Charles Bannister’s letter of resignation as Gwinnett commission chairman
In the midst of a grand jury probe over land deals, Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister has resigned, citing health reasons. The AJC has snagged the letter announcing his decision.
“It is with deep regret that I announce my immediate resignation as Chairman of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners.
“While I am proud of Gwinnett County Government’s many accomplishments over the past six years and had hoped to guide more of this Board’s work to completion, I find myself near the end of an extremely trying year that has placed an undeserved strain on my family and has threatened my own health.
“I believe that stepping down at this time is necessary to preserve my family’s well-being and will allow the important business of Gwinnett County to move forward without further distraction.”
First thought: Republicans must be breathing a sigh of relief that state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, whose political base is Gwinnett, didn’t win that primary for governor.
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77 comments Add your comment
E
October 8th, 2010
2:24 pm
Good. Thanks for raising our taxes and socializing our garbage service. I hope you rot in jail, you sorry good-for-nothing.
Tired of BS
October 8th, 2010
2:49 pm
Gwinnett Democrat…. as long as we have political nimrods like yourself, this state will continue to get what it deserves on both sides of the isle. I do however find it rather biggoted on your part that you chose to immediately go to race. Hmmmm…. I think that’s your white elephant in the closet isn’t it?
Carl Bernstein
October 8th, 2010
2:52 pm
AJC “snagged” a letter of resignation? Is that what passes for good journalism nowadays? How about getting to the bottom of the deals that are being investigated by the grand jury?
Torpedo
October 8th, 2010
2:58 pm
TO: Gwinnett Democrat
I think you have much bigger issues. I don’t see how you came about the comparison with our current president however, as a minority and a Gwinnett resident is seems you have other issues. The guy doesn’t want to be a distraction, we’ll have to see if what he is being accused of or not to pass judgement on him, THATS IT. The fact that he is Republican or not really doesn’t matter.
Jules
October 8th, 2010
3:21 pm
It is amazing that Gwinnett still has so many rednecks – that call themselves conservatives – and now tea partiers.
TMA
October 8th, 2010
3:34 pm
@ Last Man Standing – Thank you for your comment @ 11:25 and I have to wholeheartedly agree with you as well. I am still in Snellville but just East of Highpoint. Have been living in the area for close to 10 years now and have seen the slow decline in the surrounding neighborhoods. I was forced to leave one townhouse because my car was vandalized 3 times by black youth over the course of only four weeks (ironically one of those instances was MLK day). We’re also in that fringe area where no one knows if Snellville PD responds to a 911 call or Gwinnett County PD does.
Black gangbangers have their foot in the door of this area now and have had that foot in for quite some time now. A neighbor friend of ours had black youths cut through her yard and when she confronted them, one of them lifted his shirt to show off the pistol he had tucked in his pants.
Now with gangs and more crime slowly moving into my new neighborhood, we’ll be selling our home soon and finally leaving this state for good. I am also glad my remaining children are going to GSMST and not South Gwinnett High. That school has totally become overrun with crime and the school system refuses to acknowledge that anything is going on. It took that gang related shooting not long ago across the street at Britt Elementary to bring this all out in the open.
The sooner my family is gone from this pathetic excuse for a state, the better.
leaving Gwinnett
October 8th, 2010
3:49 pm
Well, getting rid of one bunch of rats probably only to be replaced by another bunch. Excuse my being cynical, but when our “republican” leadership raised our property taxes over 20 percent and there is talk of raising them again, along with government run garbage service, I don’t trust any of them anymore. This whole investigation is a great example of the rats running from the snakes!!!
busy man
October 8th, 2010
3:50 pm
Gwinnett is soon to be the northsides “West End”. What a Sh** hole of a place Gwinnett has turned into over the years.
Vedette
October 8th, 2010
4:07 pm
Hey Carl Bernstein; This whole investigation was started by an AJC article in July 2009. Credit where it’s due.
Pompano
October 8th, 2010
5:16 pm
Gotta give Danny Porter his due here on this one. He took on a scam involving Commissioners, Judges, & some other important folks. Imagine what he’d be up against if OX had taken the Primary & was headed to the Gov’s office
CanThinkForMyself
October 8th, 2010
6:03 pm
Praise God!! However, the only reason he resigned is it’s coming to light what a crook he is. Health problems – yeah! NOT Unless a guilty conscience counts. Bannister and his cronies have made Gwinnett a place that I am now ashamed of (I’ve been here 15+ yrs). Maybe with him gone we can build it back up again and return to our motto “Success Lives Here”.
BRW
October 8th, 2010
7:58 pm
TMA, Don’t let the door hit you, as the saying goes. Take your sheeple vote with you. Between Wayne Hill and Charles Bannister’s rein of power you should have had it made. How’s that working out for ya?
Hillbilly Deluxe
October 8th, 2010
8:48 pm
The old rural gwinnett county is no more.
It’s been gone 30-40 years.
Tired of BS
October 8th, 2010
9:33 pm
So did Kenerly rat out Bannister to save his ass? Inquiring minds want to know.
Stew
October 8th, 2010
10:44 pm
I hope we get an honest Tea Party canditate to fill his job. Bannister and other top officials were and are crooks. The last honest chairman was a woman- Lilian Webb. Gwinnett was great back then. I hope the next one starts with getting rid of the thousands of felons walking our county streets AKA the illegal alliens!!!!!
Prez Obozo
October 8th, 2010
11:52 pm
Bannister is a corrupt & sinister little man with no class. This shady person made deals behind closed doors & I’m sure he & his family personally benefited well from them. This man is nothing more than a well educated thug! Good riddance Bannister – wish it could have been sooner. Hope your retirement years turn out to be the worst of your life!
