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Wednesday, August 9, 2006
McKinney concedes to Johnson
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
More than 12 hours after her opponent declared victory, Cynthia McKinney placed a call to Hank Johnson to congratulate him.
Johnson spokesperson Deb McGhee Speights said the outgoing congresswoman called Wednesday afternoon.
“She indicated that she also wants to see a smooth transition and would work to make that happen,” Speights said. “And she said that anything that he needs, her office would be accommodating.”
During his victory speech Tuesday night, Johnson said that he hoped for a smooth transition and sought party unity after the bruising primary.
“His words to me was that she was very gracious,” Speights said about the phone call.
Permalink | | Categories: DeKalb County, Mobile
McKinney aide involved in scuffle
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
DeKalb police are investigating an altercation outside Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney’s would-be victory party Tuesday night.
According to a police report, a member of McKinney’s security team got into a scuffle with a photographer from WXIA-TV.
Steve Muhammad, 67, alleges that photographer Gary Stillwell, 24, hit him in the eye outside the Omega Psi Phi Center on Snapfinger Road about 11:25 p.m., according to a police report released Wednesday morning by DeKalb County police.
However, Stillwell contends Muhammad bumped his camera and later struck him, according to the report.
Although the police report indicates Muhammad was charged with battery, DeKalb police spokesman Herschel Grangent said Wednesday afternoon that no one had been arrested, and the incident remained under investigation.
Neither Stillwell nor Muhammad could be reached for comment Wednesday. McKinney’s campaign manager John Evans did not answer his cell phone.
WXIA-TV general manager Bob Walker did not immediately respond to an interview request.
McKinney lost her spot on the Democratic ticket to former DeKalb County commissioner Hank Johnson. He will face Republican Catherine Davis in the November general election.
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Election official expects McKinney to protest to feds
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A top election official in DeKalb County said Wednesday morning that she expects U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney to take her complaints about alleged voting irregularities in Tuesday’s election straight to Washington — just like she did when she lost four years ago.
“I guess I could be real optimistic and say when she wakes up today she’ll feel a lot different about this and she’ll just bow down gracefully,” said Linda Lattimore, DeKalb’s director of voter registration and elections. “But I’m not dreaming this morning. I’m just ready for whatever happens.”
McKinney lost Tuesday’s Democratic runoff election to former DeKalb County Commissioner Hank Johnson by a sizable margin. She complained throughout the day through her attorneys and on her web site of voting irregularities that ranged from her name not appearing on ballots to malfunctioning machines that prevented supporters from recording a vote for her.
McKinney at this point has not filed a formal complaint, and she could not be reached for comment.
A campaign volunteer who was answering the phone in McKinney’s headquarters Wednesday morning talked vaguely about voting irregularities in yesterday’s runoff and said she plans to fill out an affidavit with a lawyer. The woman, who would only give her first name Dana, called the election a “lie.”
“I’m a voter and I know what happened to me,” she said, without offering specifics. “This was predetermined. Everybody knew what was going to happen. We got bomb threats up here – we got all types of threats.”
She added the state’s electronic voting machines “are not valid.”
“The people of Georgia’s voice was not heard yesterday,” she said before walking away.
One of McKinney’s options would be to file the complaint in DeKalb, because that is where she lives.
Lattimore said local election officials investigated the campaign’s claims.
“We called all the polls right when she complained to get documentation,” Lattimore said. She said she found no evidence of any irregularities.
Kara Sinkule, spokesman for Secretary of State Cathy Cox, said McKinney can request a recount under Georgia law “when it appears that a discrepancy or error, although not apparent on the face of the returns, has been made.” This is the only recount provison McKinney can rely on becasue the vote outcome was not numerically close enough to qualiify under the 1 percent recount rule, Sinkule said.
McKinney conceded the election early Wednesday but did not indicate she would support the 51-year-old Johnson in the November race against Republican Catherine Davis. The majority of the 4th Congressional District lies in DeKalb but the district includes parts of Rockdale and Gwinnett counties.
Lattimore said McKinney can file a formal complaint with DeKalb County or the Secretary of State’s Office, but will most likely contact the U.S. Justice Department, as she did in 2002 when she lost to Democrat Denise Majette.
In 2002, McKinney alleged that some black voters were denied the right to vote because their precincts were intentionally overcrowded, Lattimore said.
