Where’s Our Local Control?
Dear members of the Georgia Senate Committee on State and Local Governmental Operations:
Hello from an Athens-Clarke County voter. Local control of my county commission is being snatched away before my eyes. Today.
County commissioners work for our public safety, our public health, our streets and paving, our clean water and sewer, our local parks, our local elections.
Today my county’s two state senators, Bill Cowsert and Frank Ginn, are pushing through a bill to remove local control of our county commission districts from me, from all residents of Athens-Clarke, and from my elected county commissioners.
I ask you to support the “Compromise Map,” passed by the Athens-Clarke County Commission with eight yes and two no votes on Jan. 20. Our Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections and Voter Registration passed a resolution in support of this compromise map on Jan. 26.
Used to be, Republicans valued and loudly proclaimed loyalty to local control by majority vote. Not anymore. Remember, Republican members of this committee, you sleep with local control under your pillows—until you don’t like what the locals want.
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