Save Tucker!

 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 t...

originally published in the Tucker Patch. When we first started our inquiry into the proposed city of Lakeside and its impact on our community of Tucker, we were leaning toward cityhood as a possible solution.  And, Tucker Civic quickly told us that it was not in the cards financially.  Fast forward to today and they are advocating as individuals (the groups has no official position) for cityhood even though we have taken on enormous areas not considered Tucker and lost significant portions of our commercial districts. And, here we are today being painted as the anti-city force.  We've never been anti-city.  We just want what is best for everyone and we are more and more doubtful that these particular types of cities will solve any problems. Here's a look back at how we first became involved: (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( LETTER TO TUCKER CIVIC ABOUT POTENTIAL FOR CITYHO...

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 th...

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 ...

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 polit...