The Citizen Newsletter

The Conservative Voice of Henry County

Issue # 362

August 12, 2012

Leadership to change hands

Henry County residents will have new representation in the Georgia General Assembly as local businessman Dale Rutledge faces no opposition in the general election after having defeated the district s longstanding State Representative in the Republican Primary. State House Rep. Steve Davis (R-District 109) lost his party s primary bid to businessman Dale Rutledge by more than a 2-to-1 margin, 3,942 votes to 1,761. No Democrat qualified to run for the seat Davis, of McDonough, was first elected to the post in 2004. He has served as Chairman of the Henry County Legislative Delegation and Vice Chairman of State Planning and Community Affairs. He also held memberships on the Insurance, State Institutions and Property, and Transportation committees. At the end of my term, we will re-evaluate in what capacity I can continue to serve this community and move on to the next chapter of life, he continued. I will certainly re-dedicate myself to my real estate business and enjoy the extra time with my family which has and will always be the most important thing in my life. Rutledge said he had friends and family work many hours over a three-month span. The best way I know to thank them is go to the capitol and make them proud, he said. I will stand up for the beliefs and values that we share, and I promise the decisions I make will be based on what is best for our state and the taxpayers. I will be a true servant to the people and my door will always be open. View or download at
WWW.SCRIBD.COM/HENRY_CITIZEN

In This Issue:
Page Feature 1 2 2 2 3 4 5 5 6 7 Leadership to Change Hands Romney Picks Paul Ryan as VP Runoff in Henry BoC Race Tommy Smith Endorsement Jason Hill Cookout & Rally

It was a Bad Week for Seen on Facebook

Henry District 1 Race Decided Facts are Stubborn Things

Why I Do Not Trust BJ Mathis

Over 55,000 reads at Scribd.com

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Reports: Romney picks Paul Ryan as VP running mate

Republican sources told NBC News, the Huffington Post, the Associated Press and CNN that Romney is expected to name Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin--reports the campaign refused to confirm. In addition, ABC News's Jon Karl reported that former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio--all of whom were said to be on Romney's short list--have all been told they are not the pick. Ryan, 42, has been viewed by Republicans as a game-changing pick for the Romney campaign--a rising star Republican who has been praised as a conservative intellectual. Perhaps most importantly, Ryan and Romney get along. In the run-up to the Wisconsin primary in early April, the two campaigned together nearly everyday for a week--with Ryan even playing an April Fool's Day joke on the GOP candidate. Reporters trailing Romney at the time noted the budding "bromance" between the two men--a description Romney aides did not dispute.

RUNOFF in Henry s BoC Race After the Primary Election, Tommy Smith (47%) and BJ Mathis (41%) are in a runoff in Henry s BoC Chairman race.

Tommy Smith

BJ Mathis

EARLY VOTING starts Monday, August 13th at the McDonough Elections office

When an elected official uses the public treasury to buy votes, is it called malfeasance? When a person or group endorses and supports a candidate because the candidate/office holder has a history of opening the public treasury to supporters... is that bribery?

TOMMY SMITH RECEIVES ENDORSEMENTS IN CHAIRMAN S RUNOFF

MCDONOUGH Tommy Smith, candidate for Henry County Commission Chairman, has received the endorsement of longtime Henry County Sheriff Donald Chaffin as well as the Henry County Fraternal Order of Police. Smith is facing a runoff with incumbent chairman BJ Mathis who finished second to Smith in the July 31st Republican primary election.

