Category Archives: politics

The newspaper profile that could have been

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Two weeks ago I was contacted by a reporter from the Alpharetta Neighbor for information to be used in an article about the Alpharetta City Council post 4 race. The reporter requested our positions on the crucial issues facing Alpharetta and I was happy to provide clear answers that would illustrate why I am the better candidate to represent the people of Alpharetta.

Unfortunately the article published yesterday left most of our positions on the cutting room floor. I appreciate the paper’s effort to cover our campaign but by the time our responses were edited it was impossible for the public to understand that my opponent has repeatedly voted for high density developments which will hurt Alpharetta’s schools and quality of life while I opposed them.

The people of Alpharetta deserve to know the actual positions of the candidates they choose so I am publishing my full responses to the reporter’s questions below:

1)   What would you say are your top three priorities for the city?

Growth We Can Live With

My top priority will be to defend our schools, our quality of life and our property values in Alpharetta. We live in a special place. We have great schools, great parks and a world class public safety department to protect us. We provide a welcoming business climate in a great place to raise families.

For four years those qualities have been under attack as my opponent voted for high density housing projects and zoning initiatives that will make Alpharetta’s traffic unbearable and force our children to endure endless cycles of school redistricting. Alpharettans realize that some growth is necessary; they also realize that growth which destroys our quality of life and is neither necessary nor desirable.

For more than a decade I have worked to protect our schools, quality of life and property values. The people of Alpharetta deserve growth they can live with and I will work tirelessly to make sure they get it.

Fiscally conservative means low taxes

One of my top priorities will be to make sure Alpharetta continues to be a good steward of our taxpayers’ money. Alpharetta has an excellent track record of financial responsibility but as we elect four councilmembers and a new mayor it is important to choose candidates that have demonstrated fiscally conservative principles.

Unlike my opponent, I opposed the outrageous GA 400 toll extension while there was still time to stop it. I was also one of the first people to point out that the proposed transportation tax increase will cost Alpharetta households thousands of dollars while doing almost nothing to relieve congestion or reduce our commute times. Alpharetta deserves a city council person who has demonstrated fiscally conservative leadership. I am that person.

Leadership on traffic issues

A third goal would be to provide much needed leadership in addressing Alpharetta’s persistent traffic problem. Fulton County and the state of Georgia have ignored the road improvements necessary to support our community’s expanding population for decades. Taxes paid here have been used to support road improvements and transit projects in other parts of the county and state. Roads built for a city of 10,000 people are now used by more than 50,000.

The solution to this problem is the widening of bottlenecked intersections and secondary arterial roads. Alpharetta deserves a city council person who will do a better job of prioritizing road improvements and actively pressure the county, state and federal authorities who refuse to adequately address our problem. I am that person.

2)      What direction would you like to see development and/or redevelopment take in the city? Any goals or initiatives you would like to take as a council member?

One goal I have is to see Alpharetta’s Community Development Department show more faith in the people of Alpharetta as we look to the future. Planning consultant Della Rucker once wrote, “If the people who live around a proposed development oppose a development, chances are those people know something that is important to the health of their neighborhood and the larger community.”

Over the past four years there has been an enormous chasm between the vision of the future shared by people who live in Alpharetta and what the city is doing based on the directives of outside consultants, developers and regional commissions. The people of Alpharetta know what is best for our community, our families and our schools. The city needs to show more respect for their wisdom.

3)      What are your thoughts on the Downtown Development Plan?

I am committed to helping the people of Alpharetta achieve their vision of a thriving and prosperous downtown community. I am proud to have played a key role in calling for an improved plan two years ago and there is no question that this proposal is far better for our community and our taxpayers.

I support this new plan for downtown and I hope that when voters approve the bond issue in November they also elect me because they deserve a city council representative that will revisit the need for a $9 million dollar parking garage at this time. Regardless of how the November elections turn out I look forward to seeing a revival of downtown Alpharetta.

