Politics & Government

Two City Council Candidates MIA

The new city of Peachtree Corners has 19 candidates running for six city council seats but two have been no-shows at the recent Candidate Forums.

 

By Gay Wiley Shook

We are into the last three campaigning weeks over here in Peachtree Corners when the candidates who duly qualified to run for one of the six seats on our inaugural city council are trying to meet as many people as they can and make the best argument for voters to select them. We vote for our Peachtree Corners City Council members on Georgia’s Super Tuesday Election Day, March 6, 2012.

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One candidate for Post 3, Vera Nercessian, has already notified the Gwinnett County Board of Elections that she has changed her mind and no longer wants to be a candidate.  She does not get a refund of her qualifying fee. There are two other candidates that are non-responsive to phone calls and missing in action: Nneka Chukwu, Post 1, and Robert Indech, Post 4. They have, as of this date, not notified the Board of Elections that they are withdrawing. So, are they withdrawing or not?  What is going on here?

Both Chukwu and Indech did not respond to the United Peachtree Corners Civic Association’s invitation to participate in three candidates’ forums held on January 30th, January 31st, and February 6th, 2012.  They were no-shows at all three of the candidates’ forums.  Presumably, if they do not officially remove their name from the ballot, they will still be listed as a candidate.

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If the intent of these shadow candidates is just to see how many people will vote for them anyway without one iota of effort on their part to make themselves available to the public they have ostensibly offered to serve, this is a crummy game they are playing.  If they have indeed changed their mind about being a candidate, they need to take the proper step and notify the Board of Elections in writing of their intention to withdraw.

The 17 remaining candidates have been working hard to raise money to support their campaigns and to get around to meet as many people in their districts as they can.  Peachtree Corners, with its three geographical districts, is a large area. It will be the largest city in Gwinnett County when it is up and running on July 1, 2012. The candidates who have done the work should be the ones who are elected. Shame on any voter who casts a ballot for Nneka Chukwu or Robert Indech!

The (UPCCA) is hosting one final Meet & Greet for the city council candidates on Monday, Feb. 27, 2012 at Fellowship Hall, 5575 Peachtree Parkway, at 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm.  Candidates will be available to meet with constituents and will have campaign materials available. There will be no program; this will be an informal “come and go” to meet and greet candidates of whom you may still have questions.

Editor's note: Gay Shook  serves as 2012 program chairman for UPCCA. She also writes a weekly commentary on a variety of subjects for "The Weekly," an online publication that provides local news for Peachtree Corners and surrounding cities.


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