UPDATED: Separation of Church and State? Did Millar Forget This is the South?

First, here is Sen. Fran Millar's (R-Dunwoody) statement directly from his Facebook page:

INTERIM DEKALB CEO HONEYMOON OVER

How ironic! Michele Obama comes to town and Chicago politics comes to DeKalb.

 For the third time in recent months Governor Deal appointee Interim CEO Lee May has disappointed those of us that hoped he could help bring the county together.

 First, he assembles a task force of 15 with no elected Republicans to review various aspects of county government. I called his hand and Representative Jacobs and I were asked to serve on the group. This seems like a good idea since legislation will be required for many changes. Second, he schedules meetings throughout the county with Tucker being the only north location. Again, I called his hand and several north locations were added with little publicity. 

Now we are to have Sunday voting at South DeKalb Mall just prior to the election. Per Jim Galloway of the AJC, this location is dominated by African American shoppers and it is near several large African American mega churches such as New Birth Missionary Baptist. Galloway also points out the Democratic Party thinks this is a wonderful idea – what a surprise. I’m sure Michelle Nunn and Jason Carter are delighted with this blatantly partisan move in DeKalb.

Is it possible church buses will be used to transport people directly to the mall since the poll will open when the mall opens? If this happens, so much for the accepted principle of separation of church and state.

Interim CEO May says this election decision is an administrative matter and he can unilaterally make this decision. I don’t think this is necessarily true and we are investigating if there is any way to stop this action.

This may be another reason to eliminate the CEO position.

I have spoken with Representative Jacobs and we will try to eliminate this election law loophole in January. Galloway summed it up, “Democrats are showing their hand on how they might boost their numbers”. For this to be called a “non-partisan opportunity” by Interim CEO is an insult!

Another first for DeKalb! So much for being inclusive.

UPDATED:  We should have known better than to post anything from the Tucker Initiative Blog because the map below is WRONG.  

Tucker does NOT have Sunday voting.  The location is and always has been Chamblee Civic Center.  Millar and Lee May apparently worked together to secure prime spots for both the north and the south, but they misled Tucker residents by announcing that there is Sunday voting in Tucker.   There will be early voting, but not on the Sunday before the election.  See our new post on Sept 17 that has the new information.


 Next, from another Tucker related blog, this map was posted that shows Sen. Millar was incorrect about the unfair proximity of voting locations to megachurches:

Source: http://cityoftuckerinitiative.blogspot.com/

And, regarding his comments about separation of church and state, does he not recall this:

Kevin Levitas, Co-Chairman of Lakeside City Alliance,
"preaches" cityhood at Briarlake Baptist church, one
of many churches where the LCA chose to spread the word
about their plans that would include some and exclude many,
including more than half of Tucker's established neighborhoods.

Or perhaps he forgot about this (note the location):

And, to be fair, Tucker 2014, which Millar also agreed to help in their quest for city status, 

also held the majority of their meetings at churches in the area.

It's okay to have an ideal about the way government "should work," especially if it is based upon the general concepts that most people in America think is how government DOES work, but it is not okay to voice those opinions ONLY in certain circumstances when your own party benefits but toss the same principles to the side when you think there might be some other group that might benefit.  

Elections are the main way, and in some cases the only way, that we, as American citizens, can still be sure that government is still accountable on some level to those of us who pay for it and expect to be represented.  If we choose to not show up, we are giving up our right to influence that particular election, but no one is giving up their right to vote entirely.  And, Sen. Millar and other politicians should only be encouraging as many people to vote as possible.  That should be the goal for everyone, right?  The more people who vote, the more accurate the outcome of the vote shall be.  The majority vote carries the day and we all agree to live by it.  

The people in DeKalb have patiently waited for our county to turn around and we expect the leaders here to guide us in the right direction.  If they are too busy playing games, we need to find new leaders who will root out the corruption and remember that they need to do the people's work.  When too many people show up and vote that they no longer want you, then it is time to step down.   

Sen. Millar and the Republicans would not fear the voters if they knew they were taking actions that were benefitting us.