“It was a bad situation that went from bad to worse,” she said. “We had the police out there, all my board members out there.”
The Justice Department had investigators come to the county and take depositions from various election officials, but they found no irregularities, Lattimore said.
“We probably provided them 10 oak trees worth of paper of everything we had here,” she said. ” They [the McKinney campaign] wants to accuse us of stuff they don’t have any proof of or that can’t be proved.”
Jeremy Redmon contributed to this report.
Permalink | | Categories: DeKalb County, Mobile
Johnson appeals for McKinney’s support
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Working on about 90 minutes sleep, Hank Johnson, the Democratic nominee for the 4th District Congressional seat, visited television news studios early Wednesday, beginning a series of interviews about his win over U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney.
It was 6:45 a.m and the 51-year-old Johnson was worn out. But his strong victory in Tuesday’s runoff election attracted national attention, and everyone in the local news media wanted to hear from him.
“I’m feeling pretty good. I’m tired but happy,” he said between interviews, vowing to rest later. “I’m judging things not in weeks or months but hours.”
For his win over McKinney, Johnson credited his strategy of campaigning across the 4th Congressional District, which includes DeKalb County and parts of Rockdale and Gwinnett counties.
“We went out to all parts of the district and met the voters and asked them for their support,” said the former DeKalb County commissioner. “And we shared our views with them. I think from that people began to see Hank Johnson is the type of guy who would make a good representative.”
A preliminary Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis showed that about 64,000 people voted in the 4th District primary on July 18, but more than 70,000 voted in Tuesday’s runoff. The key to Johnson’s victory was the support he received in Gwinnett and Rockdale, where voters came to the polls in surprising numbers. Johnson carried those areas overwhelmingly, while also making inroads into McKinney’s traditional political strength in key parts of DeKalb.
Johnson said he would like to have McKinney’s support against Republican Catherine Davis in the November election. But he said he has not yet heard from the congresswoman.
“I would like for her supporters to be our supporters,” he said.
Later Wednesday morning, he said: “When and if she calls , we will accept her call. I would expect that if we are going to communicate, she would make the first move.
He said he hopes McKinney would cooperate in the transition if he wins in November.
“I think it would be in the best interests of our consituents that there be a smooth transition and we that we be fully briefed on where the affairs of her district are in so far as her office and her efforts are concerned, so we can move forward.”
“I would love for her supporters to be our supporters,” Johnson said. “I’m sure we will have a conversation when she is ready.”
It was not immediately clear what plans McKinney has for today. Late Wednesday morning, an aide at McKinney’s campaign headquarters in Decatur said the congresswoman and her campaign manager, John Evans, were not there and that no one else was available to talk to reporters. The aide also instructed another volunteer not to talk to reporters.
But a few of McKinney’s campaign volunteers talked about her upset outside the building, expressing shock and disappointment. They were waiting for the campaign to issue them checks for working at polling places yesterday.
“It’s terrible,” said Michael Scott, a retired cook from DeKalb County, who waived a McKinney campaign sign and handed out flyers for her at a polling station yesterday. “She got a raw deal as far as I am concerned.
Scott said he voted for McKinney because she has “an outspoken mind. I love a person who speaks their opinion… She was for the people.”
Scott said he won’t support Hank Johnson in the general election, adding that he plans to vote for the Republican, Catherine Davis, instead. Like Scott, Leonard Bolton) predicted McKinney still has a future in politics if she wants it.
“I was shocked. I was looking for her to win,” said Bolton, of Stone Mountain, who works as a vendor at the Georgia Dome. “She has a strong future ahead of her.”
The election loss was the second for McKinney, a six-term congresswoman and outspoken critic of the Bush administration.
Rather than addressing her loss late Tuesday night, McKinney responded by heaping more criticism on the White House.
During the runoff campaign, Johnson accused McKinney of not taking the primary seriously, saying she “ran a stealth campaign.” He said he used that to his advantage for his victory Tuesday night.
“I think she bought the line that the pundits were spinning - that she was unbeatable; there is really no need to give this guy any attention, and we already have our support locked up,’” he said.
McKinney’s controversial style also became an issue in the campaign. During a televised debate Saturday, for example, Johnson called her March confrontation with a Capitol Hill police officer an “embarrassing debacle.”