Michael
October 9th, 2010
12:32 am
The bannister in my office needs fixing.
joeybagofdoughnuts
October 9th, 2010
1:52 am
I email Mr. Bannister after the shady Stadium rip off was accomplished. I asked him why he and his cohorts did not allow a vote. I pushed him on the deal. His reply was, “I think hindsight will be 20/20 on this one”. I guess he figured everyone in the county would just herd like sheep into the stadium and forget about the back door deals and cost overruns that have left the county broke and having to make budget concessions. All the while the GBraves have the worst attendance in their league, and the parking fee and ticket sales are no where near initial estimates. We were robbed by Charlie and Kenny and the gang. Do not even get me started on the Gestapo garbage/lawsuit/garbage deal that was forced into our property tax bill. Mr. Bannister I think Hindsight is 20/20 and it looks like you might be protecting yours behind bars real soon!!!!!
Lost in Gwinnett
October 9th, 2010
11:08 am
@ BRW – Looks like you’re taking offense to the truth that blacks have once again overrun a good area and crapped all over it with their BS and crime. Just like they did to DeKalb County back in the 80’s. Memorial Drive area used to be an awesome place to hang out with the family. Now it’s a giant crap-hole with the dregs of humanity wandering the streets.
I love how they are trying to fix things by “beautifying” the sidewalks and medians, putting those real nice glass MARTA shelters. After all theses years, nothing is going to fix that area except leveling it to the ground and starting over.
Try to prove me wrong with your pathetic Obama logic.
Decatur Bubber
October 9th, 2010
11:16 am
Oh, no!! The Ox lives, and just when we thought we’d got shed of him!!
leaving gwinnett
October 9th, 2010
11:28 am
I don’t give the DA any credit. This has all been going on for years and he only acted when it ended up in the ajc and the pressure mounted. He knew what was up, but didnt want to hurt his purse strings to pay his overpaid staff. Lest we forget who went down to a commission meeting one night and got our property taxes raised!!!! I want to see a salary list for his and every other office in Gwinnett and see if what they say is true. Is it that we can’t function without this budget, or is it that we can’t function in the lifestyle we’ve all become accustomed to. Still can’t wait for 2012!!
just jane
October 10th, 2010
7:40 am
Please forgive the continuance of off-subject comments, but does anyone else see the irony in the comments skewed toward racism? It has been alleged that Gwinnett opposed Marta for years based on the fear of an influx of “undesirables” whose purported primary purpose in life is to commit crimes. Ya just gotta shake your head.
BRW
October 11th, 2010
8:00 am
You truely are “Lost in Gwinnett” The county will be that much better when you are gone, quitter.
Gwinnett Resident
October 11th, 2010
10:17 am
I have attended many public hearings, especially the ones related to zoning requests.
It has amazed me over the past few years that a large amount of money was put into creating a ‘land use plan’ that was questionable at best for the existing property owners in Gwinnett County. It has amazed me even more the number of exceptions allowed by the BoC of the county in regards to zoning requests. What was the purpose of the Land Use Plan if it wasn’t going to be considered in zoning requests, or allowing the accelerated growth of the county?
While growth is good, growth at an accelerated rate has almost always shown to have a negative effect on the country resources. Even more so is the fact that there has been a tremendous amount of ‘development’ and ‘new business’, with many exceptions granted for the purpose of increasing tax revenue, but yet we are continually in a financial/budgeting crunch.
Take a look around at the number of developments that were signed off on, that have gone in and development plan not completed. I have one next door, 4 of 22 houses have been sold in 3 1/2 years now. It has created an area that invites crime, vandalism and is just plain unsightly to the rest of the residents in our community.
Personally, I feel that any of the commissioners that have been implicated in the Grand Jury investigation should resign immediately to allow Gwinnett a chance to recover from the damage done, and move on with a more responsible, trustworthy and loyal Board of Commissioners to represent this county.
SuccessLivedHere
October 11th, 2010
11:39 am
My family is leaving Gwinnett. Once a government starts expanding you lose your voice. The stadium, the building departments, trash service/department, and new police departments. If you are concerned with public safety, go meet your neighbors. If you want overpriced trash service, move to Gwinnett. If you want BIG GOVERNMENT, move to Gwinnett. My family has had to buckle down big time. I think it is time for the people we elect to do the same.
Howard
October 13th, 2010
9:31 pm
I had considered running against Mr. Bannister during the last election cycle, and backed down last minute since we had a baby at home and I feel that the job would require LONG hours and dedication to bring the county back into what it was when we decided to move this way. I fought a developer in front of Mr. Bannister and although my arguments were valid the board chose for the developer. Now that this has happened I choose to run. any persons with experience, looking for real change (making Gwinnett a small town home), and creating a safe, affordable, clean, environment for our children, our spouses, and our elderly. There is nothing we can do about yesterday, we need to focus only on the present and the future.
Suwanee
October 14th, 2010
4:28 pm
Dear Mr. Gwinnett Democrat;
What are you talking about? It is obvious that facts related to issues have no place in you world of reality. Mr. Bannister is having a lot of personal issues and should be allowed to let the courts decide what’s up not conspiracy theorist. There are no more backroom boiler operations going on except for nuts that think it. Being on the right or the left does not preclude you to the obligation of following nut cases on their witch hunts. Also we can always separate our self by nationality origins that may be so many generation old that it shouldn’t even matter, or we can just be American’s and decide what is best for our family, children, county as a whole.