Couple of things
- OK ... now you've done it. You're talking about screwing with Happy Hour. Listen, I've got plenty of concerns about this. For one thing, it sounds like you're beginning a dangerous dance toward price-fixing. For another, why should my ability to purchase a Terrapin for $2 at 5:30 p.m. be altered because the boys from Kappa Chi Alpha Theta want to slam down $1 Jello shots at Flannagin's at 1:30 a.m.? It would seem to me these are two distinctly different issues, though both appear as if they could be remedied without additional ordinances. And are we to believe that because one can't run drink specials that students will drink less? Or at least that much less? You're dealing with a cultural/societal/generational issue here - one that needs to be addressed, no doubt - but one that won't be easily fixed by overregulation. I ain't alone in talking about it either as Hillary's already there too.
- The Athens Banner-Herald leaps into the world of New Media as they post audio from both David Hamilton and Andy Herod.
- I think the bigger thing to take away from Glenn Richardson's interview is how little he really thinks of us as he claims a commuter rail connecting Athens to Atlanta would connect 'nowhere to nowhere' ... says the man from Paulding County. But in the past two days we've learned that the frontrunner for the 10th Congressional District thinks we should get rid of the University of Georgia because it's full of liberals and now you've got the Speaker of the House in the Georgia General Assembly who apparently doesn't believe we even exist (let alone possess short-sighted ideas regarding alternative transportation).
- Speaking of the 10th Congressional District, I came across Bill Greene's web site which is interesting and somewhat bonechilling all rolled into one. I had really thought that Athens-Clarke County's own Paul Broun Jr. had the market cornered on extreme conservatism, but Greene's giving him a run for his money.
- Back to the Happy Hour thing ... please don't take my criticism to this particular proposal to be criticism of the entire process. The article points out there's a Legislative Review Committee that will consider all of the proposed amendments to the alcohol ordinance and, as Mayor Heidi Davison rightly notes, some of these will be tweaked or even removed. I'm quite sure there are several productive and positive amendments to the ordinance, but there's just one that I think is kinda lousy that's getting all the attention right now. There are some mighty smart folks on the committee, and let's hope they approach this thing in the proper way.
- The Athens Banner-Herald leaps into the world of New Media as they post audio from both David Hamilton and Andy Herod.
- I think the bigger thing to take away from Glenn Richardson's interview is how little he really thinks of us as he claims a commuter rail connecting Athens to Atlanta would connect 'nowhere to nowhere' ... says the man from Paulding County. But in the past two days we've learned that the frontrunner for the 10th Congressional District thinks we should get rid of the University of Georgia because it's full of liberals and now you've got the Speaker of the House in the Georgia General Assembly who apparently doesn't believe we even exist (let alone possess short-sighted ideas regarding alternative transportation).
- Speaking of the 10th Congressional District, I came across Bill Greene's web site which is interesting and somewhat bonechilling all rolled into one. I had really thought that Athens-Clarke County's own Paul Broun Jr. had the market cornered on extreme conservatism, but Greene's giving him a run for his money.
- Back to the Happy Hour thing ... please don't take my criticism to this particular proposal to be criticism of the entire process. The article points out there's a Legislative Review Committee that will consider all of the proposed amendments to the alcohol ordinance and, as Mayor Heidi Davison rightly notes, some of these will be tweaked or even removed. I'm quite sure there are several productive and positive amendments to the ordinance, but there's just one that I think is kinda lousy that's getting all the attention right now. There are some mighty smart folks on the committee, and let's hope they approach this thing in the proper way.
posted by Jmac at 7:08 AM
25 Comments:
Thanks for your comments on the Legislative Review Committee. Keep in mind that Tuesday night was the first time the Commission heard about any of these proposals. You are right, many are very good, necessary changes that bring us into compliance with state law. I have some serious concerns with some of the other provisions. Keep in mind none of this is anywhere near imminent. Please stay tuned.
JMAC -
I heard on 1340 this morning that David Hamilton has refused (or maybe just not made himself available) for a radio interview with Tim Bryant that was to be broadcasted on Friday (Andy's interview is done and ready to go, I understand). Have you heard anything about this? I find it odd that he first makes himself unavailable for the University Heights forum and now this. Does he not understand that a Commissioner is expected to be available to his constituents (especially in this town)? Makes me wonder what sort of Commissioner he would be.
