Fayette County Sheriff Barry Babb can breathe easy for the primary elections in May. He has no opposition from either party.
But nearly all incumbents of local government offices in Fayette are facing challengers, mostly Democrats wanting to take back some offices that before the early 1990s belonged to their party exclusively.
There’s even a contested race for the Democrat nomination for Fayette County Commission District 2 and District 5. Democrat Bobby R. Jones is running against John R. Tate for the Democratic nomination to face Republican incumbent Lee Hearn, the current board chairman.
But the marquee Democrat race has to be Darryl Hicks running against Quentin “Q” Pullen for the nomination to face incumbent Republican Charles Oddo. Hicks has served for years as the appointed chair of the unelected Fayette County Development Authority and several terms on the appointed county Board of Elections.
All three Republican Board of Education members face Democrat opponents for the fall general elections, while one, incumbent Scott Hollowell, faces a primary Republican challenger in the District 3 election.
Hollowell or primary challenger Anne Menaldo will face Kim Cox Owens (D) in the November General Election.
Veteran Superior Court Clerk Sheila Studdard cruises past the primary without opposition, but will face Democrat Tonya Corbin in November.
Tax Commissioner Kristie King, the incumbent Republican office holder, will face a November challenge from Democrat Angela Haynes.
Here is the one contested Republican primary race for May 21:
Board of Education District 3: Incumbent (and former chairman) Scott Hollwell vs. Anne Menaldo.
Here are the contested Democrat primary races for May 21:
County Commission District 2: Bobby R. Jones vs. John R. Tate.
County Commission District 5: Darryl Hicks vs. Quentin “Q” Pullen.
Below is the list of all the countywide races for local offices for the May 21 General Primary and for the nonpartisan posts:
Board Of Education District 1 —
Randy Hough (R) Incumbent
Lydia C. Powell (D)
Board Of Education District 3
Scott Hollowell (R) Incumbent
Anne Menaldo (R)
Kim Cox Owens (D)
Board Of Education District 5
Brian Anderson (R) Incumbent
Catherine Remkes (D)
Clerk Of Superior Court
Sheila Studdard (R) Incumbent
Tonya Corbin (D)
Coroner
W Bee Huddleston (R) Incumbent
(NO OPPOSITION)
County Commissioner District 1
Eric K. Maxwell (R) incumbent
Vickie Butler (D)
County Commissioner District 2
Lee Hearn (R) Incumbent
Bobby R. Jones (D)
John R. Tate (D)
County Commissioner District 5
Charles Oddo (R) Incumbent
Darryl Hicks (D)
Quentin “Q” Pullen (D)
Magistrate Judge — Post 1
Christy A. Dunkelberger (Np) Incumbent
(NO OPPOSITION)
Magistrate Judge — Post 2
Kathy Brown-valencia (Np) Incumbent
(NO OPPOSITION)
Magistrate Judge — Post 3
Robert “Bob” Ruppenthal (Np) Incumbent
(NO OPPOSITION)
Magistrate Judge — Post 4
David R. Moore (Np) Incumbent
(NO OPPOSITION)
Probate Court Judge
Angela Landgaard (R) Incumbent
(NO OPPOSITION)
Sheriff
Barry H. Babb (R) Incumbent
(NO OPPOSITION)
Solicitor General — State Court
Jamie K. Inagawa (R)
(NO OPPOSITION)
Tax Commissioner
Kristie King (R) Incumbent
Angela Haynes (D)
Let’s step away from the shrill and ignorant rants of “racism” and over the top rhetoric that come from our regular one-note pianos here, and look at some facts about Democrats that may explain why they have not held majorities in our area since the 1990s.
Here are some snippets from the 1992 Democrat Party Platform that illustrate how far hard left today’s D’s are:
“Our Party’s first priority is opportunity—broad-based, non-inflationary economic growth and the opportunity that flows from it. … We believe in free enterprise and the power of market forces.”
“We must also tackle spending, by putting everything on the table; eliminate nonproductive programs; achieve defense savings; reform entitlement programs to control soaring health care costs; cut federal administrative costs by 3 percent annually for four years; limit increases in the “present budget” to the rate of growth in the average American’s paycheck; apply a strict “pay as you go” rule to new non-investment spending; and make the rich pay their fair share in taxes.” (OK, Dem’s are still banging the “fair share” drum, which they have not been able to define in over 30 years.)
“We believe that by what it says and how it conducts its business, government must once again make responsibility an instrument of national purpose. Our future as a nation depends upon the daily assumption of personal responsibility by millions of Americans from all walks of life.”
