Dunwoody Voter Information
including list of candidates as they qualityAs of 11:30 AM on 8/31, the field of candidates is thus:
- Mayor
- Mike Davis (Incumbent)
- District 1 At Large, Post 4
- Terry Nall (Incumbent)
- Becky Springer
- District 2 At Large, Post 5
- Lynn Deutsch (Incumbent)
- District 3 At Large, Post 6
- John Heneghan (Incumbent)
- District 1, Post 1
- Pam Tallmadge
(Update: Denny Shortal qualified later in the day after this post went live.)
When Dunwoody began, we had all kinds of people with all kinds of experience throwing their hats in the ring. No big deal, you have to start somewhere, right? Then the election cycles adjusted to bring them up to the regular 4-year cycle we have now. The discourse was polite, the elections mild. Some seats were not contested, some previous council members chose to resign or not see reelection.
Then 2 years ago, Dunwoody saw its first slate of candidates. Those who were pissed at Mayor Mike over the suggestion of a novel intersection upgrade rallied to "Save (sic) Dunwoody" and had partial success with the election of Jim Riticher. But exactly what "change" or "saving" was effected? Because Jim and Mike almost always vote the same way on whatever issue comes to council.
This year has a hint of a darker turn. There are no slates of candidates (yet). The "SD" crowd is active if smaller and have quietly cultivated a single candidate. There is open conflict over the Mayor's office. In both of these cases, long-term friendships are going to be strained to the breaking point and there is no discernable difference in policy or vision between the candidates for any given seat. Yet.
In years past, choosing between friends and acquaintances for an elected office was uncomfortable business, but it had to be done. In 2015, it looks like it's getting personal. The structure of our community is going to undergo a radical change in its network of relationships and foundation of trust (or lack thereof) because political business is going personal.
