I read the article in the Nov. 19, 2014 edition of The Citizen regarding the tirade of Commissioner Barlow at the Nov. 13 County Commission meeting. I will not comment on his tirade because I don’t feel it needs any comment from me.
What I found so refreshing were the comments from your readers which condemned his tirade. Their comments made me feel that the residents of Fayette County paid attention to the results of the election and the district voting system used for the election.
The fact that the District 5 race for the commissioner’s seat was won by an African American validated the system. The fact that Ms. Pota Coston won with 67 percent of the vote in District 5 means that the residents of the district finally were able to elect a candidate of their choice.
The fact that Fayette County had the highest rate of voter participation than any county in Georgia, meant that the residents were paying attention to this historic election.
To me, it signaled that the people are tired of the debate over district versus at-large voting. It signaled that the county is ready to move forward.
It also signaled that the residents of Fayette County do not want any more of their tax dollars spent (about a million so far) by the Commission and the Board of Education in fighting a system that gives all residents the opportunity to have representation of their choice.
If they have the interests of the people of Fayette County at heart, they should withdraw their appeal to the lawsuit.
There are those who say we will be “another Clayton County.” I assure you that Fayette County will never be another Clayton County. It is time for our county to keep setting the curb as a model for other counties to follow. Let’s get on with it!
Dan Lowry
Fayetteville, Ga.