4)      Transportation is always a hot topic in Alpharetta. What are your goals in regard to transportation and traffic problems?

Traffic is one of the biggest issues facing Alpharetta residents and has been for years. The solution is to increase our road capacity to a level appropriate for our current traffic flows. It isn’t really that complicated but it will take more time and energy than my opponent has dedicated to the issue. Here is a three point plan to reduce congestion in Alpharetta:

*Stop high density zoning initiatives that will make our traffic problem worse.

*Synchronize Alpharetta’s traffic signals using real time technology.

*Target transportation dollars to our overburdened secondary roads and intersections.

5)      How would you say your past experiences have prepared you to be the best candidate in this election?

For more than a decade I have dedicate my time to protecting Alpharetta’s schools, quality of life and property values. I publicly advocated for the expansion of Alpharetta’s parks and was instrumental in preventing the city from making an enormous financial mistake with the previous City Center proposal. I have served as the president of an Alpharetta homeowners group with more than 1,500 member households and continue to promote public awareness and involvement as editor of the group’s newsletter. My commitment to public involvement is also why I spend my free time publicizing the issues that affect our city through my blog and other social media venues.

The thousands of hours I spend volunteering in Alpharetta schools and recreational programs give me a valuable insight into what makes Alpharetta great… our people. That experience will serve our city well as I continue to support and defend the quality of life we enjoy.

I hope this is helpful to the voters of Alpharetta as they decide who will best represent them over the next four years.

Jim Gilvin profile in the Alpharetta Revue

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In case you missed my candidate profile in the Alpharetta Revue:

In November of 2007, none of the candidates for Alpharetta City Council ran on a platform of unbridled urban development for our city. Yet looking back, we see that is exactly what we got.

Shortly after that election, the City Council approved a 47-acre high-density project with a 15-story condo tower at exit 11 on Ga. 400. Then, they approved a new zoning initiative which will bring thousands more condos and/or apartments to the Milton High School district. Recently, the council approved a third mega project, The Peridot, on Haynes Bridge Road, and they are advancing a revised comprehensive land use plan that will add thousands more apartments and/or condos.

These unprecedented zoning changes will make traffic in Alpharetta absolutely unbearable. The children of Alpharetta will be forced to endure an endless cycle of disruptive school redistricting. The struggling downtown community, the new owners of Prospect Park and the vacant properties that now dot the landscape in Alpharetta will be faced with even more competition for scarce shoppers, dollars and residents.

The people of Alpharetta realize that some growth is desirable and inevitable. They also realize that there is a limit to how much growth our community can sustain without destroying the quality of life we now enjoy.

That is why I am running for the Alpharetta City Council Post 4 seat.

The voters of Alpharetta can now choose between two very distinct visions of their future. Voters can choose to elect the incumbent with a record of supporting unbridled growth regardless of the consequences, or they can choose to vote for my proven track record of promoting growth that Alpharettans can live with.

Alpharettans deserve a City Council representative that will work tirelessly to promote and defend their vision of Alpharetta’s future. I am that person.

You can read the whole thing at northfulton.com.

This is not your typical campaign website

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This website would be more accurately described as a blog. It was created in 2008 and named GA Jim. It was intended as a whimsical way for a busy, forty-something real estate agent with a wife and two kids to reach out to like-minded people in those few precious snippets of time between little league games, listing presentations, homeowners organizations and zoning meetings.

Over time GA Jim evolved into an issue oriented political blog focused primarily on events affecting the families of Alpharetta, the people of Georgia and our great nation, the United States of America. GA Jim became a place where people busy raising their families could turn to keep up with the news affecting their children’s school or find out why Douglas Road was closed down. GA Jim became a place where people who never read the public notices in the newspaper could turn to find out how a zoning issue might affect them.

