Oconee County, GA Politics

Thanks to the fine folks for including my blog post about Moore's Ford Memorial Committtee in the latest Georgia Carnival, a great collection of everything you can imagine with people with blogs in the Peach State. You can check out the madness here Thanks to elementary school teacher for taking me through the steps to link me up

The Oconee County Democratic Committee has a subgroup called the Blue Hats and they have been the catalyst for the past and present Christmas parade performances and entries. We have had horse drawn carriages and assorted other parade tactics, but this year the local Democrats plan to hand out cards to be sent to Veterans. The idea will be to try and hand out as many cards as possible during the parade route Dec. 1. Trying to sing and explain what we are doing will be a challenge, but hey, anything is possible, including bringing our troops home alive from Iraq and Afghanistan. I entered a few links to find the books and what not The Blue Hats will become caffiends at Watkinsville Jittery Joe's (Main Street to where Barnett Shoals, state routes 16 and 441 Business District comes together in a Five Points like intersection) Saturday at 1 pm getting cards ready to hand out. The following is from unapproved minutes and only presented for your educational and publicity needs as w...

City Council member Tom Peavey defeated incumbent Mayor Jan Thurmond in Bogart 70 votes to 44 to take over the municipal reins of Bogart, Georgia Tuesday evening. Ralph Sheridan and Tonya Wagner also won seats on the city council with 61 and 84 votes respectively. Jack Irvin III, John Larken and Tom Leach were the losers of the race for the two city council seats with 4o votes for Irvin, 31 for Larken and 18 votes for Leach. Sheridan and Wagner are replacing Woody Bruce and Gary Gunter, who decided not to seek re-election. Bogart council meeting are always entertaining with a whole lot more acrimony and constant controversy that your average small town political gatherings. Thurmond, a realtor, rubbed some Bogart residents the wrong way with the appointment of her son Bret as the City Engineer. The council revoked this appointment some months later. She often ruled the meetings somewhat harshly, cutting off citizen comments during the "on the record" part of the meetings. P...

Steve Holzman rode a wave of discontent to a dramatic victory in North High Shoals municipal election Tuesday evening.

All readers of this blog who reside inside the city limits of North High Shoals and Bogart are urged to exercise their right to vote if they have indeed registered to vote in time, unlike one of the former candidates for the North High Shoals city council. Steve Holzman is still on the ballot and taking on the Wade Thomas for a seat some see as a pivotal sea change kind of seat where the North High Shoals council might actually take a stand against encroaching development. In Bogart the lines are much more blurred between long time council member Tom Peavey and incumbent Mayor Jan Thurmond. Her son Bret was removed as City Engineer by a rebellious council some months ago. Things have not exactly been hunky dory between the council and mayor since then, with several other candidates running for various seats on the council. It will be an interesting evening in the basement of the Oconee County Courthouse, as well as the voting booths of Bogart and North High Shoals. GET OUT AND VOTE PEO...

The Oconee School of Rock presents The Fall 2007 ROCKCITAL Monday & Tuesday November 5th and 6th Oconee Co. Civic Center 7pm Come see our students and instructors rock their way through songs from such artists as Cold Play, The Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jimi Hendrix, The Eagles, U-2, Tracy Chapman, Audio Slave, Lynyrd Skynnerd & Weezer, as well as several original compositions.......It doesn't get much more fun than this..... Mark Smith - Professor of Drums & Concussion Mike Steele- Professor of Bass & Acoustic Guitar JoJo Glidewell - Professor of Keys & Guitar Big Jim Brown - Professor of Guitar & Vocals ________________________________________________________________________Full Moon Studio706-769-4100www.netnik.com/fullmoon

The ground zero of political discontent in Oconee County is now in tiny town North High Shoals, where a dozen votes can swing an election. That is only place this side of Bogart where we have a contested election in the county tomorrow. While the election is for a whole lot more than just smart growth versus overgrown development, the debate does essentially boil down to that simple calculus . Steve Holzman is running against silent incumbent and brother of the Mayor Wade Thomas. In the many years of going to meetings in North High Shoals, I do not believe I have ever heard the council member Thomas ever open his mouth during a meeting, while his brother the mayor seldom closes his. Small town politics are an interesting and engaging situation where everybody knowns every one else business before they do. North High Shoals name has been dragged through the mud with various charges of impropriety in campaigning and the tiny town in under investigation from the state for these electoral ...