[tpc] - Thoughts about Politics in Newton County on this Election Eve

The Piedmont Chronicles 
23 May 2016 ~ est. 2010 ~
Greetings, fine readers. Hope everything is okay out there. As well as they can be. We've got this election on and all. Lord help us... 

I know I've been a bit quiet on TPC. I've been a bit more active, politically, on Facebook where I've put up posts for some of the folks I'm supporting. Guys like Stan Edwards, who's running for the 1st district of the Newton Co. Board of Commissioners. I've gotten to know Stan pretty well the last few months and I really like him and think he's exactly the type of person we need. Same with Travis Moore, 5th district candidate. I'm a big fan, and I think he would be a great addition to the Board as well. And also Shannon Sneed, GOP candidate for Probate Judge, who has, in my estimation, the right combination of experience and temperament to effectively serve in that important capacity.

I must admit that I've kind of lost my taste for politics the past couple of months as things have unfolded in the way that they have. Politics is a mean and nasty business, and I've always known that, but I suppose I was honestly surprised at just how crazy, intense, backwards and sideways things got. You can have people in total agreement on one candidate, but then ready to go to fisticuffs on another one.  I've seen three people, from different sides of the political spectrum and at different sides of the perceived power structure, that I consider friends - or at least acquaintances - get unfairly and falsely accused of all sorts of things. Things I won't go into here, but if you've been on Facebook, you've seen it. Those three: Phil Johnson, Levie Maddox, and Susette Monk. And that leads me to another recent development/dynamic in this ugly, dirty campaign season. The rise of anonymous pages spewing some major bile and, excuse my french, some major bullshit. The two main culprits are Newton County Watchdog and Newton County Guardians. Based on my judgement, the Guardians page is the more egregious violator as at least the Watchdog page has had some pretty decent content, while I disagreed on at least a few of the things they posted. There are theories as to who are behind these, and I've got my own. I've even had a couple of folks asked if I was involved with either one. I guess those people didn't know me as well as I thought they did. Whatever. It's been wicked and nasty. And that's too bad. 

And then there's the Tommy Craig factor. Just like many others, I would have to figure that he is neck-deep in several of these races. Is he involved with some of this other stuff? Maybe. But you know what? I don't think it matters. I've been called the eternal optimist before, but I just have a strong feeling that things are going to work out for us here in Newton County. And while the "Alliance," "Coalition," or the proverbial "Newton County 12" or whatever you want to call it has seemingly been somewhat fractured, I feel confident that things will get back into balance and there will be a united front once again. Because we all saw how amazing that was and how much it accomplished. I feel very confident in that.

Then there's the old-guard factor, or, the establishment factor, if you will. Well, there's not much to that. They - folks like Mort Ewing, The Flemings, Hubert White, and more - are upfront about it. You can just look at their yard signs. They like Aaron Varner for Chair, that's for sure. Mort and the rest of the usual suspects out in the eastern part of the county are supporting Bradley for BOC 1. And it seems as if a lot of the estab. types prefer Ronnie Cowan for BOC 5 and Melanie Bell for Probate Judge. The complete opposite of what a lot of folks - yours truly included - are supporting.

And that leads us to BOC Chair and the 3rd district.

- Regarding the Chairman position, a lot of you know how much hell I've given Levie, or Valet Levie, as I've called him a few times. Well, I'll tell you this. I'm pulling a GOP ticket tomorrow and I will indeed be voting for Levie. Crazy, I know. But as far as I can figure, he did free himself from the Establishment and/or Craig faction, and I feel like he's the better pick. And if I was pulling a Dem ticket, I'd definitely have to vote for Phil.

- The 3rd. I've mentioned this on Facebook, and I'll mention it here - I've known Susette a long time and consider her a friend, and I'm positive she's not a part of some Machiavellian ploy on behalf of the forces of old and evil. I think she's gotten a pretty bad rap and I think it's been tough on her. And I hate it for her. A lot of folks I know are firmly in support of Nancy Schulz and I understand that. Nancy's done some good things for the county and has been an integral piece of the puzzle in getting things somewhat fixed in the past year. But I will say this. She always talked a good talk but seemed short on the walk part for a pretty long time. Just like in January of last year, she gave a great speech, and then she proceeded to vote with the other four members of the board to renew Tommy Craig's contract. But perhaps she's learned a lesson from that. I hope so. 

