It was just a four-page political mailer sent to Fayetteville residents promoting the candidacy of Greg Clifton for mayor and Ed Johnson and Mickey Edwards for the two seats on the city council.
But one glaring error on the mailer and another that to some seemed an attempt to mislead voters led to a call to the candidates and then to former Fayette County Commission Chairman and Fayette County Local Issues Tea Party organizer Harold Bost. What should have been easy answers that would hardly warrant additional attention proved to be something a bit different.
The glossy color mailer was essentially an exercise in customary local politics promoting Clifton, Johnson and Edwards as “A Team with a Different Vision.”
It called Mayor Ken Steele out on several well-publicized campaign issues. Even two of the photos on the back page of the mailer would not have stood out until The Citizen began to ask questions of the candidates about the two photos and the individuals behind the “Let Your Voice Be Heard Committee” PAC (Political Action Committee) that paid for the mailer.
Post 2 Councilman-elect Mickey Edwards, Post 1 Councilman-elect Ed Johnson and Mayor-elect Greg Clifton were each contacted during the weekend prior to the Nov. 8 election and each said they agreed to the PAC’s endorsement.
The three men, all of whom were successfully elected, were asked three questions: the names of the principal players in the PAC, if they were aware that the billboard along Ga. Highway 85 North shown in the photo was not in the Fayetteville city limits and if they were aware that a larger street scene that some in the community thought was Fayetteville was, in fact, a photo of Riverdale.
Asked who the Let Your Voice Be Heard Committee PAC might be, Mickey Edwards said he was not sure of all those involved but wanted to check with “them” before revealing any names. Edwards soon changed his mind, naming Bost and Bob Ross and “I’m not sure who else.”
When the question was posed to Edward Johnson he immediately indicated that the principal individuals involved were Bost, County Commissioner Steve Brown and “a few others.”
And Greg Clifton said he did not really know who was in the PAC, adding that he “knew the money behind it, but before divulging any names” he wanted to confer with “these folks to see what they have to say about it.”
Asked if they were aware that the billboard was not in the city limits, neither Edwards nor Johnson were aware.
As for Clifton, he said he was aware that the billboard was in unincorporated Fayette County, adding that he, “got a a look at it before (the mailer) went out. I wasn’t very pleased with (the billboard photo). I would rather that it had not been in the mailer.” Asked if he shared those concerns with the PAC, Clifton said he did not remember.
Pertaining to another photo on the mailer, it showed a street scene complete with rows of businesses and a wealth of telephone poles and, directly under it, posed the question, “Are we turning into Riverdale?”
Doubled-spaced under the caption were two other statements: “What in the world is this? It’s the Fayetteville city limits!” The photo was in fact not taken in Fayetteville and was apparently a photo of a Riverdale location.
There was additional text double-spaced under those statements that took up the issue of the boundaries of Fayetteville and of a purported future annexation.
In and of itself the Riverdale photo would have been of little concern except that, when the question as to what city it represented was posed to about a dozen residents about half thought it was a street scene of Fayetteville as indicated, they said, by the text under the photo.
Those believing the street scene was Fayetteville said their reasoning was that they followed the visual representation down from “top to bottom,” thus reading the statement that the photo was one of Fayetteville.
Asked if they were aware that the street scene was not Fayetteville, Johnson said he was not aware, Edwards said he was aware and that it referred to the city limits map and potential annexation area which made sense except that the placement of the text below the photo tended to mislead some who saw the mailer. Clifton in his response said he thought it was a Riverdale scene but had preferred that it not be included in the mailer.
Former Fayette County Commissioner Harold Bost was called next, also on the weekend prior to the election, since his was the only name mentioned by two of the candidates. Bost was asked the same questions.
As for the identities of the main individuals in the PAC, Bost said Vic Remeneski chaired the PAC and Jim Williams — formerly the city manager of Fairburn and the city planning director for Peachtree City — served as treasurer. Both are Fayetteville residents.
Asked about his participation in the PAC, Bost said he was involved in “spurring (the PAC) along and encouraging them.”
Bost was also asked about the two photos, who decided they should be used, why they were chosen, their rationale for being used, the placement of the photos on the page and whether it had been recognized that they might be misleading to the voters.
As for the questions about the billboard and street scene in the mailer Bost had “no comment.” Asked why, Bost said he would answer those questions after the election.
“I’m not going to say anything now,” Bost said. Then asked why not, Bost said, “Because I don’t want to.”