Sometimes I tried to be funny, sometimes I tried to be provocative and more often than not I probably failed to do either. Over the years I have easily spent thousands of hours writing and researching the columns on GA Jim and I have never gotten a penny in return. It has been a labor of love that over time managed to develop a dedicated following among the people who care about such things.

So last week when I decided to run for City Council I was faced with a dilemma. What would I do with GA Jim? It was fine for me to write irreverent, biting or sarcastic blog posts about local issues when I was just another guy with opinions. But as someone seeking to represent the people of Alpharetta that would no longer be appropriate. So what would I do?

A normal politician would never start a blog like GA Jim in the first place and if it did exist they would be sure to delete it before running for office. It contains heartfelt opinions, stances and positions that will undoubtably be attacked by my political opponents. The typical politician would erase GA Jim with the click of a button and eliminate hundreds of posts containing their thoughts over the last two years. With the blog erased they could take any position that would help them get elected without fear of contradiction. That’s what any normal politician would do.

But I am not a normal politician. Until 4:15 last Wednesday afternoon I was just another husband, father and conservative voter frustrated by the political world around me. The decision to run for City Council didn’t change any of that. It simply added the word candidate to the description.

I am now a candidate for Alpharetta City Council post 4. By qualifying to run for City Council I made a commitment to the people of Alpharetta. I want to represent them and if they allow me that honor I will treat the issues with the seriousness they deserve and conduct myself at all times in a manner befitting their trust. Becoming a candidate will not change who I am but it does change how this blog can best serve the people of Alpharetta.

GA Jim is now my campaign website. This is not your typical campaign website because I am not your typical politician.

Please vote for Jim Gilvin on November 8th.

“High-density Housing Reflects Dense Government Thinking”

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I see that Aussies are struggling with the same phenomenom we face here in Alpharetta:

Citizens in Australia’s major cities  are becoming increasingly unhappy about what they perceive as the escalating  deterioration in their quality of life – traffic congestion, overloaded public  transport, unaffordable housing for young people, increases in the costs of  basic services and overcrowding. There is little doubt that recent election  results and unfavourable opinion polls are partly an expression of this  dissatisfaction.

‘Save Our Suburbs’ believe that  these adverse trends are the result of high-density policies that have been  imposed onto communities by state governments. Due to the misleading  misinformation that has accompanied these policies, the public may not fully  realise the connection between these policies on the one hand and deteriorating  standard of living on the other. It is only when one sweeps the propaganda veil  aside that one realises how shallow, trivial and sometimes downright deceptive  the spin has been.

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We reiterate that we have no issue  with those of us that prefer living in a high-density area or with the free  market construction of buildings to fulfill that limited demand. What we object  to, is having draconian high density policies based on demonstrably faulty  premises forced upon the 83 per cent of people that Australian research shows  prefer to live in a free-standing home.

This is especially so when the  result is maddening traffic congestion, more greenhouse gases, a creaking and  overloaded infrastructure, the young and disadvantaged unable to afford their  own home and poorer health outcomes.

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

And isn’t it fascinating that the same urban planning dictates we see in Georgia are being forced on suburban communities half a world away? I wonder how that could happen.

You can read the whole thing on newgeography.com here.

 

Yes it is true. I have crossed over to the dark side.

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Former City Clerk Sue Rainwater wishes me luck

Today I registered as a candidate for the Alpharetta City Council post 4 seat. After complaining about politics and politicians for most of my adult life I finally decided that it was time to put up or shut up.

And as any of my regular readers know, shutting up was never really an option.

Looking ahead to the next two months of campaigning I expect it will be exciting, daunting, frustrating and sometimes even rewarding. I don’t know how much of the campaign I will be able to share on these pages but fear not… the GA Jim blog will survive.

United Nations applauds the Georgia Transportation Tax increase!

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The United Nations is excited about Georgia’s proposed transportation tax increase. In fact they are so excited that they devote several pages in their publication Urban World: Ten Years into the millenium to the idea.

