The Cat is Curious about Local Politics

[GACat]

I've always paid (lots) of attention to National & State Politics, but only recently have given much thought to local politics (being a homeowner will cure Political Laziness fast. ) I also do not have children, so issues like school boards, etc., have never caught my strong attention. I basically tend to vote only on issues/politicians I have a personal stake in. I don't believe in voting on issues or candidates I am uniformed on just for the sake of voting. I'm registered in one party, but will consider & have on occasion voted outside of my usual party. So I have a few Dumb Questions, if you all don't mind answering for me.

 

I live in Post 1 apparently, so all of this Posts 2 & 4 doesn't really directly relate to me. I do realize who gets elected in those Posts does affect me, just doesn't directly "represent" me due to my residence location. What I was wondering, are the 4 "Posts" elections not all held the same year? I've seen nothing about Posts 1 & 3. Or I've just totally missed it. Why is that? A way to prevent at total upheaval of the commission? Were the Posts just not all originally established at the same time? Why 4 Posts instead of 5? To prevent a majority rule (Dem vs Rep)? Locally, have the Commission members always been in the same political party, or is that just simply a reflection of the overall political makeup of Paulding?

 

Not trying to start any arguments here, just was wondering. I didn't grow up here but I've lived here a decade. And as I said, I just honestly (and I must admit wrongly) never paid much attention to local politics until now.

 

Thanks everyone.

[gpatt0n]

Paulding has a history of being a one-party county.

 

That party, from 1866-1984 was solidly Democratic (as were most counties in the rural south.) There were exceptions on a national scale including congress but it wasn't until 1988 that Paulding elected its first Republican - Sheriff Perry Grogan.

 

This is not to say that the Democrats were of the national flavor. Democrat congressman Larry McDonald - reputed to be the second most conservative congressman to serve in the 20th century, a proud member of the John Birch Society and a victim in the KAL 007 flight shot down by the Russians in the 1980's served this district. Others elected by Paulding voters included Newt Gingrich and Bob Barr.

 

Of course Sheriff Grogan, a one-term sheriff, ended up not only appearing on the 700 club with Newt but also in Paulding Superior court because of his criminal relationship with a 12 year old girl during his first term.

 

Still, with our representatives being former Speaker Tom Murphy, Sen. Nathan Dean and Rep Charlie Watts - all Democrats, the transition to a pure GOP county was not complete until 2002 when Murphy lost. Sheriff Bruce Harris, who had run as a Democrat in 1992, 1996 and 2000, followed the rest of the power structure in 2004 to complete the party switch. If memory serves, between 2004 and 2008 the Democrats have offered but two candidates for office. Will Avery, who is running for District 19, is the first viable local Democrat to throw a hat in the ring since 2004. In one sense, he is like another West Georgia college professor (Avery is a grad student who teaches undergraduate classes there) since Newt Gingrich first ran for office in 1974. (Newt lost twice but won in 1978).

 

Many of today's Republicans were Democrats in the early 1990s as the county's political machine basically just moved to the Republican party because of the changing demographics of the county.

 

To understand the demographic shift from rural Georgia one need only look at the population growth of the county. In 1980, the census put the county's population at just over 26,000 residents and its legacy of being a Democratic stronghold was based on that history, which runs to being the location of literally the last victories enjoyed by the confederacy in the civil war.

 

By 1990, the population had increased to just over 40,000 residents and by 2000, 81,000. As most new residents would be classed as suburbanites - a group which largely identifies with the Republican Party - the transition was inevitable in large part because of most elected offices are county-wide (only post commissioners are districted) and, of course, the history of the south in general being dominated by a single party.

 

In regard to the commission, it is a five man board with a chairman and four post commissioners.

 

The chairman and post 1 run in presidential years and the Posts two, three and four run in gubernatorial years. Most constitutional (elected officers) run in presidential years but obviously the DA race is run the same year as Georgia's governor.

 

The General assembly seat is up every two years as is the Georgia Senate Seat(s) and the US Congress.

 

Locally, the political scene has also evolved from the period in the 1980s and before when two major factions in the local government more or less traded control over the courthouse.

One was loosely defined as the power center around the city of Dallas and this is the group that, for instance, had influence with Speaker Murphy.

 

The other was more representative of the unincorporated parts of the county and fostered the rapid population growth in the county and made sure that local developers were always in the loop.

 

The key issue in all this was sewerage. Dallas had it and the county didn't. The powers that be in Dallas sought to maintain control over that precious public resource for their advantage. (For instance, the first Walmart in Paulding was in Dallas. Today, Dallas has no Wal Mart.)

 

One of the tricks of the old days was that the commissioner in power would spend all the money as he headed out of office as that was part of the tradition of 'taking turns' in the courthouse.

 

It appeared that by 1996, with the election of Bill Carruth as Chairman, the unincorporated 'county' faction had gained dominance and even gained state-wide influence through folks like Speaker Glenn Richardson and the association of Phil Gingrey on the board of a local bank.

