The madness of logic
The good folks at Athens Politics were all over the La Puerta del Sol discussion tonight at City Hall. Kudos to them, and kudos to the folks who spoke out in favor of LPDS tonight. I agree with them in believing those for the development made a much more compelling case than the incredibly vocal few who were against it.
The vote was tabled until the first meeting of November, but Tuesday's meeting provided many highlights (and I probably ranted too much about 'em).
There were so many things just infuriating about the opposition during Tuesday's debate, that it's hard to count. But the primary one is the incredibly hardline and insanely irrational stance that States McCarter has taken against LPDS. Poor Commissioner McCarter ... no one wanted him to be mayor and now, as a lame duck commissioner whom the door can't hit fast enough as he crankily plods to the finish line, he has embraced the anti-LPDS crowd with a fervent passion.
Don't be fooled - no matter how many times McCarter said 'I've got nothing against Mr. Rubio ... this is about location,' he was just selling you short. This is about Mr. Rubio, in some form or fashion. McCarter didn't like the way the process went for some reason or another and has now dedicated the remainder of his term to derailing this project. The hostility and venom in McCarter's voice suggests a deep resentment to this project. The anger evident in his frail little red face as District 1 Commissioner Charles Carter dared to question his methodology proves that this project, for some unexplainable reason, has become illogically personal for him.
McCarter's defense of his opposition was so ignorant, it's hard to know where to begin to discredit it. He repeatedly touted a survey he claimed proved that 95 percent of the residents of the eastside - the entire eastside - were strongly opposed to LPDS. Statistically his numbers don't add up. Considering that LPDS supporters outnumbered LPDS opposers more than four-to-one Tuesday night, if you stretch out that statistic to the entire eastside you're going to find a percentage of pro-LPDS people larger than five percent.
Furthermore, and most damning to McCarter's claim, is that the survey itself was terribly misleading. It was distributed by anti-LPDS individuals who presented the development in a negative light with negative wording of the questions. In fact, several individuals who spoke on behalf of LPDS Tuesday night said they had actually signed the petition against it because they had been mislead about it. The petition is merely propaganda, and I would venture to say many of the folks who had signed it would feel differently if they had the chance to examine both sides of the issue rather than what McCarter wants you to hear.
The other concerns expressed by McCarter and the handful of folks he dragged out to the meeting to get his back were shallow as well. The concern over having alcohol sales near a public high school (Cedar Shoals is right across the street) are silly to say the least. This is not merely a bar, but an upscale restaurant along the lines of a Bischero or a Five & Ten. Those who frequent it will, most likely, be significantly more responsible than college students who venture downtown. The restaurant plans to close by midnight and have security on hand as well.
Plus if we're going to express concern over drunken driving, McCarter and his Cedar Creek buddies need to start examining the other establishments which serve alcohol on the eastside. He also needs to realize that high school gets out at 3:45 p.m., and not 11 p.m.
Along those same lines, the concern over noise is foolish. Rubio already has said he would ban outside music after a certain time, and the speakers he plans to use outside are small compared to other speakers designed for outside use. And, why all of a sudden are folks along this corridor concerned about noise from one restaurant? As one pro-LPDS speaker pointed out, the Cedar Shoals High School band makes a considerable amount of noise throughout the year, while parties by college students in the apartments along Cedar Shoals Drive produce noise as well. Plus, there are existing noise ordinances in place that are designed to handle situations like this one.
There is little concern, in my book, over traffic as well. A stoplight has been installed where the primary entrance for LPDS would be, and the A-C Planning Commission unanimously approved this particular project, expressing no concern over increased traffic.
All of this was bluntly stated by the numerous pro-LPDS individuals who spoke at the meeting, including my boy Josh Kendall (another former ABHer) who said 'We've got a Lowe's coming in down the street which will bring like a million people, but no one's concerned about that traffic ... We hear all this about alcohol, but there are 492 other places on the eastside where I can get a beer, but we don't want to shut them down.' Mayoral candidate Andy Rusk defended the successes Rubio has had with his other businesses.
Still, McCarter stubbornly clings to his idiotic belief that LPDS would be a detriment to the eastside. He is damn near threatening those who may vote against his wishes on this matter - including playing a pure political game with the proposed Old Hull Road multi-use pathway by heeding to District 2 Commissioner Harry Sims' desire to, once again, sell out his constituents and then, in a not-so-subtle fashion, telling the rest of the commission that it's only appropriate to defer to the district's commissioner for these types of issues.
McCarter's leadership on this issue is naive and wrong-headed. For lack of a better cliche, it fails to see the forest through the trees. His position runs completely opposite of everything this commission claims it is for - renovation, reducing sprawl, encouraging local business and empowering the community. His position is a self-serving one he is attempting to package as the wishes of his constituents. Hopefully his fellow commissioners will see through the haze and vote in the best interest of Athens-Clarke County and not because they feel an obligation to McCarter.
The vote was tabled until the first meeting of November, but Tuesday's meeting provided many highlights (and I probably ranted too much about 'em).
There were so many things just infuriating about the opposition during Tuesday's debate, that it's hard to count. But the primary one is the incredibly hardline and insanely irrational stance that States McCarter has taken against LPDS. Poor Commissioner McCarter ... no one wanted him to be mayor and now, as a lame duck commissioner whom the door can't hit fast enough as he crankily plods to the finish line, he has embraced the anti-LPDS crowd with a fervent passion.