“She has a history and a record also. And so the voters were able to contrast her style and her record with mine,” Johnson said. “And they made a choice for new leadership.”
After finishing at WSB-TV, Johnson and his entourage went to the FOX 5 studio for another interview. He had a radio interview scheduled for later in the morning followed by a visit to CNN.
Johnson said he has been so busy since his victory Tuesday night that he has not had time to process what it all means.
“I tell you this time last year we were not thinking about Congress. And so it is amazing what can take place within the space of a year,” he said. “I guess my feeling right now is one of ‘I’m still kind of taking it all in.’”
He said he stuck with an election tradition and went to his DeKalb home to sleep in his own bed after his victory. But he said he got only about 90 minutes sleep.
“I had too much adrenaline flowing, so I had to sit up and do some channel surfing,” he said. “I just insist on sleeping in my own bed after a victory. I did that in my first [DeKalb County] Commission race and my second race. We always go home. We do not allow ourselves to party all night if you will. We like to call that to an end and try to get back into a regular routine. And that to me means coming home and sleeping in my own bed.”
He said he plans to go out of town with his family for a few days of vacation before starting Monday to prepare for the general election.
“We will go somewhere. But at this point we don’t even know where — not too far, though,” he said. “We have never been in this position before. We will survey the landscape and make all appropriate decisions probably come Monday. We will probably sit down on Monday and have a leadership team meeting and talk about our future at that time.”
Johnson said he expects his race against Davis to be “spirited.”
“We are not going to take any voter for granted. We have to go out and earn the votes,” he said.
Johnson noted that he has received calls of congratulations from U.S. Reps. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the Democratic House Whip, and John Lewis, D-Ga. He also got a call from John Coyne, who placed a distance third in the Democratic primary with McKinney.
Johnson’s wife, Mereda Davis Johnson, admired her husband from behind the cameras as he did his interview with WSB-TV.
“I’m just really proud of him,” she said. “He’s a handsome man.”
Permalink | | Categories: DeKalb County, Mobile
Provisional ballots may decide Cherokee GOP runoff
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In a night where the candidates’ fortunes seemed to shift by the minute, Sean Jerguson held off Mary Wilhite by 35 votes in the Republican runoff for the state House District 22 seat.
But Wilhite is not ready to concede defeat in the hotly contested Cherokee County contest.
Jerguson, a construction business owner from Holly Springs, received 50.5 percent of the vote to Wilhite’s 49.5 percent.
Official results will not be released until Friday after provisional ballots are counted, according to the Cherokee County Board of Elections.
“The provisionals could make a difference,” said Janet Munda, supervisor of elections.
If the difference is within 1 percent, either candidate can request a recount in writing within two business days, Munda said.
Candidates cannot request a recount if it’s more than 1 percent, she added.
In addition, Dave Baldwin, Wilhite’s campaign treasurer, raised concerns about voter irregularities at polling places in Holly Springs.
He said he heard reports that some people were not allowed to vote because they did not have photo IDs, which are not required.
Munda said she had not heard of irregularities. She said voters can show one of 17 forms of identification at the polls.
Jerguson, who labeled himself as “the conservative Republican in this race,” will face Democrat Kevin Bailey in the November elections, if his victory holds.
“We’re just humbled that the voters of this district have chosen us to represent them,” Jerguson said. The race between Jerguson, 34, and Wilhite, 47, was also tight in the July 18 primary.
Wilhite won that contest by 59 votes.
Wilhite is working to become the first African-American Republican woman elected to the state House. In 2004, Wilhite lost to Rep. Chuck Scheid of Woodstock in a runoff.
Jerguson served as council member and acting mayor of Holly Springs from 2002 to 2004. This was his second time running for the House.
Permalink | | Categories: Cherokee County
Edmondson, Singleton victorious in Clayton
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two-term incumbent Carl Rhodenizer and Lee Scott, whose campaign billboards have dotted Clayton County for two years, lost runoffs Tuesday for seats on the Clayton County Commission.
Heritage Bank Vice President Michael Edmondson beat Scott, a business owner and the husband of District Attorney Jewel Scott, in the Democratic runoff for the District 4 Clayton County Commission seat.
The campaign took a contentious tone recently as Scott, who is black, accused Edmondson, who is white, of racial insensitivity in a flier and radio ad.
