Democratic Party ballot questions
DEMOCRATIC PARTY BALLOT QUESTIONS
1. Do you support the consolidation/incorporation of Columbia County?
See GOP questions 5 and 10.
NO
2. Should developer impact fees be enacted so that new growth pays for the costs associated with building additional county infrastructure?
A county panel studying the issue said no. The citizens disagree.
YES
3. Are you in favor of a property tax increase to pay for the proposed $40 million dollars worth of capital improvement projects?
A dead-on explanation of exactly what is at stake in the proposed bond, also appearing in GOP question 4.
NO
4. Are you in favor of building a permanent Columbia County Recycling Center to be located at the closed Baker Place Landfill?
This is an idea that has gotten little more than lip service. The county is allowing the private sector to handle the issue, which means break-even recycling proposals don't have a chance.
YES
5. Are you in favor of Columbia County building a Senior Citizens Center in either the Evans or Greenbrier area?
As long as Hardee's has a good deal on breakfast biscuits, Evans already has a senior center. This is a function best served by private enterprise or churches.
NO
6. Are you in favor of asking your legislative delegation to sponsor School Impact Fee Legislation to help pay for new school construction?
One of the best bits of information to come from the county's impact fee study was the need to allow impact fees for school construction. Lawmakers should change the law ASAP.
YES
7. Are you currently satisfied with the quality of development in Columbia County?
"Quality"? Are the 2x4s fitting together neatly? Or is the architecture pleasant? This question is all style, no substance. Quality isn't the problem; quantity is causing the trouble.
YES
8. Should seats on the Planning and Zoning Board be filled by nonpartisan general election?
A populist notion that ignores the fact that Planning and Zoning is an advisory body only, with final decisions made by the elected County Commission.
NO
9. Are you in favor of extending mass transportation from Richmond County into Columbia County on Washington Road?
Hello, hot-button issue. Even though it is on the Democrat ballot, this notion is about as unpopular as cops in a crackhouse.
NO
10. Should public lands at Clarks Hill Lake be opened up for private development?
If only. It's maddening that the federal government maintains control over vast acres of land in Columbia County and other lake communities, caring for it like an absentee landlord and treating nearby landowners like squatters. The free market should have more control, with governments limited to operating public parks and keeping the water deep enough.
YES
11. Should two at-large commissioner seats be added to the Columbia County Board of Commissioners?
Local Democrats, largely shut out of local races, want at-large posts to give their party a better chance of winning. But when has any problem ever been solved by making government bigger?
NO