Candidates face challenge of sounding informed

There's an old Spanish adage that says, "If you can't fight, wear a big hat."  In political debates here in Gwinnett County, it might say, "If you don't know the answer to the question, give any answer, whether or not the question was asked."

At least three of the candidates for Gwinnett County Commission Chairman participating at the candidate forum at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center on Monday night, seemed to have subscribed to that very approach. When asked their position on the county's International Gateway plan, it became painfully clear that they did not have one, because they didn't know what the International Gateway plan is.

But that lack of knowledge didn't stop each one from verbally treading water for the full time allocated for an answer, regardless of how incomprehensible their statements were. Fortunately for the candidates, most of the people in the room didn't know what the International Gateway plan was either.

One of the few people in the room who did, was candidate Charlotte Nash who demonstrated her knowledge of this and all the other issues with clear, concise statements and explanations that came from her years of involvement in county government, including most recently her participation in Engage Gwinnett.

So when the topic of transportation and the 2012 penny transportation sales tax referendum came up, Messrs. Costa, Gause and Kissel sat there essentially spinning their wheels. Kissel even stated that transportation, which ranks among the highest concerns of citizens in Gwinnett, was not a high priority for him. Gause thought curb cuts and some lane improvements would solve the county's transportation problem, while Costa focused on vague references to the usual suspects...SR 316 and I-85.

They left it to Ms Nash to explain what the proposed transportation sales tax was all about; that the process was already underway with the Regional Transportation Roundtable, where the County Chairman had a seat, currently meeting, and that Gwinnett's existing transportation plan included numerous critical projects that could become realities only with funding generated by the tax. And finally, she explained that whether any proposed projects were worthy of an additional penny sales tax would be up to the citizens.

It was obvious from the turnout of more than 200 people that voters cared more about what the next county commission chairman has to say about the challenges facing the county than what the current commission members have to say about anything. Recent BOC Citizen Forums have set attendance records of about a dozen people.

I had hoped to see a heated debate among the four candidates for this important post, but the format of preselected questions from a moderator prevented anything but formulaic responses to emanate from most of the contestants. With a little imagination on their part, things might have gotten interesting.  In part the problem was that everyone was too polite, too civil: a dangerous trend in any democracy. But the real cause of the slumberous discourse was that most of the candidates were too uninformed to express anything beyond vague references to smaller government and pointing out that, surprise, the county was in the midst of a serious crisis. It could have turned into a battle of wits, but with the exception of Charlotte Nash, the participants came unarmed.

Predictions for 2011

What does the new year have in store for us?  I predict:

1) The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners will move its public meetings to nearby Hall, Forsyth, Fulton, Dekalb, Barrow and Walton counties in the hope of having friendlier audiences.

2) With the success last year of the Tea Party movement, new political parties will be launched, including the Coffee Klatch (decaffeinated and regular). These groups will form primarily in "Blue" states, meeting in organizers' kitchens or neighborhood Starbucks and calling for a return to the traditional family values of the Clinton White House.

3) Public employee union members in major cities, already reeling in the backlash of citizens finally catching on that civil servants were receiving higher pay with greater benefits then private sector workers, will agree that taxes are too high where they work and move to lower-cost, union-free communities.

4) Gwinnett County will finally settle its dispute with its 15 municipalities over the Service Deliver Strategy (SDS) by trading chief financial officer Aaron Bovos to the Gwinnett Braves for a yet to be named utility infielder.

5) The HOT (High Occupancy Toll) lanes on I-85 will prove to be so popular that Morgan Stanley will begin trading toll lane futures collateralizing them into bonds to sell to the same gullible investors who bought subprime mortgage bonds three years ago.

6) The housing market will finally show signs of recovery with home prices returning to the level they were at in 1956.

7) Having won three union organizing elections, the top managers at Delta Airlines, in an effort to ensure their own job security, will vote to join a union.

8) The Evermore CID will elect an entirely new board.

9) The City of Suwanee will announce that it won an award, for something or other.

10) All the remaining Democrats in the Georgia legislature will switch to the Republican party, leaving no one to blame if the session ends with nothing being accomplished.

11) Learning from the experience of clogged streets and expressway and virtual shutdown resulting from the record January snowstorm, the City of Atlanta will buy a snow shovel.

12) The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners will move its public meetings back to Gwinnett County in the hope of getting a friendlier audience.