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Tommy Smith is the person we need as Henry County Chairman. He has proven himself over the many years I have known him to be an honest conservative leader which is what we badly need, said Chaffin. In the last commissioners budget there were 15 positions cut from public safety yet the county spent millions on real estate purchases. 57 employees were even laid off to achieve the money needed a month later for the down payment on purchasing the Clayton County airport. It is time to restore fiscal responsibility to the Henry County government and Tommy Smith is the person to do that. Smith, a longtime supporter of Henry s police, sheriff and fire departments, offered his gratitude. I am thankful to both Sheriff Chaffin and the Fraternal Order of Police for their support in this upcoming election. The public safety of our citizens cannot be sacrificed. During my opponent s tenure on the board there has been over $60 million in real estate purchases made while many areas of the government suffered. Chaffin reflected on the election cycle, This primary election showed that when citizens come together with common goals for the good of the county they can achieve victory over big money and special interests. The incumbent chairman has many donations from Atlanta and the T-Splost crowd, even contributions from California. It was apparent the fancy mailers I had been receiving had to be paid for somehow. I knew then I had to be vocal to encourage citizens to turn back out on August 21st to help elect Tommy Smith. This election is simply that important. Tommy Smith is the former Mayor of Hampton and is also retired from the Federal Aviation Administration. Additionally he is an Eagle Scout and Air Force veteran. Tommy and his wife Gayle, natives of Henry County, reside in Hampton where they raised their four children. The Smiths are longtime members of Mt. Carmel United Methodist Church.

Celebrate our democracy. Celebrate our ability to change local leadership. Celebrate a better future for Rockdale County. Join us at a celebration in support of the candidate with the vision to revitalize our community.

Good Government Is Good for Everyone

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Cookout and Rally

5:30 p.m. -8:30 p.m. Thursday, August 23, 2012 Costley Mill Park 2455 Costley Mill Road Bring your family out to enjoy a live band, refreshments, and children s activities, and help us build the momentum to elect Jason Hill as our next County Commission Chairman
The Committee to Elect Jason Hill 1515 Old Covington Road Conyers, GA 30013 www.ElectJasonHill.com

It was a bad week for

The Mathis Campaign

First there was the website proclaiming an endorsement by Herman Cain. In response the Cain staff responded:
I work for Herman Cain.....He has NOT endorsed her!!! Where did you get this information?? Please let me know asap. Just to clarify.....he is NOT endorsing anyone.

At supper time on Thursday a robo call went out that was described as a child s pleading voice urging people to vote for Mathis.
The robo call drew immediate response on Facebook. The posts and comments included: o I do not think it is appropriate to use children to make robo calls. I personally think it speaks volumes about her character. o I totally agree about using pleading children in a campaign ad o It was very deliberate, like the Bogus Herman Cain Campaign site endorsing her. Herman said with exclamation points, "I'm not endorsing her!!!" o So, if Queen Bee Mathis has a child call my home in a pathetic attempt for me to vote for her, can I consider it as exploiting children?

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o I think above all else however, it was an Obama tactic designed to sway emotions over common sense. A Mathis supporter wrote: BJ Mathis has NOT asked any children to make phone calls. Her campaign is trying to determine the source of these calls.

Henry County BoC

District 1 Race Decided

It is official. William Bo Moss defeated Warren E. Holder in the July 31st Primary. District 1 will have a new commissioner after Holder held the position for sixteen years.

Bo Moss has been a resident of Henry County for 26 years and has run a successful small business (Wall to Wall Floor Services) for 38 years. He has been married to his wife, Connie, 43 years. They have been blessed with two wonderful children, Mark and Tammy, and five grandchildren.

Warren Holder, a lifelong resident of Henry County, has provided over forty years of public service. He served as a board member for Snapping Shoals EMC, an elected member to the Board of Education, and County Commissioner. We thank Warren for his many years of service and dedication.

Seen on Facebook
IT'S A MATTER OF TRUST. Figures don't lie, but liars figure. Mathis supporter: Virtually all property owners have had a tax decrease and will NOT have a tax increase this year. Response: The commissioners increased the property tax rate from 11.75 mils to 14.5 mils. That 2.75 mil increase means about $12 million to Henry County taxpayers. The 23% millage increase IS a tax increase. Revenue neutral to the county still means property owners will not realize a tax benefit to the decreased value of their property. And when values return the tax will remain as high as Clayton & DeKalb. The rollback millage rate is set by the prior year's rate. If the revenue from 2013 is X and property values return in 2014, the county's rollback rate means remaining "revenue neutral" with 2013. Once the increased millage is set it affects future rates & revenues.
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Those darn facts are stubborn things, aren't they??????

