Dunwoody Election Runoff 2011 - Returns Live From Patch

CALLING IT
NALL AND DAVIS

VOTE TODAY - Dunwoody Election Runoffs 2011

The Electoral College does not rule in Dunwoody elections.  EVERY vote is going to count and these runoffs may come down to a handfull of votes making the difference in who sits on council next year.  Don't rely on what you think your neighbors are going to vote for - go out and cast your own vote.  You've got 5 1/2 hours left as of this writing.

After a lot of mental gymnastics and a few brain cramps, here are my personal endorsements:

District 1 at large - Terry Nall

The District 1 campaign was as neat, clean, and gentlemanly as an election could be.  There are going to be negative issues to talk about, but no one swung below the belt.  Terry stands out because of his ability to listen to all sides of an issue and work toward internal consistency in government.  That's an issue he dealt with directly when confronting the ZBA for violating their own procedures on an issue with the Goddard School.  Terry is not conspicuously associated with any individual special interests, so I believe he will approach any question with an open mind.  I have all the respect in the world for Rob as a human being who stepped up to serve the first City Council.  However the issues he has brought for through Council have been increasingly divisive.  In one of his letters to his constituents, he discusses the idea of rolling back taxes due to city hall operating on a surplus, yet then urges us to vote for a huge parks bonds issue that became more and more troublesome as the details emerged.  For the citizens of Dunwoody (both homeowners and home renters) to trust their government, it has to be consistent and fair to all sides.  I think Terry is the right man for the job this time around.

Mayor - Bob Dallas (by a nose)

This is the difficult one.  Mike and Bob are in a virtual dead heat in many ways.  I have met both, as well as their reps, listened to the forums/debates and listened "offline" when there were no microphones around.  I understand their philosophies and views on life and I find a lot in common with both.  However neither of these boys have clean hands in the campaign tactics department.  The current chatter on the Internet is about Bob's latest flyer crticizing Mike on filings, fees, etc.  But who remembers that Mike fired the first shot by questioning Bob's commitment to Dunwoody based on the source of his campaign contributions?  Or trying to paint a negative picture via the "career politician" label?  That's negative campaigning too, and it's just as bad.   Worse, in fact, when claiming to take the "high road" later in the game.   Both are also associated with their share of "Johnny One-Notes"  whose vision of Dunwoody is more like a static, ceramic Christmas village than a thriving, diverse, living, growing, evolving city.

The reason Bob has the edge in my mind is because of the very experience and political connections he has been criticized for.    Dunwoody is in a position now where, after three years, we can assess what we have in terms of infrastructure, citizens and lifestyles, other resources, and determine what we can build in the future and how.  There is also the very unique situation of having our residential population outnumbered by almost 3 - 1 by "daytimers" during the week.  Bob's experience working for Sonny Perdue forced him to deal with a broad spectrum of competing interests that had to be addressed, like them or not.  That's where Dunwoody is at now:  after three years we learned that the lives and lifestyles of our citizenry are far more diverse and sometimes conflicting than we knew at incorporation.  It all has to be addressed and integrated  as fairly as possible, because no one is going anywhere.  I think Bob is better equipped for that circumstance.  

With that said, no matter who wins, I ask our new council members this:  keep the Johnny One-Notes on a leash.  It isn't fair to the city now or in the future to allow one special interest to take precedence over other equally valid and valuable concerns.  The major zoning rewrite is coming up and there are a lot of "master plans" being bandied about - make sure all of the populations that call Dunwoody home benefit from these plans and no one gets shut out.

Johnny One-Note

So much for keeping it classy.

I knew that eventually the civilized discussions around local elections would get heated and out of hand.   People are human, there are times when they don't live up to the standards they would like.  A few of you have been so extreme that you are not going to enter my house until I'm convinced that you're housebroken again.  You know who you are.

Time for some Tough Love.

What concerns me the most about the current rhetoric are the people who are so wrapped up in their one little ideology that they are incapable of acknowledging any other POV.  I call them "Johnny One-Notes."

You all have met these people around town and online.  They're like evangelists who have had some kind of life-changing experience, and now they're going to save the world starting with Dunwoody based on the nugget of philosophy they've absorbed.  Hallelujah!  Can I get a ay-men!  All non-believers are going to hell and damnation!

Anyone is prone to falling into this trap.  The key is when you stop acknowledging the people around you with other priorities and reasons for their thinking.

Here are a couple examples, in no specific order:

The one who can't give their name or an opinion without emphasizing how many years they've lived in Dunwoody.  Best description is TheOtherDunwoody's "More Dunwoody Than You".  I watched this first-hand at Light Up Dunwoody.  "I'm Ishkebibble and iiIIIIiii've lived in Dunwoody for 30 YEARS!"  The implication being that they are more important, or their opinion is more worthy of attention because of their longevity.  If you catch yourself announcing how many years you've lived in town at the opening of conversations, stop it.  No really, knock it off, you sound like a tool and it's embarrassing.

The born-again preacher.  Doesn't matter what they're "born again" about, their sole goal is to get everyone else in town to follow the new life philosophy they have found.  They sidle up to the right councilman or city hall employee, whisper in the right ear, and are given something to do simply because of their enthusiasm.  In a way I don't blame city hall for just handing them a role - anything to keep them from being a pain in your ass, right?  But what happens when they encounter a different opinion?  That's when the show starts!  Crying, pouting, foot-stomping, and self-pity, followed by condemnation of the offender.  "How DARE he not drop everything and support me!  Woe is me, I'm so unloved, how can people be so mean by not agreeing with everything I say?"   Once more, with feeling - put a sock in it.

Here's why it's important to recognize Johnny One-Note:  our city government structure is about consensus. In theory, our government recognizes that there are a slew of various interests and priorities.  If left to their own devices they could compete and destroy each other.  On the other hand if they all get heard fairly and all considered, they can all be acommodated.  Johnny One-Note is incapable of that mutual listening.  Johnny One-Note can only see their own personal vision, and no one else's.  Johnny One-Note will manipulate the system to legislate their lifestyle and standards, and other Johnny One-Notes are deeply threatened by that.

In recent days, the Johnny One-Notes have been all over the internet, advocating for their candidate.  It's ugly.  It's moronic.  Worst of all, it reflects badly on the candidate they say is right for the job.  Is it truly that the candidate is right?  Or are they going to cater to their Johnny One-Note to the detriment of all others?  I can't tell.  Neither can many others because posts have appeared from people that claim to make their ballot decision based on the Johnny One-Note behaviour.

So if you've been letting your passions get the better of you this week, you may be causing your candidate more trouble than you're worth.  Candidates, it's a little late to get a leash on these kids.  I don't know how much you can control them but did you at least try to pull someone aside and ask them to tone it down for the sake of your campaign?

In both of the runoff elections there is only one candidate that is not conspicuously associated with a Johnny One-Note.  That is Terry Nall.  Terry has had to discuss some unpleasant issues, and he has only compared himself with Rob to contrast their priorities and track records.  But you don't hear his supporters taking snide potshots on Facebook or Patch.

To all my Johnny One-Notes:  Vote on December 6.  Do what you have to do to get the angst out of your system.  Then be man or woman enough to compose an eloquent apology for making an ass of yourself.  You have to look the people you behaved badly for in the eye, no matter who is in office, no matter what their agenda becomes.