Oconee County, GA Politics

There comes a time in some political campaigns where people of good conscious must take a stand. These watershed moments are seldom as well defined as the one emerging out of the wake of several Oconee County Board of Commission members wanting to move the Courthouse from its present location. Chairmain G. Melvin Davis, and BOC members Don "Isshures" Norris and Jim Luke are generally believed to be the Gang of Three wanting to move the Courthouse out of Watkinsville to some area currently outside the current city limits. This movement evidently arose out of the secret meeting in Madison in December. We shall see how this manifests itself it the campaign, but suffice to say that challengers Johnny Pritchett, John Daniell and Sarah Bell stand to profit the most from the latest secret shenanigans done behind the scenes and even out of the county. Watkinsville Mayor Jim Luken took a very courageous stand against this ill-advised maneuver at the end of the City Council meeting Wed...

Watkinsville is the county seat of Oconee County. That much being said, there is a movement afoot to move the Courthouse to outside of the current city limits of one round mile around the Courthouse. There are three properties for sale immediately adjacent to the Courthouse, stated Mayor Jim Luken. He is an ex-Marine and chooses his words carefully, not given to dramatic or grandiose statements. Luken did not come out and name names by saying that it was Don Norris who came out and stated what evidently Board of Commissioners chair G. Melvin Davis said in the infamous secret meeting in Madison in December of last year. Former chair Wendell Dawson was the first to write about the plans to move the courthouse out of its current location out of this notorious meeting which now threatens to end the political careers of at least three people. Given the economic state, and the recent upgrades and $84,000.00 window treatments going on even two weeks ago, the current courthouse is fine. An...