Barrow County Elections Select New Leaders

In Bethlehem a vacant council seat will be filled by Joe Price who defeated C.L. Wood Jr. with 21 votes to 10. With city officials that number in the teens you might be wondering who all these voters were. They didn't vote at Bethlehem City Hall. Voters in Bethlehem were directed to the Sheriff's office in Winder. The 2013 Barrow County elections, according to the unofficial results from the Barrow County Board of Elections and Registration, saw a total 12 percent of registered Winder voters turn out. In the Winder race was Nicole Tobias who said she was proud of garnering 102 votes despite being a new resident. “A goal of mine is so people would have a choice and there would get to be an election,” she said. If you have a choice to be happy or angry, which would you choose?  Obviously, most of us want to be happy and choose the first one—but it’s not always easy, I know.  Sometimes people do things that you don’t understand—perhaps they’ve had a rough life, or even just a rough day.  When we react to a situation that is negative, it only grows and festers in our minds and hearts.  So what can we do? You teach others how to behave toward you. While you cannot change other people, you can influence them through your own behaviors and actions.  By being a living role model of what you want to receive from others, you create more of what you want in your life.” When you accept a negative behavior over and over from someone, you enable them to continue with habits that don’t serve your relationship.  You are telling them that it’s okay to be late, it’s okay not to show up for our appointments, and it’s okay to be disrespectful. Sometimes you can’t influence positive change, and when that happens to me, I move on.  They will have to figure out what happened, and hopefully that realization will make them into a better person for themselves and their new associates. I move forward, but I don't forget. I’ve found that in relationships, setting boundaries is key.  It takes so much more of my energy to be negative and angry. I’m not saying that you should walk away from every negative situation that you encounter, as good relationships are defined by how you work together through the ups and downs.  But if perhaps we could be mindful of how we react and think of the consequences. In 2007 the Barrow County News printed the headline Sandy McNabb Running Unopposed(for Mayor of Bethlehem). Actually the election results were 34-5. Every city with cosmopolitan ambitions will have a planning document that shows the vision for the future of that city. That vision will, almost invariably, have the same elements—bright shiny skyscrapers, verdant parks and gardens, wide boulevards and efficient mass transport. Bethlehem got historic buildings bulldozed, our first red light, and booze and the people who drink it moving in from elsewhere in Barrow County(Statham, Winder, Auburn). Streets lined with trash and empty cans and bottles, crippling traffic accidents and tons of money flowing to the guys who stood and chatted by the pickup trucks in the city hall parking lot after city council meetings. After announcing that he was running for re-election, 'good old boy' Dixon said “The decisions that are made are not made by one person but eight—six council members, the mayor and city administrator,” (and the Sheriff Dept.) Squabbles among the good old boys don't always go the way our political leaders like. Vogel, a good old boy down in Auburn, said “I don’t run on anybody’s agenda, I run on my own and if the people want something that’s what I do. I don’t have a hidden agenda.” Nobody asked or said he had a hidden agenda. This election saw a total 12 percent of registered Winder voters turn out. Friends are important. Two Bethlehem residents voted early in the race between C.L. Wood and Joe Price. The Barrow County Board of Commissioners has scheduled a called meeting for 3:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28, but the meeting will be closed to the public, because the BOC will be screening candidates for the county-manager position. In addition, Winder's city government has scheduled a "grant funding and employee benefits" meeting for 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29. City administrator Don Toms said it will not be a meeting of the full city council, but the public is being notified because four councilmen might attend and that would constitute a quorum. No action is to be taken during the meeting. It will be in a conference room on the second floor of the new Winder City Hall at 25 E. Midland Ave. Entrance to the building will be monitored and regulated by the Winder Police Department. WHO IS JOE PRICE? The Barrow County Chamber of Commerce recently asked candidates in local elections to complete a questionnaire and has made the responses available to the press. In an email to Barrow Patch, President and Chief Executive Officer Tommy Jennings indicated the chamber received no response from Auburn council candidates Donna Scouten, Bob Vogel and William Acworth. The chamber also did not receive a reply from Bethlehem candidate C.L. Wood. 1.) Why do you feel you are the best candidate for the Town of Bethlehem? Joe Price – Heart – I have a heart for people so what better way to serve them than in political office. 2.) What do you see is your role in city council in economic development, to support and grow business? Joe Price – To find out all the facts, consult with my ffelow city council, discuss it with the mayor and find out public opinion. Then make a well educated decision. 3.) Do you feel local government supports economic development adequately, and should there be more or less than what is currently being done? Joe Price – Yes I do, but I believe we should always be open for better ways for our community. 4.) How can we “get on the same page” to work for a common goal, and who should set that goal? Joe Price – As the main hub between Gwinnett and Athens I feel that all the towns in Barrow County should unite together to make decisions for the betterment of the whole, lest we should forget united we stand, and divided we fall. Read between the lines. The more you know who you are, and what you want, the less you let things upset you. All that time, never even knowing just how blind I've been. Now I'm here, blinking in the starlight under the Star Of Bethlehem. Now I'm here, suddenly I see. You can accomplish anything. You just have to be strong and never give up. We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand. How do I know so much? It's not from reading the local papers or looking at elected political leader's websites. I live here! "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." - Theodore Roosevelt Some things never change. –Mickey Mouse ~~~~~~This blog's author Scott Walsh worked on a Presidential campaign in 2004 that garnered 3% of the national vote, the largest third party vote total in the history of the United States Of America. Send money, guns, and lawyers - someone may read this.