When Politicians Become Bought and Sold

"When Politicians Become Bought and Sold"

There is a problem that has been building in Stockbridge for some time now.  There has been a lot of smoke screens to try and hide what has been occurring.  Power plays, money under the table, and puppet strings have been in play.  The city is wanting to have an over lay project for the area of Hwy 138 from North Henry Blvd to Daniel Drive about a quarter of a mile.  The area west of Daniel Drive to near the I-75 interchange is in Clayton County who is also in this mix.  The story unfolds into a situation that is not unlike Chicago or Detroit with the political structure.

The following from the Henry Herald Newspaper lays out what Mr. Alexander has to say on the subject.

“My goal is to establish the highest standards in metro Atlanta. Currently the level of Highway 138 is unacceptable at this time,” said Councilman Elton Alexander, who has been a vocal proponent of enhancing the corridor. “Our standards have not been high enough, which is why we’ve attracted some of the quality that we have now. This whole goal is to establish the highest code regulations with goals to bring high-quality developments and businesses.”

Existing buildings would not be affected architecturally, but going forward, new businesses would have to adhere to the overlay requirements once adopted.

Stakeholder meetings regarding Highway 138 Overlay guidelines will be held at the Ted Strickland Community Center, 130 Martin Luther King Sr. Heritage Trail. The meetings are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 8, Aug. 29 and Sept. 19. Public hearings will be held in the on the second floor of Stockbridge City Hall, 4640 N. Henry Blvd. The hearings will be held Aug. 15, Sept. 5 and Sept. 26 beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The Collaborative Firm LLC, of East Point, will be leading the effort for the Highway 138 Overlay design guidelines at a cost of $35,000. 

The Collaborative Firm LLC is the following:

Business Name: THE COLLABORATIVE FIRM, LLC Control Number: 0257284

Business Type: Domestic Limited Liability Company Business Status: Active/Compliance

Business Purpose:  

Principal Office Address: 1514 E CLEVELAMD AVE. STE 82, EAST POINT, GA, 30344, USA Date of Formation / Registration Date: 11/18/2002

State of Formation: Georgia Last Annual Registration Year: 2017

REGISTERED AGENT INFORMATION

Registered Agent Name: MICHAEL HIGHTOWER

Physical Address: 1514 E CLEVELAND AVE. STE 82, Fulton, EAST POINT, GA, 30344, USA

Now here is where things start to get interesting involving Councilman Alexander and Mr. Hightower.  On February 8, 2016 Alexander honored Mr. Hightower with a proclamation.  

"Proclamation--Recognizing South Metro Development Outlook Conference 2016 Mayor Pro Tem Anthony S. Ford read the Proclamation presented to Michael Hightower, President of the South Metro Development Outlook Conference 2016 and was joined by the initiator, Councilman Alexander."

December 26, 2016 party for African American elected officials that Michael Hightower has aided at the Collaborative Firm in East Point.  Mr. Alexander and other Henry County elected officials attend.

  

Here is more background on Mr. Hightower for you to discern.  In 2000, he was caught up in a corruption scandal that rocked Atlanta and Fulton County governments.  He resigned his seat on the Fulton County Commission and pleaded guilty to accepting $25,000 in bribes for his vote to help a businessman win government contracts. His admitted lapse in judgment resulted in a conviction for public corruption, a sentence of six months of prison time and another six months of home confinement, 420 hours of community service and three years of supervised release.