Scott said Edmondson led an Independence Day parade in Jonesboro at which the Confederate flag was displayed on a vehicle. The flier superimposed Edmondson’s face on a Rebel flag. Edmondson denied the charge and called the flier the act of a desperate candidate.
The race for District 4 opened up when longtime Commissioner Charlie Griswell decided not to run again. Edmondson faces Republican Michael A. Johnson in the Nov. 7 general election.
Sonna Singleton beat Rhodenizer by nearly a wide margin in the Democratic race for the commission’s District 1 seat, which covers north Clayton. Rhodenizer, a retired banker, backed a proposed commuter rail line between downtown Atlanta and Clayton County. Singleton, the public information officer for the Clayton Sheriff’s Office, criticized the use of county funds to operate the rail line. No Republicans are running for the seat.
“I’m excited and I’m happy,” Singleton said. “We worked very hard. The people are just not happy with the current leadership.”
Two other Clayton County incumbents were beaten. Clayton School Board members LaToya Walker and Connie Kitchens lost to challengers A. Michelle Strong and Sandra Scott.
In heavily Republican Henry County, Johnny Basler trounced County Commissioner Lee Holman in the GOP runoff for the District 5 Commission seat by nearly a 3-1 margin. Basler faces Democrat Bruce Holmes in the general election.
Reid Bowman Sr., a senior vice president of Bowman Construction Co., narrowly defeated incumbent county Commissioner Gerry Adams in the Republican runoff for the commission District 4 seat. The race got nasty in the past few weeks, with each candidate accusing the other of ethical violations. Bowman will meet Democrat Edith Gonsal in the general election.
Permalink | | Categories: Clayton County
McKinney’s machine breaks down
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It was once thought she had an invincible political machine that could turn out the masses on command.
Late Tuesday night, that machine looked broken and her forces in disarray as six-term 4th District congresswoman and perennial firebrand Cynthia McKinney was soundly defeated by former DeKalb County Commissioner Hank Johnson.
Political analysts said it could spell the end of a political era for McKinney in the DeKalb-centered district that includes portions of Rockdale and Gwinnett counties.
“It’s the end of her political career,” University of Georgia political scientist Charles Bullock said. “I can’t think of anyone who’s come back from two primary defeats. It’s done some real damage to the notion that she’s got this loyal electorate that she can snap her fingers and mobilize.”
The defeat means McKinney will carry a double-loser label — she was beaten by fellow Democrat Denise Majette in 2002 — a fact that is likely to make it difficult for her to raise money for future races. Johnson, meanwhile, will be in prime position to consolidate his power and broaden his political base on what McKinney considered her home turf.
In the end, McKinney’s headline-producing actions — suggesting President Bush had advance knowledge of the Sept. 11 attacks and being accused of hitting a Capitol Hill cop at a security checkpoint — apparently exacted a toll. Her alienation of metro Atlanta’s politically active Jewish community only added to her woes.
In 2002, her father, former state Rep. Billy McKinney, blamed “J-E-W-S” for her loss to Majette. That incident, coupled with the congresswoman’s pro-Palestinian politics, led many in the Jewish community to back Johnson.
DeKalb County resident Lonnie Smith, 49, helped propel Johnson to victory Tuesday night.
“Cynthia McKinney doesn’t need to win,” said Smith, a businesswoman who voted for Johnson at Avondale Middle School. “She is an embarrassment to the law, an embarrassment to being female, an embarrassment to being black and an embarrassment to being a Christian. She’s loud and obnoxious and exhibits no sense of class.”
McKinney, however, toned down her image after being forced into a runoff, personally reaching out to voters in her district and changing tactics to make herself available for media interviews and a series of debates with Johnson.
But McKinney’s legendary talent for turning out grass-roots support failed this time. Long-time friends and supporters such as state Rep. Tyrone Brooks (D-Atlanta) criss-crossed DeKalb County on her behalf over the weekend. McKinney also hit the pavement, showing up at churches and community forums, on street corners and in live television and radio debates. But her machine had run out of gas.
Johnson gained momentum by casting himself as the moderate alternative to McKinney’s outspoken political style, which had turned off north DeKalb voters years ago and also seemed to be wearing thin with some of her core supporters in south DeKalb.
