OPINION: In this world of uncertainty, one thing is for sure, the campaigns of Tamara Moore and Victor Painter are imploding in the 2023 Peachtree City election. The fake Facebook account posters and anonymous commenters are going to have to put it in overdrive to spin this one.
A new revelation exposed the truth about Moore and Painter. You deserve to know what happened.
What we already knew
I had previously written about the two candidates campaigning as a team. I noted both candidates refused to answer any questions from The Citizen on major issues facing the city. I reminded the readers that neither of the team’s candidates provided any position on any issue of consequence, and only provided snippets of vague verbiage amounting to naught after they were criticized for not replying to The Citizen questions (see the questions here: https://thecitizen.com/2023/10/05/questions-for-peachtree-city-council-candidates-from-the-citizen/).
I also showed both candidates were aligned with a local political action committee, Plan for PTC, advocating for constructing more stacked apartment complexes across the city. In fact, Tamara Moore was a founding member of Plan for PTC (something she never mentions in her campaign posts).
Additionally, I provided examples of ethical dilemmas that could occur with Victor Painter being in leadership at a local bank and being an elected official, approving annexations, rezonings, and variances for bank account holders and major development loan clients. (See the full explanation: https://thecitizen.com/2023/10/16/opinion-what-candidates-tamara-moore-and-vic-painter-are-hoping-you-dont-discover/).
Frustrated, Moore commented The Citizen’s simple “questions were already biased against myself and Painter.” Could she consider the questions “biased” because neither Moore nor Painter wanted to admit they supported Plan for PTC’s construction of dense stacked multi-family complexes and large annexations for residential use, draining our city services and creating the need for continued tax increases?
Well, Moore gave us the answer on Wednesday, it’s “yes.”
A boost gone bust for the Moore and Painter team
Moore collaborated with local resident Stephanie Wagner who apparently works in some sort of planning capacity for another jurisdiction to boost Moore and Painter’s desire for more apartments and mixed-used complexes. Wagner was to submit a letter to the editor espousing the virtues of packing multi-family complexes across the city in addition to the multitude that currently exist.
Wagner wrote a dry endorsement paper echoing Plan for PTC’s goals of putting apartments and mixed-use multi-family complexes in the city limits as cover for Moore and Painter. Unfortunately, Wagner described Peachtree City’s comprehensive plan changes as “the same as every other update that I have been part of,” and she attempts to create some boogeymen saying, “some local and vocal commentary seems to want to sow distrust of the plan and truly maligning the process and people involved.”
Maybe Wagner is intentionally lying, or she is ignorant of the facts but our Planning Director Robin Cailloux refused to release the collected data to the Comprehensive Plan Committee until Suzanne Brown (now a candidate for Post 2) forced it out by filing an open records request under state law. Cailloux had already written changes before the committee ever considered any changes.
Wagner might be surprised that the city council passed a significant rezoning at Cailloux’s recommendation based on comprehensive plan changes that had yet to be submitted to the city council for public comment and approval. It is an amazing coincidence that the applicant for the rezoning was a campaign fundraiser for Mayor Kim Learnard. You cannot make this stuff up! (See: https://thecitizen.com/2022/09/12/mayor-was-deciding-vote-to-ok-rezoning-for-unreported-campaign-contributor/).
Wagner’s piece de resistance was trying to explain why she moved to Peachtree City if so much radical transformation is needed, and she flopped miserably. Likewise, I often wonder why our Planning Director Cailloux wants to urbanize Peachtree City so badly, yet she lives in the eco-yuppie paradise of Serenbe.
Wagner proudly sent a copy of her letter to the editor to all the candidates for city council.
Moore was extremely pleased with the land planning propaganda piece saying, “It truly is a great article.” Moore then shared a moment of truthfulness with Wagner, giving her honest thoughts and opinions from the heart of the Tamara Moore and Victor Painter team supporting the apartments and dense mixed-use, and then accidentally pressed the “reply all” button, sending her true sentiments to all the other candidates. Ouch!
The real Moore and Painter
In her intimate reply to her accomplice, Moore spilled the beans.
