While most metro Atlanta jurisdictions have overturned Sunday sales bans with little fanfare, a heated battle has been brewing over the issue in Douglas County.
The fight came to a head Monday when Douglasville Mayor Harvey Persons vetoed a unanimous City Council vote calling for a Nov. 6 referendum on whether to allow seven days of beer, wine and liquor sales by stores.
"I am opposed to this," Persons said in a statement, "and I feel there already is sufficient time during the week when people can make purchases of packaged beer, wine and spirituous liquor."
He also vetoed the council's extension of restaurants’ permitted pouring hours to 2 a.m. on Sunday mornings and to 11:30 p.m. on Sunday nights.
Persons cited public safety and his belief that most residents oppose the measures.
"He's already had that vote in his mind, instead of letting people go to the polls and have an official vote taken," said Douglasville resident Richard Segal, who has set up a Facebook page called “Douglasville & Douglas County for Sunday alcohol sales."
The mayor's veto can be overridden by a vote of five council members, and all seven approved the referendum. Five approved new pouring hours.
Alcohol issues have been hotly debated this year at meetings of the Douglasville City Council, with church pastors regularly squaring off against business owners and residents demanding shopping freedom. More than 300 people attended one council meeting.
While running for mayor last year, Persons said the people should decide the Sunday sales issue. Now in office, he has since said that what he meant was that the people should decide, through feedback to city officials, whether to hold a referendum.
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