I think Peachtree City resident Josh Bloom was on the right track in his letter last week about being smart in this July’s county election.
I can assure you that no one wants to be rid of Commissioner Herb Frady, Robert Horgan and Lee Hearn more than I do. But in our haste to do away with a real and present threat to our quality of life, we sure don’t need to make things worse.
We should be extremely cautious about who we elect to replace Frady, Horgan and Hearn. The rumor mill says former commissioners Greg Dunn and Rick Price are going to make a move to take over control of the Board of Commissioners. I truly hope this is only a rumor.
In 2002, Editor Cal Beverly described Greg Dunn this way, “Dunn is not my favorite politician; he rubs a lot of people the wrong way with his brisk manner. He can be imperious. I think he’s wrong on open meetings issues.” Dunn’s demeanor could be unbearable and he did rub most people the wrong way.
When we complain about the secret meetings of Frady, Horgan, Hearn and their former colleagues Jack Smith and Eric Maxwell, we need only remember they were chosen to succeed Greg Dunn because of his lack of transparency and openness.
Please, let’s not go from the devotees of special interests over the citizens to Dunn’s “my way or the highway” haughtiness in office.
I also worry about Rick Price and his past track record. Even though he ran under the Republican banner in the state legislature, his positions tended to be more in line with the Democrats.
My husband and I go to most of the Board of Commissioners meetings and Rick Price is never there. Greg Dunn has shown up a few times recently after the rumors started of his wanting to take control over the board.
We have had enough condescension under Jack Smith and Herb Frady, but a return to Greg Dunn would be taking the county in the wrong direction.
There are some very respectable candidates who have already announced they are running for the Board of Commissioners and they are strong advocates of listening and fighting for the hardworking families in Fayette County.
Several of our public officials continually say we need to move forward. I agree. We need to move forward by electing three new commissioners without hidden agendas. We need three new people who are respectful of our constitutional rights, and have proven to be open and honest.
It is very sad to read in the March 19 edition of the AJC that the state of Georgia scored last in an ethics report which was based upon 330 “corruption risk indicators.” The study was based upon open records law, campaign finance rules, auditing and budgeting procedures. Georgia received an overall grade of 49 out of 100. Very sad, indeed.
No, we absolutely do not need to go back to Jack Smith or Greg Dunn.
Ginga Smithfield
Fayetteville, Ga.
