Save Tucker!

In a post dated March 20, 2015, Tucker city advocates (unsigned) state the following: "Areas removed from the Tucker map include the entire Livsey voting precinct, Shadow Walk Lane, Pittsburg Plaza (QT shopping center), Tucker Square Shopping Center at Britt Road and Chamblee-Tucker, Briarglen Court, houses on Thornbriar Road in the Midvale Elementary voting precinct, and Scyler Way and Scyler Place." We're indicating those changes on the map below:  The map on the Tucker website is identified as the "Committee" drawn map and does not reflect the changes that were reportedly made by a last minute amendment by Sen. Fran Millar.  So, no one knows for sure what he asked to change and whether those changes were approved and written into both of the city bills which had already been through committees in the House and Senate. However, if you look at the map on the Lavista Hills website, it appears to NOT take in some of the areas that Tucker 2015 ment

THE FOLLOWING ARE RESPONSES WE HAVE RECEIVED SO FAR TO OUR REQUEST FOR A FINAL, APPROVED MAP SHOWING THE BOUNDARIES OF BOTH TUCKER AND LAVISTA HILLS AS INTENDED FOR VOTERS TO APPROVE OR DENY IN A REFERENDUM VOTE THIS NOVEMBER 3, 2015 : ******************************************************************************** 5/25/15 Dear XXXX, Thanks for contacting me regarding access to the proposed City of Tucker map. Unfortunately, my office is not the custodian of the official map or the entity that wold be able to respond to your Open Records Request. Please contact the Georgia General Assembly's Office of Legislative & Congressional Reapportionment. Their telephone number is 404.656.5063. If you have any problems getting your request fulfilled please let me know. Best wishes! ~Billy BILLY MITCHELL State Representative State Capitol 18 Capitol Square Atlanta, GA 30334 404.656.0126 404.656.0250 (fax) billy.mitchell@house.ga.gov **************************

Transcribed from a Dunwoody coffee talk held by Nancy Jester last year, Rep. Tom Taylor (the sponsor of the bill for Lavista Hills) says that "they" (Dunwoody) have great schools and its the rest of DeKalb that has a problem. Save Tucker! contends that it is EXACTLY this type of thinking that is preventing our system from improving.  When you have the cream of the crop of 100,000 students to pick and choose from, of course your schools will be better than the ones you plucked them from.   Rep. Taylor's speech, in part:   " ...  I am also on the economic development committee... we were down at Gulfstream in Savannah which is a aircraft manufacturer, just a jewel for the state of Georgia and they have a seven year backlog of orders.  Their average, entry-level aircraft is about $65 million dollars.  They employ a lot of people.  They don't employ a lot of people from Georgia.  And, at the end of the conversation we had with the top three business

June 16, 2015 is the date set for a special election to replace May as the District 5 county commissioner in DeKalb County. DeKalb County Interim CEO Lee May Resigns District 5 Commission Office: Action paves the way for voting representation in District 5 with June 16, 2015 Special Election. May calls upon the county commissioners to work together moving forward.   Says he has been told by at least one commissioner that he has been criticized publicly for the personal political gain of others.   Candidates for the Special Election as of today are listed as:   BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS DISTRICT 5  QUALIFIED CANDIDATES  FOR SPECIAL ELECTION  TO BE HELD JUNE 16, 2015     Gregory Adams   PO Box 63  Clarkston, GA 30021  Phone: 404-454-9815    Harmel Deanne Codi   PO Box 360924  Decatur, GA 30034  Phone: 404-944-8631    Melvin Jerome Edmondson   5723 Greenridge Court  Lithonia, GA 30058  Phone: 404-419-2652    Gwendolyn R. “Gwen

by Olga Pierce, Jeff Larson and Lois Beckett, ProPublica, Sept. 23 (Updated) by Olga Pierce, Jeff Larson and Lois Beckett ProPublica, Nov. 2, 2011, 9:08 a.m. From the Series on:   Redistricting How Powerful Interests Are Drawing You Out of a Vote Redistricting  should be  a way of ensuring your vote counts.  If all districts have roughly the same number of people in them and are drawn to respect  natural communities   -- neighborhoods where people share a heritage, work in the same industry, or just generally feel tied to their neighbors --  voters have a chance to be represented by politicians who represent their areas' collective interests. To that end, states are required to redraw lines for districts, all the way from Congress to county boards of supervisors, every 10 years to reflect demographic changes. But that's where theory meets the harsh reality. Instead of voters choosing politicians, redistricting at its worst lets politicians choose voters. Co

According to an article in the Brookhaven Post, Republicans who participated in the city fiasco taking place in DeKalb County have decided that their work here is done and they can now start the process of forming cities in their own, Republican-controlled counties.  And, guess what?  They are now saying the process is flawed.  And they are going to fix it... for themselves, not for us.    New cities will focus more on the benefit they can bring to the residents and, get this ... they will be formed WITHOUT property taxes at all.  Franchise fees and fines alone will be enough to provide border protection in a low profile township or "city lite" type of municipality that can ease residents into city living over time, if that's what they want.   It will protect the community from over building or the expansion of nearby areas by annexation.  If you were already upset that Lakeside City abused the process by submitting multiple bills and claiming what was never their'

First, there's the story of Bob Lundsten , written about here .   A DeKalb County grand jury indicted Bob Lundsten last month on nine charges of theft and making false statements, accusing him of using his government-issued purchasing card for buying things for personal use, and then lying about it. Lundsten was arrested Thursday and is out on a $15,000 bond. (Dunwoody) Lundsten's arrest follows on the heels of  the admission of guilty by our former county commissioner, Elaine Boyer and her husband , John Boyer.   The sentencing hearing for Mr. Boyer is scheduled for May 6, 2015, at 2:00 p.m., before Judge Evans.   Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey W. Davis is prosecuting and it is being  investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation.                        (Smoke Rise) According to DeKalb County Police Officer blog , Commissioners Sharon Barnes-Sutton , Stan Watson and others had equally-questionable spending on their P-cards.  It says that "Barnes-Sutton ha

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:   May 9, 2015 (Tucker, GA): The public is invited to stop by the DeKalb Strong booth #403 at the Tucker Day festival TODAY, May 9, and speak to their neighbors about the pros and cons of starting new cities in DeKalb County.  “New cities have done nothing to improve conditions in DeKalb County or stop the corruption,” says DeKalb Strong’s President Marjorie Snook. “In fact, there is a lot of evidence that they have made things worse because of the increased tax burden for people living both inside and outside city borders.”  Snook announced that this event is the group’s first cooperative effort with Save Tucker!, a Tucker-based group that is also asking residents to vote no in November on the city referendums.   “We want to save Tucker just as much as everyone else,” said homeowner Cheryl Miller, “but the map that was approved by the legislature does not represent our true community and may not be financially feasible.”  Both groups will be o