-David
Elton, many thanks for your comments good sir. I trust you good folks will approach this in the proper way after giving it careful review.
David, I heard nothing about Hamilton 'refusing' to appear. The last I had heard was that he hadn't responded to Bryant, which is distinctly different and can be explained in any variety of manners. Again, that's not to say his lack of participation in either forum/interview doesn't disappoint me - because it does - but it's also quite a leap to suggest he 'refused' unless we know for a fact that he out-and-out said 'I won't do it.'
Hamilton recored an interview with Tim Bryant this morning. It should air tommorow.
Good to hear and thanks for the update.
Bryant wanted Hamilton and Herod to go on together. Hamilton would not do that. Why won't he appear with Herod?
Bullshit. As stated before Hamilton and Bryant had not even communicated. When they finally connected, an interview was conducted.
Let's not forget that David is doing a fine job of walking neighborhoods and talking to the people who actually live in the 8th. He is out answering their questions and talking about their issues.
The 8th district commisioner should do just that, represent the people who live in the 8th district. That's what David will do. If you're interested in who Andy is aiming to represent, just look at who is funding his cofers.
Now, that's a misleading comment. Herod has raised more than $8,600 with $3,000 coming from out of the district. That still means he raised more than $5,000 in District Eight, which is more than what Hamilton has raised.
If you don't like Herod, do so because you don't like his policies or because you share Hamilton's vision. Don't do it because of false arguments over raising money (or agreeing or not agreeing to appear on debates).
Jmac, Excellent job as always.
One question... are you sure about that $3,000 number overall? Or is it $3,000 from "notable outsiders"? Those could be two completely different things. Just curious about the accuracy of that number. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you are on point. I just have to ask the question as an interested 8th district voter.
I'm basing it on the report from Flagpole and chalking it up to the donations from the folks from R.E.M., who live out of district. Taking into consideration the other donations which were below the limit to be reported, one has to think there's probably a couple of hundred non-district dollars there.
The vast majority of the money, however, comes from donors within the district.
And thanks for the compliment!
Really? You didn't seem to have a problem smearing other candidates based on where their money was from. REM and cohorts are not shelling out cash because Andy's a swell guy. They want influence and that is no false argument. Keep your head in the sand if you want but REM's desire to control the destiny of this town is disturbing.
You should really check your facts before you claim that all the rest of Andy's money (sans REM) comes from the 8th district.
Oh, yeah. REM and their flying monkeys want to build sidewalks and protect trees. The horror!
Ok. To settle this I checked out both disclosures. Only 2 out of a total of 6 donors to Hamilton who gave over $101 are from the 8th.
Of the 4 out of the district, one is from Winterville, one from Tennessee, and others from around Athens. So, by the previous posters logic, if you want the Winterville-Tennessee cohorts to run Athens, vote for Hamilton!
I live in the eight district and haven't had Hamilton come to my door, though Andy has. I went to the University Heights forum and Hamilton didn't show up, though Andy did. Not that that should affect anyone else's vote, but it did mine.
By the way jmac, thank you for keeping this blog updated unlike the flying monkeys at Athens Politics.
To Andy & David:
If you are going to say negative things about your opponents, please say something very negative rather than this he bought something out of the district or he got donations from somebody. Give me something like he's sleeping with his campaign manager's wife (San Franciso's Mayor) or his own sister sued him (Carol Hunstein's opponent). Bring it strong to the basket or don't bring it all. (March Madness is influencing me.)
You didn't seem to have a problem smearing other candidates based on where their money was from.
Really? I was critical because of where the money came from? If I recall correctly, I argued that the folks who contributed money to Charlie Maddox's campaign did so because they shared the same vision for the community as he did. If I was critical - which I'm sure I was as we, you know, occasionally do political commentary at this blog - it was because of what the vision was and not because of who was supporting it.