 

This group spurred the growth of sewerage, first with the Coppermine Sewerage Plant (done under the term of Johnny Helms, who recently passed away) and later the Pumpkinvine Creek Sewerage plant serving the north east part of the county.

 

In many ways, this faction's leadership was good as it marked a departure from the old ways which had served a county of 26,000 just fine. But higher professionalism was absolutely needed and there was an expansion of the county departments. Almost all the growth in county government was under the leadership of this group which I'll call the Mega development faction.

 

But with the growth, came opportunities. For instance, when Cousins came to develop its property in northeast Paulding (Senators Ridge, Seven Hills, etc.) they needed sewerage. The county got them sewerage including the condemnation of private lands to pave the way. Of course Cousins paid for the plant but part of the cost was the allocation of sewerage capacity for non-Cousins development. They balked but there would be no deal unless Counsins built the plant and literally gave it to the county with only a portion of the facilities capacities being for their use. Who got the remaining access to the sewerage?

 

A better question was why was access to sewerage important? Well two things. Paulding has poor soils that are not universally suitable for septic tank development. Second, the county created zoning options for planned residential developments that would allow up to three-homes per acre based on the aggregate size of a development ... but would also allow lots as small as 6,000 to 8,000 square feet.

 

One other aspect of the Mega development faction is its lack of interest in any serious economic development other than residential development. The belief is that if you bring in larger companies and entities, those entities because of the potential influence in local politics, are unwelcome as they may restrict the ability of the Mega Development faction to tilt the playing field in their favor.

 

There are those who suggest that the current administration is the old Dallas faction but that would be like saying today's Republican Party is indistinguishable from the Whigs of yesteryear.

 

The reality is that it is not the old Dallas faction, that faction ceased to have serious political power with the election of Carruth in 1996. Rather it is a new faction that is largely a reaction to the excesses of the Mega development faction that consolidated power in the time between 1996 and 2008.

 

Given the growth of the county under the Mega development faction, they still retain a great deal of power as the county's civil service is dominated by their appointees and hires. Indeed, given the role of the post commissioners in this, the election of David Austin as chairman has not made a tremendous change in the nature of the administration of the county.

 

Some believe that group is using its position within the county civil service as well as its influence in other institutions to thwart economic development during the Austin administration because they feel they can regain the chairmanship in 2012; particularly if the politics of attrition and division can stymie any progress in the interim.

 

I'm sure some will dispute this analysis... and they are welcome to do so.

 

pubby

[Animal]

Paulding has a history of being a one-party county.

 

That party, from 1866-1984 was solidly Democratic (as were most counties in the rural south.) There were exceptions on a national scale including congress but it wasn't until 1988 that Paulding elected its first Republican - Sheriff Perry Grogan.

 

This is not to say that the Democrats were of the national flavor. Democrat congressman Larry McDonald - reputed to be the second most conservative congressman to serve in the 20th century, a proud member of the John Birch Society and a victim in the KAL 007 flight shot down by the Russians in the 1980's served this district. Others elected by Paulding voters included Newt Gingrich and Bob Barr.

 

Of course Sheriff Grogan, a one-term sheriff, ended up not only appearing on the 700 club with Newt but also in Paulding Superior court because of his criminal relationship with a 12 year old girl during his first term.

 

Still, with our representatives being former Speaker Tom Murphy, Sen. Nathan Dean and Rep Charlie Watts - all Democrats, the transition to a pure GOP county was not complete until 2002 when Murphy lost. Sheriff Bruce Harris, who had run as a Democrat in 1992, 1996 and 2000, followed the rest of the power structure in 2004 to complete the party switch. If memory serves, between 2004 and 2008 the Democrats have offered but two candidates for office. Will Avery, who is running for District 19, is the first viable local Democrat to throw a hat in the ring since 2004. In one sense, he is like another West Georgia college professor (Avery is a grad student who teaches undergraduate classes there) since Newt Gingrich first ran for office in 1974. (Newt lost twice but won in 1978).

 

Many of today's Republicans were Democrats in the early 1990s as the county's political machine basically just moved to the Republican party because of the changing demographics of the county.

 

To understand the demographic shift from rural Georgia one need only look at the population growth of the county. In 1980, the census put the county's population at just over 26,000 residents and its legacy of being a Democratic stronghold was based on that history, which runs to being the location of literally the last victories enjoyed by the confederacy in the civil war.

 

By 1990, the population had increased to just over 40,000 residents and by 2000, 81,000. As most new residents would be classed as suburbanites - a group which largely identifies with the Republican Party - the transition was inevitable in large part because of most elected offices are county-wide (only post commissioners are districted) and, of course, the history of the south in general being dominated by a single party.

 

In regard to the commission, it is a five man board with a chairman and four post commissioners.

 

The chairman and post 1 run in presidential years and the Posts two, three and four run in gubernatorial years. Most constitutional (elected officers) run in presidential years but obviously the DA race is run the same year as Georgia's governor.