Don't be fooled - no matter how many times McCarter said 'I've got nothing against Mr. Rubio ... this is about location,' he was just selling you short. This is about Mr. Rubio, in some form or fashion. McCarter didn't like the way the process went for some reason or another and has now dedicated the remainder of his term to derailing this project. The hostility and venom in McCarter's voice suggests a deep resentment to this project. The anger evident in his frail little red face as District 1 Commissioner Charles Carter dared to question his methodology proves that this project, for some unexplainable reason, has become illogically personal for him.
McCarter's defense of his opposition was so ignorant, it's hard to know where to begin to discredit it. He repeatedly touted a survey he claimed proved that 95 percent of the residents of the eastside - the entire eastside - were strongly opposed to LPDS. Statistically his numbers don't add up. Considering that LPDS supporters outnumbered LPDS opposers more than four-to-one Tuesday night, if you stretch out that statistic to the entire eastside you're going to find a percentage of pro-LPDS people larger than five percent.
Furthermore, and most damning to McCarter's claim, is that the survey itself was terribly misleading. It was distributed by anti-LPDS individuals who presented the development in a negative light with negative wording of the questions. In fact, several individuals who spoke on behalf of LPDS Tuesday night said they had actually signed the petition against it because they had been mislead about it. The petition is merely propaganda, and I would venture to say many of the folks who had signed it would feel differently if they had the chance to examine both sides of the issue rather than what McCarter wants you to hear.
The other concerns expressed by McCarter and the handful of folks he dragged out to the meeting to get his back were shallow as well. The concern over having alcohol sales near a public high school (Cedar Shoals is right across the street) are silly to say the least. This is not merely a bar, but an upscale restaurant along the lines of a Bischero or a Five & Ten. Those who frequent it will, most likely, be significantly more responsible than college students who venture downtown. The restaurant plans to close by midnight and have security on hand as well.
Plus if we're going to express concern over drunken driving, McCarter and his Cedar Creek buddies need to start examining the other establishments which serve alcohol on the eastside. He also needs to realize that high school gets out at 3:45 p.m., and not 11 p.m.
Along those same lines, the concern over noise is foolish. Rubio already has said he would ban outside music after a certain time, and the speakers he plans to use outside are small compared to other speakers designed for outside use. And, why all of a sudden are folks along this corridor concerned about noise from one restaurant? As one pro-LPDS speaker pointed out, the Cedar Shoals High School band makes a considerable amount of noise throughout the year, while parties by college students in the apartments along Cedar Shoals Drive produce noise as well. Plus, there are existing noise ordinances in place that are designed to handle situations like this one.
There is little concern, in my book, over traffic as well. A stoplight has been installed where the primary entrance for LPDS would be, and the A-C Planning Commission unanimously approved this particular project, expressing no concern over increased traffic.
All of this was bluntly stated by the numerous pro-LPDS individuals who spoke at the meeting, including my boy Josh Kendall (another former ABHer) who said 'We've got a Lowe's coming in down the street which will bring like a million people, but no one's concerned about that traffic ... We hear all this about alcohol, but there are 492 other places on the eastside where I can get a beer, but we don't want to shut them down.' Mayoral candidate Andy Rusk defended the successes Rubio has had with his other businesses.
Still, McCarter stubbornly clings to his idiotic belief that LPDS would be a detriment to the eastside. He is damn near threatening those who may vote against his wishes on this matter - including playing a pure political game with the proposed Old Hull Road multi-use pathway by heeding to District 2 Commissioner Harry Sims' desire to, once again, sell out his constituents and then, in a not-so-subtle fashion, telling the rest of the commission that it's only appropriate to defer to the district's commissioner for these types of issues.
McCarter's leadership on this issue is naive and wrong-headed. For lack of a better cliche, it fails to see the forest through the trees. His position runs completely opposite of everything this commission claims it is for - renovation, reducing sprawl, encouraging local business and empowering the community. His position is a self-serving one he is attempting to package as the wishes of his constituents. Hopefully his fellow commissioners will see through the haze and vote in the best interest of Athens-Clarke County and not because they feel an obligation to McCarter.
posted by Jmac at 10:38 PM
5 Comments:
Jmac:
I told you months ago States was losing his mind, and I'm glad LPDS has helped him prove it to the entire community. He seemed so unprofessional and classless last night. Dodson seemed slimey and wishy-washy -- take a stand, kid! If you did on the smoking ban (didn't really care what your constituents thought on that one), do it on this one! And Carl Jordan, well, he was just..... Carl Jordan.
BB
Seems to me like Dodson's in a rough spot. I think he doubts McCarter's methodology - he even indicated that last night - and I think he really, really likes the idea and wants to support it. He just doesn't want to isolate States, for some reason or another ... and he doesn't want to come across as being indifferent to the desires of a large chunk of his electorate (though I still think that folks would support it with more education on the topic).
Dodson seems torn. I know the feeling. But I also know there are times where you make the tough decision. McCarter is a lion in winter, very lacking in teeth. But maybe Dodson NEEDS him for something down the road. That is what we need to be thinking about in this chess match. Why does Dodson need to preserve this relationship with States? What issue will he push that is controversial enough that he will need a swing vote?
BB
Dodson's up again in three years, and the kind of folks opposing LPDS have long memories.
And, not to bring politics into this too too much (yeah, who am I kidding?), but I'm not 100% sure that Elton's eventual political ambitions stop at being a Super-Commissioner.
I hear that. He's only 29 or 30, and he's definitely eyeing something like a State seat down the road. I don't think mayor is his cup of tea, but I can see him vying for something like State House.
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