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
Mike
October 8th, 2010
10:14 am
Guess he wants to spend time with his family before he goes to jail.
Gwinnett Democrat
October 8th, 2010
10:16 am
Mr. Bannister is a conservative, who is not conservative enough for the extreme right and is being forced out by far right by Tea Party like people. Mr. Bannister is a Republican, but in some ways the opposition to his leadership is similar to what Mr. Obama is facing from the Tea Party people, but on a level scaled to county politics and in-party GOP fighting between more reasonable republicans like Bannister and the far right faction who are nostalgic for a white washed rural Gwinnett that no longer exist and will never exist again.
The new majority population in Gwinnett must wake up and get more actively involved in the political process. If Bannister is not “conservative enough” for the powers that be, then surely we know that these same far right leaning people do not have the interests of Gwinnett’s majority Asian, Hispanic, Black/African/Caribbean population.
I wish Mr. Bannister the best in his new endeavors.
Gee is that a surprise
October 8th, 2010
10:22 am
Hmmm. kinda gotta wonder what the future holds for a few folks in Gwinnett County ……
The State of Georgia has been breathing a sight of relief that the Ox did not win the primary. The Republicans probably wish there was a way to get No Deal for GA off the November Ballot and Karen Handel’s name on it. As it is, I am going to have to vote for King Roy. At least you know what you are getting. No telling what No Deal has up his sleeves. I would not doubt that he would copy Charles Walker (a Democratic crook) and put a “Show Me the Money Sign” on his desk. I don’t think he was allowed to take that yo jail with him No Deal, you might be able to buy it from him …….
Shotgunplanet
October 8th, 2010
10:24 am
At least he had the good “conservative” sense to FORCE trash collection through property taxation before he hits the links. Good riddance MR Anti Constitution, just wished this would have happened sooner!
Mike
October 8th, 2010
10:25 am
GA Democrat, why do you and your fellow Democrats always inject race into every situation. What Bannister has been doing to this county he deserves what he is getting now.
Atlanta news | Minute by minute (Oct. 8) | Atlanta News | Minute by minute
October 8th, 2010
10:26 am
[...] 9:50 a.m. Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister has resigned, effective immediately says his lawyer. Check back soon for updates. His resignation letter. Story. Political Insider. [...]
Joe Bob Perteat
October 8th, 2010
10:30 am
Gotta love a brave guy like ” Mike,” who sends a man to jail prior to formal accusation, trial and conviction. Mike is too ignorant to be a fascist. Probably just an ignorant teabagging hick.
Mack
October 8th, 2010
10:31 am
@Gwinnett Democrat~It is not a case of Democrat or Republican, Black or White, Conservative or Liberal or anything other than Bannister being guilty of Land Deals that, if a mortgage would have been involved there is a good chance he would have been guilty of mortgage fraud. I think Mike hit the nail on the head. Can you say perjury…sure you can.
DifferentDrummer
October 8th, 2010
10:35 am
The Gwinnet County Republicans are losing their stranglehold on the county. As Gwinnett Democrat correctly notes, there’s a new and vibrant group of voters who have moved into Gwinnett and are going to get the county back to focusing on matters near and dear to their families and communities, and not worrying about taking care of Republican developers.
BTW, Charlie Bannister won’t be the only county commissioner who will be indicted. Stay tuned.
greg best
October 8th, 2010
10:36 am
What? A crooked Republican? That’s impossible!!
James
October 8th, 2010
10:39 am
I sure wish the Henry County District Attorney would conduct a similar investigation into strange land deals between the county and developers. I commend the Gwinnett District Attorney efforts to clean up public corruption and wasteful spending by the elected officials.
BV
October 8th, 2010
10:41 am
Does this mean that there is a slight chance that we can get our property taxes lowered since Bannister won’t be selling us out?
I know a lot of people, including myself, are doing the happy dance!
Casual Observer
October 8th, 2010
10:42 am
I find it somewhat humerous that a guy named Joe Bob is calling someone else a hick.
johnny fontane
October 8th, 2010
10:43 am
Charlie finally got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. The Grand Jury did what Sheriff Butch couldn’t do. I guess now ole Chuck will have plenty of time to get his drink on.