And a final thought. And it's one I always have to remember. Politics is, after all, a human institution. And as such, it will always have its shortcomings, disappointments and failings. It's an imperfect thing because we are imperfect beings. But for many of us, we continue to strive. For that more perfect Union. To do the right things, and to do things right. And to try to make the world a better place. And that's a beautiful thing.

Well...didn't mean to write a book there or anything, but I had a lot to cover. That's my 2 cents, for whatever its worth.

As always, thanks for reading.

'Till next time.  

-Marshall McCart  

Through the Looking Glass: Newton Co. Edition

The Chronicles
20 April '16

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Recently, an elected municipal official on Facebook publicly said that someone should start selling T-shirts talking about surviving the 6 hour Newton Co. BOC meeting from last night. That was just for the citizens, apparently. Supposedly, the meeting went until 2AM for the members of the board - a 7 hour meeting!

How could this possibly happen? Two words. Keith Ellis. The worst Chairman of the Board ever in Newton County? Maybe. But that's another story for another time...

Click here to read about the abomination of a meeting that our governing body had last night.

The horror...

The lede from the Tommy Craig Newton Citizen was this - Levie Maddox is a racist.

Well...I've been checking on that. More on it later.

So...Archie Shepard. He passed out literature with this supposed email exchange. An exchange that at least two people have both said was doctored. Who's Archie? Is he part of the Minister's Union? Is he in with W. Thomas Craig, Esq.?

Who else is with WTC?

Per the word - multiple sources - Craig was sitting with and talking to several folks last night including the following:

- Michael Syphoe, candidate for BOC Chair
- Tim "Tee" Brown, candidate for BOC 3 Commissioner
- Ezell Brown, Sheriff of Newton Co.

Brown is an interesting situation. As I understand it, the Sheriff's Dept. is still utilizing Tommy Craig for their legal counsel, even as the Newton Co. BOC just last night made it official that they will be completely detached from Craig for legal services in any way starting May 1.

Interesting...

So, in re the email.

Just click on the Newton Citizen link again. Read it. Read it real good.

There is most assuredly something rotten in the county of Newton going on, folks. It stinks to high heaven, in this writer's estimation.

I'm working several leads and will be reporting back soon.

DEVELOPING...

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[tpc] - Q & A with Phil Johnson, candidate for Newton Co. BOC Chair

The Chronicles 
10 April '16

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Howdy, folks. Hope all is well out there. A while back, I had asked Phil Johnson, Democratic candidate for BOC Chair, for an interview. He happily obliged. Initially, I was going to email him some questions and then follow up with a phone interview to put together a write-up. I sent the email, and I had the phone conversation, but I've decided to just copy and paste my questions and his responses. I'm doing this because his answers were so thought out and thorough that I didn't really want to filter it or condense it in any way.

Our phone interview went really well. I've known Phil a long time and we've had some great conversations over the years. He's obviously a really smart guy, and he has a very firm grasp of the issues. For the most part, we covered a lot of things that you'll read in his responses.

While Phil and I disagree on some things and have some differences in our core political philosophies, we have a lot in common and I like a lot of what he has to say. I'm not currently endorsing anyone in this race, and I have some doubts about Phil's ability to survive the Democratic primary, but in terms of knowledge of the issues and intelligence, I would think he would probably be at the top of the list of any of the four other candidates running on either side. With that said, I'll also say this - with the campaign team he has assembled, I think he's definitely got a chance. Should be a fun race to follow. And as I've mentioned before, I'm hoping to have interviews with the other candidates in this race in addition to Phil (I've already interviewed Micheal Syphoe). Below is the text of my questions and Phil's answers.

As always, thanks for reading. 

-MBM 

*Ed. Note - for those of you reading on mobile devices, you'll notice gaps in the text. That's a formatting issue from me having copied and pasted Phil's response from Microsoft Word. There's probably a way to fix it, but I'm not technically savvy enough to figure it out. My apologies. 

~ Q & A with Phil Johnson ~

1)  Why are you running for Chair?

A picture of my 10 grandchildren and one great grandchild is the best answer, but you

probably want more.