First the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce came up with the idea:

The traffic impasse became a cause celebre for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and its president, Sam Williams. He recounted

how “we beat the drum for four years” to get permission for a regional transport sales tax add-on, enlisting the aid of the Georgia

State Chamber, top Atlanta corporations, county officials and mayors, plus Chamber allies in such regions as Savannah and Macon.

Then all of the state’s Chambers of Commerce threatened to cut off the money spigot to any politician that didn’t support their tax increase:

A pointed message was also telegraphed to would-be candidates for state office: their position on transport funding would be a

‘litmus test’ of whether they could expect campaign support from the business community.

And once the governor and state legislature were sufficiently motivated they could work together in a bipartisan way to overcome the objections of those rascally ole Tea Partiers:

…bipartisanship can be developed, ‘Tea Party’-like nihilism averted, if a governor and legislative leaders work hard to

make it happen.

Finally the article concludes by thanking Georgia for setting an example for third world countries:

That’s a fascinating model for these times, ideal for transport, maybe fresh water supply systems and other major issues.

Thanks Georgia.

Isn’t that special. You can find the publication on the United Nations website here.

No wonder Jim Galloway of the AJC reports that the entire tax is now in jeopardy:

So in January, we’ll have a full-fledged donnybrook between the two most powerful entities now existing in the Republican party: The state chambers of commerce, and the tea party.

Brilliant.

Campaign season picking up steam in Alpharetta

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Alpharetta’s local elections are starting to heat up now that there is only a week remaining before the qualifying deadline.

So far we only have two contested races, the mayoral race and the City Council post 1 seat. That leaves two incumbents and one neophyte running unopposed for City Council but with a week to go a lot can happen.

Below is a snapshot of how things look right now.

Alpharetta Mayor’s Race

David Belle Isle

Doug Derito

Jim Paine

City Council Post 1

Ron Carter

Don Mitchell

City Council Post 5

Hans Appen

City Council Post 4

Cheryl Oakes

City Council Post 6

D.C. Aiken

Stay tuned because the fun should begin in earnest next week!

North Fulton mayors vote to trade MARTA funds for roads

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This morning I noticed an article on NorthFulton.com which reports the mayors of North Fulton county have voted to sacrifice extending MARTA into their communities in exchange for more road money:

The North Fulton Municipal Association decided to try to trade $37 million in MARTA engineering funds for the restoration of road projects to be funded by the 2012 transportation-improvement sales tax.

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He said Fulton is a net donor to the tax while Cobb County and DeKalb County get a 120 percent return on their investment.

Bodker then criticized the Beltline streetcar project in Atlanta. He said it is an Atlanta project, not a regional one, but it is slated to receive $600 million in funds intended for regional transportation development. He said Atlanta is getting more than its fair share of the revenues and this money is being taken from North Fulton’s hide.

“If Atlanta wants to fund it, they have 15 percent off the top of this thing,” he said.

He said Atlanta would be paying for the project using other people’s money.

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Sandy Springs Mayor Eva Galambos suggested heavy rail would never come to North Fulton, so the $37 million was money wasted.

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The representatives of Alpharetta, Milton and Johns Creek voted in favor; Wood, representing Roswell, voted against it. No representative from Mountain Park was present.

While the shift of $37 million of a $8 Billion dollar tax is a small gesture it does show that the mayors of North Fulton are finally yielding to the political realities in their communities. The strange thing is that just one week earlier the same newspaper published a story from the same reporter which lead readers to believe the mayors unanimously suppported the MARTA funds: 

Bodker said all the mayors support transit, but are concerned there is no regional transit system that all participating governments support. As far as the projects are concerned, the mayors support extending MARTA to Holcomb Bridge Road and eventually Windward Parkway. At the very least, the tax should pay for the necessary engineering, which would cost $37 million. The mayors also unanimously supported completing the proposed Clifton Corridor that would connect MARTA to Emory University, Atlanta’s largest employer, and extending MARTA up I-75 to at least Cumberland Mall.

