Fresh Loaf

Carrollton political circles are abuzz with news that state Rep. Tim Bearden, R-Villa Rica, has been paid nearly $93,000 since October 2005 to consult for the city. No records of Bearden’s work exist, however.

“If [the blogger] wants to make a case out of having a job in these economic times — okay, I’m guilty.”

— Bearden told the AJC on June 15, in reference to the Carrollton blogger who broke the news

“The end result [of the work Bearden did] sometimes is not necessarily a memorandum, or a complicated report, but it is in the minds of our children, our citizens and our community.”

— Carrollton Mayor Wayne Garner in an “open letter” that stated Bearden assisted with Toys for Tots drives, police training and matters “not open for public disclosure”

“Toys for Tots has no record of contributions, or support ever being received from Wayne Garner … or Tim Bearden.”

— Carrollton area Toys for Tots organizer Carlis Baker in a June 29 Carrollton Times-Georgian article

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Rep. Tim Bearden

The City of Carrollton’s attempt to clear the air over a controversial “verbal agreement” it made with state Rep. Tim Bearden, R-Douglasville, nearly four years ago just might have backfired.

A recap: On June 15, a Carrollton blogger broke the news that the City of Carrollton had paid Bearden nearly $93,000 since October 2005 to serve as a “consultant.” When asked to produce documents that showed evidence of the state lawmaker’s work, Carrollton officials said none existed.

Now there’s this from the Carrollton Times-Georgian:

The local organizer for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program has come out publicly to refute claims by the city of Carrollton that Rep. Tim Bearden helped with the annual campaign while serving as a consultant for the city.

…

In a paid advertisement printed in the Sunday, June 21, issue of The Times-Georgian, Carrollton Mayor Wayne Garner listed briefly “a sampling of the projects Rep. Bearden has either solely or partially been responsible for.” These include the Police Department’s “Save a Life … Stop on Red” campaign, the “Fans for Seniors” program aimed at helping the elderly keep cool during the summer and the Toys for Tots drive that occurs every year during the Christmas season. In addition, Garner’s letter says that Bearden has also served in “an advisory capacity on sensitive police issues that are not open for public disclosure.”

But Carlis Baker, the area organizer of the toy drive, said in a letter to The Times-Georgian that his organization has no records of Bearden’s work, and if he were to be paid for his services to Toys for Tots, it would be a violation of the spirit of volunteerism that makes the program a success.

It’s one thing to say the fruits of Bearden’s labor existed in the “minds of the children,” as city officials recently said. It’s another to screw with Toys for Tots.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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A Georgia Department of Natural Resources meeting

1. Atlanta city infrastructure best in country? (The list-generating business consultants at Mercer say Atlanta has the best city infrastructure in the United States. Um, what?)

2. Blog: Rep. Bearden, R-Glock, paid by Carrollton — but for what? (Carrollton city manager told CL that the lawmaker often leads programs and initiatives and assists with some matters “you can’t talk about.” Well, that settles it.)

3. TEAM COVERAGE: Piedmont Park pool poo spill lead story on AJC.com (Atlanta’s daily newspaper: No. 1 for No. 2 news!)

4. Parking scofflaws, your free ride will soon be over (Illegally parked cars with unpaid parking tickets will soon be booted. Oh crap.)

5. Coyle makes Atlanta City Council bid official (Neighborhood activist who fought to preserve the integrity of the Beltline makes a go at politics.)

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Last Monday, news broke the City of Carrollton had paid state Rep. Tim Bearden, R-Douglasville, nearly $100,000 in consulting fees to assist the city’s police department since late 2005. City officials and the state lawmaker said the deal was based on a “verbal agreement” and no documents exist to show the fruits of Bearden’s labor. Questions were raised.

After Carrollton blogger D. Tim Clark broke the story, the local newspaper Carrollton Times-Georgian picked it up and printed snippets of an “open letter” city officials released about the deal. The piece is largely sympathetic to the Bearden arrangement, which city officials call a cost-saving measure. This bit was beautiful:

There is no written documentation of the work Bearden’s done, Garner notes in the letter, so much as the work product exists “in the minds of our children, our citizens and our community who have been educated or participated in a community policing program.”

Awww.

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Remember state Rep. Tim Bearden, R-Villa Rica, the lawmaker who pushed for schoolchildren to be able to brandish assault rifles in Moon Jumps? Or maybe it was the right to carry guns in some public places. Yeah, that was it! We gave him a Golden Sleaze award in 2008 when he helped pave the way for gun-toting MARTA riders.

Well, Bearden’s back in the news.

According to documents obtained by news service CarrolltonGeorgia.com, the state lawmaker’s been paid nearly $93,000 since October 2005 by the City of Carrollton for “consulting fees.”

The site tried to inquire about Bearden’s work on behalf of the city’s taxpayers and requested a contract of their relationship. The city, in response, said no such document exists and that its relationship with Bearden is based on a “verbal agreement.” When asked for evidence of what Bearden’s consulting has produced, the city told the news site it didn’t have any documents that matched the request. (The site has PDFs of its communications with the city, as well as a list of the checks and amounts paid to Bearden.)

Throw into the mix Carrollton Mayor Wayne Garner — who’s also a Gold Dome lobbyist — and you’ve got some small-town political intrigue that makes Georgia such a wonderful place to grow old and die.

(more…)

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Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and Georgia Restaurant Association Executive Director Ron Wolf are among those urging Gov. Sonny Perdue to veto legislation that will allow Georgians with concealed weapons permits to carry guns in restaurants serving alcohol.

“How do you enforce that? We’re not going to frisk them for a gun.”

-Wolf, speaking to the Gainesville Times on April 8, on the law’s stipulation forbidding customers with concealed weapons from consuming alcohol.

“This is not about the right to bear arms. This is about public safety.”

-Franklin, speaking at a April 24 press conference, as quoted in the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

“All this stuff we hear about people are going to start dropping their chicken wings and shooting is enough to make your head explode. We’re talking about law-abiding citizens who have gone through background checks.”

-The legislation’s author Rep. Tim Bearden, R – Villa Rica, as quoted by 11 Alive on April 24, dismissing claims the law will lead to restaurant gunplay.

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Last week, the grown-ups running Georgia’s House of Representatives voted to stop the state from issuing license plates bearing the mascots of colleges and universities from outside Georgia.

The move came just two weeks after an AJC report raised the specter of Florida Gators commemorative plates, and three weeks after the House cried like colicky babies about how UGA didn’t get to play for the national championship this year.

Tomorrow, Georgia’s House of Representatives will vote on a state constitutional amendment that will make English the state’s official language. Never mind that English is already Georgia’s official language, by law.

The resolution, HR 413, was introduced by Rep. Timothy Bearden, a Republican from, of all cities, Villa Rica.

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