Tag Archives: Jim Gilvin

So be it

Posted on by
Reply

Over the last few days there have been numerous attempts on local blogs to distort who I am and what I stand for in this campaign. As a parent that had to explain to my children what “DUI Debbie” signs on the side of the road meant four years ago I am not surprised but I am disappointed.

My campaign is about fiscal responsibility, growth we can live with and a passion for defending the quality of life that makes Alpharetta great. My campaign is about the vision of our future that I share with the people of Alpharetta. I will not climb into the gutter with my opponent’s supporters because I am better than that and I know my views and positions will win this election.

Any person that thinks I will be intimidated by distortions or vile, vicious and false claims obviously doesn’t know me very well. That kind of pathetic nonsense only serves to inspire me more. I have never backed down from a bully in my life and I am not about to start now.

I generally ignore the attacks on me but they reached such a level on one website that I felt the need to respond just to set the record straight. You can read my response below:

It is sad that baseless personal attacks have become part of Alpharetta’s political arena ever since Cheryl Oakes first decided to run for city  council. But I saw how the vile smears worked against her opponent four years ago and I expected them to resurface now.

If anyone thinks the Chamber of Commerce should be frightened by my platform then they obviously don’t remember when Brandon
Beach, the chamber’s CEO, was elected to Alpharetta City Council. He made the same promises to protect the quality of life for our residents that I make now.

I am simply trying to restore what used to be the norm. That I am now attacked as “anti-growth” or “anti-business” speaks volumes.  I am not anti-growth. I am pro-Alpharetta.

Every day for more than a decade I have been working with and talking to the people who make Alpharetta a great city. The Moms and Dads volunteering at PTA. The volunteer coaches who make our local sports programs possible. The new families who moved to Alpharetta to raise their children. The downtown residents and business owners concerned about the future of the downtown center. The people who have lived in Alpharetta for decades but are dismayed by what they see happening to their city and are now contemplating a move they never wanted to make.

When the offices all empty out… these are the people still here. They are the people who know me and support me.

If I’ve lost the unhinged blog commenter vote… so be it.

I would like to thank all of my friends and neighbors for your outpouring of support over the first week of this campaign. Obviously my opponents have every intention of making this race an ugly spectacle but you can rest assured that we will not stoop to their level. And when we win in November the people of Alpharetta will have sent a resounding message that such tactics are not welcome in the arena of ideas.

This is not your typical campaign website

Posted on by
Reply

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.

Tax incentives to attract and retain jobs in Alpharetta

Posted on by
1

I have watched with great interest as local and state governments have become very aggressive in providing tax incentives for businesses that are willing to relocate into or extend a commitment to stay in their communities. If you read closely enough in any of the recent press releases about a business relocation you will find some indication that the local government was willing to sacrifice some short term tax revenue for the long term growth it could provide.

If you are unfamiliar with the phenomenom I suggest you read this article about the incentives which enticed Porsche to move their North American Headquarters from Sandy Springs to the old Ford plant site near Hartsfield airport. You can also read here on the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce site how Sandy Springs is aggressively pursuing policies that will attract businesses:

 Last night, the Sandy Springs City Council voted to establish reductions in the occupation tax to benefit businesses located in the City. The reductions include a blanket out-of-state sales exemption and a blanket franchise fee exemption for franchisees, which are located out-of-state. In addition, the Council further reduced the cap on maximum occupation tax paid in any one tax year from $400,000 to $75,000.

As a real estate agent I know it is always better to compete on features if you can. But I also realize that in the end it often comes down to price. And in today’s economy price is more important than ever before.

Back in December of 2010 I wrote a blogpost titled “Kudos to the City of Alpharetta for reducing fees as an incentive for new businesses!” which praised the city for taking a small step toward this innovative approach. You can read the whole thing here.

As a City Councilman I would like to see Alpharetta pursue these avenues more aggressively. I know that my opponent in this campaign will try to portray me as “anti-growth’ but that is patently absurd.

I am not anti-growth. I just support growth we can live with.

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

Posted on by
6

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.