The public seems to finally have focused on the TSPLOST in the past week or so, and many who were formerly on the fence or not paying much attention have now come down four-square against it. It’s no longer a question of whether it will pass in Cobb, but whether it will even break the 40 percent threshold, some think. The proposal holds its own in south Cobb and with younger people, but is highly unpopular with just about everyone else here. Of course, it could still be implemented if voters in the other metro counties approve it, even over Cobb’s rejection.
And the TSPLOST’s unpopularity appears to be having a spillover effect into the re-election candidacy of Cobb Commission Chairman Tim Lee. He was one of the architects of the now-maligned “project list” that featured first the rail line to Cumberland Mall, and now the premium bus service. And his earlier advocacy of the tax has come back to haunt him. He has declined to say how he will vote on the measure, and tellingly, was for all intents and purposes “The Invisible Man” at Tuesday’s pro-TSPLOST rally at the Smyrna Community Center. Yes, Lee was in attendance, but he took no part, preferring to sit in the front row rather than at the dais with headliners Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and former Gov. Roy Barnes. And unlike Kennesaw Mayor Mark Mathews and host Smyrna Mayor Max Bacon, he did not address the nearly 100 TSPLOSTers in attendance.
Meanwhile, former Cobb Commission Chairman Bill Byrne has proven adept at tapping into the hostility against the TSPLOST and positioned himself early on as one of its staunchest opponents. Few would have thought not so long ago that the often-polarizing Byrne would again be a voter favorite, but he is. That’s despite being burdened with enough baggage from his past to torpedo most such candidacies. But like Bill Clinton, Bill Byrne seems to be a political cat with nine lives.
MOST POLITICAL OBSERVERS have assumed from the outset that a runoff would be likely in the chairman’s race, considering there were four candidates and that Lee was considered a weak incumbent by virtue of only being in office two years and having raised property taxes last year. Such a runoff looks as likely as ever with the election just three days away, but the political parlor game of the week is “Who’ll Be in the Runoff?”
It was long expected that the primary would blow away the “chaff” (retired Marine Col. Mike Boyce and retired biz exec Larry Savage) and match Lee against Byrne in the runoff. And that’s still the most probable outcome, thanks in part to the advantage in name recognition enjoyed by the two and to Lee’s well-funded campaign.
But now observers aren’t so sure. Boyce was a “Who’s he?” to most of Cobb six months ago, but has relied on friends and his base at Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church in east Cobb to mount a surprisingly strong race. Had he started six months earlier and made himself better known in Marietta and west Cobb, he might have had this one tucked away by now. Some suspect the runoff could pit Lee against Boyce, not Byrne.
And with the TSPLOST getting less popular by the day, some even wonder if it might drag Lee out of the runoff entirely, leaving voters with a Byrne vs. Boyce choice on Aug. 21. That would be an interesting contest between a political veteran (Byrne) and rookie (Boyce); a face-off between an ex-Marine non-com and an ex-Marine officer, both of them former chopper pilots.
But wait, don’t count out Savage, say his supporters. Savage garnered 40 percent of the votes when he ran as an unknown against Lee two years ago. And friends of Lee and Byrne both predict their man will win it all on Tuesday, without a runoff.
If the admittedly unscientific poll on the MDJonline.com website is any indication, the runoff will feature Byrne and Lee. Of the 362 people who had responded as of 3 p.m. Friday, 34 percent favored Byrne, 30 percent backed Lee, 22 percent went with Boyce and 15 percent liked Savage.
FORMER Gov. Barnes of Marietta arrived right on time for Tuesday’s pro-TSPLOST rally at the Smyrna Community Center, but related that he’d had a roundabout trip.
“They told me it was at the Brawner Center,” he said, referring to the former psychiatric/substance abuse hospital further down Atlanta Road. “So I went to the Brawner Center first. It wasn’t the first time that somebody had told me I needed to go to the Brawner Center.”
The event started 15 minutes late, leading Bacon to quip to the crowd, “Can we finally start? I gotta meet my wife’s attorney at 1 o’clock!” He quickly conceded that he and new bride Ellen Claire Rose had been “happily married for 94 days now.”
Bacon also told the crowd that he graduated from Campbell High School in Smyrna in 1966, the same year Barnes had graduated from South Cobb High.
