13 Votes Made the Difference

Just 13 votes. That's all that separated candidates Steve Shaw and Carlton Smith for the crucial run-off spot for Lumpkin County District 2 Commissioner when the votes were counted last Tuesday, July 31 after the primary election.

The vote was so close that Shaw and Smith had to wait until Friday (Aug. 3) for the provisional and military votes to be counted before they knew which one of them had captured the run-off spot against incumbent Tim Bowden.  Finally after EVERY vote had been tallied, 13 votes still separated the two candidates. Steve Shaw had 13 more votes than Carlton Smith. (It's a shame Smith didn't make the run-off. He would have made a terrific commissioner.)

Steve Shaw now faces Commissioner Bowden in the August 21 run-off. If Shaw can capture a large portion of the Carlton Smith votes, he will win the commission seat. (Bowden only managed 38 percent of the votes in the July 31 primary with Shaw and Smith splitting the other 62 percent.)

D&B is not so sure what kind of candidate Steve Shaw is. We do know that he wasn't much into campaigning. He failed to show up at the candidate debates, he wasn't at the Lumpkin County Republican Party event for candidates, and he wasn't spotted at any fundraisers or campaigning at large county social gathering.

The next two weeks until the run-off will be interesting. Will Shaw continue his non-campaigning campaign? Or is Shaw's strategy one of hoping there will be enough anti-Bowden votes that he (Shaw) can cruise to victory? Only time will tell.

Politics in Lumpkin County

As they say, "You win a few. You lose a few." That's what happened yesterday in the primary elections in Lumpkin County.

Big Loss
D&B actively supported two candidates - Guy LaBoa and Carlton Smith. Unfortunately, Guy wasn't able to pull out a victory in his race for Lumpkin County Commission Chairman. He definitely fought the good fight, but as a Lumpkin newcomer (he's only lived here 9 years), he was an underdog the minute he decided to run. Guy, a retired Lt. General, would have made a great leader for Lumpkin.

Big Maybe
As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, Carlton is still in the race - just 12 votes away from making the run off for the District 2 Commissioner seat. With military ballots and some absentee ballots still to be counted, Carlton gain enough votes to come in second and face incumbent Tim Bowden in a run off. Hang in there, Carlton. You still have a chance!

Big Win
In another big vote, Lumpkinites voted over 72% (one of the highest ratios in the state election) against the 1% transportation sales tax. In this economy, the people in this mountain area just weren't ready to pay more taxes, especially when such a small amount of the money raised in the Mountain District were for Lumpkin highway projects.

Vote for Carlton Smith

Carlton Smith Gets D&B Vote for Commissioner.

In the election for Lumpkin County Commissioner, District 2, many voters are going to the polls to vote AGAINST Tim Bowden, the district's uber controversial commissioner. Bowden's single-mindedness and seemingly disregard to the electorate are reasons enough to cast a ballot for another candidate.

However, in D&B's case, we are not voting AGAINST Bowden. We are voting FOR Carlton Smith. Carlton is a neighbor, a man whom we know personally. In fact, he was one of the first people to welcome us to Lumpkin and extoll the virtues of our new county.

Carlton is a successful small business owner. He knows the challenges that businesses face. He's familiar with budgeting and the need to make wise financial decisions. He was a public safety worker for years so he values the roles that our fire fighters and sheriff deputies play.

Carlton is a husband, father, and grandfather who values the quality of life we have in Lumpkin. Most importantly, he loves Lumpkin, he's a true leader, and he will make a darn good commissioner.

P.S. Carlton spoke out months ago on giving Lumpkin voters the right to vote on the Sunday alcohol referendum. While he may not vote for Sunday sales, he strongly stands for letting the people vote on such a controversial issue.

Say No to Tim Bowden

No Bowden signs throughout Lumpkin County.

Tim Bowden, who is running for re-election to Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners, District 2, is not a popular man. That is if the signs posted throughout the county recently are indication on his popularity.

Why the Bowden animosity? The primary reason is that he has been the strongest voice on the County Commission against the referendum to vote for Sunday wine and beer sales. Bowden voted at least twice to keep the referendum off the ballot and was the most vocal against proposal.

The overwhelming opinion in the county seems to be that the people want to vote on the issue. It's what the voters in dozens of counties across Georgia have done. But Bowden says No.

His contention, according to his public statements and articles in the Dahlonega Nugget, is that Sunday liquor sales will cause an increase in highway accidents and put a burden on our public service officers. Really, Mr. Bowden?

Fortunately, Bowden has an opponent in the upcoming July 31 election, Carlton Smith, who supports giving the public the right to vote on the referendum. Smith, like others who are running for the commission this year, believes that such an important decision should be up to the people, not by three commissioners.