Towns Democrats to hear from Hiawassee mayor

Hiawassee Mayor Liz Ordiales will address the Towns County Democrats at their monthly meeting on Thursday, May 11.

The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Towns County Civic Center, 67 Lakeview Circle in Hiawassee.

Ordiales has been mayor of Hiawassee since the spring of 2017 when she moved from the Hiawassee City Council, where she had served for three years, into the position of mayor pro tem to complete an unexpired term. She was elected outright to the position in November 2018 and re-elected without opposition in November 2022.

With a professional background in sales and management with AT&T, during her time in office Mayor Ordiales has stressed downtown development, business expansion, and technology enhancement for the city. The mayor will provide an update on downtown redevelopment plans and other current programs when she speaks to the Democrats on Thursday.

Ordiales has lived in Towns County for more than 20 years and has been active in the Towns County Fire Corps, Meals on Wheels, and Habitat for Humanity, and her church.

Towns County Democrats meet the second Thursday of each month at 5:30 at the Civic Center.

Plunkett elected to represent Towns on Democratic State Committee

David Plunkett is the new Democratic State Committee representative for Towns County following his election by the Towns County Democratic Committee March 9.  Members of the State Committee adopt Party policy, legislative platforms, amend the charter and bylaws, and nominate and elect state party officers and Congressional District chairs.

“I appreciate the trust shown by my fellow Democrats in electing me to this position and look forward to promoting support for Democratic candidates and Democratic policies which promise a better and more prosperous future for all Georgians,” Plunkett said.

Plunkett, a retired attorney, has been an active member of the Towns County Democratic Committee since moving to Young Harris in 2017.  He also serves as one of two Democratic appointees on the Towns County Board of Registration and Elections.

David Plunkett

Prior to moving home to Georgia, Plunkett was senior staff attorney for the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, D.C., served as legislative director and counsel to a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and was an elections specialist with the Alabama Secretary of State before that.

In Alabama, he was responsible for negotiating legislation to centralize voter registration in that state and worked on passage and implementation of the state’s first major reform of its campaign finance laws in 70 years.

While working for Democratic members of Congress he pursued federal campaign finance reform and helped negotiate authorization of a $1.6 billion science project at Oak Ridge, TN.  He served as associate staff to the House Budget Committee from 1994 to 1996, the period that put the United States on track to budget balance and surpluses during the final four years of the Clinton administration before Republican policies under President George W. Bush sent the country spiraling into ever deepening deficit spending and debt.

“I’ll never forget listening to Republicans ranting about how our budgets would wreck the economy and destroy the country during committee hearings,” Plunkett said, recalling that experience.  “Instead, Democratic policies of responsible spending and equitable taxation generated a period of extraordinary economic growth and job expansion, reduced poverty, led to the creation of whole new industries, and generated hundreds of billions of dollars in surpluses that could be used to pay down the national debt.  It took Bush and a Republican-controlled Congress to sabotage the economy and bring about the financial calamity that our children and grandchildren will now have to pay for.”

At CSPI, Plunkett worked on reforms to the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety laws and regulations and served on the boards of the Alliance for a Stronger FDA, which promoted better funding of FDA’s food and drug inspection programs; the Conference for Food Protection, which writes the model code used by states to guide inspections of restaurants and small food suppliers; and the Equitable Food Initiative, which works to improve relations between farm managers and farm workers.

A Georgia native, Plunkett lives with his wife, Vickie, in the house his parents built in Young Harris.  He is a journalism graduate of the University of Georgia and received his law degree from the Antonin Scalia Law School (formerly the George Mason School of Law).  He volunteers at Hope House of Union County, a charity that helps people facing a financial crisis remain solvent.  He is also the author of two novels and a member of the North Carolina Writers’ Network.