“Roy was the only kid in the school that carried a briefcase,” Bacon teased.
Barnes later related how Cobb had been a rural county when he grew up and that “if you had told me back then that Cobb someday would have a population twice the size of Wyoming, I would have said you were crazy. But if we stop growing, your taxes will go through the roof and the greatest export we will have will be your children leaving here to find jobs elsewhere. That’s not the future I want for Cobb, and that’s why we need to pass the TSPLOST.”
TUESDAY’S SMYRNA RALLY was Mayor Reed’s second venture to Cobb this summer to lobby for the TSPLOST. He boasts a rare combination of oratorical humor and power and is said to be considering a race for governor. Yes, Georgia is a “red” state, but not so red that Reed wouldn’t be able to make a real race out of it. Whenever that time comes, the Republicans better “bring their A game.” … An invitation from the pro-TSPLOST “Untie Atlanta” group that went out at noon Thursday inviting supporters to a fundraiser that evening downtown with Reed raised the eyebrows of TSPLOST foes. It urged attendees to give up to $25,000 each to the effort, which has already raised close to $7 million for its ad blitz.
WEDNESDAY’S CHAIRMAN CANDIDATES DEBATE at the Cobb GOP headquarters on Wednesday drew close to 100 people — most of them seemingly Byrne partisans — and was a reminder that there’s no love lost between Lee and the former chairman.
“Bill Byrne was a bully, and not meeting with people is not the management style we need,” Lee said at one point. “I try to build consensus. I don’t need to be bombastic or argumentative or to throw things or to slam doors and not meet with people in order to build a consensus. I believe in building consensus, not fences and walls.”
Byrne wasn’t pulling punches either. When asked by panelist/AT columnist Joe Kirby if he had learned any lessons from his controversies of the 1990s and whether if elected the public could expect more of the same this time, the former chair had a ready reply:
“If you think you’re going to get a new warm and fuzzy Bill Byrne, you are sadly mistaken,” he declared. “If I hurt somebody’s feelings, I really just don’t care.”
Savage, who was sandwiched between the two at the dais, was asked by moderator Ross Cavitt of WSB-TV if he cared to comment.
“I’m almost afraid to say anything,” Savage quipped.
CLOSE TO 100 PEOPLE crowded into the HQ for the debate, although they were slow in arriving. That prompted WSB’s Cavitt to joke to a fellow panelist that, “They probably decided to stay home and watch Monica Pearson’s final newscast tonight instead.”
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I find it odd that you would question why Mr. Banks appointed someone outside his district, former board member John Crooks, but you didn't seem to have any problem with Mr. Sweeney appointing F&T Commitee members from outside his district or Angelucci appointing Thea Powell from outside her district or Stultz appointing former board member Curt Johnson. You've made your pointless point and regardless of any logical argument to the contrary it boils down to you simply don't like Mr. Banks. Well you're entitled to your opinion. And that's what it is, only a biased opinion and I understand that anyone in political office will have their detractors. However, I believe that the majority of the school community of Post 5 does appreciate all of Mr. Banks hard work and his standing with them as he was vilified and character assassinated by those that opposed him. We'll certainly know which of us is right by tomorrow morning.
However, THIS election, is THIS Day for Post 5. It is about a school board member who would do well to act 1/3 of his age.
Banks brought on the criticism by the vast majority of the community all by himself and hopefully will be sent home packing.
We need real leadership.
I agree with another blogger, who said it is as simple as ABCD or Anybody But Crazy David for school board.
Two things in your reply are questionable. Mr. Banks won the primary runoff for the School Board more than a month before the SPLOST III was approved and was a candidate for the School Board during the formulation of SPLOST III notebook. School SPLOST notebooks were put together with input from a variety of sources. Candidates for the School Board during that formulation had to take positions on both the SPLOST referendum and the projects contained within the notebook. itself. Secondly, if you'll recall, SPLOST III revenues were considerably down from original estimates which a.) placed all SPLOST III projects in jeopardy and b.)required a 20% reduction in the projected cost of all SPLOST III projects. Mr. Banks was very involved in developing the accelaration initiative which was geared toward saving the largest SPLOST III projects by taking advantage of favorable market conditions. Many of of those largest projects were in Post 5 and may well have been saved by that initiative. So to say that all the SPLOST III projects would have been completed anyway is certainly not accurate. Agreed that each Board member is accountable for their vote and as Abraham Lincoln so famously said "You can please all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time but never all of the people all of the time" But to take that one step farther some people you can never please any of the time.
