Newspaper Page Text
rm± city dope
Step Right Up
QUALIFYING TO RUN FOR OFFICE IS THIS WEEK, AND MORE LOCAL NEWS
By Blake Aued news@flagpole.com
People love to complain about their elected
officials (and often not without good rea
son). Think you can do better? Now’s the
time to put your money where your mouth
is—literally.
The week of Mar. 2-6 is when candi
dates qualify to run for a host of local, state
and federal offices, including even-num
bered seats on the Athens-Clarke County
Commission and Clarke County Board
of Education, every seat in the Georgia
General Assembly and U.S. House of
Representatives, sheriff, several judgeships
and two U.S. Senate seats.
Last week, two sitting ACC commission
ers—Allison Wright in District 4 and Jerry
NeSmith in District 6—announced they’re
running for re-election.
Wright, a medical illustrator, has rep
resented part of the Five Points area since
2013. She takes partial credit for a number
of initiatives during those seven-plus years,
including fare-free transit for children,
seniors and the disabled; affordable hous
ing; police body cameras; and addressing
discrimination at downtown bars. She said
she wants to continue to expand transit,
provide training on discrimination and sex
ual assault to bar employees, and address
poverty and the aging population.
“Experience matters as you look where
Athens is locally and nationally and the
huge projects we have underway,” she said.
“From my work on public health and safety
and community policing programming, to
the beautification of our city, and tackling
discrimination, my record is strong. My
vision for the future includes partnerships
and cooperation.”
Wright will be
opposed by Michael
Stapor, a 22-year-
old University of
Georgia graduate.
“I made the deci
sion to run after
seeing my district in danger of succumbing
to growing pains, a commissioner that was
out of touch with her constituents and an
opportunity to push progressive change
at a very important level of local politics,”
Stapor told Flagpole last week.
NeSmith, who represents and advo
cates for the Atlanta Highway area mostly
outside the Loop, has also held office since
2013. NeSmith called for lowering ACC’s
property tax rate and giving preference to
locally owned businesses in procurement,
especially for the 11-year, $300 million
SPLOST 2020.
“The Sixth District has become more
economically stable,” he said in a news
release. “We are at the threshold of a
renewed Sixth District that is ripe for com
mercial redevelopment. Neighborhoods in
District 6 remain very healthy, overall, with
active citizen participation in business/
neighborhood issues, county activities and
policy-making.
“I will continue to facilitate creating
collaborative alliances among business and
neighborhood leaders—coalitions that
inform my actions and speak with a unified
voice,” he said.
The retired UGA information technol
ogy director is a former ACC planning
commissioner and helped start the Athens
Farmers Market. He serves on the board
of Advantage
Behavioral Health
Systems, is active
on the Ben Epps
Airport Authority
and Oconee
Rivers Greenway
Commission, and is a
member of the Athens Anti-Discrimination
Movement. His son, Jason, performs in
the bands Casper and the Cookies and the
Pylon Re-enactment Society.
Like Wright, NeSmith ran unopposed
in 2016, but this year he’ll face progressive
activist Jesse Houle in the May 19 nonpar
tisan election.
District 8 Commissioner Andy Herold is
running for a fourth full term, setting up
a three-way race among retired educator
and transportation advocate Carol Myers,
lawyer Kamau Hull and couples therapist
Andrea Farnham on the Eastside.
Other than District 8 representative
John Knox, who said in December that he
won’t run again, school board members had
been silent on their plans as of press time.
Grant Could Lure Airline to Athens
Athens-Clarke County has received
a $750,000 U.S. Department of
Transportation grant to help bring commer
cial air service to Athens Ben Epps Airport.
An airline hasn’t flown out of Ben Epps
since 2014, when Congress cut the Essential
Air Service subsidy for small airports.
County officials are currently negotiating
with American Airlines to fly 50-passen
ger jets twice a day between Athens and
Charlotte, according to Commissioner
Jerry NeSmith, who serves on the Airport
Authority. ACC is also offering other incen
tives, such as no landing fees for the first
year. “I’m confident we can convince them
to do this,” NeSmith said.
In addition, the county recently
extended the runway to accommodate
fully fueled 737s and used SPLOST funds
to build a new commercial terminal that
opened in 2017. It’s currently being used
for general aviation, such as charter jets.
“The new terminal is a beautiful building
that will provide a first class experience
to anyone that comes through it and will
accommodate any airline or airlines very
comfortably that decide they want to do
business at the Athens-Ben Epps Airport,”
airport director Mike Mathews said in a
news release.
Other SPLOST and T-SPLOST funds are
also available for airport improvements and
matching state and federal grants.
Experience matters as
you look where Athens is
locally and nationally and the
huge projects we have underway.
UGA Presents
George Hinchliffe’s
Ukulele Orchestra
of Great Britain
THURS MAR 19, 7:30 PM
Hodgson Concert Hall
These eight virtuosos have toured the globe since 1985 with a
trunk full of tunes, a uniquely British sense of humor, and a toe
tapping performance that no one can ever resist. Don't even try!
232 W. HANCOCK AVENUE ATHENS, GA
THENATIONALRESTAURANT.COM (706) 549-3450
SERVING LUNCH MONDAY - SATURDAY & DINNER DAILY
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
YOUR FAVORITE CHEF
,R DALE
WINNER
4
FLAGPOLE.COM | MARCH 4, 2020
