The possibility of Sunday alcohol sales is still alive in Douglasville.
Monday night, the city council voted unanimously to overturn Mayor Harvey Persons' veto that had blocked sending the decision to the city's voters.
On a 7-0 vote in front a packed city hall, the council affirmed an earlier vote calling for a Nov. 6 referendum on whether to allow seven days of beer, wine and liquor sales by stores. The state last year gave local government the option of choosing for themselves whether to permit Sunday alcohol sales, which had long been banned in Georgia.
Douglasville has stood as an exception among Atlanta-area jurisdictions that have largely embraced Sunday alcohol sales. The debate over the issue escalated when Persons vetoed a unanimous City Council vote calling for the referendum. 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. That veto was also overturned 5-2.
At Monday's meeting, citizens lined up on both sides of the issue. The half dozen who spoke included business people, pastors, recovering alcoholics and a firefighter expressing public safety concerns. . Ninety minutes before the meeting, the meeting room had far exceeded its capacity. More than 200 people had packed city hall -- about 160 of whom had to stand in the hallway.
Persons, a Sunday school teacher and retired salesman, cited public safety and his belief that most residents oppose the measures.
But Richard Segal, a citizen who favors a vote on Sunday alcohol sales, criticized the mayor Monday for "political posturing." He said Persons can't gauge the will of majority through personal observations.
Steve McFall, pastor of Central Baptist Church where Persons attends, agreed with the mayor during his remarks to council. Drinking, he said, is a health concern and a contributor to homelessness.
McFall said he doesn't want to see a fall vote on this issue because it would sidetrack him from the church's work helping the homeless and addicts.
Joshua Smith, a minister who works with inmates at the Douglass County Jail, said the city should not sell out to those who profit from alcohol.
"The question is not will it damage the community," Smith said. "The question is how bad it would damage the community."
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