Moore pointed out that she and Painter really wanted urbanization, the apartments, and putting dense mixed-use developments into our community.
Knowing Learnard needs their two votes to create a majority vote on forcing the urbanization projects and thwarting our traditional award-winning planning, Moore explained to Wagner, “I need to get in and so does Vic or this city is in big trouble.” The translation is no urbanization means “big trouble.”
The pomposity grew stronger as Moore shared with her accomplice, “The council with the mild exception of the Mayor are so narrow minded and judgmental we have become the laughing stock of the metro area.”
Moore and Painter massacred their creating harmony on the city council rhetoric with that bitter pill. Similarly, I think you can clearly see how they intend to treat Councilmen Frank Destadio and Clint Holland, the only two on the current city council who stand up for the citizenry and against the urbanization plans.
Moore let Wagner know that the drastic change would be possible with the “right council.” She also mimicked former Democrat Socialist candidate for mayor Nick Ferrante’s mixed-use “entertainment center” theme. You will remember Ferrante campaigned on open-container alcohol in all the city’s village centers and wanted operating hours extended well after midnight.
Not the family-oriented community we love, for sure.
Moore ended her tragically misrouted email agreeing with the apartment complexes and mixed-use complexes cited in Wagner’s letter, saying, “I liked it” and “I think the educated voter would just chime in to say well done.”
She asked Wagner to “Keep me posted” on whether they got the propaganda piece slipped onto The Citizen website or not. (See the real thoughts behind the Moore and Painter campaign here: https://thecitizen.com/2023/10/19/candidate-moore-calls-peachtree-city-council-narrow-minded-and-judgmental-says-she-and-candidate-painter-will-save-city-from-big-trouble/).
So, what exactly are you doing?
In the name of all things good, I truly hope you are not planning on voting for either of these two candidates.
If we wanted to live in Sandy Springs, Buckhead, or Decatur, we would have moved there. Don’t allow a handful of people who hide their true agendas, controlled by a political action committee, to ruin our great quality of life city.
If truth and accuracy are important to you, believe what Tamara Moore is saying in private when she thinks no one is looking.
Apologies to Johnson, Imker, and Brown
The developers’ Plan for PTC candidates (Moore and Painter) pose such a dangerous threat that exposing them has taken most of the attention from the other candidates. I apologize for the lack of coverage on their campaigns.
Candidates Laura Johnson, Eric Imker, and Suzanne Brown (no relation) starkly contrast Moore and Painter’s urbanization agenda. Johnson, Imker, and Brown were not afraid to answer The Citizen’s questions because they had nothing to hide. Unlike Moore and Painter, none of the other three favor the radical land planning changes of the urbanization model sponsored by Plan for PTC.
As a former city councilman, Eric Imker is the only candidate in the city election who has an actual voting record on city affairs. Imker’s focus has traditionally been on city budgets.
Here is the link for Imker’s responses to the candidate questions: https://thecitizen.com/2023/10/13/eric-imker-answers-candidate-questions-from-the-citizen/
Laura Plauche Johnson is a political newbie who strongly desires to keep Peachtree City in its award-winning village format. Johnson would have to learn as she goes, but her intentions seem to be pure.
Here is the link for Johnson’s responses to the candidate questions:
Laura P. Johnson answers candidate questions from The Citizen
Suzanne Brown is the most effective and compelling citizen advocate our city has seen in the last decade. For years, she has been actively attending all city meetings, actively involved, and speaking out on issues that could have a negative impact on our community.
Here is the link for Brown’s responses to the candidate questions:
Candidates Laura Johnson, Eric Imker, and Suzanne Brown have run honest campaigns and have not avoided any questions on any issue. They deserve your consideration.
More hostility from the mayor
Councilman Clint Holland wrote a letter of endorsement for candidate Suzanne Brown. It was a polite letter and offered some distinct points where Brown has set herself apart (see: https://thecitizen.com/2023/10/17/letter-councilman-holland-endorses-suzanne-brown-for-peachtree-city-council-post-2/).