An analysis of primary voting by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution suggested that McKinney’s strength was waning even in parts of DeKalb where she had been strong before.
Runoffs are usually lightly attended, but Gwinnett and Rockdale voters came to the polls in surprising numbers, another fact that helped Johnson. In the July 18 primary, 2,054 Democrats voted in the 4th District primary in Gwinnett County, and 4,623 in Rockdale County. However, in Tuesday’s runoff, more than 2,100 Gwinnett voters cast ballots in Democratic race, and more than 5,600 voted in the district’s Rockdale County precincts. Both counties went 3-to-1 for Johnson, helping him build a substantial lead even before officials began counting the DeKalb County ballots.
McKinney’s campaign manager, John Evans, admitted the obvious to reporters about 11:15 p.m. as he waited for McKinney to arrive and concede the race.
“It’s over,” he said. “They just beat us. He got a lot of white votes, a lot of Republican votes, and he took some of our votes where she has been stable.”
Johnson was referring to south DeKalb where McKinney counted on a strong turnout to beat back Johnson’s strength in north DeKalb and Gwinnett and Rockdale.
“If Johnson was able to pick up 10 to 15 percent in what were considered McKinney strongholds, it would indicate the district has changed,” said William Boone, a political scientist at Clark Atlanta University. “It shows a determined opposition can accomplish a lot.”
Evans said the “Capitol Hill incident” was especially damaging to McKinney. The avalanche of publicity surrounding it could have kept some McKinney backers from the polls, he said.
“I think there’s a lot of ABC involved — Anybody But Cynthia,” he said.
McKinney had hoped to overcome the bad press with loyal voters like Kim Stevens, 41, a Lithonia day-care center operator who mourned the congresswoman’s defeat Tuesday night.
“She put up a good fight,” Stevens said. “I think people have a fear of those who are outspoken. She is our voice. Sometimes she will speak about things other people won’t. Just because she hasn’t won the seat doesn’t mean she won’t be on the forefront fighting for the people of District 4.”
Robert Thomas of Lithonia voted for McKinney in previous elections but said he made a different choice in Tuesday’s runoff.
“We’re due for a change in the 4th District,” said the 56-year-old real estate agent. “Time will tell whether it’s a good change or a bad change.”
Staff writers James Salzer, Ernie Suggs and database editor David Milliron contributed to this article.
Permalink | | Categories: DeKalb County
Legislative races suggest historic breakthrough
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A gay man from Atlanta and a black Republican woman from Cherokee County were battling to make historic inroads into the Georgia General Assembly in Tuesday’s primary runoffs.
A longtime House Democrat from Atlanta was in a too-close-to-call race as unofficial results trickled in from nine legislative runoffs across the state.
Gay activist Allen Thornell and attorney Robbin Shipp battled back and forth for the lead in Atlanta’s District 58 House seat. If Thornell wins the winner-take-all runoff, he would be the first openly gay man elected to the Georgia General Assembly. Rep. Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates), the state’s only openly lesbian legislator, took office in 2001 and is unopposed for re-election in November.
In the House District 22 Republican runoff, the vote was tight between builder Sean Jerguson and consultant Mary Wilhite. With all votes counted, Jerguson had a 35-vote lead over Wilhite. If elected, Wilhite would be the state’s first black Republican woman in the Legislature. Wilhite did not concede, and is waiting on results of provisional ballots.
The runoff winner faces Kevin M. Bailey, a Woodstock Democrat, in November.
With all votes counted, incumbent state Rep. Douglas Dean (D-Atlanta) lost to businesswoman and community activist Margaret D. Kaiser in District 59. Supporters of Kaiser denounced Dean’s record for routinely failing to file timely reports on his campaign expenditures and contributions — as the law requires.
In the winner-take-all Democratic runoff in House District 76, Mike Glanton, a minister from Jonesboro, was leading Janice Scott, a Jonesboro teacher, with more than half the vote counted. The winner will succeed state Rep. Gail Buckner, who opted to run for secretary of state.
In Hall and Jackson counties, Gainesville dentist Lee Hawkins appeared headed to victory over former Gainesville Mayor Mark Musselwhite in the Republican primary runoff for the District 49 Senate seat. The winner faces Democrat and Gainesville attorney Arturo Corso in November for the right to succeed Sen. Casey Cagle, now the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor.
