Streetalk: As a GSU poli-sci student, who will you vote for?
October 11, 2009 at 8:15 am by Jeff Slate in Streetalk
Karl, sophomore: Lisa Borders. I like her transportation issues more than anything else. She seemed to be the only candidate who actually knew anything about transportation, and who wasn’t trying to do the John Oxendine plan where you just kind of pave through the city. Mary Norwood is pretty good, but she feels more like gentrification. And she comes in and drives a Buick. That just stuck in my head. Lisa is the only one that comes off as being able to handle the job.
Ariel, senior: I’m leaning towards Kasim Reed. Crime is a real big issue right now, and he has some of the best ideas as far as hiring more police officers. As a Georgia State student, we’re in the middle of Atlanta. After 6 o’clock, all the stores close. It’s weird, because it’s still daylight but people don’t feel safe. I feel what he’s trying to do is put that police presence back into the city of Atlanta, which is real important for me as a student. I saw yesterday that he was talking about hiring 750 more police officers.
Jessica, senior: Mary Norwood, mostly because I like to vote more conservative. The most important issue to me is taxes, especially since I’m a new Atlanta resident. Not that I pay property taxes, but my water, sewer are taxed highly for a lot of reasons. I’d like to see, at least on a local level, someone I can relate to on some views, compared to Kasim and Lisa Borders, who are more liberal. Economically, we need reform, and Atlanta is not doing very well managing its finances right now.
October 11th, 2009 at 10:33 am
This passes for informed Atlanta comment? Hate to be catty, but with a GSU pol-sci dept chair like the milquetoast who moderated the D6 forum the other week, it’s no wonder these three pol-sci students don’t have more of a clue!
October 11th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
If Lisa has “transportation issues,” then maybe she could bum a ride off of Mary.
October 11th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
What a waste of a blog post talking to these Atlanta transplant students. What in the hell do they know about what this city needs? They’re too busy trying to eke by with a C-average while being hungover from one too many kegstands. They should keep their noses in the books and out of the cracks of these mayoral candidates.
Karl the “sophomore” is obviously easily impressed by beautiful women with velvet hammers, hence the pick for Lisa. No real substantive info there.
Ariel looks like your typical video girl impressed by big numbers. 750 cops in one year? What is this, Lebanon? Hopefully she’ll ‘lean’ in a more positive direction.
Jessica — typical bottle-blond UGA-wannabe bimbo. Did Mommy and Daddy tell you to vote Norwood so you could keep that fancy Midtown condo, cupcake? Her response definitely sounds the most spoon-fed of the three. “I tend to vote more conservative.” HA!
CL, you make it too easy for ridicule. Really.
October 11th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Betsy – stereotype much?
October 11th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
I think Betsy might be a little upset that she never got to go to college :(
Betsy, it’s never to late to do kegstands. You’ve still got a chance…
October 11th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Ha, Dash, Lisa will bum a ride off Mary when Burnham Wood comes to Dunsinane.
It so happens you can check how that works out at the Shakespeare Tavern a few nights this month and next.
October 11th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
DaleC, honey, it’s not a stereotype if it’s true.
NotBetsy, I happen to have several college degrees. Not sure why you felt the need to attack my pristine education, but it falls on deaf ears here. I know what I know.
October 11th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
If you don’t know those three people, then you don’t know if it is true and, thus, you are stereotyping.
October 11th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
Crime is the most important issue in ATL right now. It feels like the city is turning into the wild wild west. I go with Reed on more officers on the street.
As far as the budget, he’ll have to figure out how to pay for it. There’s enough money in there somewhere. He may just have to cut from other departments…
October 12th, 2009 at 2:23 am
I will vote for anyone who doesn’t end a sentence in a preposition.
October 12th, 2009 at 11:15 am
@Abeliever – there really isn’t much left to cut in the city budget – it’s almost all cops and fire. Kasim says he’ll slash pension benefits, the elephant in the budget room. Which is why the cops have come out for Lisa.
The one other potential budget opportunity is the water-sewer capital program. None of the candidates mentions it. Yet even Sally Bethea of Riverkeeper, who cheer-led for the crippling $4bn program, now writes that a bunch of it is not required by the EPA. It is new capacity so developers can go on building unneeded condos and malls. With a sales tax penny and water rates the highest in the land, we have had about as much of this fun as we can stand, yet there’s plenty more tax increase to come if we don’t stop the program. Will no candidate rid us of this turbulent waste?
October 12th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
I agree with Borders On Ridiculous. Adding new capacity for additional development and forcing everyone to pay for it is far beyond the Court’s (EPA’s) mandate. Atlanta needs a DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEE to relieve current businesses and residents of the additional expense. Aside from the above, the backbone of the sewer program creates new violations of state and federal law. See
October 12th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Impact fees would be a good idea, especially as long as they are higher on single-family homes, which typically put a greater strain on the infrastructure, per unit.
October 12th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
1) To Joeventures: The details of a DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEE would be negotiated during the process of any legislation which would impose such fees.
2) In my first post (12:07pm) I had included a link to an article and petition which can be found on-line but the link got cut off. Try a Google search for “ATLANTA POLLUTES AQUIFERS” and you will find the article and/or the petition.
October 13th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Wow Betsy- a “typical bottle blonde UGA-wannabe bimbo”?? thats funny…It just so happens that GSU students are very up to date on what is going on in politics, especially in Atlanta. For you to mock us all, simply shows your lack of trust in youth and your ignorance to what we deal with on a personal level at our school. And its just like a liberal to make false judgements and name call. It just so happens all of us have jobs, support ourselves AND maintain well over a “C-average”.
October 13th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Bob: Yeah, and… ?
I’m just saying, these impact fees would be a good idea, especially if they’re set higher for single-family homes. Those types of development place a much higher per-unit strain on municipal infrastructure, not to mention their higher carbon footprint.
October 14th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Betsy,
I can only assume that you have met the three students to whom you are commented on with such familiarity and detail because certainly someone as evolved and enlightened, as yourself would never make presumptions toward the status of society and its components. However, given the irony of your comments that a conservative opinion from a current college student has to be spoon fed leads me to seriously question your claim of having several college degrees or that your degrees were obtain in the past 60 years (internet degrees don’t count). I will give you credit for following the progressive playbook though; Rule 1.Power is not what you have but what the enemy thinks you have (several college degrees) Rule 5. Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon (you’ve never done that have you Betsy?). Rule 13. Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. (Since you are so superior in your elite education I know I don’t have to source the above for you). I would like to thank you though for your posts which remind me that not all idiots are useful.
Best regards to you.
October 14th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
Jessica- Is so on it!! I mean I wish more young adults would take a minute to recognize what this country is going through and stand up for their hard earned money! Right on!! Ever thought of running for an office one day? YOU SHOULD! Dittos from another concerned citizen!
October 15th, 2009 at 1:38 am
poor bestsy has yet to make sense in her CL postings…
October 15th, 2009 at 1:39 am
err- betsy, that is.
we aren’t to the “bestie” level yet.