With district lines dramatically changed, two Republicans are running to unseat Democratic incumbents on the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners in Nov. 8 elections.
District 4 Commissioner Marlene Fosque faces Matthew Holtkamp, while District 2 Commissioner Ben Ku faces John Sabic.
The redistricting of the most diverse county in the Southeast proved controversial. Fosque and Ku were both elected four years ago as the first Black and Asian American members of a county commission now comprised entirely of Democrats of color.
For the past decade, District 4 has included Lawrenceville, Buford, Rest Haven and a stripe of north central Gwinnett connecting those cities. Republicans in the state legislature this year redrew Gwinnett’s commission districts over the board’s objections, changing District 4 to run east-west across the county’s Republican-leaning northern tier.
District 2 ran south from Berkeley Lake through Peachtree Corners, Norcross and Lilburn to Stone Mountain Highway, but the new map shifts it farther south and east, encompassing no cities except Lilburn.
In what could be a tight race, Fosque and Holtkamp are both emphasizing bipartisanship.
Voter Guide: Candidates for Gwinnett Commission District 2
Voter Guide: Candidates for Gwinnett Commission District 4
Credit: Christina Matacotta
Credit: Christina Matacotta
Credit: Christina Matacotta
Credit: Christina Matacotta
Fosque led the creation of the county’s emergency rental assistance program that has prevented thousands of evictions in the coronavirus pandemic. She also spearheaded the county police department’s new citizen advisory board and the tax allocation district for the Exchange at Gwinnett shopping center. She said she has also been active in water and infrastructure projects.
Now in a more affluent district, Fosque said she wants to explore zoning changes to allow cottage-style developments for seniors looking to downsize.
“We should focus on balancing smart and sustainable growth, which is one of my most pressing challenges,” she said at a recent Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce candidate forum.
Holtkamp, who owns Suwanee-based Holtkamp Heating & Air Conditioning with his wife Suzanne, said he would bring his experience running a successful business to solve the county’s hiring and employee retention challenges, especially where first responders are concerned. He told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he would like to improve police pensions.
“We have got to get our first responders, our police, properly staffed so that we can have proactive policing rather than reactive,” he said at the forum.
He also listed road and traffic improvements among his top priorities.
Credit: Christina Matacotta
Credit: Christina Matacotta
Credit: Christina Matacotta
Credit: Christina Matacotta
Ku said he has used his experience as a software developer to improve transparency in county government. He helped make changes so residents could more easily download zoning information and apply for volunteer boards. He got the county to recognize Pride Month for the first time and brought glass recycling back to his district. He chairs the county’s internal audit committee.
He is working to set up an advisory commission for government technology and advocating for a new transit plan.
“I’ve gotten the ball rolling in a lot of areas and I’d like to see some of these ideas come to fruition,” he said.
Sabic said his main priorities are property tax relief, improving traffic, combating high density development and recruiting more police. At the forum, he said he was “on the fence” about the ballot question to renew a penny sales tax that pays for capital projects countywide.
As a project manager for Brown and Caldwell, an engineering consulting firm, Sabic said he has municipal budgeting experience. If elected, he said he would recuse himself from any votes involving his employer.
“I don’t think we can put money everywhere,” he said. “We need to put money to basic services.”
