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By Jeff, on May 31st, 2010%
Early voting starts one week from today, so for those who already know who you’re voting for in every race, PLEASE spare yourself some time and go vote early! You can find your voting times/district information on the Secretary of State’s “My Voter Page“.
In Lee County, we don’t have any special questions placed on our primary ballots, but others in the State do.
For Lee County, you can see sample ballots here and here for the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively.
Meanwhile, to give you an example of the questions at least one County Party will be asking its voters:
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By Jeff, on May 30th, 2010%
Let’s look at two people’s stories here, call them Jim and Bob.
Bob claims to have a ball.
Then Bob claims his ball has laces.
Still later Bob claims his laced ball is spherical.
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By Jeff, on May 28th, 2010%
Help keep the press free! Donate to SWGAPolitics.com using the brand new button over on the right side of the page just below the welcome note. As some of you may know, there have been some threats of legal action leveled against some of us here, in an effort to silence reports that make some candidates unhappy.
However, a free press is a free press. There are attempts to silence us in every way, shape, and form when it comes to some parties. That just can’t be allowed to happen.
Any money that comes in above and beyond what we need to pay any lawyers we may need will be donated to child advocacy centers such as Albany’s Lily Pad.
By Tim Nelson, on May 28th, 2010%
Tom Knighton and Tim Nelson will be sitting down with China Sellers 7:30 AM Monday to discuss the upcoming Candidate forum!
By Tom, on May 28th, 2010%
The question was posed: What do you think of Dr. Murfree’s contract? I wanted to let it stew for a bit before I said anything, but at least some people are curious. Not surprising, since I’ve made it pretty clear I wasn’t a fan of the whole process that resulted in his hiring. For those who don’t know, he’s being paid $140,000 to start with and that will bump up to $147,000 per year after he’s certified.
And all that for a guy who is wholly unqualified? Continue reading Thoughts on Murfree Contract
By Tim Nelson, on May 27th, 2010%
Just received this snippet in an e-mail after I raised concerns over Leesburg, and Lee County Sign ordinances:
Your concern over O.C.G.A 16-7-58(a)(2) is a solid concern. I looked it up; although I am not completely certain that the state code is legal, we certainly do not intend for the Leesburg and Lee County ordinance to be the test. Therefore, we will be changing that part of the ordinance to be in compliance with state code.
Sincerely,
Stephen O’Neil, AICP
Southwest Georgia Regional Commission
Now I will continue in the next weeks and months to hammer this ordinance until it meets my standards for Government restriction on my private property.
By Jeff, on May 27th, 2010%
Fair warning: Religious post, but has application to politics. If you don’t like mixing God and politics, don’t click on “continue reading”.
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By Jeff, on May 26th, 2010%
I oppose sign ordinances in general. I think they reflect bureaucrats unnecessarily micro-managing the lives of property owners. A County is not a HOA and should not act like one.
I think the County should think twice before regulating any form of expression. You can tell by the quotes to articles and court decisions that the County is only concerned with justifying that it is empowered to regulate. There is no concern about any real need to regulate.
Why would Lee County want to convey the anti-business atmosphere that Albany has conveyed with a similar sign ordinance? Why an arbitrary limit of 3 signs per property? What if I want to support 4 different candidates? What if my wife has already put three signs out and I want to support a different candidate? Why do I need someone telling me what to do on my own property? What’s next? Will the County tell me what colors are allowed on the sign?
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The Flag. What an idiotic item to pick out for meddlesome regulation. As an American, I feel proud to see the American Flag waving proudly in the breeze. The larger the flag – the more impressive the show of pride. I know whoever owns that flag is a kindred spirit. As a military veteran, I feel this even more so. Stop and think about it. Why would the County decide to limit the size of a flag? Are we really having a problem with those damned loyalists again? The true explanation is really sad. It was probably only included in the proposed ordinance because it was copied from some other ordinance which wasn’t well thought out either. That particular ordinance has caused car dealerships to take down large American flags, which in turn became newsworthy items. it is usually embarrassing for the governmental entity involved, but ends up being another example of local government overcoming the will of the people. Government arrogance. What needs to be done about the flag? I would propose exactly the opposite of what this portion of the ordinance proposes. Instead of limiting the size of the American flag, the County should make its next County flagpole the largest in the State of Georgia as a salute to the nation and to Lee County veterans. It should invite other Lee Countians to do the same.
Overall, I guess I oppose sign ordinances in general because they limit the freedom of expression and imposes a limitation upon the ownership of property. The sign ordinance should be as simple as stating a holdback distance from the public road, so as not to obstruct vision for vehicles exiting a driveway. There is really need for anything more than that. Sign ordinances which do more, exude an attitude of arrogance and unnecessary control. They do little to help business growth. There is no general outcry for it. It is usually some boilerplate copy of a more metropolitan area, which misfits our own needs.
Bottom Line: it is an intrusive ordinance for which there is simply no need.
Note from Jeff: There will be a Public Hearing on the City of Leesburg version of the new Ordinance at 4:45pm today at City Hall. There will be another Public Hearing on the City’s version at the regularly scheduled City Council meeting next Tues at 6pm at City Hall, and there will be a Public Hearing on the County version of the new Ordinance at their next regularly scheduled meeting two weeks from last night.
By Jeff, on May 25th, 2010%
In a very expected (yet still controversial) move yesterday, the State School Board voted 9-2 to remove State class size mandates in favor of letting the local school systems decide class sizes on their own.
Watching my news (including blogs), facebook, and twitter streams, it became readily apparent that this wasn’t exactly a popular move.
Apparently, people are so caught up in the “Government is my Savior” way of thinking that the idea of the 5-7 people they live within a few miles of deciding how big their school system’s class sizes will be is FAR scarier than the former reality of several people who may live hundreds of miles away making that same decision.
Continue reading [UPDATED] State School Board Allows More Local Control
By Tom, on May 25th, 2010%
Guns are a touchy subject with me. They always have been, and always will be. You see, I rarely see a single object so vilified as the gun. Sitting in a room, not being touched, it is harmless. It takes motion to cause it to discharge, sending it’s projectile down the barrel with supersonic velocity. That motion is almost always generated by man, whether through intention or negligence. And yet, it’s the gun that gets the blame.
The latest hit piece against the firearm came yesterday from MSNBC (shocking, right?). Continue reading And your point is?
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