Several letters in the ABH on LPDS, most notably one from States himself, defending himself against Monday's editorial and other recent news of his behavior after the meeting last week and in misrepresenting the facts on LPDS. Next, there's one from Mollie Parry King, apparently an opposed resident of David Lynn's district, giving her preemptive I-told-you-so for when LPDS turns the east side into the Mos Eisley bar scene from Star Wars. Finally, there is a supportive letter from Caren M. Snook, an east side resident, which details once again most of the arguments for and against.
I want to thank the Cedar Creek resident who responded to my previous post. I responded to the editorial somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but after further thought and after reading that response, I think the editorial is absolutely right in one sense. States behavior makes it impossible for those who wish to express reasonable concerns, like that poster, to do so. While it is not very likely that my opinion will change at this late date on this issue, and equally unlikely that those opposed will have a change of heart, perhaps if the two sides engage in a reasonable dialogue, the best result for the east side and the community at large can be reached, with or without LPDS (hopefully with).
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8 comments:
Just want to say a few words to remind everyone of the bottom line here. It does not matter WHY the majority are opposed to rezoning or whether or not their reasons are valid. IF the majority are opposed it should not pass. I personally do not want my commissioners deciding what is best for me. I am capable of making my own decisions. That's why I vote.
I wish LPDS a lot of luck. I think it would be nice. And I don't know that the majority are opposed. But whichever way it is, the majority should decide.
How the Commissioners will decide what the majority wants is open to debate but I hope each will make an honest attempt to find out and vote accordingly instead of playing at "Big Brother".
how can i email you guys?
The question is bigger than that, and if anyone here can figure out the answer, the American Association of Political Scientists might like to hear from you.
Are elected officials supposed to always vote with the majority of their constituents, or do they have a greater role to fulfill?
This isn't a political theory blog, and since yours truly's IQ doesn't break the bank, I'm not going to figure this one out for you.
But I would mention that if this were solely a matter of public opinion, then we should take it out of the hands of the M&C and have a referendum on it.
IF the majority are opposed it should not pass.
Oy. Rights of the minority?
"Oy. Rights of the minority?"
Insert your own five points fire station comment here.
I agree. There much more than just the majority at work here in this one, and it's hard to determine which majority we're talking about (the folks right by the site? Cedar Creek? Eastside Athens as a whole? All of Athens-Clarke County?). As a result, we have to examine the legality of the rezoning issue (which LPDS passes with flying colors), as well as take a look at influences on those for and against.
That is, it is very possible that folks are receiving biased information from both sides about this project, which means the M&C must approach this in a logical and rationale way.
I certainly agree that legality is the first test. But there seems to be some question about that so we move on to the next test. Majority or Minority and who decides the issue. Since there has been so much disagreement on this issue it is a hard call. I hope each Commissioner will vote as he or she believes his or her district citizens would like him or her to vote. That is why we elected them. If we can't count on them to vote as we indicate we prefer then we need to elect new representatives. But they should by now have solicited input from all areas of their districts and be prepared to vote for all those people and not for their own personal beliefs. I wish there were a better way but unless the law is clear on this I don't see any real choice but to trust to the Commissioners.
the fact that Mr McCarter and Mr Dodson's constituants are likely to feel one way with the other commissioners' voting block being neutral or feeling another way
But I'm not sure this really is the case. There are, for example, plenty of renters on the East side. Admittedly, they don't have property value concerns, but they are just as much Dodson's and McCarter's constituents, and yet we are hearing nothing from them.
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