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ATHENS!
GE :
LOOKING BACK OH 2012
Downtown Develnpment, Darwin and Mnre
the calendar flipped over to 2012, Athens residents
had just learned that Atlanta's Selig Enterprises was
planning a massive mixed-use development on the
southeast edge of downtown anchored by a 94,000 square-foot
Walmart, the low-price leader with a reputation for mistreating
employees and putting mom-and-
pop shops out of business.
Downtown business owners
and community activists rallied
to the cause, protesting both the
presence of a big box downtown
and the flawed design Selig
was attempting to foist on the
city. On the other side, Mayor
Nancy Denson, the Chamber of
Commerce and African-American
leaders aligned, arguing that the
development would bring needed
jobs, tax revenue and affordable
groceries to downtown and East
Athens across the river.
The debate grew heated, to
say the least. People for a Better
Athens held rallies, Protect
Downtown Athens released a
Patterson Hood-penned protest
song, and Occupy Athens got
themselves kicked out of an
Athens-Clarke Commission meet
ing and then off the City Hall
property where they were camp
ing. Meanwhile, silence from
Selig. The company was meeting quietly with small groups of
influential people but declined to hold public meetings or for
mally file any plans.
What started out as a contentious year improved in
February. As the masses rattled their sabers over the Selig
proposal and the Walmart issue, unbeknownst to them, the
Illinois-based construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar
was eyeing the 900-acre Orkin tract on the Clarke-Oconee
county line. The company announced in February that it would
build a plant there that, when completed, would employ 1,400
people???the largest economic development project in Athens
history.
The failed idea for an entertainment district and research
park on the banks of the North Oconee River, as well as the
bad economy, the Selig proposal and the Caterpillar coup, put
the spotlight on economic development like never before. A
task force appointed by Mayor Nancy Denson began to meet
to come up with recommendations for bringing jobs to the
community.
In Atlanta, state legislators seemed to be doing every
thing they could to screw over Athens. They continued to
slash budgets for K-12 and higher education. The cuts forced
the Board of Regents to raise tuition, making college less
affordable and leaving fewer dollars in students' pockets
that they could spend in local businesses. The Clarke County
School District faced a $14 million budget shortfall mostly
due to declining state funding; the Board of Education and
Superintendent Phil Lanoue responded by eliminating 48
paraprofessionals, in addition to several teachers and other
employees.
Lawmakers also took it upon themselves to redraw the
Athens-Clarke Commission district map over the objections of
commissioners themselves, a citizen committee appointed to
draw the post-Census lines and dozens of voters who came to
public hearings. The new map, designed to elect a Republican,
failed. (The progressive Jerry NeSmith would win in District 6
months later.) But it did fulfill newly minted Republican Rep.
Doug McKillip's campaign promise. While they were at it, the
legislature fussed with our congressional and
state House districts, splitting Clarke County yet
again to ensure McKillip's re-election by giv
ing him more Republican voters, leaving liberal
Athens with just one Democrat in its five-member
delegation.
At the same time, McKilLip was pushing
through one of the country's strictest anti
abortion bills, establishing his bona fides among
social conservatives. The law bans most abor
tions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, rather than
the accepted standard of 26 weeks???the point
when a fetus can generally survive outside the
womb???set by the Supreme Court. The legislature
passed and Gov. Nathan Deal signed the law over
the objections of many doctors, who said it would
compromise their ability to choose the best
course of action for their patients and who took
issue with McKillip's assertion that a 20-week-old
fetus can feel pain.
Nevertheless, voters rejected McKilLip.
Bolstered by about 1,500 Democrats who crossed
over to vote in the July GOP primary, Regina
Quick ousted McKilLip by just 63 votes. The same election saw
Spencer Frye, running on a platform of fresh leadership, oust
longtime state Rep. Keith Heard, R-Athens, who was dogged by
rumors that he didn't really live in town. NeSmith and Allison
Wright won their commission races on the westside and in
Five Points, respectively, and stealth conservative Carl Parks
won Wright's open seat on the school board unopposed. Voters
in most of the state rejected proposals for regional 1 percent
sales taxes to pay for transportation infrastructure.
The Mayor and Commission donned Caterpillar caps in February when the company announced it would
build a plant in Bogart.
Spencer Frye went from rocker (circa 2005) to representative in 2012.
6 FLAGP0LE.C0M ??? DECEMBER 26, 2012 & JANUARY 2, 2013