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Whaddup G's & G-ettes's?! Hope this post finds everybody well on this, our last Friday night of the month of July.
So...the print edition of TPC. It was a noble idea, and I enjoyed it. And I appreciate all of the support; however, I've decided to scrap it. Why? Too much work, and as you know - I'm prone to laziness sometimes. But seriously, with working 7 jobs & trying to live a semi-normal life, it just wasn't in the cards. I do want to be the Publisher of the legal organ of Newton Co. one day; maybe I'll just have to buy The Covington News.
In other news TPC, a couple of you have mentioned that I'm not posting quite as frequently. Well friends, that's what contributing writers are for. In the words of Regis Philbin - "I'm only one man!" But, you're right. And specifically, folks are wanting to see more of the TPC treatment of the local politics & shenanigans. Of course. Happy to oblige, as I am, after all, a servant to The People. Vox Populi & all. Consider it done!
And to that point:
The 2018 Newton Co. BOC Report Card
The Chairman of the Board, Marcello Banes
There was such promise with the Chairman back in January of '17. As this publication wrote about at the time, there was very much a sense of Pax Newtona & an era of good feelings. And it was such a good feeling, what with the shenanigans of Ellis & Douglas, the dark memories of the Wm Thomas Craig days; the dysfunction that was the home county. It was nice...
And let me say this: Marcello has done some good things. It's true. Marcello has also made some grievous errors. We all have our spheres of influence, as it were, and I believe that caused some problems for the top public servant in our county. He's about halfway through this first term, maybe he'll improve over the next two years.
Grade: C+
BOC 1: Stan Edwards
Stan the Man! Hell yeah! Just so glad that we've got that honorable fella on our governing board. Stan's good as gold, and a true taxpayer advocate. We're all so fortunate that he represents the 1st district.
Grade: A
BOC 2: Lanier Sims
As the dusk is starting to settle on the tenure of this fellow multi-generational Newtonian, one has to think of the following: he's obviously smart as hell. He is also, ultimately, a good man. But as several folks will tell you, there's always this general sense that Lanier, while certainly having good intentions for the home county, is maybe sometimes just looking out for Lanier. Many of us have heard the talk - Dual Deko, possible conflicts of interest. Whatever, he's almost done serving the county. But let it never be forgotten that Lanier was the key piece of the puzzle with at least stopping the bleeding a few years back. If it'd been someone else, like, let's say the previous holder of that office that just lost the runoff, things could have been much, much different.
Grade: B-
BOC 3: Nancy Schultz
The true "swing vote" of the Board, and the bellwether of Newton, her position is an all-too-important one. A cool & nice lady, and, not unlike Lanier, we'd not be out of the terrible hole we were in if not for her. She can be a bit wishy-washy sometimes. And sometimes I just don't know where she's at.
Grade: B
BOC 4: JC
Grade: F
BOC 5: Ronnie Cowan, Esq.
Well, he's a lawyer, so that means a "B" is his ceiling. But honestly, it's hard for me to get too worked up with Ronnie. For one thing, he's serious about engaging with his constituents. He also deals in logic & facts, though he may be a pragmatist to a fault. It'd probably be nice if Ronnie was willing to rattle the cages a bit more, but it's just not in his DNA. Ultimately, I believe him to be an honorable man.
Grade: B-
GA GOV
No doubt that there are a lot of happy folks in & around C-town & the home county who are self-described Kemp supporters. And not just regular supporters, but "inner circle" supporters. Brother & Sis Smith definitely come to mind, as well as several others. And there's a reason for that. Tim Fleming, Covington resident, is Brian Kemp's Deputy Secretary of State & right hand man.
For years many have been hitching their wagons to the Kemp Train. His ascension to the Governorship has been in the works for years. This is America, and everybody loves a winner. And feeling special & having a perception that you're closer to the power source than 99% of the regular population? Well, for many, that's just a feeling that can only be described as euphoric.
By the way - for the record - let's not forget that this publication, the day before the primary, did basically give sort of an endorsement for Kemp in a manner than many would probably consider back-handed in nature.
Thanks for reading. Til we meet again.Your Pal,
MBM
