In an off year without the White House, governor’s mansion or any statewide offices at stake, Sunday booze is what’s giving today’s election much of its kick. In 34 metro area cities and Cherokee County voters will pour out in favor or against the retail sale of alcohol on Sundays.
And votes on special purpose local option sales taxes for education appear on ballots in Cherokee, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties and the cities of Atlanta, Buford and Decatur. A general purpose SPLOST is on the ballot in Forsyth County.
There’s no rain in the forecast today, but, if history is a guide, the weather likely won’t make a difference, with turnout expected to be light. Odd-year elections, with no presidential or statewide races, typically have turnouts in the midteens. In 2009, 14 percent of registered voters in Georgia voted. In 2010, when the governorship was at stake, statewide turnout was 52 percent.
Across metro Atlanta there are a few races and referendums of particular interest. Or, in the case of the Forsyth city of Cumming, there are six offices -- all five City Council members and Mayor Henry Ford Gravitt -- on the ballot but no contest. The council members all have been in office at least a decade, some going back to the 1970s. Gravitt has been mayor for 42 years. They’re all running unopposed.
In the city of Alpharetta, residents will decide whether to approve a $29 million bond issue to fund a major downtown redevelopment, including a new City Hall, parking facility and green space. Supporters say it could turn the city's downtown into a cultural and commercial dynamo. Opponents say no matter what the purpose, in this economy this is not the time for Alpharetta to go into hock for $29 million.
Residents in the Gwinnett community of Peachtree Corners will vote in a special election whether to incorporate, an idea that has been discussed for decades but became more urgent when, in 2009, the city of Norcross considered annexing the Technology Park area.
If the referendum is approved, Peachtree Corners would become the county's largest city, with an estimated 38,000 residents covering an area between Norcross and Berkeley Lake.
In Cherokee the opposition to the renewal of a 1 percent education SPLOST has heated up in recent weeks, led by members of the tea party and a citizen’s committee that wants to curb spending and taxes in a down economy. Supporters of the SPLOST say voters committed to extending it when they approved it last time.
In the city of Powder Springs in Cobb County the mayor’s race carries more intrigue than most. Incumbent Pat Vaughn faces two challengers, including Rick Richardson, the former police chief who was fired amid allegations that he disposed of three city police cars without the necessary approval of the City Council.
Richardson has said during his campaign that Vaughn knew about the transaction beforehand and therefore he did nothing wrong. In a contest of his word against hers, Vaughn took the next step: She paid for and took a lie-detector test and was asked several questions, including whether she knew about the car deal beforehand. She said she didn’t. The polygraph technician concluded: “No deception indicated.”
Today they’ll find out what voters think.
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