Last year, a majority of our voters decided that it was time to take back Fayette County. They voted in commissioners Allen McCarty and Steve Brown, whose major campaign issues were no SPLOST, no mass transit, and fighting the West Fayetteville Bypass.
Unfortunately, the three other commissioners are still in favor of building the road. While the new commissioners are hard at work opposing the bypass, commissioners Frady, Hearn and Horgan have continued to turn a deaf ear to the public’s outcry, steadily growing louder.
Nobody has justified the bypass as being in the public interest. And isn’t it strange that they have also failed to listen to all the negative public comments about the road?
I concluded that past Commission Chairman Jack Smith was so busy getting recognition as a regional leader by the Atlanta Regional Commission, that he lost his perspective of serving his constituents. Otherwise, he would have been reelected.
And former Commissioner Eric Maxwell also vocally supported the project at the same time so many of us were commenting and writing all kinds of letters against it. Unfortunately, only Smith and Maxwell were up for reelection in 2010.
The point is, neither one of them listened to what was being said. But that’s water over the dam. Today, Fayette citizens have become even more vocal. What is so hard to figure out is why nothing can sway the majority when they’ve seen first hand what happens when commissioners put other issues above the people.
Most folks I’ve spoken with tell me that there is a reason why they won’t listen to the public, and have instead decided to press on with all possible dispatch. It would be interesting to get some reader comments as to why this is so. Could it be revenge? Do they favor developers?
One thing sure is that it’s a three-man circus that, by majority vote alone, can nix the efforts of the new men on the job to serve the actual people who voted for them. They’ve already dismissed road critics as “affected landowners.” What they don’t realize is that there are organizations like the Tea Party who also don’t support the road.
If the 2010 election results, 100-percent-negative newspaper articles and public comments don’t convince them, we need to pack the commission meeting room to overflowing every commission meeting.
We want the people, not the ARC, to decide what’s best for Fayette County. Don’t forget, with the regional SPLOST vote coming in 2012, Fayette County can vote against it and still get it by majority vote of the other affected counties.
And no matter what the commissioners tell you, ARC has a plan showing rapid rail extending through Tyrone, Peachtree City, and Senoia.
If you are against the bypass or don’t support such a mammoth waste of money, help support our cause by speaking out against the road at the next commissioners meeting on March 24 at 7 p.m. We are stuck with the three holdover commissioners until the end of next year. You can also contact them by telephone at 770-305-5200 or fax at 770-305-5210.
Enough of us can make a difference. Hope to see you there.
Steve Smithfield
Fayette County, Ga.
[Smithfield has property affected by the proposed bypass.]
