Political Insider

By MV7

October 24, 2008 2:32 PM | Link to this

Just as long as that whiney, wimpy, lispy and dork Jim Martin doesnt call me. Martin sounds like he used to be the principle for the school of the retarded.

By Obvious

October 24, 2008 2:51 PM | Link to this

Sounds like your alma matter.

By PovertyWench

October 24, 2008 3:22 PM | Link to this

I’d say lose the land line and stick to just the cell, but the Ministry of Robocalls, especially a certain co.’s services purchased by the Fulton County Sheriff’s race candidates for the purpose of frittering away money, has found me there too. Ain’t no place left to run to. No more rows to hoe.

By The Snark

October 24, 2008 3:33 PM | Link to this

Oh, yeah, Chambliss is “vital to curbing liberals’ excess.” Sure. Why, without Chambliss, those awful ol’ libberals might just expand the federal government, let federal spending skyrocket, and do nothing while the government takes away all our civil liberties.

Yeah, Chambliss would NEVER let that kind of stuff happen!

By Fred

October 24, 2008 3:36 PM | Link to this

For all of you McCain/Palin supporters. Why are you voting for those clowns? Many of you are not voting for Obama because he is Black. How can this country move forward with the challenges that we have to face with and old out of touch opportunist. Your candidate is an idiot who picked a running mate without knowing her because Karl Rove thought she could steal Clinton supporters from Obama. Most of you are voting for McCain not because of taxes. And stop using that escape clause. It doesn’t fly. You are voting for him because he is White. His old ways of thinking and yours too are not beneficial for this nation. Our country lags behind in areas such as education, healthcare and our economy is in the toilet. With someone who is stuck in the past, how can we move forward and be competitive in the global marketplace? Not with McCain/Palin.

By Jeff

October 24, 2008 3:58 PM | Link to this

Fred:

Actually, most McCain supporters I’ve talked to always point to a ‘lesser of two evils’ reasoning.

The problem with that reasoning is two fold:

1) It was the same reasoning that led to George Bush becoming and maintaining the President of the US.

2) There is a non-evil running. His name is Bob Barr, and he is the Libertarian nominee.

By mae hester

October 24, 2008 6:04 PM | Link to this

Booster club with ties to commissioner to be audited by Andy Phelan andy@dekalbchamp.com

The county schools administration has asked that an internal audit be conducted on a Lakeside High School booster club with ties to a county commissioner.

Superintendent Crawford Lewis’ spokesman Dale Davis confirmed that an audit of the Vikings Spirit Booster Club, run by Commissioner Elaine Boyer’s husband John Boyer, has been requested.

The booster club, which runs independent of the school and the system, raised eyebrows when mega developer Sembler Co. donated $20,000 to the club last September. The club supports the junior varsity and varsity cheerleading squads.

Sembler’s proposed development at North Druid Hills and Briarcliff roads needs zoning changes – which must be approved by the Board of Commissioners.

At the time of the Sembler donation last year, two of the Boyer’s daughters were cheerleaders at the school.

But now some parents associated with the club have called for an audit, too. Boyer said no one had questioned how the Sembler money was spent until recently and called the move “political.”

Boyer said she and her husband would comply with the school system’s request, ut did not say when.

“No one has ever asked for a receipt on expenditures until 10 days ago,” she said in a statement. “No school official, parent or school board member has ever questioned how the money has been spent until now. That makes me suspect this is politically motivated. It’s funny how this suddenly arises two weeks before my re-election.”

The hullabaloo over the booster club controversy spilled into Boyer’s campaign to maintain her District 1 seat on the county commission at an Oct. 17 Ashford Alliance political forum at Saint Martin in the Field Episcopal Church.

District 1 covers much of northern DeKalb, including Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Ashford-Dunwoody and parts of Stone Mountain.

Planning Commissioner and Democratic challenger Larry Danese, who is running against the 16-year Republican incumbent, said at the forum that “they are sufficient questions about the use of funds by the Vikings Spirit Booster Club that the club is being dissolved,” he said.

Although some Lakeside parents thought they dissolved the club Oct. 16, Boyer said that’s wrong – her husband John is the sole agent and only he can dissolve it. Boyer said she and her husband might cut the club’s ties with the school.

Danese also questioned why Boyer’s 2004 State Ethics Commission hearing that was referred to the state attorney general’s office for further investigation was still yet to be resolved.

In October 2004, Boyer and her husband appeared before the ethics commission to answer complaints that the campaign had 155 omissions in campaign finance documents since 2000.

Of most concern to some on the panel was that Boyer loaned herself more than $100,000 in 1992 to first run for office, and then paid herself back with donations at 8 percent interest over a more than 12-year period.

Boyer said she’s not aware she violated any statutes, and said she’s not doing that anymore. Boyer said any further comment must go through her attorney, Anne W. Lewis. Calls to Lewis’ office were not returned by press time for this article.

The panel concluded that there were “reasonable grounds to believe that the Ethics in Government Act had been violated” and recommended the matter “be set down for an administrative procedure act hearing.”

That hearing has yet to take place,” said Danese, who indicated it’s been sent to the state attorney general’s office.

“Our office has a case file on Elaine Boyer which was referred from the Ethics Commission,” said Russell Willard, communications director for the attorney general’s office. “It’s currently under review by our office.”

Willard could not disclose if or when the matter would be heard. Danese, who is a long shot to unseat the popular Boyer, who beat her Republican competitor in this summer’s primary by 90 percent, said a sitting commissioner who prides herself on being savvy shouldn’t have so many questions surrounding her campaign finances.

“There’s no reason for a commissioner with 17 years’ experience to make those kinds of mistakes,” said Danese. “She ought to know better than that. And Commissioner Boyer has stated that the allegations are ‘unproven.’” “She needs to say, ‘they are not true.’”

“Residents must have the same access to their commissioner as a few special interests currently enjoy,” he said. “Sometimes a person can serve too long, relax too much in the job and fail their constituents.”

Boyer, the lone Republican on the board, said her record on constituency service is exactly why she’s been elected five times to the commission.

“My voters admire the fact that no matter how much I get beat up, I stand up for their political philosophy,” said Boyer. “I simply don’t vote for tax increases.”

Boyer pointed to her efforts to upgrade Brook Run Park, establish new public safety headquarters in Tucker, and her work as chair of the Audit Committee that helped expose how the administration overspent millions of dollars on technology consultants.

“I think my voters are proud of the work I’ve done, and I feel like I’ve met their needs.”.

By Sissy Saxby

October 24, 2008 9:40 PM | Link to this

I thought the lobbyists had given Sissy Saxby all the money he needed? Why did he vote for the immigration bill, the farm bill and the bailout if those mean lobbyists weren’t going to give him enough money? Poor Sissy Saxby.

By Brigette

October 28, 2008 3:05 PM | Link to this

10-28-08 2:45 pm - just received a desperate robo call on behalf of Saxby Chambliss’s campaign - what a vile attempt to lie and fear-monger your way into keeping a job you don’t deserve to have. Georgia needs respectful, dignified, selfless service not the arrogant, greedy, embarrassment that Saxby Chambliss has brought to us since he took office!