The Towns County Democratic Committee is dedicated to supporting local Democratic candidates and the promise of an opportunity-driven society that serves all citizens of Towns County, allowing all of us to enjoy a better, safer, and more secure future.  The Committee meets the second Thursday of each month at 5:30 pm in the Towns County Civic Center to discuss ways to improve life in Towns County, Georgia and the country.  Anyone interested in bringing people together for a better America through respect for truth and the rule of law, pursuit of democratic principles of freedom and self-determination, and recognition of the dignity of all people, regardless of faith, origin, or race are welcome to attend.

Vernon Dixon to speak on clean energy at TC Democrats’ meeting

 Dr. Vernon Dixon of Citizens’ Climate Lobby will be the guest speaker when Towns County Democrats hold their monthly meeting on Thursday, March 9, at 5:30 p.m. at the county Civic Center in Hiawassee.

Dr. Dixon will speak about clean energy in its present state of development and how it can benefit people individually and as a nation and world.

Citizens’ Climate Lobby is an international non-profit, non-partisan, grassroots organization whose aim is to educate people about clean energy and climate change and to promote legislation that can help convert rapidly to clean energy while growing the economy at the same time. With 542 active local chapters in the United States, Citizens’ Climate Lobby includes a local chapter comprising Hiawassee, and Blairsville, Georgia, and Hayesville, Murphy, and Andrews, North Carolina. The organization trains and supports volunteers to build relationships with elected officials, the media, and their local community. 

Dr. Dixon, 77, was raised in the small southwest Georgia town of Quitman. He is a medical doctor and a board-certified adult psychiatrist and child and adolescent psychiatrist trained at the Medical College of Georgia and University of Florida Medical Center. He practiced what he calls his unique brand of Christian psychiatry in Albany and Blairsville until his retirement in 2014.

Married to Mary Joyce for almost 54 years and the father of three sons, Dr. Dixon attends St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Blairsville. A cancer survivor, Dr. Dixon said his foundational Christian faith led him to his passion for creation care as the best way to care for people. 

Towns County Democrats meet the second Thursday of each month at 5:30 p.m. at the county Civic Center, 67 Lakeview Circle. Also at Thursday’s meeting, the group will continue its discussion of potential local projects. 

Local "Just Vote!" rally set for Saturday, April 2

Towns County saw record voter turnout in the 2020 state and national elections, and local political party leaders are hoping that trend continues for the primary and general elections scheduled this year.

As a way of encouraging people to register and to vote, the Towns County Republican and Democratic parties will sponsor a “Just Vote”! rally at the Hiawassee town square on Saturday, April 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

“Just Vote!” is a concerted effort, without regard to political leaning, to register voters and increase voter turnout.

The event, supported by local businesses, will feature food vendors, live music, and special guests. What it will NOT feature is political party representations: no party tee shirts, hats, badges, signs, or anything with a party candidate name or reference – the same restrictions that apply on election day at the polls.

“A key responsibility of all of us citizens is voting, which is a very important part of any democracy,” said Betsy Young, Towns County Republican chair. 

She and Charlotte Sleczkowski, Towns County Democratic chair, encouraged people to attend and to invite their friends and neighbors to participate in this non-partisan event aimed at getting out the vote. 

Voter registration will be available at the event, as well as information on new election procedures mandated by the 2021 Georgia election law. “If you are not registered to vote, Saturday would be the perfect time to do so, or to confirm your voter registration,” said Sleczkowski.

Georgia’s party primaries are scheduled for May 24 and the general election is Nov. 8. Absentee ballot applications may be submitted now through May 13. The last day to register to vote in the primary is April 25. 

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Pictured:

County Democratic Chair Charlotte Sleczkowski, left, and County Republican Chair Betsy Young 

Commissioner Bradshaw gives update to Towns County Democrats

     Towns County Sole Commissioner Cliff Bradshaw provided an update on several county projects when he met with Towns County Democrats on Thursday, Feb. 10.

     Prominent among them was upcoming renovations to the county courthouse in Hiawassee.  The renovations are being funded with proceeds from a 1% Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) approved by voters in 2020.  While the coronavirus pandemic and resulting supply-chain problems have delayed the project’s start, the interest accumulating on the $2.3 million now in the SPLOST account have been a silver lining in face of inflation, which has raised the courthouse project cost from $8 million to $9.5 million, Bradshaw said.