And to suggest that a musical group with a penchant for supporting causes and candidates they believe equals 'influence' ... wow. I'm not sure what's more comical about that statement - that fact that you seem to believe that Michael Stipe has to give money in order to get his voice heard in this town or the fact that you equate supporting one's candidacy with a plea for 'influence' (and not because they're politically active citizens or anything).
If you are going to say negative things about your opponents, please say something very negative rather than this he bought something out of the district or he got donations from somebody.
Now, now ... there's no reason to believe either Hamilton or Herod are suggesting these things. They've both run positive campaigns and worked to get out their message.
And though it doesn't mean a hill of beans in my opinion, since this discussion keeps returning to this (and since our good anonymous poster from 5:24 p.m. did a little research), I expanded a bit on it and discovered the following ...
David Hamilton
- Two of six reported donors from District Eight ($400)
- Four out-of-district donors ($900)
- $1,300 in unreported contributions
Andy Herod
- Nine of 13 reported donors from District Eight ($2,351)
- Four out-of-district donors ($3,150)
- $3,103 in unreported contributions
I think Herod will win this race. It may not be a landslide, but I believe he will win by a comfortable margin. Herod just seems to be running a better campaign. He or his volunteers have been to my house three times. Hamilton's volunteer came once. (I have no yard sign that might encourage or discourage either campaign.) Herod apparently has raised much more money in the district. Herod went to the public forum. He seems to be doing well in Cedar Creek, Hamilton's neighborhood.
Does any of that guarantee he will win? Certainly not. But the better campaign wins more often than not. Time will tell.
I wonder whether States McCarter led Hamilton to believe that it was his race to lose.
I just have to respond to the poster who insists REM wants to fulfill some control issues by funding progressive candidates. Do you really believe that a band as big as REM flexes its collective muscle through local politics? They fund local candidates because they care about the town in which they live and wish to support it. They are generous with many local causes including the homeless and the humane society. All progressive causes that IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE. Sorry that your inarticulate insurance agent candidate who has as a platform of increasing the homestead exemption for gods sake doesn't fit this ideal.
I'm not saying anything about any candidate but here's a dose of reality for you:
- if R.E.M. wanted to buy influence, it wouldn't be with local officials. They've got the kind of money that you use to buy Senators and Governors.
- though much is made about what R.E.M. gives to local candidates, it's nothing at all compared to what they give to campaigns all around the country - the Athens giving is probably less than 1% of the total.
- you can't buy local candidates for the kind of pocket change you guys are talking about. Buying influence, in any serious way, would take at least six-figures. Jeezus! You really think somebody would risk going to jail or being publicly disgraced for chump change?!
- money always comes from outside the district because the first round of fundraising is "friends and family" and some of them are bound to live outside the district. Of course, everybody in Athens has a stake in who wins every Commission seat because they all vote on every issue.
- so far, everything I've read on the local blogs about the D8 race is a lot of noise that gets nowhere close to what is really important.
I know both these guys and they are both squeaky clean. There are some differences in positions and in experience and background. Talk about that.
I will have to add one thing though - I pretty much never trust anybody who tries to make some kind of issue about R.E.M. giving to campaigns. It's always a lot of noise about how that's so bad but with never even a hint of explaination about why - it's cheap and reflects poorly on the writer. Put up or shut up.
If anyone likes conspiracy theories, why is it that the commission didn't take up this proposal until the week (Spring Break) that no students would be here?
...This proposal referring to the ending of happy hour.
The Red and Black will get right on that, anonymous!
If anyone likes conspiracy theories, why is it that the commission didn't take up this proposal until the week (Spring Break) that no students would be here?
Well, the commission hasn't taken anything up yet. The first step is to take these recommendations which were formulated by staff and then have the Legislative Review Committee work through them. Then they go to the commission for a vote.
The Happy Hour thing ain't gonna fly, so there's no real need to worry about it.
And to add one more hay-penny to cowboy's thoughts...
just what sort of influence is REM supposed to be "buying" locally?
What aspect of their international record sales or worldwide tours is affected by local ordinances?
By definition, when you "buy influence" you are doing so to influence legislation to your own self interest. About the only thing the local government could ever do to affect REM/Athens, LTD's bottom line would be to waive their business occupation tax -- saving them a whopping $2,000/ year (maybe less).
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