Gwinnett GOP
October 8th, 2010
10:43 am
Charles Bannister is a good and honorable man. This was an effort to run him out of office by the gold ole boys. Gwinnett will probably get Wayne Hill’s lady Charlotte Nash who led us into the financial problems we are in now.
Willx
October 8th, 2010
10:46 am
Bannister is republican in name only. He’s nothing but a crooked politician that used the D&R coin toss. Soon his buddies will join him. Feel the heat yet Coach Com Kevin Kenerly? Look for many more indictments. Time to clean out the political cess pool of crooks and thieves of both political party’s, here and everywhere in Metro Atlanta. We can’t afford old school politicians anymore. And we certainly can’t afford Obama, the leader of the Democrat party.
Cam
October 8th, 2010
10:53 am
Why is it that the people posting have to ridicule someone else’s remarks? While many of us suspect the “real” reason for him resigning, it’s the attackers blaming politics, tea party, racists …. who make themselves look ignorant. Wait and find out what’s to come before you try to justify the resignation. Personally, I’m glad to be rid of him & I’m Hispanic.
Cera
October 8th, 2010
10:53 am
Although the picture is clear, most Republicans are in denial. The old rural gwinnett county is no more. Years ago the mood was to keep out the undesirables by keeping Marta out. Well, let history show, you can not stop progress and if you want things to remain the same, keep moving north and you may end up in New York, how tragic. Why do we Democrats talk about and to the diversity in the county? Because we can. Why are Republican scared to have diversity discussions? Because they can not talk to that which they have no experience, hence a poor representation for the changing faces of Gwinnett.
Gwinnett Democrat
October 8th, 2010
10:55 am
On the surface this appears to be singularly about shady land deals, which might be true; but this is also a cover for deeper reasons to attack Mr. Bannister. The far right powers that be in Gwinnett County are angry at Bannister for leading last year’s property tax hike that kept Gwinnett’s police and fire operating at appropriate safety levels and kept public safety workers’ jobs. No one likes an increase in taxes, but there was no choice but to raise taxes or suffer a severe downturn in public safety in Gwinnett.
There is friction between Sheriff Conway and Bannister that borders the “very personal”. Prosecutor Danny Porter has a grudge against the commissioners because his office did not get all of the financial resources that they wanted. The alleged shady land is a way to “legitimize” the attack on Mr. Bannister; but believe me it is far beyond just allegedly crooked land deals.
If there were not very personal grudges among Gwinnett republicans in a power struggle; then the shady land deal issue would never have been pushed to the point of indictment.
CB
October 8th, 2010
11:00 am
It amazes me that most of these people commenting are trying to turn this into a political Democrat vs. Republican issue. These Gwinnett County Commissioners have been ripping off the tax payers for years with their shady land and development deals. Bannister is not the only one and I hope they indict each and every one of them. This is not a racial issue or a political issue. It is simply an issue of greedy people in places of power.
Patriot
October 8th, 2010
11:05 am
It is about time! Also, it seems’ as if some people want’s to make it a race issue and a political party problem. This is just a small tip of the political crooked problems that have plagued Gwinnett County for years. Underhanded land deals and etc., have been occurring for years by the select group of the people whom run the county whether they are in office or not. I hope that other dealing’s will be investigated { which I do not really think they will}. Also, in regard’s to the cut’s in county services’ due to lower property taxes, just my property tax bill along was based on the 2004 year, instead of the current market price, which is considerable lower than their apprisal. I would like to see this investigation of fraud expand to our city/ state/federal government. All of the political office’s need a good cleaning. Corruption is rampant.
Pompano
October 8th, 2010
11:14 am
CB – your comment is dead-on.
Why is it that the 2 organizations always trying to muscle their way into the Waste Industry are Gwinnet County Gov’t and the mob?
Gwinnett Democrat
October 8th, 2010
11:16 am
Race, class, and immigration are the ELEPHANTS in the room in Gwinnett County. They are inescapable when speaking about politics and economics in Gwinnett County. Gwinnett is majority Non-white County struggling to emerge as a county that represents all of the people in county. In large measure this GOP in-fighting is because of the threat of the changes that have and continue to occur with Gwinnett’s changing demographics. There is a lot of fear about losing control and misplaced nostalgia.
