Are you ready to hear the words “Mayor Murray” a lot more? I am, because I want our first Mayor to be a person of integrity, and that person is my neighbor Sandy Murray.Anyone about to become Mayor will have their naysayers, but what Sandy’s detractors don’t understand is that she has never been against the City; Sandy had concerns about the rush to create Brookhaven without the proper planning. I’ve known Sandy for years. I know that she cares deeply about our community. She is the current President of the Ashford Alliance and has done outstanding work with the Brookhaven Peachtree Community…

State Rep. Edward Lindsey (R-Atlanta) is Georgia House Majority Whip, and represents portions of Brookhaven and Buckhead in the state House: The Charter School Amendment is an important education reform for Georgia. Statewide, the overall high school graduation rate hovers in the mid 60% range, and in many school districts serving mostly low income students the graduation rate is closer to the low 50% level. This is morally and economically unacceptable for both our students and this great state.Like most voters, I believe that local school systems should have primary responsibility of …

Is Yes and No about Brookhaven over? For most anyway, it's time to build a prosperous Brookhaven; time to let go of the old DeKalb status quo. However, some candidates are direct descendants of No, who have not completed the evolution into Brookhaven.Phase 1: Nobody Vote The No City leaders and DeKalb County government would have been happiest if nobody but the legislature had voted on Brookhaven. From January through March they tried to deny your voice in choosing your local government by blocking the very opportunity to vote. They attempted to convince your state government to move against …

The Dresden East neighborhoods will be voting next week to decide whether or not they want to annex into the city of Chamblee. This is a very important decision that will have a major impact on the quality of life and future of our neighborhoods. But recent false propaganda disseminated by anonymous agents against annexation via flyers and illegally posted signs creates a more compelling story.  We suspect the inaccurate flyers and signs were created and distributed by local late night establishments (bar and nightclub owners) and not by an individual or other group against annexation. They …

  Editor's Note: The following letter was received by Patch late Friday afternoon from Thom Shepard, who is running for Brookhaven mayor. It is an open letter to other city candidates: Wednesday night, August 15th, I was sitting in the audience of Plywood Presents at the old Buckhead Theatre listening to Doug Shipman, Executive Director of The National Center for Civil and Human Rights, and sitting next to Ryan Gravel, who conceived of the Beltline concept in his Georgia Tech Master’s Thesis. At that moment the final qualification notices were hitting the press wires. It was great to be …

Let's keep the record straight on the Governor's transition commission:In the next few weeks Governor Nathan Deal will be appointing a five member commission to begin the transition process for our new municipality.  The formation of this commission is based on section 36-31-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.)Two important excerpts from the Official Code of Georgia:1) "Any person who is serving as or has served as an interim representative shall be ineligible to qualify for election as a member of the initial governing authority of the new municipality."2) "The interim …

Thank you, ‘No’, for helping make ‘Yes’ better; and vice versa. Although we disagreed on what is optimal local government, throughout the battle of Brookhaven the arguments we each offered shared a common theme. We share a goal to have the best balance of local control and government services for Brookhaven. Often emotionally, sometimes contentiously we challenged each other to be our best, to deliver what we believe works best. The voters chose a blend of city and county services. Soon our new city will begin to take shape. There is much to be done.  It needs to be a collective collaborative…

The debate over the form of governance for the Brookhaven community has helped to coalesce a set of priorites: upgrade our parks, playgrounds, and greenspace; increase the presence of police on patrol in our neighborhoods; commit to, and extend the Living Centers Initiative; improve the Buford Highway corridor through fair and reasonable code enforcement; and plan and maintain an aggressive program of roadway maintenance. Stan Segal

1. Solid finances. We have more commercial area than unincorporated Dekalb county which is 21% commercial. 28% of Brookhaven's city footprint is commercial ranging from Perimeter summit in the north to the Buford Highway/ I-85 corridor in the south. 2. Two words - Local Control. From zoning decisions to resource allocation, all decisions that most impact you and your pocketbook will be made by people in your community. They will be accountable to you at the ballot box in a city of 49,000 people. A vast improvement over a distant government in a county of over 700,000.3. Two more words - …

