia.
For disclosure information on all candi
dates mentioned in this article, see City
Pages. June 21 at fiagpole.com. (Brad Aaron)
WATERING BAN
NOW THE LAW
Athens-Clarke County’s voluntary water
use restrictions became mandatory on June
22, after the ACC Commission enacted what
Is believed to be the first such ordinance in
the county’s history.
Residential outdoor watering must now
follow an odd-even schedule: residents with
odd numbered addresses may water their
lawns on odd numbered days, even num
bered addresses on even numbered days.
Watering is allowed on designated days from
10 p.m. to 10 a.m. only.
The restrictions will be enforced by ACC
Public Utilities personnel. First offenses will
merit a warning; subsequent violations will
result In a $200 surcharge on the offender’s
water bill.
The ordinance does not apply to resi
dents with private wells, though they are
being urged to follow suit, given the likeli
hood of an extremely dry summer
The Commission passed the restrictions
on June 20 during a special session pre
ceding their monthly agenda setting session
At the meeting. Mayor Doc Eld ridge and the
Commissioners discussed the nuances of
the restrictions and the most effective
means to inform the public.
“We have got to have the community's
help on this,” EJdridge said Commissioner
Linda Ford suggested they find ways to pub
licize water conservation tips from the
Public Utilities department Mayor Eldridge
and some of the Commissioners agreed to
record radio public service announcements
There was some confusion during the
meeting regarding restrictions on busi
nesses Commissioner Ken Jordan said he
thought it was unfair to prevent residents
from washing their cars at home during the
same hours that car washes—some of which
do not recycfe their water—are open.
It was also determined that the ordinance
does apply to businesses hosing down side
walks—a practice recently adopted to miti
gate odor problems along certain downtown
corridors. Businesses are expected to abide
by the odd-even and hourly restrictions. In
addition, says Public Utilities director Gary
Duck. "Don't just be out there washing down
the sidewalks. If there’s a health issue or of
there’s a problem out there, then certainly
we’re not saying not to wash the sidewalks.
But we are saying do whatever you can to
minimize the use of water."
The city’s new flush truck will continue to
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m FLAGPOLE JUNE 28, 2000