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By EILEEN DRENNEN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/17/08
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the mailbox, campaigning will resume in the Republican race for two Gwinnett commission positions. And some candidates say the coming weeks will be even busier than those preceding Tuesday's primary.
Charles Bannister didn't run away with the election for Gwinnett County Commission chairman Tuesday night, as he hoped he would, but will face challenger Lorraine Green in a runoff Aug. 5.
"It was almost close enough to win without a runoff," Bannister said Wednesday. "But it's just tough any time you get three people in a race."
The candidates will be back on the campaign trail in coming weeks, as they try to persuade voters to come back and vote one more time. It will be a tough sell: Only 15 percent of Gwinnett's approximately 350,000 registered voters came out on Tuesday; runoffs traditionally attract even fewer.
Green said she expects the next few weeks to be even busier than the ones leading up to the election.
"Runoffs are very different campaigns than the primary," Green said. "It's more grass-roots, keeping in touch with your base and motivating them to come back out."
There's also the matter of raising more campaign cash, she said, since the campaign had already spent a lot of money.
Both candidates will be trying to convert the 10,000-plus voters who supported first-time campaigner Glenn Pirkle to come over to their side.
It's not everyone who goes to the trouble of running for office, Bannister said, just to get his point across. The chairman said he'd be "discussing his issues" with Pirkle and asking for his support.
On that count, Green thinks she has an advantage.
"Those voters showed that they were unhappy with the status quo," she said. "And that's what our campaign has been about, changing the direction of Gwinnett County."
On Wednesday, Pirkle, a Buford electrical contractor, said he was surprised and "well-pleased" to have campaigned his way into a bargaining position.
"I was expecting 2 percent," Pirkle said, attributing his appeal to voters being upset and "ready for a change."
Would he endorse either of his opponents before the runoff?
Absolutely, Pirkle said on Wednesday: "But I can't let you know that until tomorrow." He was meeting with both, he said, to see what he could "get resolved."
"I want to finish what I started," Pirkle said, "which is I want rid of the storm-water fee."
If he can accomplish that, he added, he'd feel like he hadn't wasted his time.
In the contest to claim Green's old District 1 seat on the Gwinnett County Commission, the race was so close that third-place finisher Carol Hassell, who won 28.9 percent of the vote, is asking for a recount.
She won just 17 votes fewer than Bruce LeVell, who got 29.1 percent. In the runoff, LeVell will face former Duluth Mayor Shirley Lasseter, who led the night with 41.95 percent of the vote.
A recount probably will not change the outcome, elections supervisor Lynn Ledford said. Recounts typically only alter totals by one or two votes, if at all, she said. But it's Hassell's right, as the losing candidate, to request one. Hassell said she hadn't decided whether she'd endorse either one of her opponents.
Election results won't be certified until Friday afternoon, Ledford said at a meeting of the Board of Registration and Elections.
Those who voted Republican on Tuesday can only vote in the Republican runoff. Those who voted Democratic can only vote in Democratic runoffs.
Those who did not vote — or only voted on the TAD question — may vote in the Republican runoffs for the commission chairman and the District 1 seats.
| 7/17/2008 12:01:00 AM |
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Runoffs for chair, commission
By Camie Young
Senior Writer
LAWRENCEVILLE - After a night of fluctuating numbers calibrating Gwinnett's political future, Tuesday's primary election ended with two Republican runoffs.
According to the unofficial results, which are expected to be certified Friday, incumbent Chairman Charles Bannister was unable to secure the Republican nomination with his 17,897 votes. He received 49.40 percent of the vote, with challenger Commissioner Lorraine Green bringing in 14,657 votes or 40.46 percent.
Glenn Pirkle, who came in third place with 3,674 votes or 10.14 percent, will be left off the Aug. 5 runoff ballot.
But Elections Supervisor Lynn Ledford said a recount is possible in the District 1 commission race.
Former Duluth Mayor Shirley Lasseter secured her place on the runoff ballot with 2,712 votes or 41.95 percent, but the second ballot slot was virtually a lock.
With Tuesday's results, Bruce LeVell, a member of the Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District board, has second place with 1,885 votes or 29.16 percent.