Mayor Kim Learnard does not support Suzanne Brown and berated Holland for offering his support. Learnard even accused Holland of lying. I know for a fact that the few things listed in Holland’s letter are factual and can be backed up (over 6,200 readers know the truth: https://thecitizen.com/2020/11/01/lci-meeting-insult-to-peachtree-city-residents/).
Anyone who has dealt with Mayor Learnard will not be surprised at the irony of her scolding council members for offering letters of endorsement. That’s all letters of endorsement except the ones for Learnard’s candidacy; she loves those (see: https://thecitizen.com/2021/11/18/councilman-mike-king-lets-set-the-record-straight/).
Yes, in her letter to the editor (of the evil newspaper that publishes all her letters), mayoral candidate Learnard said, “I am endorsed by three current City Council members and a long list of community leaders across the political spectrum.” How ironic with Learnard citing council member endorsements in her own letter to the editor while chiding Holland for his.
Learnard endorsing a candidate appears to be a valid exception to her self-made rules as well (see: https://thecitizen.com/2011/11/02/ptcs-2-councilwomen-learnard-and-fleisch-come-out-imker/).
As a former councilwoman and now as mayor, Learnard has had no problem drafting critical letters against the County Board of Commissioners and her colleagues on the city council. It’s just that no one is ever allowed to disagree with Learnard lest they be verbally beaten into submission.
Learnard’s campaign letter to the editor reported, “To me, debating issues is more important than attacking people. I believe that a mayor is someone who leads by example, works well with others, champions community events, shares a positive spirit, and exudes maturity. I believe the middle still matters, and that civility has an important place in our local government.” Did she ever miss the mark on that campaign pledge (Letter from Kim Learnard: Mayoral election not about partisan division, November 28, 2021)?
Don’t allow the negative Kims of this world to steal our openness and community harmony. When we lose harmony, we lose our sense of place and quality of life.
[Brown is a former mayor of Peachtree City and served two terms on the Fayette County Board of Commissioners. You can read all his columns by clicking on his photo below.]
Those who want more building and traffic don’t care. Most of them don’t live in Peachtree city.
Smart growth is good but massive donors are coming in from out of the the city. I hope the fellow residents see this!!!!
If bad interpretations of events was an Olympic sport Steve would be headed to Paris.
I hope the majority of voters don’t fall for this junk. Peachtree City can build nothing and the #1 complaint folks have (traffic) will still get worse. If we want the tax base to stay higher than average earners, we need to attract the next generation.
Does nobody in PTC like Trilith? That’s all mixed use is. It’s not scary and it’s not apartments.
First, I have disagreed with Mr. Brown on these pages and others but we have both posted in the open under our own names So, I give him a lot of credit for transparency even when we disagree.
Second, go to Trilith, what are all those things above the retail and other multi-storied buildings, Multi-family stacked housing. Maybe the next generation should start there and save their money and move to PTC when they can afford it. We are not a starter community.
How would those units ( whatever you call them ) lessen or make traffic better? People still need to get to work.
Take Care
n
They reduce traffic & trips precisely because they are walkable neighborhoods with commercial and residential mixed. To put it in the Peachtree City context, which is easier, to get to commercial in your neighborhood or to cross 54/74 to the other side? I know that I prioritize commercial options on my side of 54/74 because I don’t want to have to drive to the other side.
As to the second point about PTC not being a starter community–I actually think that’s a fine position to take and won’t judge you for it because you are being HONEST about it. But I’ve seen several folks running for council arguing in one breath that we need to address housing affordability and in the next arguing against any expansion (whether increased density or annexation). And it just can’t be both things at the same time. Either you support growth, or you accept that your kids aren’t going to be able to live in the same community as you. They aren’t making new land, so there’s no where else to build new houses (supply and demand governs the prices) than either up or out.
Hi Blake
As I said somewhere else. We need to improve infrastructure before discussing growth. Its going to be a process. Today, my wife and I drive to the Virginia Highlands, the Battery, Perimeter Mall, MidTown Atlanta, and other spots to find the entertainment we seek. We even do Buckhead once in a while. However, to drop any of that in PTC with the roads we got with a few hundred stacked dwellings is unwise in my opinion.