I began running for Chair almost two years ago, spurred by a disturbing leadership

vacuum in our county government.  The pivotal moment came during public debate over

the 2050 Plan, when the current Chair told me he didn't believe he should take a

position on such matters.  His lack of an articulated vision and failure to seek consensus

on critical issues before the commission over the past three years absolutely convinced

me our problem is leadership.  It’s no coincidence multiple boards spent the past five

years arguing about our form of government, while ignoring the very substance of

government.  In the chase for power, we’ve abandoned the essential leadership

necessary for inclusive, transparent, responsive government.  I don't have all the

answers, but I understand full well the importance of tackling tough issues, discussing

them openly in the light of day, and having the courage to take a stand and lead.

Situations like the landfill and reservoir aren’t just issues for today; they affect future

generations in all our families.  I feel a deep sense of responsibility to ensure future

generations of my family grow up enjoying the kind of community where I have lived my

life.

2)  Define your political philosophy specifically.

Our nation has long been divided along partisan lines, but fracturing within the parties

today reflects just how dissatisfied people are with the current system.

We’re split by significant issues nationally.  But, at the local level, I actually see people

coming together, aligned on more fundamental values like fairness, integrity, common

sense, inclusion, and transparency.  This gives me hope.

Local government isn’t tangled with the great philosophical or moral issues of our

day.  As the saying goes, local government is about making the trains run on time.

To the extent political philosophy is how government should operate, I embrace the

morality that a public official is answerable to all citizens and must be transparent,

truthful, and fair conducting the people’s business.  Outrage over the compromise of

these values is what united the people of Newton County to force the dramatic events of

the past 15 months.  And, that’s a good thing.

Where reasonable people disagree is what role government should play and how much

government we should have.  It’s an important discussion, but there are no absolute

answers.  The Apple debate over individual privacy vs. public safety is a great example

where competing objectives required weighing tradeoffs.  Locally, the 2050 Plan debate

is another excellent example.  I believe strongly in the need for local governments to

establish frameworks for future land use and development, but I also joined the voices

who felt specifics in that plan were imposing unreasonable restrictions on landowners in

some parts of the county.  Citizens expect individual freedom with property they hold or

acquire to develop, yet they also want a degree of predictability for what develops

around them.

Local government must find the delicate balance between those interests.  We won’t all

agree on where to draw the line, but it is a leader’s responsibility to frame the

objectives, facilitate honest discussion, and to the best of human ability find good

compromises that serve community interests.

[tpc] - The Natchez Trace: A Write-up by Ellis Millsaps [Updated]

The Chronicles 
27 March '16

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The Natchez Trace 
A Write-up by contributing writer Ellis Millsaps

*Ed. note: this is  a multi-part series that Ellis wrote about back in 2010 when he bicycled the Trace. A very good write-up, this is a trip I'd like to take sometime. 


 Last week I went on a three day bike ride on the Natchez Trace. The Trace goes from Nashville Tennessee to Natchez Mississippi. It’s a wide two-lane road with a 50 mph speed limit. The entire road is a national park. Originally it was an Indian trail, but in the early 1800’s people on the Ohio River began floating goods on barges down the Ohio and Mississippi to Natchez, selling their goods there and walking back on the Trace.

     No commercial vehicles are allowed. There are no stores or houses on the Trace. The only towns it goes through are Tupelo and Jackson. It’s perfect for bicycling.

     In the 1970’s I took two trips on the Trace. The first was three friends and I bicycling from Tupelo to Jackson, about 100 miles, and back. One of us, Rodney Temples, a crazy Vietnam vet, borrowed a bicycle to ride with us even though he had no experience, unlike the rest of us who cycled all over Atlanta. Setting out from Tupelo—after of course visiting the King’s birthplace—Rodney took off and yelled over his shoulder that he’d see us in Jackson.

     We caught him in about five miles and for the next ninety-five we’d have to stop and wait on him periodically and we filled that time singing to him, “Yeah, yeah, go to Jackson/ Go ahead you big-talkin’ man/ Go on go to Jackson…”The June Carter part of the song.

     The second trip was three years later. Dan Denoon and I rode from Jackson to Natchez and back, again a 200 mile round trip. We pulled into Natchez in July heat so hot you could see it rising off the pavement. On an otherwise deserted narrow street in an old part of town, while I was leaning against a wall to rest in the shade, an old black man appeared and told me he didn’t believe in that civil rights, that white folks were superior and the young coloreds were messing with the divine order.