 

The issue at hand here is there an ethical problem, moral problem and a conflict of interest with what is happening between the City of Stockbridge and Councilman Alexander having the Collaborative Firm to do an overlay for Hwy 138?   This type of activity has been going on in the city for some time now and it looks like there is a power play in the works involving Mr. Hightower helping to fund south metro African American political figures so they can gain office and then have his company do work for them.  And with him being a consulting firm he can also have different people appointed into positions where he can benefit as well.   We often hear from Mr. Alexander about the good ole boy system, but what does he call this?  This is the type of activity that got Mayor Campbell in trouble in Atlanta.  The citizens of Stockbridge and Henry County need to take a hard look at what is happening under their nose.   Look at district 2 and 5 on the county commission.  They were at that party in East Point in December 2016.  That picture of them there tells the story.  The people of Clayton County have the same problem.  Take a look at your chairman of the commission and some of the elected representatives including a state senator whose district covers a part of Henry and DeKalb Counties.  Look closely at who these people really are and who they are indebted to. When the investigations into all this begin it will look like 2000 all over again.

With information courtesy of archives : The Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2000, Creative Loafing 2000,  City of Stockbridge Minutes 2016, The Henry Herald 2017, Athens-Banner 2004, WSB TV Reports 2000, and the Secretary of State 2017.

The Staff

Attachments area

A Good Man For Stockbridge!!

There is a man who is running for Stockbridge City Council who by far is well qualified for the position.  He once held the position and can still make a difference in Stockbridge.  That man is Alphonso Thomas.  Mr. Thomas has done much over the years to help the people of Stockbridge.  He began the Stockbridge Business Association and has always been one to be at the meetings to let those in office know what the needs are of the people.  He has been a friend to many and will continue to be that friend when he is elected once again.  The city needs his leadership and his morals.  He knows what is right and wrong in Stockbridge.  If ever anyone has been a friend to Stockbridge it has been Mr. Thomas.  A good man for the job.

The Staff.

Chaos & Debacle In Mcdonough And Kids Suffer

There was total CHAOS in McDonough on October 27th during the "Uncle Shaq trunk or treat event at the Courthouse parking deck."  There were families waiting in line 2+ hours and got up to the entrance and were turned away.  This was happening between 7:15 and 7:30 pm and the event was billed to last until 8:00PM.  There were kids not only crying, but screaming because they could not get in.  Some have referred this as the "poop show" in McDonough.  And there are several people, of course, taking up for him and his event, but they have no children and did not wait in line with them for over 2 hours.  Just think this man wants to be the next Sheriff of Henry County and he cannot manage a trick or treat event at a very large parking deck in McDonough.  It would be the same CHAOS with him being Sheriff.  This is another bad scar on the face of the City of McDonough thanks to those who want to be in the news and the look at me crowd.  There are mothers and fathers right now that would not give two cents to meet him or have anything to do with an event he is part of because of the way this has been handled.  Remember this will get around and people will stay away from future events because they don't want to wait in line forever to be told to go home by someone who doesn't give a tinkers damn.  It looks like the shenanigans of the City of Stockbridge have moved to McDonough.  Yep looking good there.

A Very Irritated Parent

A Fair-Minded Council Member For Stockbridge

If you want a good, intelligent, and fair-minded council member for Stockbridge, then you need look no further than the incumbent LaKeisha Gantt.  She has done an excellent job working through some messes in the city that were created before she came to office.  She has worked to try and be fair-minded even with those who she has disagreements with on the council, she still tries to negotiate with them.  She is a mother and knows the importance of a good safe city for children.  Ms. Gantt is an attorney at law for her profession and brings her talents in the legal field to the city.  She knows how to talk with people and she listens and tries to help fix issues that are brought to her.  Ms. Gantt is more than just an elected official she is a friend to the community.  She gives back to her home.  Let's keep LaKeisha Gantt on the Stockbridge City Council and go and vote for her re-election.

The Staff

The Fleecing of Henry County

"The Fleecing of Henry County"

It is that time of year again that we all received our notices from the Henry County Water and Sewerage Authority that they will be raising our rates by 2% in November.  Now just think about that for a moment.  We already are paying 2 mills on our property taxes to the Water Authority.  That is double taxation and triple when you add the sales tax.  There are people in the county who cannot afford to keep having to dole out more money to these people who are raping the innocent people of the county.  And most of the money is to pay those high salaries for those who work there.  The director of the department makes twice as much as the Governor of Georgia.   And what do you get for the money, some water that you can barely drink because the taste is so bad.  All the chemicals and other things dumped in the water taste bad.  Just look at your toilet at the things settled in it that you drink when you turn on the tap.  If we are going to pay through the nose for water we should be getting much better than we are getting.  But you can rely on every year the price will increase whether they need it or not.  And the people are the ones who pay dearly.

