Atlanta Progressive News

(APN) ATLANTA — Sunday alcohol sales passed overwhelmingly in cities across Fulton County, including Atlanta, Alpharetta, East Point, Hapeville, Johns Creek, Milton, Roswell, Sandy Springs, and Union City.

Atlantans approved Sunday alcohol sales with 81.65 percent of the vote.

The Georgia Legislature had approved earlier this year for cities and counties to hold referendums on the questions of Sunday sales.

ATLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD OF EDUCATION DISTRICT 2

The race for APS BOE District 2 now heads into a Run-off Election between Byron Amos and Angela Brown.

Brown led with 37.95 percent of the vote; Amos with 24.26; Dwanda Farmer with 18.56; Michael Jeter with 12.11; and Donald Walker with 6.36.

Neither Brown nor Farmer immediately returned a voicemail seeking comment.  Amos’s campaign manager, Rev. Demetrius Prather, said that Brown was having dinner with his wife at the moment and would issue a statement in the morning.

“Just got a call from Byron Amos asking for my support in the Run-off. Now that’s something to consider,” Farmer wrote on Facebook.

Walker said he did not regret his run.  “I’m certainly happy that I put forth the effort.  I still think we’ve got to change – we’ve got to catch up.  Traditional values in our communities affect our abilities to receive new progressive leadership and information.  With the younger generation, it lead to apathy,” Walker said.

“When you think 42,000 voters in the District, but only 1,800 showed up.  It says something about the value of education.  And it was the response to one of the worst crisis [sic] and conspiracy in American history.  Imagine this happening in a North Atlanta area, the numbers [turn-out] would be off the roof.  It’s a disconnect and a lack of concern,” Walker said.

Previously, APN reported that Amos had appeared in a number of controversial Youtube videos where he appeared with various rappers who were spewing profane and homophobic remarks.

APN also recently reported that Brown had received campaign funds from former APS BOE Chairman Khaatim El and State Sen. Vincent Fort, both who were behind the controversial APS Board takeover last year.  APN has also learned that Brown received a contribution from State Rep. Rashad Taylor, who was also involved in planning the takeover, as well.

FULTON COUNTY E-SPLOST IV

Fulton County voters re-approved the education SPLOST, thus re-approving one of the seven sales tax pennies assessed on every dollar of purchases made in Fulton County [eight cents in the City of Atlanta].

E-SPLOST IV was approved, 63.55 percent to 36.45.

The funding will support construction of a new North Atlanta high school, North Atlanta middle school, and Midtown middle; and renovations and upgrades at several existing APS schools.  E-SPLOST IV will also fund projects for the Fulton County school system, including projects in north Fulton.

While Mayor of Atlanta Kasim Reed and several Council Members were not in favor of the E-SPLOST, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners was in support.

Homeowners were threatened with property tax millage rate increases if they did not support E-SPLOST IV, and the regressive tax was sold as a way to allow people who buy things in Atlanta but do not own property in Atlanta, to pick up part of the tab.

The re-approval of the E-SPLOST will make it even more difficult for next year’s T-SPLOST vote to pass, with the support of Fulton County voters seen as critical to the passage of what would be a regionally assessed new sales tax penny.

With the E-SPLOST IV now having been approved, if T-SPLOST is also approved, the sales tax would go up to eight cents on the dollar in Fulton [nine cents in Atlanta].

CITY OF JOHNS CREEK

In Johns Creek, Steve Broadbent and Brad Raffensperger head into a Run-off Election.

Raffensperger led with 42.88 percent of the vote; Broadbent with 38.61; Swapna Bhave received 18.16 percent.

Raffensperger claimed that he had consistently supported the creation of Milton County while Broadbent, who previously ran for Fulton County Chairman in 2010, had not.

Recently, APN reported that Broadbent claimed in response to Raffensperger, that just because Broadbent ran for Chairman of Fulton County to reform the county, that he still intended the conversation about Milton County to continue and that it would take five years to implement a new county anyway.

These recent statements by Broadbent contradicted statements he made in 2010, when he said he was running for Chairman of Fulton to eliminate the need and desire for Milton County.  He added at the time that there was no way he would not succeed in reforming Fulton if elected.

CITY OF MILTON

Two incumbents, Julie Zahner Bailey and Alan Tart, were defeated.

Matt Kunz beat Bailey, 55.17 percent to 44.62.

Lance Large beat Tart, 56.51 percent to 43.07.

APN previously reported on Tart’s remarkable election as an openly homosexual Councilman in the most right-wing, Republican city in Georgia.  There is no evidence that the recent Atlanta media coverage on Tart–which made his remarkable story known beyond Milton–became an issue in this election.

Tart did not immediately return a voicemail seeking comment.

(END/2011)