DifferentDrummer
October 8th, 2010
11:17 am
Everybody wants government that works, but some think you can do it for nothing. In this frenzied attack on all tax increases, the question must always be whether the reason for the increase can be justifed. I doubt that anyone who knows anything about running a government agency understands that you can’t do it for nothing. You want safe and clean streets; good water service; a good school system; professional law enforcement; a properly operating district attorneys office, you have to pay for it. Why is it that those of us who work in the private sector think that only we are capable of deciding what’s waste and what’s not? I’ve worked in both governmnet and the private sector. I’ve seen plenty of waste in the privatye sector. There are no private companies out there that are run poorly, that don’t have waste that the customer doesn’t pay for?
If you want government that works, you can’t expect it to run without revenue. As taxpaeyrs,we have a right to know what it costs and a responsibility to challenge it when we think it’s costing too much, but we ought not think foolishly it can be done for free.
BV
October 8th, 2010
11:20 am
The posters can make all the excuses about parties, personal vendettas, etc. IMO… we got ripped off for the property on Rabbit Hill Road and I’m glad that someone is going to take the fall for it.
For those of us who are surviving on the current economy and knowing that the BOC obviously got enriched by the land deals all I can say is – Mr. Bannister, if you have to go to the Dept of Labor in Norcross, take something to read because you’ll be waiting for help for a very long time. Those people get paid by the hour and they don’t care how many people they serve in one day!
catlady
October 8th, 2010
11:20 am
We are sick and tired of corruption! We are tired of the “connected” getting special benefits while the rest of us hard working, honest folks suffer.
Willx
October 8th, 2010
11:22 am
You are correct CB, and former Commission Chairman Wayne Hill’s name can be found deep in the contracts if anyone is willing to look hard enough. Wayne loves to cozy up to his old friends and neighbors, buy old family land right out from under them at bargain basement prices, then making huge profits on the resale while hiding his involvement deep in the contract under a company name. The only reason he keeps horses on his crook-derosa is for the over the top tax deduction.
daniel
October 8th, 2010
11:25 am
How will resignation affect Briscoe airport expansion?
The expansion would destroy many peoples quality of life and their home value that live near
Briscoe airport.
Last Man Standing
October 8th, 2010
11:25 am
I lived in Gwinnett County (Centerville area to be exact) from 1980 until 1998 and truly enjoyed living there. In the mid 1990’s, the coming change to the Centerville/Snellville area became apparent. I could see that Gwinnett was about to undergo the same changes that DeKalb had experienced. I decided then that it was time to go “home” to middle Georgia. I sold my home in Gwinnett and left. The passagge of time since then has proven me correct. Crime is epidemic in that area now with armed robberies, homicides and home invasion robberies still on the increase.
If this is what Cera calls “progress”, I guess that Gwinnett is now getting more than its’ share of it.
kindergarden math
October 8th, 2010
11:25 am
As for Oxendine’s “base” , he did not even carry Gwinnett in the primary, did he ?
Willx
October 8th, 2010
11:28 am
The Briscoe airfield expansion is nothing but getting back at the Gwinnett taxpayers against Bannister. 200,000 jobs? Yea RIGHT! Chucky. He knew his time was up. His spite knows no bounds.
concerned
October 8th, 2010
11:28 am
You people that keep throwing the word “indict” around, do you even know what the issue related to the proposed indictment was? Do you really believe that your DA is doing what’s best for your county? It may be time for some of you to pay attention to the few that seem to have way too much power…
organicgrl
October 8th, 2010
11:29 am
This is probably one of the best days of my year..I really wished he would have done this sooner when the baseball field was in the works and before he stuffed the lawrenceville taxpayers with the trash…
I guess it is true: Better late than NEVER!!