It is often said that an honest person runs for office. But if they win, somehow, they are re-taught life s principles and they become as fake, phony and even corrupt as the scoundrels they replaced. On the other hand, there is a fact about human nature we cannot overlook. Even wayward children find their way home. A person s basic belief system cannot be remade because of circumstances. If the elected official disappoints us we must know the character flaws existed, but were somehow hidden, when we voted for them. Trust in government really means trusting the people we elect. Government is the people who sit in the office and make decisions about taxes, social programs, spending Other People s Money. Of late we Americans have had little to build our trust. Economic declines, job losses, increasing taxes. Our way of life is threatened daily. At the local level of county government we must know the people we elect. We must know their past as they only indicator of future performance. Elizabeth BJ Mathis entered local office as Henry County s District 2 commissioner eight years ago. She won election based on an anti-development platform. Four years ago we elected her to Chairman of the county commission. She had no prior experience at anything except volunteer and church work. No gainful full-time employment. We should not be surprised that her street smarts took over and she has used her office to fulfill a liberal and sometimes accused corrupt agenda. Her effort to stop a development on 200 acres in western part of the county opened a view to Mathis s character. With the previous District 2 commissioner, the developer set out plans for a residential community AND would give the county 100 acres for a park. The property had a market value of $3.5

million.

The newly elected commissioner Mathis decided she had to have it. She invoked the use of eminent domain a legal taking of the property by government when the owner/developer did not want to sell. When the dust settled the court ordered the county to pay $8 million for the property. She decided that historic preservation was the key to justify using the abusive eminent domain law, and hired an outside researcher to publish an official report. She appointed an Official County Civil War Historian. As an elected commissioner she was a founder of the non-profit Friends of Nash Farm. There was an all-out effort to legitimize that property as a bona fide Civil War battlefield that must be owned and protected by county government. The Georgia Historical Society, Georgia Battlefields Association, long-existing texts like War of The Rebellion, eye witness accounts of the August 24, 1864 Battle of Lovey Station, and others found at the Georgia State Archive refuted the claims made by commissioner Mathis and her hired consultants. When the rebuttal information was provided to her, she had only one response to cut off all ties and communication with the person who privately presented it to her. That day was the last time this writer had any trust or faith in Elizabeth BJ Mathis. Her later attitudes, agendas and actions proved her word is only as good as her agendas will allow. On April 8, 2008 the board of commissioners unanimously adopted a resolution regarding the Nash Farm property:
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Chairman Harper spoke on behalf of this resolution offering his own opinions and ideas for the future of Nash Farm. Chairman Harper stated the name would be changed to Nash Farm, outside the battlefield connotation. An RFP was issued for completion of a master plan for implementing changes and enhancements to the county park. The resolution received no comment or argument and passed unanimously.
Chairman Harper left the commission for a judgeship and BJ Mathis was elected Chairman. No action has ever been taken on the board s 2008 resolution. People grew tired of hearing about BJ s Battlefield. Among commissioners there was no political will to enforce their own resolution. Over the next few years Mathis would provide ample opportunity for fellow commissioners to pick their battles with her. The lasting result of the fiasco is one of trust. It did not matter if lies were needed, or even corroborated at county expense. It did not matter how much money would be spent to acquire (over $39,000 per acre) and promote it. The Georgia Historical Society who places the markers would not recognize the place. The County bought and placed the historic marker and the Battlefield signage costing thousands of dollars. The chairman also does not like to be told she cannot have things her way. Politics and public relations finally won acceptance by the National Park Service, but it required a sitting county chairman and political clout to make it happen.

Nash Farm Historical Marker Or, Why I Do Not Trust BJ Mathis

Neither the Georgia Historical Society nor the Georgia Battlefields Association placed the marker. The marker was placed by Henry County Government.

