Transportation, voting methods, and the need to make Fayette County as attractive as possible to both business leaders and young people dominated a political forum where candidates vying for the District 5 county commission seat spoke on Saturday.
“This election is about the future of Fayette County,” said Pota Coston, the Democratic challenger to Republican incumbent Commissioner Allen McCarty.
“Many of us moved here because of the quality of life,” she said, adding that the campaign is about ways to grow the economy while protecting and increasing home values in Fayette County.
“The county is a business,” McCarty said. “It’s our job to promote it. We’ve got to bring business here to attract young people. We’ve got a lot of room for development.”
McCarty talked about his efforts on the commission to keep a high bond rating, to make the government more financially efficient and to also put information about the Fayette County Board of Commissioners on the Internet so people all over the world can “see what a great place it is.”
McCarty and Coston as well as candidates for the Fayette County Board of Education were invited to speak at the Saturday morning political forum sponsored by the Democratic, Republican and Tea parties, the Fayette Chamber of Commerce and the Fayette County Branch of the NAACP. They were asked a series of prepared questions and questions from the audience.
The two commission candidates are squaring off in the recently created majority black district ordered by the federal district court. McCarty, who is white, caused a firestorm of comments from the majority black audience when he told them he does not favor district voting.
“Most people don’t realize, (the court) decision took away voting rights,” McCarty said. “If you don’t live in my district, you can’t vote for me, and I believe it’s wrong and shouldn’t be that way.”
Coston, who is black, said, “I believe people want representation, they want a voice, they want a person they can go to who will listen and share their concerns.”
The two also disagreed on whether Fayette County should allow voting on Sundays.
“I’m against it,” McCarty said. “It’s a day of rest. Most (Fayette residents) are church-goers and Christians.” McCarty also worries about the expense of opening polls on a Sunday. He added that the state legislature should make a decision on the state level so all counties are the same.
“I think we should look for every opportunity we can to give people their right to vote,” Coston said and drew applause from the audience.
While the candidates agreed that transportation is an issue, they disagreed on what kind of plans officials should consider.
Coston said all kinds of transportation improvements should be investigated, including a light rail service to Atlanta. “We need to be able to get about our own county and many here commute to the airport (and jobs),” she said. “We’ve got to explore ways we can get our residents to the places they need to be.”
McCarty told the audience of about 60 people about taking a bus for a dime from East Point to Stone Mountain or into Atlanta with his mother and said he believes in public transportation. However, “People like to drive and the percentage of people who would want to ride the rail is so small that they can’t pay for it,” he added. “We, the people, would have to pay for it in taxes.”
Both candidates agreed on the need for affordable housing to lure young people back to Fayette County and also agreed on the need for higher education options that would convince some to stay and others to come to the community.
When asked what kind of policy they would enact if they could adopt any law they wanted, McCarty talked about voter participation and Coston talked about the economy.
“I would make sure every official in this county understands and knows by policy who their bosses are and that is the citizens of this county,” McCarty said. “Other than that, I would like to see more votes, but we can’t mandate everything.”
Coston said she is “not sure what policy to put in place,” but she wants to focus her energy on the county’s economy because she believes a strong economy is the best draw for both business and the young people officials hope to attract to Fayette County.
