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Tucker Behaving Badly



Left, Michelle Penkava (Dist. 3), Anne Lerner (Dist. 3), Frank Auman (mayor), Bill Rosenfeld (Dist. 1), Honey VandeKreke (Dist. 1).  Absent:  anyone from Dist. 2 because the election was still taking place.  There was  no legal authority for these individuals to begin conducting business on behalf of Tucker as the city election was still in process.  And, to make matters worse, they claimed that the charter required them to take office.  That was a bold faced lie to their constituents and they even made THAT through a third party via social media and other unofficial means, rather than answer for themselves.

Newly elected Tucker Mayor Frank Auman (center) and four council-members were sworn in to their positions on March 8 at Tucker High School.  The council members represented exactly 2 of the 3 districts.  Despite the fact that they were not bound by any particular charter requirement to do so, they decided to move forward without the conclusion of District 2's election, which was held over by the need for a runoff.

When met with objections, they promptly began holding meetings anyway.  And they hired staff members, specifically lawyers, more specifically lawyers who are experts in election laws and understanding the charter. 

The seats for District 2 were decided in a runoff election March 29. And April 1, the results were deemed finalized by the Elections Supervisor in DeKalb County.  A separate swearing in ceremony was held at Tucker Recreation Center for them.

When Auman was elected mayor, he said his first goal is to build a foundation for the city.
“We have to get the revenue, get the logistics set,” Auman said. “We don’t have a bank account, a phone number or anything. We have to get all of that in place and build a foundation so we can get on to the aspirational stuff.”

So, if they don't have a bank account, how can they hire staff members?

DeKalb Interim CEO Lee May said he is excited to work with the new leadership of Tucker.
“You all have a group of individuals that I’m excited about,” he said. “They understand people, they understand business, and they understand what a community really is all about.

Is this what "community" is really all about? 

Does it sound like "community" when you leave a third of the residents without representation while your council meets and start making decisions?  Does it sound like you "understand people" when you don't have any formal way of announcing your meeting to the public as required by the Open Meetings Law in Georgia?

Is it really a great compliment if the CEO of the county that everyone is forming cities to get away from, is your only vocal supporter in the government right now? 

Tucker better get its act together quickly because this is no way to start a city.  This is a way to start another layer of government that does nothing more than deceive the public, the way the current layer of government has been doing in DeKalb.  It is a new friends and family  network.  And, it is an embarrassment to those who live here.



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Location: Tucker, GA, USA

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