“Governments don’t raise children, people do. People who bring children into this world have a responsibility to care for them and give them values, motivation and discipline. Children should not have children. We need a national crackdown on deadbeat parents, an effective system of child support enforcement nationwide, and a systematic effort to establish paternity for every child.”
“Welfare should be a second chance, not a way of life. We want to break the cycle of welfare by adhering to two simple principles: no one who is able to work can stay on welfare forever, and no one who works should live in poverty.”
“Democrats in 1992 intend to lead a revolution in government, challenging it to act responsibly and be accountable, starting with the hardest and most urgent problems of the deficit and economic growth. Rather than throw money at obsolete programs, we will eliminate unnecessary layers of management, cut administrative costs, give people more choices in the service they get, and empower them to make those choices.”
“All branches of government must live by the laws the rest of us obey, determine their pay in an open manner that builds public trust, and eliminate special privileges.”
“To empower America’s communities, Democrats pledge to restore government as the upholder of basic law and order for crime-ravaged communities. The simplest and most direct way to restore order in our cities is to put more police on the streets.”
Remember, these were the 1992 national goals of Democrats, a party that was once comparatively reasonable and common sense. However, it has moved so far to the left, it is rare to find someone in the D camp to vote for these days.
Bill – Thank you for this wave of nostalgia. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a centrist president again like Bill Clinton or George H.W. Bush, a Congress that (until Newt Gingrich poisoned it) regularly compromised, and a Supreme Court that was beholden to the Constitution instead of a political ideology? I could easily support this 1992 Democratic Party Platform today and a Bill Clinton-type of president.
It is not just the Democrats who have moved from their earlier platform. I remember when Republicans championed free trade, unconditionally supported NATO, stood up to authoritarian regimes in Russia and around the world, supported individual freedoms and body autonomy, and believed in science. I remember when Republicans supported law and order instead of insurrection. I remember when Republican presidents accepted the results of elections and attended the inaugurations of the new president. I remember a Republican party that promoted our country’s current greatness instead of instilling fear. That Republican party no longer exists, but it could return.
Most of all, I remember when people were decent to one another from the Oval Office to the city square. I remember when presidents mainly told the truth for fear of all the media exposing them.
I guess I’m just old-fashioned.
Fiction: once again, you bring only bluster, half-truths and deception in response to facts, so you are easily dismissed.
You seem to be a sailor drifting out to sea with land becoming smaller and smaller on the horizon, wondering why the shore is moving so far away. Conservatives have not changed their core beliefs and values, but from the perspective of a drifting-to-far-left progressive, it looks as if they are becoming more and more “radical”.
While I would like to see compromise in Washington, it would not be at the expense of limited government and a balanced budget. As I showed, Democrats have moved far more than Republicans from the “center”, so compromise is often not possible.
What’s the compromise on our open border? On defunding the police, not enforcing laws and the sexualization of kids? On identity politics or no voter ID to secure elections, etc.?
Neither party has shown fiscal discipline at the federal level, but a core of Republicans opposes the obscene out of control spending that has put our nation on a fast path to financial ruin.
Republicans are not the solution to our problems, but at least they are not the cause of most of our problems. We need to continue to vote for those who will keep us true to the Constitution and common sense.
According to the website, Investopedia, Donald Trump holds the record for the most debt created in a four year term at $6.7 trillion. I hope we can find another Republican to deal with this and other problems.
Reagan tripled the national debt while in office as well.
Our Constitution is designed to require legislative compromise.
To your specific items, a compromise border bill was just rejected last month even though Republicans got the majority of what they asked for. Police defunding has not occurred across the country, and the original defunding idea was shifting public service money to mental health issues that the police claimed were making their jobs impossible. Parents, not schools or commissions, should be responsible for raising their children. State legislators have no business interfering with parents unless specific abuse or neglect is evident. Americans should be free to love whom they want to love. If you don’t like their choices, you can always look away instead of insisting that they change. The 2020 elections were rigorously litigated and found to be honest and accurate in virtually every courthouse in which they appeared.
Americans are very creative. We can be happy with some of the things we want without demanding everything. We are not China or Iran.
Bill, to your laughable statement on compromise – “Democrats have moved far more than Republicans from the ‘center’, so compromise is often not possible.” So what do you call erecting gallows and a noose on the Capitol grounds of the United States and then storming a joint session of Congress (chanting you want to kill the VP of the United States and the US Speaker of the House), with a US Senator looking on and raising his fist in gleeful solidarity with the movement? Another failed attempt to Republican compromise?