But former Suwanee Councilwoman Carol Hassell is only 17 votes behind, with 1,868 or 28.89 percent. Because less than 1 percent of the total separates the two, Hassell can request a recount within two days of the certification of the election, Ledford said.
"The margin is so tiny that it would be an appropriate thing to do to verify it," Hassell said, indicating she was leaning toward the recount option. "We'll see what happens as the process moves along. ... Seventeen votes is a very skinny margin."
The runoff will determine the District 1 commissioner as no Democrats qualified for the office, but the winner of the chairman's runoff will face Vincent Passariello in November.
Ledford said she was disappointed with the 15.08 percent turnout in Tuesday's primary election, but she said the two local races could make for a more interesting runoff turnout. County polls will also be open Aug. 5 for a statewide runoff for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate between Vernon Jones and Jim Martin. |
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| 6/1/2008 12:01:00 AM |
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| Shirley Lasseter |
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Lasseter wants detention center to house illegal immigrants
With the battle over illegal immigration a hot topic this campaign season, commission candidate Shirley Lasseter has announced an effort to open a federal Illegal Immigration Detention Center in Gwinnett.
"Legal immigrants are the some of the hardest working and most patriotic members of our American population, but for too long Gwinnett County has been a hub of illegal immigration," said Lasseter, the former mayor of Duluth who is running on the GOP ballot for the District 1 seat being vacated by Lorraine Green. "We have one of the largest populations of illegal immigrants in the country, and something has to be done.
"The 287(g) federal immigration training program is a fantastic start, but we have to take it a step further and make it enforceable," she said, referring to the federal program to train deputies to check immigration status, which caused a public scuffle between Green and incumbent Chairman Charles Bannister earlier this year.
Lasseter said she has already reached out to federal officials to work on bringing the center to the area, as metro Atlanta is the largest area in the country without such a detention center.
"As a former mayor, I can tell you the lack of an illegal immigrant detention center is one of the reasons illegal immigrant crime is growing in Gwinnett and metro Atlanta. We need action on this issue now," Lasseter said.
Jonathan Osborne, a legislative expert on immigration reform who works with members of Congress and the Bush administration, was quoted in Lasseter's press release on the issue.
"Georgia needs an illegal immigrant detention facility. As recently as the House Education and Labor hearing this past week, federal immigration officials asked Congress for more infrastructure, specifically in Dallas, Texas and Atlanta, Ga. A detention facility would free up local jail space and encourage more sheriffs' departments to engage and apprehend illegal aliens," he said. "Local jails are just a temporary fix designed to hold these individuals until federal immigration officials can remove them. However, if a detention facility were built in metro Atlanta or nearby in Georgia, the local sheriff would be more willing to transport the aliens or federal agents may be more willing to pick them up more frequently. Furthermore, Gwinnett County's proximity to Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport would also help federal authorities expedite the return of many illegal and criminal aliens to their home countries."
Lasseter will square off in the July Republican primary against former Suwanee councilwoman Carol Hassell and Bruce LeVell, who is on the MARTA and Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District boards. |
2/14/2008 12:01:00 AM |
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Lasseter hires consultants, picks team for campaign
Shirley Lasseter has assembled a bevy of big-time politicos for her campaign team.
The former Duluth mayor, who is seeking the Republican nomination for commission District 1, hired On Target Public Affairs as political consultants.
That means her staffers will include Marty Klein, former Georgia Republican Party executive director, Clint Austin, a well-known consultant, and Tony Simon, former Georgia GOP Senate political director.
The campaign committee is chaired by Julianne Thompson, former Georgia GOP press secretary and former legislative aid to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee who currently serves on the Gwinnett County Planning Commission.
Lasseter's campaign treasurer is her daughter, Jennifer Limon a professional accountant from Suwanee.
Other team members include businessman Johnny Barrett and businesswomen Cody Moran, Julie Amerson and Carolyn Schrichte.
"I am so honored to have such a dedicated, professional group of campaign workers on my team as we move forward in our campaign for county commission," Lasseter said. "It is humbling when so many volunteer their support. Our committee has become like a family, and we are adding new family members every day."