Hawkins had stressed community ties, his Capitol connections as a longtime leader in the Georgia Dental Association and his interest in pushing for major tax reform. Musselwhite, who finished in first place in the primary, had touted his city government experience and his commitment to be accessible to constituents.
In portions of Rockdale and DeKalb counties, Democratic voters appeared to have picked Ron Ramsey, a 46-year-old attorney and school administrator from Lithonia, as their nominee for District 43 state senator.
With most of the votes counted, Ramsey held a sizable lead over 65-year-old real estate broker Bobbie Kennedy Sanford of Decatur. The winner faces Willie Hinton, a Republican and retiree from Lithonia in the November general election for the right to succeed Democratic state Sen. Steen Miles, who lost a bid for lieutenant governor last month.
Outside metro Atlanta, voters settled two Democratic and one Republican House runoffs.
In the Democratic primary runoff for the District 16 state House seat, Cedartown attorney Rick Crawford appeared to be headed for victory over W. Wright Gammon Jr., also a Cedartown attorney. The winner faces GOP nominee Roger Waldrop, a Rockmart attorney, for the seat of retiring longtime state Rep. Bill Cummings (D-Rockmart).
In the Augusta area, business owner and pastor Hardie Davis had a sizable lead in early returns over retiree Richard L Colclough of Bracewood in the House District 122 primary runoff. The winner will succeed incumbent state Rep. Pete Warren, who was defeated in the July primary.
In Macon, restaurant owner Allen Peake seemed destined to sail to easy victory over Stebin Horne, a local attorney and son of former legislator Frank Horne, in the winner-take-all Republican runoff to succeed state Rep. David Graves (R-Macon) who is retiring.
Permalink | | Categories: Statewide
Cobb ousts incumbent Johnstone from school board
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cobb voters gave a resounding rebuke to school board member Kathie Johnstone on Tuesday. The one-term incumbent, who has been dogged by controversy over laptop computers and evolution-disclaimer stickers, lost in a landslide.
First-time office seeker John Crooks drew 75 percent of the vote while Johnstone, the board’s former chairwoman, received 25 percent. Crooks jumped to an early lead and maintained it through the evening.
Gathering with supporters at Ritters Restaurant on Lower Roswell Road, Crooks was jubilant as his numbers rolled up. “I’m very humbled at what the Republican voters in the Post 6 community have elected me to do,” he said.
But the Baptist minister, who serves as administrator at Roswell Street Baptist Church, isn’t popping the Perrier yet. He faces one more hurdle for the Post 6 seat. In November, he takes on Democrat Beth Farokhi, a retired Georgia State University College of Education administrator.
Crooks said he’ll be ready. “I look forward to facing my opponent in the fall campaign,” he said. “I hope we confine the debate to the issues in a positive manner.”
In an aggressive campaign, Crooks hammered Johnstone on the failed take-home laptop proposal that would have put computers in the hands of all middle and high school students. Johnstone chaired the board in 2005 and championed the sweeping technology proposal that later was abandoned by the board as too costly. The courts ruled that it would have been illegal for the school board to spend Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax dollars on the laptops because that isn’t what the board promised voters in the SPLOST referendum.
Even in defeat Tuesday night, Johnstone stood by her actions of the past four years and her efforts to equip students with the take-home computers.
“I would not change anything I did over the last four years,” she said. “Giving today’s technology tools to today’s kids was the right thing to do. Perhaps we failed in communication.”
Johnstone pinned her defeat to the fact that she chaired the board during an intense time of controversy over everything from evolution-disclaimer stickers on textbooks to redistricting and the failed laptop computer proposal.
“I was chairman through much of what went on,” she said. “It was my face on television speaking for the board. I think people who were truly informed, the people who worked in the district, understood the good things that happened here.”
Al Daniel, one of the last voters Tuesday evening at the Mount Bethel precinct at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, voted for Crooks.
“I was concerned with the laptop scandal,” he said. “I want a board that is accountable. Sometimes change is good.”
East Cobb resident Larry Baugh didn’t like the idea of handing out laptops to students either. He also voted for Crooks. “I didn’t agree with a computer for everybody. I consider $100 million to be rather expensive and students would break them, lose them or sell them.”
Permalink | | Categories: Cobb County
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