I view politics like poly tricks. Just another boring ugly social engineering tool with ugly actors with the sole goal of dividing the public and conquering their lives. HOWEVER, if you’re into that sorta thing AND you like the way it is here you probably want to keep voting the way that has been securing this nice, fairly safe community. BUT if you’re just looking to make a country style suburb of Atlanta into a concrete jungle by all means.. Because in the end it’s all about your consent and then your compliance. Happy voting!!
I hope Democrats lose because the only thing Democrats will do to Fayette County is turn it into Clayton County. High crime, low quality of life, and bad schools is the future for Fayette County if the Democrats of today take over. Before you vote find out who/what groups are funding the candidates. Look at Fulton, Clayton, Dekalb, Gwinnett, etc. Weak on crime, pro open borders (some sheriffs ran on NOT arresting illegal aliens or NOT cooperating with ICE), and socialist leaning judges, DAs, mayors, city councils, and county commissioners have ruined once great places to live. The quality of life and safety of the Atlanta metro area has gone down hill and Fayette is next. Who would have ever thought that the suburbs would become as bad as the big cities? Keep this up and there will not be anywhere for Americans to move to anymore to find peace and safety and sanity.
You tell ’em, Kathleen! If your skin is even slightly off-white, stay out of Fayette County. Who needs a dog whistle when you have a bullhorn available?
Kathleen never mentioned race. You interjected it. The issue is with the policies of today’s Democratic Party. Whether on a city, county, state, or national level those policies have led to a lower quality of life for the residents living in the areas controlled by Democrat officials.
Stranger Than Fiction: There is a reason why non-white American citizens have moved from Fulton and Clayton to Fayette County too. Do you think only white people like low crime, good schools, and high quality of life? There have been movies and TV shows that were extremely popular that were about this very subject. Do you remember The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air? That whole show was about a teen from Philadelphia who was sent to Bel-Air by his mother to get him away from crime and gangs. If the USA keeps going the way it is going there will not be any decent areas to live in except for the very rich. I do not mind not being very rich, but I sure as heck do not like living in high crime areas with lots of drug dealers, gangs, violence, and other chaos going on all the time. I grew up in Clayton County when it was low crime, I lived there as an adult when it changed to high crime. I do not want every county in Georgia to turn into a Clayton County. And I am pretty sure most people who moved to Fayette to get away from other counties agree with me. Look at the crime statistics. Democrat ran cities and counties have more crime and lower quality of life. Conservative policies are just better.
And this ladies and gentlemen (Kathleen’s parroted rhetoric) is why sensible Republicans are leaving the MAGA Republican party. The party has nothing, and I mean nothing to offer up except fear. Fear in the form that our white-suburban neighborhoods are being overrun by crime, illegal drugs and gang violence; that the schools are being taken over by Marxists and good Lord, look what’s going on at the border. “These aren’t people. These are animals” stated by DJT himself last night. This is straight out of the Authoritarian Handbook by creating doubt in people’s minds and then ratchetting up the fear all across the country. And of course, it follows that there’s only one man – one party that can make you feel safe again. Victor Orban (et al.) applauds your efforts, Kathleen.
Absolutely correct, Doon. Kathleen’s dangerous and fear-invoking rhetoric is straight out of 1930s Germany and Italy with all the nefarious actors vilified and only one politician available to save humankind. The orange guy doesn’t even disguise the wording in his 90-year-old propaganda proclamations.
Truth is stranger than fiction!
I’ll tell you Stranger, if you ask today’s current MAGA Repubs, would they prefer a two-party political system or a just single-party political system, most will say the latter. I’m speaking of a clear majority here. Now that is some real Truth that is indeed … Scarier than Fiction!
STF this makes me sad. Not because we disagree, because we often do. But rather, because you ASSUMED Kathleen meant race, even though she didn’t say it. This unfortunately, its out of one playbook for sure.
Crime is up in Atlanta, Cobb, Dunwoody, Clayton… and even our little hamlet of Fayette. Schools have declined in Atlanta, Cobb, Dunwoody, and Clayton …
Now it’s easy to say the only difference if the change in political leadership which has gone from R to D. But I think it’s due to the perspective of the leaders. (article coming in April, I appreciate the help focusing it!)
As a MAGA conservative from NY who has had some involvement with the Trump organization in the past, I can tell you Trump worked with Koch (D), Dunkins (D), Guiliani (R) and anyone else to gets things done.
We need to do the same. We need the best people to help us keep Fayette great. To close and paraphrase Ted Lasso, I hope everyone is curious of those
running for office and does not judge them solely on their political party.