Athens Grow Green Coalition
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State Senate

Overall Scorecard
Questionnaire + Answers

District 46:
Haines
Kemp

ACC Commission
Overall Scorecard
Questionnaire + Answers
Incumbent Voting Record
Key Vote Analysis

District 1:
Carter

Garland

District 3:
Maxwell
Robinson

District 5:
Logan

Lynn

District 7:
Bushnell

Hoard

Vaughan

District 9:
Chasteen

Mayor:
Davison


Grow Green Candidate Scorecard
November 5 General Election

State Senate

Doug Haines (D, I)
Brian Kemp (R)

ACC Commission

DISTRICT 1
Charles Carter (D, I)
James Garland (R)
   
DISTRICT 3
Sarah Nell Robinson (R)?
George Maxwell (D)
 
DISTRICT 5
Hugh Logan (I, I) 0
David Lynn (D)
   
DISTRICT 7
Bill Bushnell (R) ?
Kathy Hoard (D)
Ed Vaughan (G)
DISTRICT 9
Tom Chasteen (D, I)
The district 9 race was decided in the primary by Tom Chasteen's win.
MAYOR
Heidi Davison (D)
The mayoral race was decided in the primary runoff by Heidi Davidson's victory.

Click candidate name for explanation of rating.
How we arrived at the ratings:

View the Sept. 10 Runoff Scorecard (PDF file)
View the November General Election Scorecard (PDF file)


Senate District 46

Doug Haines

  • Doug Haines has a solid record of environmental stewardship: he’s brought numerous citizen lawsuits that forced the clean up of many of Georgia’s polluted rivers and streams; he’s drafted legislation limiting inter-basin transfers of water; he helped craft the legislation creating the Water Policy Study Committee which will guide the legislature in its water management decisions this term.
  • He understands that affordable housing is about more than building more units – and has sponsored legislation to protect low-income homeowners: the predatory lending bill that passed, and the “right of first refusal” bill (which would have given mobile home park residents the opportunity to make a matching offer if their park was to be sold). He also supported a Constitutional Amendment to provide tax breaks for low-income housing.
  • He convinced the Senate to pass improvements to the state’s anti-sprawl Transferable Development Rights legislation at the request of the ACC Commission.
  • His answers to our questionnaire indicate that he understands the legal, technical, and policy aspects of all these complicated issues. His proposed solutions are multi-faceted and creative, often involving a mix of incentives, regulations, and new funding sources.

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Brian Kemp

  • As a developer, Brian Kemp does better work than some, but various of his developments don’t follow our lighting ordinance, have caused serious erosion problems, and/or contradict our design guidelines.
  • He’s fought against stronger environmental protection here in ACC. He advocated against the 75 foot buffer ordinance passed by our Commission. He fought for suburban-style zoning in our Greenbelt, which contradicts the Guiding Principles of our land use plan. He fought the moratorium on spot re-zoning proposed in the months leading up to the Zoning Code vote.
  • His solution for affordable housing is simplistic, and ignores the needs of the low-income residents themselves, focusing instead on providing tax breaks for developers. He lobbied against a temporary multifamily building permit moratorium intended to help the families of Garden Springs, and spoke against Sen. Haines’ “right of first refusal” bill that would have protected mobile home park residents from the kind of mass eviction that happened at Garden Springs.
  • Judging by his questionnaire answers and campaign literature, he does not demonstrate an understanding of the complexities of any of these issues.

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District 1

Although Charles Carter’s answers to our questionnaire indicate that he supports Grow Green’s positions on land use issues, his voting record is at odds with Grow Green’s goals. He did introduce the first significant positive amendment to the Zoning ordinance. See Charles Carter's answers to the questionnaire and voting record.

James Garland’s positions consistently contradict those of Grow Green. In addition, his answers to our questionnaire suggest a lack of understanding of issues such as TDRs and greenspace protection. See James Garland's answers to the questionnaire.

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District 3

Sarah Nell Robinson did not return the questionnaire.

George Maxwell’s answers to our questions indicate that he shares most of Grow Green’s objectives. He has clearly taken a stand in favor of community and quality of life. See George Maxwell's answers to the questionnaire.

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District 5

Hugh Logan’s score based on his voting record is ZERO. He has consistently promoted sprawl development and favored development over protection of natural resources and neighborhoods. He did not return the questionnaire. See Hugh Logan's voting record.

David Lynn’s answers to the questionnaire indicate that he shares Grow Green’s objectives, that he understands the issues and the needs of District 5 residents, and that he has a vision for the community to guide his decision-making. His experience as a planner and as co-chair of Citizens for Healthy Neighborhoods suggests that he will be an effective commissioner. See David Lynn's answers to the questionnaire.

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District 7

Bill Bushnell did not return the questionnaire.

Kathy Hoard’s answers show that she supports Grow Green’s goals, she understands the issues and the particular needs of her district, that she is open to exploring creative solutions, and that she has a vision for ACC. Her past experience indicates that she will be an effective commissioner. See Kathy Hoard's answers to the questionnaire.

Ed Vaughan is in close agreement with Grow Green’s principles and his written responses to our questions show that he has a deep understanding of the issues critical to ACC. See Ed Vaughan's answers to the questionnaire.

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District 9

Tom Chasteen won reelection in District 9 with his primary win. His voting record is more or less evenly divided on issues important to Grow Green. He did not return the questionnaire. See Tom Chasteen's voting record.

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Mayor

Heidi Davison won the mayoral race with her decisive victory in the primary runoff. Her questionnaire answers show that she shares Grow Green’s objectives and that she has a solid grasp of the interactive nature of growth, development, and quality of life issues in ACC. She expresses a vision for ACC and a willingness and ability to build consensus among diverse constituencies. Her past experience shows that she is committed to the community, has the skills to lead, and suggests that she would make an effective mayor. See Heidi Davison's answers to the questionnaire.

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How we arrived at the ratings: Grow Green mailed each candidate a questionnaire on issues of major concern in ACC: land use and zoning, natural resource protection, quality of life, and affordable housing. In each case, questions were multi-faceted, and candidates had the opportunity to answer in yes/no format and accompany these answers with written explanations. We also requested biographies of the challengers. For incumbents, scores were primarily based on their voting record on key land use issues, as well as their questionnaire responses. If they failed to return the questionnaire, we based our evaluation completely on their record. For challengers, evaluations were primarily based on yes/no and narrative answers, as well as background and experience. We made no attempt to evaluate the candidacy of challengers who did not return our questionnaire.

 

Click here for another excellent analysis of important commission votes.
Written by an AGGC listserv member.(pdf file)

 

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