Oconee County, GA Politics

I am no paragon of virture or saint when it comes to crossing the line from journalist to activist to blogger and back and forth. I have angered many a source and even a few friends, loved ones and roommates over the years when presented a potential story and deciding whether or not to run some confidential information given to me on the daily routine I may have had at that particular time and place. So keep in mind the following is not meant as a criticism of the people involved but more a conversation starter about what I see and how it may or may not be ethically flawed at the very least. Blake Giles of the Oconee Enterprise  newspaper is an accomplished journalist and editor with whom I have crossed paths for more than a few decades. I can recall having a rotisserie baseball fantasy draft run by him in the earliest days of the new Athens Banner-Herald building. I have seen him wear the black and white striped shirt at Georgia basketball games in some sort of officiating duty...

I have to give it to John Oxendine, each time he makes another political blunder or gaffe, none of the missteps by themselves seems to be the fatal blow, but each one taken together paints a portrait of a paranoid, corrupt, sleazy politician ready to pimp out his industry and family for the sake of higher office. I can only pray Republicans are stupid enough to nominate this insurance industry windbag thus guaranteeing a Democratic candidate will take over the Georgia Governor's mansion again. Maybe after a bloody run-off with Karen Handel even further insuring a GOP loss in November. Pollster Matt Towery was never been held as the paragon of nonpartisan political honor, so none of these shenanigans should come across as all that surprising. I am sorry he had a vertigo faceplant in the tropics, but I have no sympathy for him on that regard and find the timing a little suspect or at least convenient for him. But I think it is time for someone else to have a Georgia based politic...

Please attend the Oconee County Board of Commissioners Town Hall meeting 7 pm Tuesday evening at the Oconee County Civic Center. Also read the new blog of Johnathan McGinty. That is all. From: Lee Becker lbbecker@mindspring.com Date: Sun, Feb 14, 2010 at 8:55 PM Subject: Tuesday Town Hall Meeting To: lbbecker@mindspring.com Dear Friends, Readers of this blog know that the county is holding a town hall meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Civic Center. Other bloggers also have promoted the meeting. But readers of the print media alone easily could have missed it. Both of the local weeklies have ignored the meeting. The Athens Banner-Herald at least has run two shorts announcing it. I've listed a number of issues that could--some are arguing should--come up at the meeting. I'm certain you can think of others. I urge you to come to the meeting and express your concerns and ask your questions. My list and other details about the meeting are at: http://oconeecounty...

My buddy Johnathan McGinty over at his Beyond the Trestle blog kind of let the cat out of the bag on this one , which is fine, and I too had received multiple people telling me that Tom Breedlove was ABSOLUTELY positively possibly (?) fixing to resign from the Oconee County Board of Education and he had at least confirmed he quit his land planner job with local developers Williams and Associates not long ago and at the most recent Board of Education meeting. Twice Breedlove has written me back about his uncertainty regarding his family situation, and anyone who reads the local police blotter was aware of a recent domestic disturbance at his abode. Domestic violence, whether being accused as the perpetrator or the victim, is not something to be taken lightly, especially in the political arena. I hope the best for the Breedlove family and hope things get worked out but I think it is obvious there is some doubt concerning his political future around these parts at the very least. ...

This will serve as a good primer for those unfamiliar or needing an introduction to the seedy world of the Oconee County, Georgia Blogosphere with three comments at the very least - I highly recommend it and even added a couple of links. From: Lee Becker ; lbbecker@mindspring.com Date: Mon, Sep 14, 2009 at 9:09 AM Subject: Feeling Rejected To: lbbecker@mindspring.com Dear Friends, Recently I had a letter I submitted to The Oconee Enterprise rejected because, I was told, it referenced my blog. The paper said I could pay to have my letter run as an advertisement. I didn't. And a few weeks earlier I had tried to get Banner-Herald columnist Johnathan McGinty to run a criticism of his column on his blog. He didn't. It got me thinking about the new world of journalism, of which my blog is a part. We still are largely in a world of one-way communication. Dialog is difficult. For details, go to http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/ And let me know what y...

Despite the well-engineered G. Melvin Davis-led Public Relations campaign seemingly spearheaded by both the Oconee Enterprise and Beyond the Trestle 's Johnathan McGinty in a column in the Athens Banner-Herald (with whom I have no personal beef) against it, I am in full support of the proposed reorganization of the Oconee County government. Thank you very much to all the members of the Oconee County Board of Commissioners and please continue on your mandate. Just to reiterate, I have no enmity with either McGinty, Davis, or anyone working for any newspaper, radio station or local media. I appreciate people having the nerve to stick their necks out with opinions and commentary, but one has to expect people to disagree with them with the more they express those opinions on the topic du jour. This governmental restructuring process has seemed to strike a very raw nerve in the community and beyond. I think Chairman Davis is a good person who has done a decent job of running the county ...

Beyond The Trestle: Not. The. Point. Johnathan echoes my sentiments regarding our esteemed ex-chair's letter to the editor in today's paper.

This from the Sherry Jackson campaign Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. From: johnathan@frontporchconsulting.org To: danmatt@hotmail.com Subject: For the blog Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:02:18 -0400 Hey Dan,   Sherry Jackson will be doing phonebanking on Monday night, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and all day on Election Day from her office as we work to get our supporters to the polls. Bring your cell phone, and we'll get you a list to make calls. Our early turnout numbers are better than we had projected, and this race is going to go down to the wire. Help us reach out to voters in District 46, and let's put Sherry over the top.   We'll have pizza and drinks on Monday night, so just bring your cell phone!   Thanks, Johnathan

Pretty much the last chance for candidates to come to our meeting before the election, Sherry Jackson and Johnathan McGinty Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2008 22:57:16 +0000 Subject: [oconee] Oconee Democrats Regular Monthly Meeting, 10/2/2008, 7:00 pm oconee Yahoo! Group Oconee Democrats Regular Monthly Meeting Thursday October 2, 2008 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm This event repeats every month on the first Thursday. Oconee County Courthouse ...