Tag Archives: Elections

Precincts changed yet again for May 2014 Special Election and Primary

Where can you vote on Tuesday May 20th, Election Day for the Special Election for Lowndes County Commission District 5, for the Lowndes County Board of Education, for the elections for judges, and for the primaries for the Georgia statehouse, statewide offices, and U.S. Congress? Yes, precincts have changed yet again, but you can find your polling place in My Voter Page by the Georgia Secretary of State. Or you can zoom and pan on the VALOR GIS Election Boundary Map.

Whichever way you find your polling place, it’s time to get out and vote. If we don’t, why should Atlanta pay any attention to us poor rural stepchildren?

Continue reading →

Local elections affect you most: time to vote

It’s time to vote, today and tomorrow in early voting at the Board of Elections, 2808 North Oak Street, Valdosta, or Tuesday May 20th at your polling place. Turnout is very low for elections that will affect everyone in Lowndes County and beyond.

Two of the Lowndes County Commission districts will be decided May 20th (District 5 is a Special Election and District 2 has only candidates in one party): they will affect your water, sewer, trash, rezoning, road building, and taxes. All the Lowndes County School Board elections Continue reading →

Primary candidate debate 6PM tonight at VSU

Hear from the people who want to represent you in the Lowndes County Commission, on the Lowndes County School Board, and in the Georgia State Senate. Here’s who’s running, and details of tonight’s event are below.

When: 6-8PM Tuesday May 13th 2014
Where: Room 1011
Bailey Science Center Auditorium,
1500 N. Patterson Street,
Valdosta State University
Moderator: Scott James of 92.1FM talk radio
Parking:Gravel lots off of Georgia Avenue

This debate is organized by the South Georgia Young Republicans, VSU College Republicans, Lowndes County Republican Party, and the Young Conservatives of America.

CONTACT: Ben Smith, SGYR President, 229-412-5610, sgyrrocks@gmail.com

-jsq

Brown Bag Lunch Concerts: last day today

Valdosta Main Street has a Brown Bag Lunch Concert Series all this week, last day today.

Downtown Valdosta fills with live music during lunchtime in May for the week-long Brown Bag Lunch Concert Series. The free concerts take place from 11:30 a.m. — 1:30 p.m. on the Lowndes County Courthouse Lawn with lunches being sold by downtown restaurants. Bring your friends and family to this free community event and seeing what downtown Valdosta has to offer.

There you’ll also see some of your favorite candidates for local political office. Continue reading →

Videos: Candidates Forum, Hahira Historical Society @ Hahira 2014-04-26

Hear your potential elected officials speak for themselves, last Saturday at the Hahira Historical Society. These videos are presented without commentary, except for a special prize to the candidate who spoke the longest by far, Richard Raines, who first promised to be brief, then spoke for 14 minutes. He made some other promises, too, and left without listening to his opponents.

Candidates and others may use these videos as-is or they may edit,

provided they cite the source: Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).

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Here’s a table of contents by what they are running for. Continue reading →

Gretchen Quarterman on Chris Beckham radio show 2014-04-29

“People would have a lot more confidence in the government if they understood it and they could see it happen,” said Gretchen Quarterman this morning on drive-time radio. She used last night’s Brookhaven apartment building rezoning public hearing in Lake Park to illustrate: local landowners have property rights and there was a lack of communication between the developers of a proposed apartment building, the Lake Park city government, and the neighbors.

She also talked about jobs, including in local agriculture. For example, she ran the 2014 South Georgia Growing Local Conference. Money spent on local agriculture supports the local economy, not companies far away.

She talked about stewardship of resources, including preserving local property and environment from the Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline. She advocated Continue reading →

Candidate Forum at Hahira Historical Society 6PM tonight

Tonight is the first open candidates forum of the election season, for all candidates running for offices voted on by residents of Hahira, at the Hahira Historical Society, 116 E. Lawson Street, in the old Smith Hospital Doctors Building in Hahira, 6PM April 26th 2014.

That includes:

Georgia General Assembly

  • State Senate District 8: Ellis Black (R switched from House 174), John Page (R switched from County Commission District 5), Bikram Mohanty (D ran last time and placed well), and Richard Raines (R not running again for County Commission District 2). Continue reading →

Board appointments by Lowndes County

Here’s Lowndes County’s list of Boards, Agencies & Commissions. Unfortunately, unlike Valdosta’s list, most of the names in the county’s list have no links to further information, and there’s no indication of which positions might be open or how to apply for them.

Update: 4:30 PM 24 April 2014: And there’s the Board of Elections which is decided by a completely different process with a quicker deadline of 28 April 2014.

We do know there’s a vacancy on the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA), which presumably will be filled after the upcoming Special Election May 20th, but the county has given no indication of when. The only way the county usually announces open positions is when they appear on the County Commission’s agenda, which usually shows up online Friday for voting on Tuesday. For example, the county has appointed: Continue reading →

You can apply to serve on a board or commission

You can apply to be appointed by Valdosta to a local board or authority that decides or recommends on issues that affect everyone: do interesting work and serve your community. Dealine: April 30th. You don’t even have to live in Valdosta: anybody in Lowndes County can apply. If you want to run for a city council or county commission seat someday, this is a good way to start. And if you want to run for the state legislature or higher office, that’s the most common path to get there.

Update: 4:30 PM 24 April 2014: And there’s the Board of Elections which is decided by a completely different process with a quicker deadline of 28 April 2014.

Winnie Wright wrote for WCTV 23 April 2014, City Of Valdosta Looking To Fill 15 Vacancies In Boards, Authorities, and Commissions, Continue reading →

Second mistrial of Lula Smart of the Quitman 10 + 2

How many mistrials does it take before the whole Quitman 10 +2 case gets thrown out of court? Two and counting, as of Friday.

George Boston Rhynes interviewed Brooks County Commissioner James Maxwell outside the courthouse in Quitman on a rainy day:

Mistrial! Another mistrial.

And the prosecutor wants to schedule another trial. George asked the Commissioner how much another trial would cost Brooks County.

It will cost quit a bit of money. We could use that money on a day like today to repair roads. People can’t get in and out and here we are wasting the taxpayers on another mistrial.

No evidence! No evidence! And another mistrial.

Here’s Part 1 of 2: Continue reading →