     “We’re gaining interest, not paying interest” on a bond that Bradshaw said he purposefully did not secure due to the pandemic’s uncertainty.  “The county is doing very well financially.  We have been very frugal since COVID hit,” he said.

     The courthouse renovations are expected to take 12 to 14 months to complete.  County offices will vacate the building and move into the old county recreation center, where improvements to the HVAC system will begin within the next two weeks, resulting in a bonus of better air conditioning for local pickleball players when they resume rainy-day matches there.       Bradshaw also reported that a new covered pavilion with restrooms and picnic tables will be built at the Towns County Pickleball Complex.  He did not give a timeline for that project.

     As the SPLOST is a six-year tax, Bradshaw said funds generated by it will be available to replenish the county’s “rainy-day” fund from which money may also be drawn to pay for the courthouse and other projects.   “We hope to have [the courthouse project] paid for in full, with no loans and no interest due, by opening day,” he said.

     In the meantime, Bradshaw said he will continue to improve county wages, which he noted have increased 50 cents per hour each year since he took office in 2017, and to upgrade all of the county’s equipment.

     As the county grows, Bradshaw said “We are trying to stay ahead of the growth that we know is coming.”  As a result, he said the county will be updating its ordinances and will take steps for stricter enforcement of its permitting process, particularly building permits, and enforcement of such measures as the Mountain Protection Act which limits the amount of soil, trees, and vegetation that can be removed from land above 2,200 feet in elevation.

     “We’re not going to let people move up here and scalp our mountains and decrease our property values,” he said, adding that doing so would damage the very things that attract newcomers and visitors to Towns County.

     Another update Bradshaw mentioned was a change at the county transfer station, i.e., the county dump, where residential and commercial garbage are now disposed of in separate and distinct areas.  Anything bagged is considered residential, he said.  The new system should result in a cleaner and faster experience, he said.

     In response to a question about the potential for crypto-mining facilities coming to Towns County, Bradshaw said the county is looking into a 120-day moratorium which could be considered at the next commissioner’s meeting.  The moratorium would be followed by an ordinance “that would make it so strict they would not want to come here,” he said. 

     “I still love coming to work every day,” Bradshaw concluded with obvious enthusiasm.

     Towns County Democrats meet the second Thursday of each month at 6 p.m. at the county civic center in Hiawassee.

     County Chair Charlotte Sleczkowski reminds voters that applications for absentee ballots for the May 24 primary will be available starting March 7 and the application period will close May 13.  She emphasized that the application period is shorter this election cycle than in previous years because of Georgia’s new voting law.

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Applications for absentee ballots for fall municipal elections being accepted

 Charlotte Sleczkowski, chair of the Towns County Democrats, reminds voters who wish to vote by absentee ballot in the November non-partisan municipal elections in Hiawassee and Young Harris they may now submit an application.

At the Democrats’ August meeting, Sleczkowski noted that the application period for absentee ballots opened on Monday, Aug. 16, or 11 weeks prior to the Nov. 2 municipal elections. The opening date for requesting applications is later this year as provided by Georgia’s new election law. The previous opening date was 180 days prior to the election.

Applications may be obtained in person at the Towns County Board of Elections and Registration in Hiawassee or through the Georgia Secretary of State’s office website.

Sleczkowski noted the last day to request an absentee ballot application is Oct. 22, 2021, or 11 days prior to the election. This is also a newly mandated deadline, as the previous last day was one week prior to the election. The additional time gives local elections officials extra time to process absentee ballots.

After the completed application is filed with the local elections office, an absentee ballot will be mailed to the requesting voter beginning Oct. 12, which is three weeks prior to the election. Completed absentee ballots must be received in the elections office by 7 p.m. on election day.

At the Democrats’ July meeting, Dr. Janet Oliva, chair of the county elections board, said “rollover ballots” are still available to voters age 65 and over and to disabled voters who mark their absentee ballot application accordingly. The rollover allows the eligible voter to continue to receive absentee ballots throughout the voting cycle without reapplying, such as for a runoff municipal election which would take place on Nov. 30 if needed.