A complete reversal of the North Fulton Municipal Association’s position in one week? How curious.

Partisan bickering over Georgia’s transportation tax illustrates why it won’t solve anything

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Jim Galloway points out in his Political Insider column for the AJC that the campaign to squeeze more money from Georgia’s taxpayers has hit another speedbump:

At the state Capitol, next year’s statewide round of regional sales tax votes is again in trouble.

At issue is legislation backed by Gov. Nathan Deal to shift the day of the vote from the July primary, when the electorate is likely to be overwhelmingly Republican, to the November general election.

Tea-party Republicans against the sales tax are opposed to changing the date, accusing supporters of trolling for voters churned out by President Barack Obama’s re-election bid. In a private session with Republican lawmakers from metro Atlanta, Deal this week quietly argued that presenting a tax initiative before the largest audience possible is in keeping with GOP principles, according to people who were in the room.

In addition to Deal’s backing, another good sign for supporters is that the legislation to change the date of the vote is sponsored by House Speaker pro tem Jan Jones of Alpharetta — the most powerful metro Atlanta lawmaker in the Legislature. So the Republican side of the transit sales tax vote may be close, but it’s likely to hold together.

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Democrats in Fulton and DeKalb counties have supported next year’s transit sales tax vote — but only reluctantly, given that their voters have long been paying an extra penny sales tax to fund MARTA.

With tea party Republicans opposing the issue from the right, black lawmakers will be needed to make up the difference, if the date to shift the transit vote is to succeed.

State Sen. Emanuel Jones, D-Decatur, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, said his members are angry enough over the Senate map to lock down on the transit issue. “I think our caucus would be inclined not to cooperate,” Jones said.

It is sad to see such an important issue bogged down in partisan politics but it is completely predictable. Georgia’s transportation problem isn’t caused by a lack of money it is caused by an incompetent political class. As I wrote in this post last year:

The political class say they could fix the problem if they only had more money. What the political class doesn’t understand is that the voters don’t blame infrastructure needs on a lack of money, the voters place the blame on the political class. Taxes in Georgia are the 16th highest in all of the United States while transportation spending is 49th out 50. See the problem?

But Georgia’s political class won’t accept the fact that they have been the problem. Instead, the politicians and lobbyists  sat down together and once again hammered out an agreement acceptable to the politicans and lobbyists.  And once again their solution is to raise taxes… billions and billions of dollars in taxes. That solution must have sounded awfully good in their echo chamber because a few months ago the political class unveiled this genius idea to great fanfair and they patted themselves on the back so hard that Atlanta’s chiropractors must have made a fortune.

But the people that will pay for this enormous tax increase are not impressed, they are hurting. They face 10% unemployment while the other 90% are still unsure of the future. More than 12,000 Georgia homes were foreclosed in July. IRA accounts and home prices are going down while grocery and gasoline prices are going up. To make matters worse their federal income taxes are going up in a few weeks and they will have even less money to spend. Georgia voters are hurting and they find it offensive that political insiders have decided taxpayers need to pay billions of dollars more to fund transportation improvements. While transportation improvements might bring jobs to Georgia in a decade or so, the state’s taxpayers would have to cough up billions of dollars that could have gone to pay their mortgage or put food on the table in the meantime.

The tax increase being pushed to solve Georgia’s very real transportation problem won’t solve anything because lack of money isn’t the problem. Lack of effective leadership is.

Alpharetta politics heat up

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Last night two candidates formally announced their campaigns for Alpharetta local elections this November.

City Councilman Doug Derito formally announced his campaign to run for mayor and after that Donald Mitchell, an active booster of the downtown business community, announced his intention to run for the Post 1 council seat that Mr. Derito will vacate.

Neither of these announcements comes as a surprise but it does signal the start of a lively campaign season.