My son turns 20 on Wednesday. Right now he is talking about living in SC (Greenville) after school. When I was younger Grandma’s house was an hour away.
My sister lives in Woodstock. My mother is now 14 hours away in NJ. These are all choices we made and I would not ask my neighbors to pay the price of me wanting them closer. Instead, I got XMRadio and Wayze.
Take Care,
n
It’s still high density housing be it an apartment, townhome MFH or mixed use facility. For Trillith, you have Veteran’s Parkway to funnel much of the traffic, with alternate access to the interstates. I’d suspect many of the residents there are also associated with Trilith thus limiting some of the commuter traffic. Those living further down Sandy Creek may not care as much for the increases in traffic on it in the future, in addition to the increased load on 74/I85. PTC on the other hand has a saturated roadway with it’s two major arteries, and increasing the density within PTC will only worsen the problem.
The real question is, Why does PTC and for that matter Fayette County need to increase their density? Is this what the people really want? In the quarter century that I’ve lived here, I’ve seen the population of this county double. I moved here for the greenspace and rural atmosphere. I could leave my purse in my car and not worry about it at home. That ended about a decade ago. Opie, it isn’t Mayberry anymore. The population now seems to be growing at a faster pace, and north Fayette is looking much like south Fulton/Riverdale. Who really want to see this growth are the builders and real estate developers. It’s not about quality of life, but the search for the dollar that drives these people.
Our entire economic system is underpinned by growth, that is how capitalism works. If people stop having babies and the need for housing collapses, so does everything else. Everyone loves capitalism when their investments make money and then complain when the very thing (more demand than supply) that does that has other aspects.
It continues to surprise me people are surprised a city 30 minutes from one of the largest airports in the world is growing. If you want the country lifestyle you need to be 2 hours from any real city or international airport. At least. I understand this is a bummer for a lot of older folks, but the next generation needs places to live and to afford it, and for a city to do this and reduce the load on taxpayers, denser housing is the only way.
To the other commenter, Neil – if you hate poor people just say that. I find it ironic that a city with 30+ Christian churches struggles to have empathy or offer any real help to those not already well off. No one is talking about building below market rate housing or even market rate housing. Just smaller footprint homes that still require household incomes of ~200k to afford.
My there’s a leap! To be transparent, I actually worked in the public housing field for a while. I took less money to rebuild the Finance department of the Atlanta Housing Authority. I felt if we could become more efficient, we could drive more money to the residents. At the Mobile Housing Board, I taught a weekly WEALTH class which was really how to do the basic household Finance for public housing residents. So to your comment, helping the less fortunate has been a focus of mine. How about you?
In my opinion, the bigger problem is the next generation ( and their enabling mothers ) want it all now. I bought my first house in Clayton County. Built equity and grew my career to be able to afford a new house in Peachtree City twenty years ago next week.
Its funny how many of my friends that I have met in PTC/Newnan started their Atlanta Adult life along Roswell Road in Atlanta/Dunwoody. For me it was Morgan Falls Station.
Your presumption is that their is now housing but their is plenty, but not in our school district. Their is plenty in Fayette that isn’t new, but needs work. I bought my first tool box at the Fayetteville Home Depot. The generation can do it, home depot can help.
Take Care,
n
Neil – Glad to hear you’ve done more than most. I’m here asking you to do more. PTC can’t just unilaterally spend $ on infra. The worst offenders are state routes. We need to do what’s in our control and lobby the country and state to do their part. If we waited to build anything before infrastructure was 100% ready for increased capacity, nothing would ever get built.
I’ve served my country, volunteered in various organizations for young folks who need help or disabled folks. I currently help those (not as much as before, young kids…) who want to break out of lower paying jobs into software or more office based work that pays better. This isn’t about what you or I have done, but what we are doing or who we are supporting now.
