Oconee County, GA Politics

Tonight at 7:30 pm (thanks Steve) - Thursday, December 20th, 2007 - there will be a special called meeting of the North High Shoals city council prompted by the paranoia of two of the old school members of the city council: Eddie Cape and Mayor Jeff Thomas. They are pushing for a referendum to dissolve the town charter. Their fear seems to stem from the recent election of one new council member Steve Holzman. Thomas, the owner of the Family Life Retirement Home - ran several elections past against Gaynor Bracewell, who ran on a dissolve the town platform. The late Bracewell, who owned a couple of homes near his Paradiso Falls water recreation and beach, lost by a large margin to Thomas in that election. Please attend this meeting and let your feelings be known about the attempt at wiping out the municipality of North High Shoals. Even though the local city government would not have much direct authority over it, there is a new Elementary School being built in the city. There are lots ...

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 ...

Todd DeFeo must be the writer who has taken over the beat Merritt Melancon had before she went to the Oconee Enterprise. This is a good history of the bucolic town on the river.