Bost in a Nov. 13 email to The Citizen was more forthcoming about the mailer.
“I am the one who developed the concept of the mailer and directed its development and distribution. I also funded the cost to print and distribute. Bob Ross provided the computer work to prepare the pieces for printing.
“The mailer was centered around the topics people care about and Clifton, Johnson and Edwards mirrored the committee’s positions on those important issues.
“The candidates never covered the billboard issue. I initially thought the billboard was in the city limits … The billboard issue was added late in the mailer development because there was blank space remaining … It was later discovered the billboard was outside the city limits and I admit the mistake.
“The mailer was issues driven and anti-West Fayetteville Bypass candidates and anti-transit candidates had never expressed any opinions on the billboard. The mailer wasn’t professionally designed. The billboard error rests clearly on my shoulders.”
Bost also indicated that he would provide a copy of the required state paperwork for all political action committees. The Citizen received a copy of the Oct. 25 filing that had been completed on Oct. 21.
The filing lists Remeneski and Williams as chair and treasurer of the Let Your Voice Be Heard – Committee along with a total of $50 in contributions and no expenditures as of Oct. 21.
Bost in a note that accompanied the copy said that the next filing, due on Dec. 31, will show his contributions of $6,740.01 and expenditures of $6,690.01.
Remeneski has not responded to contacts, though a list of questions, identical to those sent last week to Bost, were mailed to his residence.
Asked about his participation with the PAC, Williams said Bost had asked him if he would serve as treasurer for a couple of weeks.
Williams in a subsequent email on Nov. 11 said, “The PAC was registered 10/4/11. An account was opened at the State Bank of Georgia on 10/6 with a $50 check. A report to the Ethics Commission was filed on or about 10/25. Two checks totaling $3,500 were deposited on 10/27. At this time I do not know if any checks have been written on the account, or if there have been any deposits that I do not know about.”
Bost has yet to identify the other members of the committee.
Bost was one of the organizers and the most visible face behind the Fayette Citizens for Open Government (FayCOG), another political action committee formed in late 2008.
As reported by The Citizen at the time, the FayCOG-PAC was a group of county residents and former office holders. Those include co-chairs Bost and Jim Wingo, secretary David Cree and treasurer J.D. Holmes. Others affiliated with the PAC included Angela Bean, former Fayette County Commissioner Greg Dunn, candidate for sheriff Dave Simmons and former Fayette County Commissioner Peter Pfeifer.
It was on March 9, 2010, nearly a year after the grassroots Tea Party movement began in Fayette County, that FayCOG leadership held the fist Fayette County Local Issues Tea Party meeting at Whitewater Creek Country Club. Bost announced that the “tea party” label was appropriate for a local movement concerned with local issues. It was at that meeting that, intended or not, FayCOG was replaced with the local issues tea party.
But something else occurred at the meeting. Mayor Ken Steele attended the meeting and, from the back of the room, engaged in a “conversation” with Bost on the issue of the West Fayetteville Bypass.
Bost’s remarks about the bypass were followed by a member of the audience asking who was responsible for the project and when was it decided. Sitting the back of the room, Mayor Ken Steele weighed in with his take on the question.
“As memory serves, I think you were on the county commission way back then,” Steele said to Bost. “Fayette was the first county to sign off on a Comprehensive Plan and I believe you were chairman. We prioritized a countywide plan. Our first priority was TDK, the second was the East Fayetteville bypass and the fourth was the West Fayetteville bypass. At the time all the elected officials said the growth would be in Peachtree City and Fayetteville and that if we didn’t build a bypass it would never be built.”
Bost responded saying to Steele, “Your memory doesn’t serve you correctly.”
The two men squared off politely but insistently on one other occasion a few minutes later, again disagreeing on the issue of when Bost served and when he was county commission chairman.
“Sir, you are being disingenuous,” Bost said to Steele, challenging him to prove his point.
A check of county records after the meeting showed that Bost was elected in 1996 and served as commissioner from 1997 through early 2001 when he resigned. Bost was commission chairman in 1999 and 2000.
According to a previous report by The Citizen, in December 1996 a study entitled Fayette County Transportation Study-Interim Report and compiled for the Association of Fayette County Governments was completed and then adopted by all entities in 1997.
The project included seven public meetings and a questionnaire to solicit public input, according to county documents. Similar to a 1990 study, the report identified and recommended both bypass projects. The west bypass route was essentially the same as the current route, though the east bypass route differed slightly from current plans, county records showed.