Your analogy of “I did it, so you can too” just doesn’t hold water. I encourage you to put the salary you made when you first bought a home into an inflation calculator. Then look at the price of homes today in same area. Lastly, look at what many hard working Georgians are getting paid. There is no way someone working the same job you did would be able to afford the same home in the dans place. Look at what homes cost in Atlanta now! It’s not the same. Jobs pay the same (or less) adjusted for inflation than 15, 30, or 45 years ago. I got out of the army in 2012 and got a $55k/year job. I still have friends making that now (same job) but food/housing/gas has all gone up. It’s wild, these are technical jobs that require a degree or experience.
Building equity happened for you because of what? Why did your home build equity? Because supply outstripped demand and prices went up. If demand was met by supply, homes would cost the same today as 30 years ago (adjusted for inflation) but that’s not the case. As long as this cycle continues, starter homes get out reach for more and more folks.
Yes – you have to work hard too. However, it’s not just that. For sure a lot of “gimme gimme” types but for everyone 1 of those I know 10 hard working folks who can’t catch a break. Let’s not let the few taint your view of the many.
So if you want to live less than 30 minutes from the airport in an urban environment with affordable housing, sounds like you are more suited for Clayton County. Fayette has the 3rd highest median home price in the state to Forsyth and Fulton County. Clayton median home value is half of that.
What has made Fayette attractive has been the rural nature, the schools, and the close proximity to Atlanta. Truly a suburb. Developers simply want to exploit it as it creates a lucrative market for them by creating high density housing. More homes on less land. When median home prices fall due to over development, they will move on to greener pastures, literally just like our annoyed vet suggests to hours away from the airport.
You forgot one other key to capitalism and that is supply and demand. Demand is what keeps Fayette property in the upper echelon of home prices. Flood the supply with high density housing, and you’ll cut the demand, and we’ll start looking more like Clayton. Clayton has a population density of 800 people per square mile while Fayette has a population density of 208 people per square mile.
The people of Fayette need to be careful of what they wish for in terms of growth and this is controlled by who they elect!
correction the density figures were in per square kilometer not mile. Fayette is 516 sq km and Clayton is 374 sq km. Populaation of Fayette 120,000 population of Clayton 300,000.
ToSirWithLove – I am certainly not advocating for doubling the population or anything close to that. Yes, demand is high and will continue to be for Fayette county, hence my argument we could add more homes. Like a hundred a year, that’s it. I like the rural-ish feel too, it’s why I want to see existing land redevelopment slightly more dense than now, no need to reduce green space.
We can have a nice little downtown street and some condos (HOA, no rentals is fine), let the bars stay open a little later and not get close to meeting demand or “ruining” what makes PTC unique. Don’t like that? Just don’t go to that area of the city. Same way I don’t go to all the existing places I don’t care about and don’t affect me.
There’s a lot of good information in Steve’s letter to consider when voting . But I wish to point out that our Mayor says she is NOT supportive of urbanization, more apartments or reviving the LCI. That is a relief to hear and I believe she is being honest. She did a very good 8 minute video on the PTCSlice online newsletter which addressed some of the misinformation floating around regarding these issues and updated some of the new and ongoing projects in PTC that I think most citizens favor.
However, I will not vote for any candidate who is not clearly on the record regarding urbanization and allowing more apartments and who refuse to engage with the local media, regardless of its Conservative bent.
Thank you Mr. Brown for your insight. I depend on you for laying it all out there and I can’t thank you enough. I always look forward to reading what you have to say.
Great job Steve of putting all this information out there!
Great synopsis of what is going on. I suspect Painter and Moore will get about as close to winning as Mr. The Bubble is Magic. This is not Fulton County.
Concerning your statement about “Knowing Learnard needs their two votes to create a majority vote on forcing the urbanization projects and thwarting our traditional award-winning planning”…this is totally false if you watch mayor Learnard on YouTube make it clear that she and city council will follow the master plan and that includes NO apartments…here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDMR33MMk3U&feature=youtu.be
Am I incorrect?
Thank you Steve for keeping us informed and pulling together true stories of the good candidates and most importantly, Moore and Painter, who want to destroy Peachtree City along with Learnard and Cailloux. Well done 👍