Last week, Lawrenceville man Mark Grams announced he would also seek the post, which is currently held by Lorraine Green. Green is pursuing the Republican nomination for commission chairman against incumbent Charles Bannister.
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| 12/30/2007 12:01:00 AM |
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Staff Photo: Luanne Dietz
Duluth Mayor Shirley Fanning-Lasseter stands inside the new City Hall which overlooks the the Town Green, one of her proudest achievements. Lasseter has been in office for 14 years and will be leaving the city in January. |
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Special photo
Shirley Fanning-Lasseter is sworn in as mayor of Duluth 14 years ago. |
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Mayors moving on: Shirley Fanning-Lasseter - Duluth's Lasseter most proud of sweating the little things
By Camie Young
Senior Writer
Editor's note: For political, health or personal reasons, seven of Gwinnett's and Barrow's mayors are stepping down at the end of this year. Here's a look at the leaders who helped build and transform the local community.
DULUTH - Shirley Fanning-Lasseter looked at the photo from her first year in office and heaved a sigh.
"Boy, that was a hellacious year," she said of 1993, the year she ousted a mayor she respected because she believed things needed to change in Duluth.
In 14 years under "Mayor Shirley," everything from the city offices to the downtown have taken new shape.
But it's the little things - the city's interaction with citizens and open and responsive government - that Lasseter is most proud of, as she leaves office to prepare for a run for county commission.
"You know that saying, 'If you want something done, give it to a busy woman,'" Lasseter said with a laugh. That's how she has spent her entire career in politics, raising kids and working hard.
Prior to her tenure as mayor, Lasseter worked as Duluth's marketing director, trying to spin glories into a system she didn't fully support.
"I really believe I brought great professionalism to the position," she said, adding that she faced great resistance from the council during her first year. "I don't think it was as difficult as it was for me being a woman as it was for being a change to the present council."
But while she planned for the Town Green and for the sidewalks and parks and revitalization, Lasseter said she missed choir concerts and ballgames for her kids.
"I do regret that," she said, remembering one of her worst memories of coming in halfway through her daughter's choral performance. "I tried to make it up to them in different ways."
In those years, though, Lasseter became a mother to Duluth.
"Her genuine concern, she always showed that. It was one of her shining lights," Councilman Jim Hall said of Lasseter's best attributes. "In meetings, when things get tense, she was a reassuring presence."
Lasseter remembers a few times when that came in handy, especially the time when councilmembers and residents began coughing hard during one meeting.
It turned out that a police officer had to use pepper spray to detain a suspect in the department offices below the council chambers, and the fumes spread upstairs, Lasseter said with a laugh.
Then, she recounted the time when she herself brought pepper spray to the chief of police, thinking the device was faulty. She ended up setting off the spray in the chief's face.
"You have to keep a sense of humor and a love for people," Lasseter said.
As she sat in the old city hall's offices just days before a new edifice opened to the public, Lasseter reflected on the creation of the Town Green, which was an old parking lot before the council transformed it into a popular park, with a fountain and a stage for events.
"We had to create a destination and create the excitement to come in it," she said. "The old saying, 'If you build it, they will come,' is a movie. ... But once the downtown was built, the children and the teenagers and the parents hovered around that fountain. It was unbelievable."
Over the years, Lasseter dressed up as the Runaway Bride at a hockey game, bringing laughter into a situation that once had the city tensely searching for a missing woman, and she placed a bet with the mayor of Alaska, when the Gwinnett Gladiators faced off with his team in a championship match.
She's proud of Duluth's reputation as a patriotic place, thanks to a Memorial Day service and display she helped create when she was working as the city's marketing director. It's grown even larger, and citizens are now working to create a memorial for living veterans and public safety officers.
In the new year, Lasseter has a couple of resolutions, including beginning her commission campaigning and quitting smoking.
She said she leaves her city office with mixed emotions, but knows she left the city in the best shape she could manage.
"I know what I have done and the journey I've been on with the city for 14 years," she said. "I know that has been amazing and produced wonderful things. I can take that with me."
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- On August 5th Republican Run-Off, Vote For A Proven Leader -
VOTE SHIRLEY FANNING LASSETER FOR COUNTY COMMISSIONER!!
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