     I also encountered my first armadillos in south Mississippi. They were still decades away from North Georgia. On both of these trips we rode the whole way the first day and stayed in a motel, then took two days to ride back, camping in sleeping bags without a tent along the way. Armadillos are so stupid they will crawl over a person in a sleeping bag scavenging for garbage. They do not fear tennis shoes flung at them. They got body armor.

     On last weeks’ trip my plan was to ride about 120 miles, from Muscle Shoals to Nashville, over three days, with my assistant Michael driving me to the starting point and Cynthia picking me up at the Nashville end. I figured three days to do the 120 miles because it’s hillier in Tennessee and I’m 30-odd years older than on the earlier trips. Also, I don’t sleep on the ground anymore. I booked two places to sleep in a bed near the Trace.

     This is a long tale so I’ll be giving it to you in installments. The next will be “Day One” and then with “Day Two” we’ll get some pictures, because it wasn’t until then that I figured out how to take pictures with my cell phone.

[tpc] - A Gold Dome recap: it wasn't good

The Chronicles 
27 March '16

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Well, as previously mentioned on tpc, never underestimate the ability of the state legislature of Georgia to go full-on moron. I had a bad feeling about this year, as did many others. Our fears were apparently well-founded. It was truly bad. On to the bullet points!

• In this writer's estimation, the worst of a bad bunch was the fact that we couldn't even get SB145 on the Senate floor. This is the bill that would have added conditions such as PTSD, Autism, and a handful of other conditions to those who could legally (or technically illegally) get cannabis oil for treatment. Who was responsible for this? Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and Sen. Renee Unterman for starters. You can go ahead and add Gov. Nathan Deal to the list as well plus a good number of others who obviously don't like kids with Autism and hate our Veterans. I kid, maybe...No, the real thing was they've all sold their souls. That's all. Just follow the money, there's about to be hell to pay as I understand it. Hope these people are ready for the righteous lashing they're all about to get. Couldn't happen to a better bunch... 
• The religious freedom bill, HB 757, went from a bill giving pastors and preachers the right to choose who they may or may not marry to complete carte blanche to discriminate not just in terms of sexual orientation, but also familial status. There will be financial implications for the state if Deal signs this into law. 
• The brunch bill couldn't get out of committee. So, for the record, just know that you can't go buy a drink at a restaurant for brunch at 10:30 AM, or 11:30 or 12 noon for that matter. Just remember you sniveling subjects, the state controls whether or not you can have a Bloody Mary on a Sunday morning and they have said NO!!! In the words of Al Haig in 1981 - THE STATE OF GEORGIA... IS... IN CHARGE...HERE! 
• There are more. Read the lovely Jessica Szilagyi's piece about it for the others. 

Well, at least they didn't completely destroy everything this time around. But just remember - they'll be back next January. And by they, I mean the locusts, whores, sociopaths, sell-outs, scoundrels, scalawags, et al. For the record, there are a few good ones. Not many. Just a few...

[tpc] - Sunday Check-in: Talkin' City of Covington Insurance

The Chronicles
27 March '16

~ ~ ~

As the Newton Citizen recently reported, the city of Covington's council meeting this past Monday did indeed cover other things than the geese at Ashton Hills (which, by the way, we might just be able to #savethegeese! Thank Goodness!).

For the first time in 12 years, the city has a new insurance broker/provider. Leading up to this meeting, the city had done something else for the first time in over a decade - they actually put it up for bid. A good thing, truly.

Here are the facts:

- the city has gone with a new provider, Ascension, who offered a flat rate of $95,000 and per staff and consultant recommendations offered the best in the way of services.

- the current provider, Gary Massey, who has been the insurance provider for the past 12 years, has been charging a 3.5% fee which, for the current year (2015/6), was a charge in excess of $150,000 per annum. Based on the information I've gathered, that's been the amount roughly for at least the last several years.

Now while it is true that Massey came in with a price of $78,000 with his bid for the upcoming year, there were concerns from some that perhaps the city had been paying too much for quite some time. Also, as previously mentioned, it seemed as if the range and scope of services would be better with Ascension.

In the aftermath of this vote, one city Councilman, Chris Smith, took to Facebook to call out half of the council and the Mayor:

"I can't express my disappointment in a council that continues to say they promote doing business local, and sent this out of town. Employees of the City call the three plus the Mayor that voted against your local voice when you have a problem. And was the lowest bid. Who's claiming to be conservative this morning?" 