Quick question: Why did Mr. Banks appoint the Rev. John Crooks to the F & T committee? Did Mr. Banks really not believe there was not person qualified in his own post?
... or did Banks believe that the voters of Post 5 needed a "shadow board member" in the form of a court rebuked school board member?
That aside: Please tell me that you are not foolishly claiming that 'taking a position' while Mr. Banks was still a candidate" gives David the right to claim the projects were only completed as a result of his input. I believe the voters who approved SPLOST III would vehemently disagree with you and Mr. Banks on that point.
If asked, surely the shadow board member, the Rev. John Crooks would quietly inform his puppet, Mr. Banks, that all of the TSPOLST projects on the list would be completed, per law. (You may consult the school attorney, Mr. Doyle on that fact). You can't add or subtract (remember the old board trying to add laptops??) Thus nothing was saved.
Finally, President Lincoln ACTUALLY said, "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time". To take this a step further some people are just plain old fools.
Hopefully, Mr. Banks days of acting like a fool will soon be over.
Get Real!! In case you haven't noticed it's already too late!!!
The Roundtable took $859 Million from Cobb County before they even adjourned.
And Lee either knowingly or unwittingly went along with it.
I am sure that Tad Leithead and Kasim Reed were laughing all the way to the nearest bar.
Either way he did a great disservice to the taxpayers and Citizens of Cobb County and should be held accountable for his incompetence in the election tomorrow.
Tim Lee is a buffoon!!
As a great grandfather of 4 Cobb County students and a grandfather to 2 Cobb graduates, I am totally amazed at the amount work that Mr. Banks claims to have done in the four years he has been on the school board.
If all the work completed in the last 4 years really is the direct result of his involvement the last 4 years, we need to demand his two opponents leave the race immediately.
In fact, I would go as far as to demand the resignation of the rest of the Cobb Board of Education, the current Superintendent, all of the members of the DOE and even the U.S. Secretary of Education. Clearly, we are grossly under utilizing Mr. Banks real talents!
Or just maybe; Mr. Banks is guilty of the words which our generation heard on occasion years ago, "You are selling goods in the store front, which you do not have in stock".
I tend to think the second option is the reality. While I am always appreciative when members of my generation remains active in public service, it does not give elected officials a right to legitimately make such outlandish claims without being held accountable.
While I also commend folks in our generation for stepping forward and running for office, I believe making generalizations without the facts and injecting condescending remarks does little to further constructive dialogue. What it does do is discourage others of our generation who may be inclined to step forward into the public realm. It is suggested that you stick to the facts and not resort to hyperbole in an obvious attempt to demean.
Actually it is quite easy to point to Mr. Banks overstatement of the facts.
First, SPLOST III was approved on September 16, 2008. Mr. Banks was not sworn into office until 5 months later in January of 2009.
Second, The list of projects, which SPLOST III funded, were put together months earlier than September 2008. Yet, somehow, Mr. Banks makes the claim all of the projects were a result of his involvement, which was approved before he even entered office.
Third, the projects throughout the school system would have taken place, regardless who was elected.
Simply, we can all take credit not a lone candidate who had not even taken office. I know I am proud of my vote for my grandchildren and feel a certain amount of pride when I see what we are providing them.
Finally, I am not really sure why questioning the validity of a candidate's exaggerated claims and puffing crosses over into the realm of condescending, unless it is an attempt to keep voters looking at the actual record of constant discourse that Mr. Banks brings to the school board.
"Meanwhile, former Cobb Commission Chairman Bill Byrne has proven adept at tapping into the hostility against the TSPLOST..."
“If you think you’re going to get a new warm and fuzzy Bill Byrne, you are sadly mistaken .... If I hurt somebody’s feelings, I really just don’t care.”
Yep, he seems to epitomize everything Cobb stands for. Elect Bill Byrne!
Cobb needs a leader that understands the proper balance with the Chamber, can build consensus, understands that government isn't the answer for everything, and can identify solutions that people can believe in and support. I'm just not seeing that with any of these candidates.