 

The General assembly seat is up every two years as is the Georgia Senate Seat(s) and the US Congress.

 

Locally, the political scene has also evolved from the period in the 1980s and before when two major factions in the local government more or less traded control over the courthouse.

One was loosely defined as the power center around the city of Dallas and this is the group that, for instance, had influence with Speaker Murphy.

 

The other was more representative of the unincorporated parts of the county and fostered the rapid population growth in the county and made sure that local developers were always in the loop.

 

The key issue in all this was sewerage. Dallas had it and the county didn't. The powers that be in Dallas sought to maintain control over that precious public resource for their advantage. (For instance, the first Walmart in Paulding was in Dallas. Today, Dallas has no Wal Mart.)

 

One of the tricks of the old days was that the commissioner in power would spend all the money as he headed out of office as that was part of the tradition of 'taking turns' in the courthouse.

 

It appeared that by 1996, with the election of Bill Carruth as Chairman, the unincorporated 'county' faction had gained dominance and even gained state-wide influence through folks like Speaker Glenn Richardson and the association of Phil Gingrey on the board of a local bank.

 

This group spurred the growth of sewerage, first with the Coppermine Sewerage Plant (done under the term of Johnny Helms, who recently passed away) and later the Pumpkinvine Creek Sewerage plant serving the north east part of the county.

 

In many ways, this faction's leadership was good as it marked a departure from the old ways which had served a county of 26,000 just fine. But higher professionalism was absolutely needed and there was an expansion of the county departments. Almost all the growth in county government was under the leadership of this group which I'll call the Mega development faction.

 

But with the growth, came opportunities. For instance, when Cousins came to develop its property in northeast Paulding (Senators Ridge, Seven Hills, etc.) they needed sewerage. The county got them sewerage including the condemnation of private lands to pave the way. Of course Cousins paid for the plant but part of the cost was the allocation of sewerage capacity for non-Cousins development. They balked but there would be no deal unless Counsins built the plant and literally gave it to the county with only a portion of the facilities capacities being for their use. Who got the remaining access to the sewerage?

 

A better question was why was access to sewerage important? Well two things. Paulding has poor soils that are not universally suitable for septic tank development. Second, the county created zoning options for planned residential developments that would allow up to three-homes per acre based on the aggregate size of a development ... but would also allow lots as small as 6,000 to 8,000 square feet.

 

One other aspect of the Mega development faction is its lack of interest in any serious economic development other than residential development. The belief is that if you bring in larger companies and entities, those entities because of the potential influence in local politics, are unwelcome as they may restrict the ability of the Mega Development faction to tilt the playing field in their favor.

 

There are those who suggest that the current administration is the old Dallas faction but that would be like saying today's Republican Party is indistinguishable from the Whigs of yesteryear.

 

The reality is that it is not the old Dallas faction, that faction ceased to have serious political power with the election of Carruth in 1996. Rather it is a new faction that is largely a reaction to the excesses of the Mega development faction that consolidated power in the time between 1996 and 2008.

 

Given the growth of the county under the Mega development faction, they still retain a great deal of power as the county's civil service is dominated by their appointees and hires. Indeed, given the role of the post commissioners in this, the election of David Austin as chairman has not made a tremendous change in the nature of the administration of the county.

 

Some believe that group is using its position within the county civil service as well as its influence in other institutions to thwart economic development during the Austin administration because they feel they can regain the chairmanship in 2012; particularly if the politics of attrition and division can stymie any progress in the interim.

 

I'm sure some will dispute this analysis... and they are welcome to do so.

 

pubby

 

[GACat]

I knew Professor Pubby would help. Thanks so much, that gives me a lot of information so I can understand more what's going on, and why.

[NewsJunky]

I knew Professor Pubby would help. Thanks so much, that gives me a lot of information so I can understand more what's going on, and why.

 

Now you need to go find a conservative and get that view of it!

[gpatt0n]

Now you need to go find a conservative and get that view of it!

 

I wasn't trying to be liberal or conservative with the analysis. That said, I'd love for folks to explain how they think it works.

 

pubby

[GACat]

I wasn't trying to be liberal or conservative with the analysis. That said, I'd love for folks to explain how they think it works.

 

pubby

 

You done good, Pubby. Thanks!

[NewsJunky]

I wasn't trying to be liberal or conservative with the analysis. That said, I'd love for folks to explain how they think it works.

 

pubby

 

You actually did pretty well, Pubby.

[glassdogs]

I wasn't trying to be liberal or conservative with the analysis. That said, I'd love for folks to explain how they think it works.

 

pubby

 

I had to go take some Dramamine. I was dizzy from all the spin.

[surepip]

Pubby,

I thought that was pretty good, including the "Mega" descriptions.

 

After Murphy-Dean-Watts all retired, it gave Richardson-Maxwell-Heath, and I guess Hamrick, full control of our legislative/senate seats. And Shearin-Echols-Kirby were a solid 3 votes on the BOC with Ragsdale joining them most of if not all of the time.