Sleczkowski stated that voters will need to reapply for absentee ballots for the 2022 cycle of elections for state and federal offices.

The county’s single drop box for completed absentee ballots will be available only inside the elections office in Hiawassee only during the office’s business hours, which typically are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., according to local elections officials. The drop box also will be available during early voting hours, including Saturdays (Oct. 16 and 23). In Towns County, early voting hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and start Oct. 12. Election-day voting hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

Elections board chair makes plea for more poll workers

Administration of elections under Georgia’s new election law will make some aspects easier but will be more challenging without additional poll workers, Dr. Janet Oliva, chair of the county elections board, told Towns and Union County Democrats at a combined monthly meeting on Thursday.

Dr. Oliva, who was joined at the meeting by county Elections Supervisor Rachel Edwards, said some aspects of the new state law — known as Senate Bill 202 — in her opinion will make upcoming municipal elections in 2021 and state and federal elections in 2022 easier for the small Towns County staff to handle, but without more poll workers some of the shorter deadlines set by the new law will be challenging.

“We have been working with a staffing shortage since before the 2020 election but have not been able to increase it,” Dr. Oliva said. The elections office staff is supplemented as needed by poll workers who are paid by the county. Although the county is budgeted to hire more poll workers, Dr. Oliva said the elections office is constantly recruiting poll workers to meet the needs of each election.

“We don’t yet have enough poll workers for the municipal elections this fall,” Dr. Oliva said. However, she added the county is in the process of recruiting poll workers to ensure the city elections are managed properly and in compliance with state law.

The county elections office provides on-site training for poll workers, who are compensated for their time by the county.

One new deadline set by the new election law that will challenge the county elections staff is a requirement to report election results as of 10 p.m. to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office on election day. Dr. Oliva explained that every county will have to report the number of votes counted by 10 p.m., not that this would be a county’s final vote tally. Also, the county must certify election results in 5 days after the election versus previously 10 days. 

Some of the most far-reaching changes in the new election law apply to absentee ballots, which Dr. Oliva said were related directly to the “unprecedented” number of absentee ballots cast in 2020 when the COVID pandemic was raging. “We were unprepared for that volume and it was very challenging,” she said.

She assured the Towns and Union voters that “rollover ballots” are still available to voters age 65 and over and to disabled voters by marking their absentee ballot application accordingly. The rollover allows the eligible voter to continue to receive absentee ballots throughout the voting cycle without reapplying. 

The earliest an absentee ballot may be requested is now 11 weeks prior to an election. Previously, the start date was 180 days. The last day to apply for to an absentee ballot is now two Fridays before an election. The previous deadline was the Friday before the election. Dr. Oliva said the extra week’s processing time provided by the new law will “help to ensure the integrity of the election.” 

Voters will have to be proactive in requesting an absentee ballot, as under the new law state and local governments cannot send out unsolicited applications, as occurred in 2020.

Dr. Oliva said the elections office will start mailing out requested absentee ballots four weeks prior to the election. A voter who waits until two Fridays prior to the election to request an absentee ballot could have less than two weeks to return the completed ballot to the elections office, Dr. Oliva confirmed in response to a question. Absentee ballots must be received in the elections office by 7 p.m. on election day.

Dr. Oliva noted that historically, in Towns County, the U.S. Postal Service has delivered absentee ballots directly to the county elections office without requiring them to make the journey to Atlanta and back as does other mail posted locally.

The county’s single drop box will be available only inside the elections office in Hiawassee only during the office’s business hours, which typically are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., according to Ms. Edwards. The drop box also will be available during early voting hours, including two Saturdays. In Towns County, early voting hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. but may be extended by the board of elections. Election-day voting hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

In response to a question about the possibility of extending or changing either office hours or early voting hours to allow people who work during the day more opportunities to deposit absentee ballots, Dr. Oliva said if the local elections board decided to do that, funding for the staff needed for those hours would have to be provided by the county.