We've wondered why more people are not speaking up like Joe Bembry (below) about the new city proposals. Do people outside the proposed city limits of Tucker or Lavista Hills understand the impact of what could happen if voters approve these new government structures? If they do not, and they are worried about it, why aren't they trying to reach out to the voters here and ask that they consider remaining unincorporated so we can solve our problems together?
When Tucker, Briarcliff and Lakeside proposals failed to pass the committee in 2014, we thought that was the end of this talk. The city proposals should have died .. just like any other bill is supposed to fail when it cannot pass the committee it is in. But somehow it came back. Through no extra advocacy or effort that anyone is aware of, the state elected officials just decided suddenly, on their own, to take up the cause once again. Did they not hear the same things we did? Were they not clear that the majority of the residents were unaware that any of these groups were trying to represent them in the first place?
Until we have people in office who actually try to listen and then represent the will of the people, then there is only one thing we can do .... VOTE NO TO EVERYTHING! Don't give them the satisfaction of thinking that if they badger us long enough that they will eventually get what THEY want. None of what they do is supposed to be about what THEY want. And we know that the proposals that were passed for these cities was certainly not what WE wanted. It isn't even clear what problems will be solved by these cities, or how they will solve anything. We don't even now WHO is leading the groups right now!
PLEASE VOTE ON NO-NO-NOV. 3 ....
1. NO NEW LAYERS OF GOVERNMENT
2. NO TAX BREAKS FOR CORPORATE INCENTIVES
3. NO NEW TAXES
Joe Bembry | 2/27/2015, 1:46 p.m
I prefer staying on the sidelines – however, my outrage on the issue of cityhood has put me out front.
The issue of cityhood is rooted in fear, mismanagement, distrust, thefts, lack of management, lack of abilities, and lack of skills.
There are those who seek to capitalize on present circumstances to create themselves a position of mayor or council person and a big-shot job without considering the destructive impact of their actions or giving a second thought to destroying our beautiful bedroom county. With the proper elected choices, DeKalb, home of the GBI, CDC, VA Hospital, Emory Hospital and university, and DeKalb Peachtree Airport, could be one of the world’s finest dream counties.
I campaigned as a candidate with Burrell Ellis for DeKalb CEO. He talked a good game without having a bold game plan for the county and with a deaf ear to others who offered help. That deaf-ear mentality, and actions like removing the CEO’s office away from the Maloof Building where the commissioners are located, has created the seeds and fertilizer to create dozens of cities in DeKalb.
I am calling on commissioners and the DeKalb Delegation to resolve the root issue of the cityhood movement. I am asking for a major outcry on the part of citizens to stop the cityhood movement.
Let’s boycott all businesses that support the creation of new cities for 10 years. Let’s defeat any elected officials who support the creation of new cities in our county.
The only thing we have to fear in DeKalb is fear itself as it relates to creating new cities.
Our concentrations and unified efforts need to be on issues like crime. (Comment: And Improving the School System.) We need to be concentrating on man-on-man shooting, violent-free conflict resolutions, home invasions, shootings and burglary, Internet fraud, robbery, catalytic converter theft, plumbing theft, metal theft, school budget thefts, school building and bus vandalism, graveyard theft, automotive hijacking and thefts, crash and grab or smash and grabs, and thefts in the county budget by employees, officials and contractors.
We need to encourage new businesses to locate in DeKalb, which would provide new jobs. We need to protect and secure current businesses. We need to address the cause of the high number of vacant businesses in the county’s black community.
I believe those vacancies are directly related to crime. We need to address the issue of the powerful and well-connected who are involved in fraud and exploitation.
We need to address the issue of proper management for our county employees and concentrate on retaining experienced employees.
Our next election is a year and a half away. (He's talking about county elections, but there is a big vote coming up for Tucker and Lavista Hills on Nov. 3)
Let’s start right now to prepare to take corrective action on all issues before us. Let’s clean house when it comes to elected officials, especially the ones who support the issue of cityhood.
Any elected official who supports cityhood is not concerned about your future. Rather, their concern is securing their own future.
Joe Bembry lives in Decatur (unincorporated DeKalb County).
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