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| Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver |
Incorporation Town Hall Meeting
Last night, May 6, 2013, Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D), Decatur, held a Town Hall Meeting at Clairmont Hills Baptist Church, featuring several members of DeKalb County's delegation to the Georgia General Assembly, other local elected officials, and spokesmen for the various community groups investigating incorporation. They were there to discuss the various cityhood bills that were dropped in the final days of the General Assembly, the goals and concerns of the local communities, and the impact incorporation may have on DeKalb County. Overall, it was a compelling and comprehensive review of the current community interests in incorporation.
Legislators in attendance at the meeting included: Sen. Fran Millar (R), Dunwoody, Sen. Jason Carter (D), Decatur, Rep. Michele Henson (D), Stone Mountain, Rep. Pam Stephenson (D), Atlanta, Rep. Tom Taylor (R), Dunwoody, Rep. Howard Mosby (D), Atlanta and Rep. Scott Holcomb (D), Atlanta.
Conspicuous by their absence were Sen. Steve Henson (D), Tucker, Rep. 'Coach' Williams (D), Avondale Estates, and Rep. Billy Mitchell (D), Stone Mountain.
The sole representative for DeKalb County was Commissioner Jeff Rader, District 2. In view of the importance and potential impact incorporation will have on DeKalb County, it was very disappointing that no other elected official from DeKalb County was in attendance. Among those absent, along with CEO Burrell Ellis, were Commissioner Elaine Boyer, District 1, Commissioner Kathie Gannon, Super District 6, and Commissioner Stan Watson, Super District 7. Considering the fact that much of the motivation driving the incorporation movement is directly related to the failure of county leadership, it is quite telling that our elected officials chose not to be involved or to engage their constituents in these important discussions.
The various community groups represented at the Town Hall Meeting included the Lakeside City Alliance (Bernie Knight), Tucker Together (Michelle Penkava), City of Stonecrest (Jason Lary), Briarcliff (Don Broussard), Druid Hills Civic Association (Bruce McGregor), and Chamblee Annexation (Elmer Veith). Other speakers included Tom Gehl of the Georgia Municipal Association, Nancy Love of the Civic Association Network (CAN) and Andrea Arnold, representing the City of Decatur.
Audio Recording of the Town Hall Meeting
For those of you who were unable to attend the Town Meeting but would like to hear the entire presentation, a recording of the entire two-hour long meeting can be found here. In particular, I am making this audio recording available for the senior leadership of the LCA who were not in attendance.
LCA (and presumably other groups) received request to make presentation from Oliver's office 5 days before the May 6 meeting. Bernie Knight, LCA board member, presented at Oliver's townhall meeting. The senior leadership of the LCA were not in attendance because of previously scheduled presentation to a community group (scheduled 1 month prior to this meeting -Woodworth) and Levitas' daughter's birthday.
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