Gwinnett voter
October 8th, 2010
11:30 am
Some people see race and democrats vs. republican in everything. This is not about race or any political party (no party has a monopoly on crooks – nor honest people). Put aside your racism for a moment and realize the plain simple fact that these commissioners were working for their own best interests – not the counties. It had nothing to do with race, political party, etc and everything to do with greed. If they were taking bribes or enriching their friends at the counties expense, I hope they go to jail.
Kiljoy
October 8th, 2010
11:35 am
Kennerly and Lassiter should do the right and decent thing and resign but they won’t!
Willx
October 8th, 2010
11:44 am
Camie Young, the un-official mouthpiece for chucky Bannister, coach Kenerly and other corrupt Gwinnett Commissioners should also resign.
clay blanchard
October 8th, 2010
11:57 am
THANK YOU MR PORTER, I am sure the $5.7m that you halted can be spent on more prudent expenses at a time when more and more taxpayers are struggling to make ends meet. I hope the Grand Jury will make it known what these developers originally paid for these properties. Given the downturn in the economy I would think all 4 county purchases should have been purchased at discounted prices. Lets see, my $300k house is now worth about $250k so lets hope those developers got the same deal. I will not be surprised if significant profits were made on each property.
Patriot
October 8th, 2010
11:57 am
I agree that taxation is necessary to obtain funds to operate services which we have grown accustomed to and some are necessary. However, wasteful spending of tax dollar’s are rampant in city/county/state/federal government! Tax-payer’s have the right to question their elected represented official’s and demand accountability. I, have personnally contacted Bannister concerning an issue and received a rebuke from him instead of an explanation. What elected official’s tend to forget once they are in office, that they work for the taxpayer, not the elistist/developer’s/ special interest group’s, they work for each taxpayer. What have we the taxpayer’s received from our elected official’s — more & more taxation; more & more restricted law’s on our “Freedom”. Just look at the arrogancy by Barack H. Obama and the White House along with the Congress and Senate. Our “Freedom” is being taken away each and every day starting in the cities/counties/state and the Federal Gov.! No longer is our Constitution being followed and it is reflected as such every day.
In neighboring Dekalb County, a man whom planted a garden and gave the vegetables’ was cited and takened to Court where a judge fined him $5000.00 for the violation of County Ordinance. Even here in Gwinnett County if you place two (2) trash can’s out to be picked-up by the Garbage people, you can and will receive either a warning or citation for having an extra trash can! So, with this I mind I would like to see a cleaning of our County Gov., and it is a good start with Bannister. And by the way, for those whom holler race & etc., it isn’t about political parties, it is about CORRUPTION!
Dacula voter
October 8th, 2010
12:03 pm
Not really sure where some of the liberals on here are coming from but by and large the people who have been calling for Bannister’s head have been…..Republicans.
As for those talking about how Gwinnett is changing and will soon be Democratic…you’re right. Gwinnett will soon be a northern Dekalb and Clayton and the exodus will continue. The biggest winners? Jackson, Barrow, Walton, Hall and Dawson counties.
BRW
October 8th, 2010
12:05 pm
“but by and large the people who have been calling for Bannister’s head have been…..Republicans”
Republicans also elected him, correct?
findog
October 8th, 2010
12:12 pm
Why don’t you ask Wayne, or Newt, how it feels to be eaten by your own?
Shackelford, Moreland, Reynolds, and friends carved up Gwinnett and then enriched themselves trading LLC’s back and forth.
Had it not been for the economic crash of President George W. Bush their Ponzi scheme would still be paying out millions for swamp land and farms bought and rezoned to subdivision just before the Gwinnett DOT needed right of way for a new road.
The commissioner was just the last man standing [no illicit internal blog reference inferred] with a bag of poop they were paying millions for…
findog
October 8th, 2010
12:20 pm
DD @ 11:17
The politicians looked at the millage rate as the tax. As growth paid for more government and property values soared they were proud to proclaim they were cutting taxes every year; but he home owner was getting a higher tax bill every non-election year, while the commissioners were cutting ribbons on parks and libraries.
These good godly republicans all though that Ponzi schemes only involved Wall Street and now they are shocked that they’ve been hood winked by the republicans that have been running their county for thirty years…
Well, at least they got a couple of High School football championships out of it.