In part, the marker states, Kilpatrick formed his compact columns on a ridge just west of the Nash Farm. There is no comment, as found at the county website, stating the Union Charge actually happened on Nash Farm property. In response to a query to Mr. Charlie Crawford, President of the Georgia Battlefields Association, the following information was provided: Georgia Battlefields Association did not place the marker. The marker was placed by Henry County using the pattern of the Georgia Historical Commission markers from the 1950s. The Nash Farm buildings are post war, but the area appears on at least two maps: One by Captain Burns of the 4th Michigan Cavalry, which was involved in Kilpatrick's raid of late August 1864; and one from the Atlas of the Official Records, which shows the deployments of Federal and Confederate troops in early September 1864.
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There is a question as to the County s choice to erect the historical marker outside the normal and customary processes of either the Georgia Historical Society or the Georgia Battlefields Association. It is also curious the property bears a sign designating it as Nash Farm Battlefield. An observer may conclude the stringent GHS tests for impeccable historical accuracy, or specifically defined NPS criteria for Study vs. Core areas stood as prohibitions to naming the Nash property a battlefield. Using firsthand accounts of the famous cavalry charge, distance between the stated Nash Farm position of Ross Confederate Lines to McDonough-Fayetteville Road: About 1.5 miles. The distance is twice the reported three-fourths of a mile meaning, Henry County s placement of Ross s main line is too far to the east. The distance from the County s stated position of Ross Confederate line to the Crawford-Dorsey house is 1.0 mile. In order to meet the estimated distances of three-fourths of a mile between enemy lines and a halfmile of open field behind us it is necessary to place Ross s Confederate line far to the west of the county s stated location at present Nash Farm. The width of land lots and approximately 1,000 yards between the Crawford-Dorsey, John Dorsey and present Nash houses requires the Cavalry Charge engagement to have occurred one-quarter to one-half mile inside Clayton County. After the cavalry charge Confederates retreated across the Nash property to Walnut Creek. They met Union forces at Fosterville where a skirmish occurred. Fosterville, named for the Foster family home, was located near the present intersection of Jonesboro Road and North Mt. Carmel Road. The significance of the Nash property is that it lay between the cavalry charge to the west and the skirmish at Fosterville to the east. Describing the encounter at the Dorsey plantation, "The 4th Michigan and 7th Pennsylvania struck the Rebel line perhaps half a minute behind the Regulars, boring straight across a field at least a half-mile wide [Sul Ross s] skirmishers fled before the Yankee onslaught without attempting to make a stand, while his main line couched behind the hastily built barricade half-way across the field. The Brigade having not more than 400 men for duty was little more than a skirmish line. Before they could reload, the Yankee horsemen were upon them. The Texans threw down their guns and ran." In 2010, two years into Mathis tenure as County Chair, the National Park Service expanded their 1993 study to include the Fosterville skirmish into the core battlefield of August 20, 1864. That brought the Nash property into the new designation. Smart Purchase? Nash Farm Park, for which taxpayers of Henry County spent over $8 million and suffered wrongful use of eminent domain, has been controversial from the start. The property located at 4361 Jonesboro Road had a 2010 assessed value as follows: Land value: Building value: Misc value: Total value: $2,646,400 $368,300 $37,100 $3,051,800

Before invoking eminent domain the value was about $4 million. After legal proceedings for the compulsory taking the price doubled. A few short years later the taxpayers of Henry County have lost about $5 million on the deal.
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Readers interested in the Battle of Lovejoy Station and the surrounding area can go to these links:

The Nash Farm Collection. Clayton & Henry County history. Historical accounts, documentation and rebuttal of the Fiction depicted by Henry County s official civil war historian.
HTTP://WWW.SCRIBD.COM/DOC/58626490/VETERAN-ACCOUNTS HTTP://WWW.SCRIBD.COM/DOC/58626413/ACTION-AT-LOVE-JOY HTTP://WWW.SCRIBD.COM/DOC/58626216/HENRY-BORROWS-FROM-CLAYTON-S-HERITAGE-PART1 HTTP://WWW.SCRIBD.COM/DOC/58626280/HENRY-BORROWS-FROM-CLAYTON-S-HERITAGE-PART2 HTTP://WWW.SCRIBD.COM/DOC/58625972/FICTION-AT-THE-HENRY-COUNTY-BATTLEFIELD-WEBSITE

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