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AJC.com > Legislature > Georgia Beat > Archives > 2005 > March > 24 > Entry
Bid to create Fayette county commission districts fails
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After several minutes of debate on the House floor today, a bill that would require district voting for the Fayette County Commission failed to gain enough votes to pass.
However, Rep. Virgil Fludd (D-Tyrone), author of the bill, made a motion to have the bill reconsidered tomorrow.
HB 856 would change the way county commissioners are elected by dividing the county into five districts, each with its own commissioner. Commissioners are currently voted on countywide.
Members of the Fayette County Commission were opposed to the bill, passing a unanimous resolution that was sent to the General Assembly this week.
Rep. Dan Lakly (R-Peachtree City) spoke on the House floor against the bill, calling it an issue of “fundamental fairness.”
None of the nearly 30,000 voters he represents supported the bill, Lakly said.
“This bill is being requested for political purposes,” Lakly said, “nothing more, nothing less.”
Lakly said the local delegation — Lakly, Fludd, Rep. Roberta Abdul-Salaam (D-Riverdale), Rep. Darryl Jordan (D-Riverdale) and Rep. John Yates (R-Griffin) — met in a hurriedly last week to discuss the district voting issue. The group voted 3 to 2 in favor of introducing the bill, with Lakly and Yates casting the two dissenting votes.
“I have received many calls against this legislation, but not one call in favor of it,” Yates said. Both Jordan and Abdul-Salaam expressed their disappointment after the bill was defeated, noting that generally local issues are not overridden by the House.
The vote was 82 against the bill to 63 in favor.
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