Cera
October 8th, 2010
12:32 pm
Like I said, you can take flight and enjoy the colder weather up north or the silent stretches of back woods down south. The Gwinnett crime statistics is what it is, but do you take flight whenever you are presented with a challenge in life? If neighbors became neighborly, maybe, just maybe some of the crime will start to fade.
To “last man standing” since you can’t seem to remove yourself out of the Gwinnett county conversations, maybe you need to consider moving back in and work on making a positive difference.
Back to Bannister, if he did the crime, he should do the time, and his party affiliation is not a part of the equation.
findog
October 8th, 2010
12:34 pm
A simple investigative bit of journalism would be to look at where the Gwinnett DOT extended roads on their own, especially state routes.
For starters look at Sugarloaf past Grayson Highway.
Check the parcel sales data and the rezoning request that was approved just prior to the acquisition phase of the project?
The LLC developer buys 100+ acres and Gwinnett County buys the twenty needed for the road at about the same price. Net gain of eighty prime acres of real estate for free; then see if they even developed the land as rezoned to the highest available value after they sold off the right of way.
You’ll think the Ox and his dad were pikers once you finish that one…
Roska
October 8th, 2010
1:06 pm
I want whatever GwinnettGOP is smoking. “Bannister forced out by the good old boys”
Bannister IS the good old boy doling out favors for the other good old boys. Good riddance to King Charles the Crookhearted.
Cera
October 8th, 2010
1:07 pm
I want to take a minute to suggest to the individuals who espouse it is not about race; it is about race. Who do you think was involved in these land deals? It may perhaps be easy for you to say because it is hard for you to see the behavior that has become a norm. A person exhibits it and do not realize it because it is their norm. You actually have a scotoma to your own racism. You think you are not racist because you are constantly giving it within the context of you. If you were on the receiving end, you would know and be able to identify it immediately because you have seen it time and time again. So for the lack of knowledge about race and racism, please do not discount the conversation simply because you feel uncomfortable about the topic.
BV
October 8th, 2010
1:42 pm
@Cera… are you trying to pick a fight or something? We’ve been having a very good discussion here but you keep trying to interject topics that don’t appear relevant.
What exactly are you trying to say that we’re not getting?
Georgia Pete
October 8th, 2010
1:59 pm
Gwinnett County is as corrupt as the Nazi Gestapo was. In fact the G in Gwinnett stands for GESTAPO!!!!!! The practices in the prosecutors office, probation offices and the jail are abysmal. When the Supreme Court ruled, 35 years ago, that prosecutors could not be sued for prosecutorial misconduct ( withholding evidence, lying, lack of speedy trials, jailing people on charges for which there is no evidence [until a trial], failure to file proper paperwork, etc.) Gwinnett County has gone to town making the smallest of traffic violations a major industry in the county. I know many people, who, while they deserve to be on probation, are trapped in a system that is designed for failure, not success for those who truly want to change. Many do not- they suffer the consequences. I still beleive in the framework of our constitution on which this precept is founded: far better to let a guilty man go free than for an innocent to be incarcerated. The corruption is Gwinnett is rampant, elections are a joke, justice never sees, finds or seeks to find the truth. Porter and Conway are just as much a part of the problem as the crooked politicians. When Bannister was arrested, Conway started with an internal investigation….yes the foxes do guard the chicken house. Then it went to the GBI, but who says they are any less corrupt?
Why can’t there be a tea party movement here to get all the crooks out?
Perimeter Progressive
October 8th, 2010
2:02 pm
Thank God. Regardless of the man’s politics — and I never agreed with those to begin with — the millions of taxpayer dollars that he and his cronies have wasted on useless land deals is unforgivable. No wonder this county is broke.
JT
October 8th, 2010
2:16 pm
@Cera,
Please explain the racism behind the land deal and crooked county commissioners. I believe Gwinnett County has done a decent job at embracing the social shift. Though I disagree with Cynthia Tucker 99% of the time, she actually hit it on the head a few weeks ago concerning education. The graduation rates of black males are almost double in Gwinnett County as compared to City of Atlanta where the majority of the administration is minority. Regardless Bannister and the land deals have NOTHING to do with race.
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.