Friends, this one's gonna run a little long, so for those of you who don't have the time or the inclination to read through it, here's this:
TL;DR: Vote for Josh!
Alright, now that we've got that out of the way, I'd like to say a few things about my good friend, Mr. Joshua McKelvey.
The first time I spoke with Josh was on the phone in 2012. I'd heard good things about this bright, young fella from some of the leadership of the Ron Paul for Georgia grassroots group. We ended up talking on the phone a time or two as we both were volunteering for a GOP campaign that year as well.
It wasn't until 2013 that I actually met Josh in person. He made quite an impression.
As I later told my pal Aaron Brooks at the time, it felt like I'd just met somebody who was truly a good person & was someone that was really going to make a difference in this world.
Those feelings have only grown.
In that first conversation - this was after Josh first moved to Covington - he was talking about how he wished there was a political group that could bring together Conservatives, Libertarians, TEA Party types, Blue-Dog Democrats, etc. I was like - "Well...interesting you mentioned that, we sort of have that very thing here in the home county we just started up, it's called the Newton Conservative Liberty Alliance. You need to attend our next meeting."
And he did (interesting side note: in that 2013 NCLA meeting, Chris Smith, Councilman for Covington, was one of our featured speakers. During the Q & A session, I'd asked him about the dreaded Stormwater Utility Fees; he proceeded to extol their virtues for several minutes thereafter. Needless to say, several of us were not impressed...).
As we, the founding members of NCLA, said at the time - Josh was the missing piece of our puzzle. We know with him on board, our sum was exponentially greater than our parts, and we were going to effect REAL change.
And we sure as hell did...
So with that background in place, I can tell you that Josh is truly a compatriot of mine, politically & philosophically. There's been many a times over the years, including just here recently over on David Circle, that we've spoken at length about concepts, issues & persons ranging from Natural Law, Fiscal Conservatism, Classical Liberalism, Thomas Paine, John Locke, Ron & Rand Paul to the 1983 Georgia Constitution & countless other things. Basically we're both proud libertarian-leaning, socially-moderate independent-minded fiscal conservatives.
And it's not just politics. I've become part of the family, really. I've gotten to know his Mom & Dad, his lovely, sweet wife & those beautiful kids of theirs. We've been to UGA football games together, we've gone dirt roadin', eaten lots of Krystal's & Waffle House & maybe even gone out & painted the town red a time or three...
He's good people. He really is. And though he's over a decade my junior, I look up to him in many ways. His easy demeanor, his sense of equity, fair dealing & adherence to the Golden Rule. How he's able to juggle everything he does. How he just really wants to make a positive difference. And how he's able to brush aside all the haters & the noise in the system. Yes sir, I think the world of him, I surely do.
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So we got this election going on. Lord Almighty, I think the one thing everyone can agree on is thank goodness it's almost over. It's been something, alright. My word...
I'm a facts & data guy. And with my support for Josh, it's driven by that in addition to my friendship with him.
Ever since the early 2000's folks have been talking about the need to privatize sanitation, how it was a financial drain. Been talked about a many a time for years & years, nothing ever got done. Well, finally, and with Josh as the driving force, it got done. $200K savings per annum. That's fiscal conservatism, folks.
For years we knew Covington had a bad deal w/ the 911 agreement. Got talked about for a long, long time. Nothing ever got done. It's done now. Savings of $300,000.
For far too long we knew the professional barbers & hairdressers in the home city were getting a raw deal. It got talked about for years. Nothing ever got done. Josh made it a mission to do something with this inequitable situation. He wanted to drop the individual occupational tax to $10, or preferably zero, but a majority of the council wouldn't go that far. As it stands, those professionals did get a 300% tax decrease. Josh was the key to that, and don't let anybody tell you otherwise. I was right in the thick of that, fighting to help make things right. That's how it was.
Let's talk more tax relief. Covington did a roll-back rate where they reduced the millage to offset the increase in valuation. That's tax relief. That's holding taxpayer dollars in sacred regard. Newton Co. sure as hell didn't do that.
The list goes on, and most reasonable folks know it.
I'm not going to even get into the ridiculous lies & B.S. that the haters have been peddling ou there. When it's said & done, I sure hope they're proud of themselves. I've addressed one of those things previously. I'll feel very confident to a strong majority of the voters will see through it & will reelect Josh McKelvey to the Covington City Council.
- MB McCart
