Atlanta Progressive News

(APN) ATLANTA — Steve Broadbent, the Republican nominee for Fulton County Chairman in 2010, has announced his candidacy for the City Council of Johns Creek, Post 2 seat.

Councilman Dan McCabe (Post 2) has decided not to run for reelection.

“John [sic] Creek has made significant gains in the five years since its founding.  We have great schools, a thriving small business community, and a variety of arts and recreational opportunities,” Broadbent wrote in a statement announcing his candidacy.

“Similar to many cities across America, Johns Creek also faces a number of challenges.  The recession has caused a decrease in property assessments and, as a result, tax revenues are falling.  However, the costs of providing the critical city services have not changed,” he said.

“The continued success of Johns Creek is dependent on maintaining a limited, but efficient city government.  We need to properly balance the outsourcing of services versus those services provided by city employees.  Finally, we need to ensure a continuing investment in our infrastructure of roads, bridges, and green space,” he said.

On his website, Broadbent stated his support for the creation of Milton County.

When Broadbent ran for Chairman of Fulton County, he said he preferred to keep Fulton County together and to reform it; however, he declined to take Milton County off the table.  Since the election, Broadbent told Atlanta Progressive News that he was now supporting Milton County, seeing as how he was not able to get elected to bring the reforms that he sought.

“I enthusiastically support the creation of Milton County,” Broadbent wrote.

“A newly formed Milton County will give greater control over tax dollars to the citizens of Johns Creek, Roswell, Mountain Park, Milton, Alpharetta, and Sandy Springs and reduce the duplication of services at the county and city levels,” he wrote.

“While I have personally campaigned vigorously in the past for the reform of Fulton County, it is clear that the majority of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners is not interested in stopping the wasteful spending in the Fulton County government,” he said.

“The Fulton County Commission has been abusive for years to taxpayers who live throughout the County.  Significant animosity and disagreements exist between the north Fulton cities and the Fulton County government concerning the efficiency and cost in the delivery of county services,” he said.

“The County has not realigned its staff and budget for the delivery of county services to reflect the creation of the many new cities throughout Fulton County,” he said.

“The leadership in the City of Johns Creek must continue to work closely with the state legislators to seek approval for the creation of Milton County in the 2012 legislative session,” he said.

Broadbent previously spent twenty-two years in the US Navy, serving as a Captain; served eleven years as a Sales Vice President of AT&T; and was appointed by former President George H.W. Bush to serve as a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the US Department of the Treasury.

Two other candidates running for the seat include Swapna Bhave and Brad Raffensperger.

All six Council Members in Johns Creek run citywide, and serve staggered terms, with Posts 1, 3, and 5 up for reelection in 2013, and Posts 2, 4, and 6 up for reelection this November 2011.

Other Johns Creek City Council Members Ivan Figueroa (Post 4) and Bev Miller (Post 6) are running unopposed.

The election will take place November 08, 2011.  On that day, municipal elections as well as referendums on alcohol sales will take place in numerous other Metro Atlanta cities.

In Atlanta, three items will be on the ballot.  City of Atlanta voters will consider alcohol sales on Sunday; Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education District 2 voters will elect a new Board Member; and voters of Atlanta, Decatur, DeKalb County, and Fulton County will consider renewing a penny sales tax for education.

(END / 2011)