For starters, this seems to be counterproductive to the city, but certainly it's Mr. Smith's right to air his opinions and mention his disappointment. What bothers me the most is that Smith, without probably realizing it, is basically telling staff - in this situation, the five city employees who served on the RFP committee to analyze this - that their findings are wrong and shouldn't count solely because Mr. Massey is local? And the conservative line? Well, I'd say going from almost $160,000 to $95,000 while getting more services seems to be pretty conservative to me.

There's been a lot of talk about this. The big thing sticking in the craw of many is why was the charge so much higher for the last several years. As one local told me - "what does it say when an agent cuts his fees 50%?" Perhaps the failure ultimately lies with the city for not having put it to bid sooner, although, as I understand it, there has been an effort to try to do just that the past few years but there was not the support on the council needed to make it happen. And that makes sense. Of the three council members who voted for it, two of them were not on the board until January of this year.

And as several have also said - if Ascension is not all that they're cracked up to be, then we put it up for bid again next year. At the very minimum, the city will be spending over $50,000 less than they did last year. That sounds like a win and a conservative action by the city of Covington Council & Mayor in this writer's opinion.

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[tpc] - Morning in Newton Co. - NCRP Edition

The Chronicles 
20 May '16 

~ Morning in Newton Co - NCRP Edition ~

Convention Chair Wesley Dowdy
readies his notes 

Greetings, readers. Hope it's all good out there.

In my last write-up about the Newton Co. Republican Party, I used the title of "Dawn of a New Day." If that was the dawn, then yesterday's county convention would put us into the morning of this new day and I'm here to tell you about it.

For starters, it was the best-attended county convention I'd ever been to. We saw 74 qualified delegates and 11 guests for a total of 85 attendees. And unlike former years, there was no tension or exclusionary tactics, it was all very warm and welcoming. There was a little bit of unhappiness on both ends of the party as former establishment members felt like they weren't give enough delegate and alternate slots, while some of the former outsiders felt like the party was being foolish for giving spots to those who "slit our throats the last several times around." In the spirit of full disclosure, I was asked and did indeed serve as Chair of the nominating committee for this convention. Old friend Aaron Brooks also served on that committee with a few other folks. As we discussed, to have both of the fringes unhappy led us to believe that things were handled in the right manner. It's never perfect in this process, but I truly felt it went well. On to the bullet points! 

• Super job and well done to Wesley Dowdy who served as the Convention Chairman. Wesley could probably give the one and only Randy Evans a run for his money as quite possibly the best Convention Chair I've ever seen in action. A 100% mastery of Robert's Rules of Order combined with his humor, quick wit and strong, resonating voice makes him a pro at this. Ole "Smooth Operator" Evans has been saying for years that he's not sure how much longer he can continue to preside over multiple conventions like he has. The Georgia GOP may do well to get in touch with Mr. Dowdy if that ever comes to pass. Again, he's just great. 
• Party Chairman Ray Cowan and the rest of the Executive Committee once again did just a fantastic job getting prepared for this convention as they had also done for the precinct meetings last month. Well done, folks. Very well done. 
• A major emphasis for the Nominating Committee, and this was reinforced when the Assembled Body accepted all of our slates, was this - giving delegate slots to as many new folks as we could and giving fair and proportional representation to supporters of all candidates and the various modes of thought that makes up the big tent of the Grand Old Party. 

And that was the biggest takeaway for me - the warm, welcoming feel combined with things being done as above-board as possible and being totally inclusive. Basically the complete diametric opposite of the way things had been done the last several years. 

When it was all said and done, 19 delegates had been sent to the 4th Congressional District; 10 to the 10th, and 22 to the State Convention in Augusta in June. An equal number of Alternates were also sent. It will be at these conventions where the delegates will be selected to go to Cleveland, OH for the National Convention of the RNC. It's quite the process and this is ultimately who will be selecting the GOP's nomination for POTUS. It's very important stuff.

But yes, another great day for the NCRP. Just as it was last month for the PMM, it was an honor to be able to participate as a Qualified Elector/Delegate as well as cover it as a Citizen Journalist.

I'll be reporting on the 4th District convention in April, as well as the State Convention in June. It is my plan to be in Ohio to report on the National Convention, too.

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