The Staff

More Bad Press For Henry County

"Boo--A Spook Will Get You or At Least Someone in Your Wallet"

It looks like McDonough and Henry County have hit a new low.  There was another paranormal investigative team back in McDonough saying that there are ghosts from the train wreck of June 23, 1900, that are still plaguing the city.  Strange that all the longtime residents of the town have had no problems with ghosts until a few years ago.  The problem with a lot of what was said in the report is laughable.  They don't realize that most of those buildings they were inside of were not there in 1900.  Most of them at that time were made of wood and they have been torn down and rebuilt in the early part of the 20th century.  There were also two large fires on the south side of the square area in 1903 and 1910 that destroyed much of the existing structures that had to be rebuilt.  If people would take the time to look at the county site for the buildings in the area of town they will find some of them weren't even there then.  Another thing not thought about was the fact that the new courthouse was finished in 1897.  The old courthouse stood where the square is today.  They sold it and it was torn down for the bricks.  Now, it was barely cleaned up when the train wrecked.   The square was not developed yet, but the lot was empty.  Bunn's Funeral Home and Carmichael's Funeral Home prepared the bodies from the wreck and put them in boxes and those boxes were also filled with ice to keep those corpses cold until they were removed.   The one big laugh of the show is the guy who owns the old bank on Macon Street and has a restaurant there now.  He said there was a funeral home upstairs.  Wrong building and wrong time.  There was no funeral home there.  And those men talking to a doll made it even more laughable.   The thing that bothers so many people about this is that there are some well-educated people, well thought of people and generally good at heart people who believe all this is really happening.  The investigation team said they couldn't film from the trestle because of a city ordinance.  It isn't a city ordinance it is a Rail Road Law that they are trespassing on their property.  They went there anyway and filmed.  Most that are watching this unfold are knowing what is happening.  They are preying upon people for money.  They are using those who died in that accident to make a buck for McDonough.  That doesn't look good either morally or anything else.  One thing about it though it seems every year around Halloween this pops up and it is making McDonough and Henry County look foolish once again.

The Staff

Henry County Behind The Times And Falling

The 2040 Henry County Land Use for Zoning, parks, open space and growth were to be discussed last Wednesday.  We all know that there is a serious problem with transportation in Henry County.  With that said that should be something for another meeting to be held about travel problems in the county.  This meeting should have been more discussed by the people there about the proper zoning that can affect where you live and how much tax you pay on your property.  The parks which they need to maintain what they have, but don't need to keep building parks as the county is well over taxed with them as it is now.  Open space is going to be at a minimum if the growth numbers do pan out as they are expected to grow dramatically over the next 25 years.  According to projections, Henry County will have nearly one half a million people in the next 10 years.  And this meeting is looking at the next 25 years.  Most of those who were in attendance likely won't either be living in Henry County by then or will be dead.  The thing these people need to be worried about in their zoning issues is where are these people going to be buried when they die?  The cemeteries in Henry County are filling up as we speak. Some are already at capacity.  These meetings all look good and have to happen according to state rules, but little to nothing gets accomplished because by the time it is implemented it will be obsolete and just like the last one it is obsolete and they are constantly making changes to it.  They do need to have some serious discussions about the transportation problem, but better yet not just discussions, but actually get something moving.  People are tired of sitting in traffic everyday in Henry County.  But as long as they are thrusting their way to bringing more warehouses to the county for the sea port in Savannah and the truck traffic that is coming your way then traffic will continue to be a huge problem.  Things often look good on paper, but in the real world they fail the test.

The Staff