(Author's note: The opinions expressed below belong only to the author. They do not necessarily represent the opinions of other residents in Dresden East neighborhoods or Dresden East Civic Association (DECA). The author supports the expression of differing opinions on cityhood.) When I tell friends that I am against the proposed city of Brookhaven and for my area’s annexation into the city of Chamblee, I often get asked why I care about Brookhaven since I don’t live in the proposed city. I also get asked why I am against one city and for another.  These are very valid questions.  …

When campaigns have little substance, they resort to tactics, get loud, spend money, distort the facts and play on the voters fears. The “No City” campaign is LOUD, spending lots of MONEY (think billboards), DISTORTING FACTS and using FEAR to advance their agenda.  “No City” is banking on Brookhaven residents being fear driven and they are using these no substance tactics:  FEAR - Scare people so much that they’ll be afraid to vote “YES.”  LOUD MONEY - Repeat the same scary messages loud and often.  DISTORT FACTS – In the absence of substance, take the facts and turn them upside down. These …

I have spent a great deal of time listening to both sides of the issues.  The “BrookhavenYES” group has sent fliers. The “NoCity” campaign has sent fliers.  The “BrookhavenYES” group showed up at the Reporter debate.  The “No City” campaign showed up at the Reporter debate.  The “BrookhavenYES” group has held two town halls - one at Cross Keys High School and one at Montgomery Elementary. The “No City” campaign held none. The “BrookhavenYES” group has held open and public neighborhood meetings and advertised the meetings with fliers and emails, advertised with local press and posted publicly …

There is rarely a time where one has the last chance to change their future for the better. The vote for a city of Brookhaven is just such a chance.  The vote on this July 31 is your last chance, to change for the better, the way your tax dollars are invested and the way you are treated as a taxpaying customer.  A “YES” vote means you or your neighbor will be a city council person that lives no more than one mile from each other and you or your neighbor will represent no more than 12,000 people (your county commissioner represents 150,000 people and does not live within 10 miles of your home…

The move to create the city of Brookhaven started over two years ago. In that time, DeKalb County failed to improve our neglected parks; failed to fix the potholes and remove the metal plates obstructing our streets; and failed to provide the police protection it has promised. DeKalb spends a mere $331,040 to operate Ashford, Blackburn, Briarwood, Lynwood, Murphey Candler and Skyland Parks. Yet DeKalb has put $26 million dollars into the Wade Walker YMCA in Stone Mountain and $7 million into a water park in South DeKalb.  DeKalb has a 10-year backlog for fixing it’s roads. The cost to the …

DeKalb County and its elected officials have had every opportunity to change the way they do business within the area of the proposed city of Brookhaven. In the middle of 2011, residents of DeKalb County were hit with a 26% tax increase. You were not allowed to vote against this tax increase. The reason as stated by DeKalb County Commissioner Lee May?  “I am not pleased with the direction things have been going,” said Commissioner Lee May, who heads the budget committee. "There is a real financial management problem in this county.” The new city of Brookhaven charter caps the millage rate and…

My street, Ellijay Drive, has not been paved for years. It’s full of ruts, broken asphalt, pot holes and uneven pavement. The size of the hole at the foot of my driveway is expanding at an alarming rate. Maybe I need to call “Pothole Pete” in for a fix! Requests and petitions to the DeKalb County government have gone unheeded. Oh, one time they came down the street with spray cans of paint to mark where they would make their improvements. But that was way back in early 2011. Now those paint lines are worn off and have disappeared, much like any hope for a paving job any time soon. Since none …

One of the No City drumbeaters recently provided a textbook example of the selective quotation technique of those who oppose Brookhaven and who are struggling to maintain the DeKalb County status quo. By using only the final sentence from a quoted statement by Dunwoody Mayor Mike Davis, she is perpetuating a falsehood. I will not make judgment regarding the motive of such misrepresentation. I will leave that for you to decide. Dunwoody Mayor Mike Davis was one of the panelists at the recent town hall at Montgomery school on July 19. He was asked about the possibility of Dunwoody annexing …

Many thanks go to all of our neighbors who donated time and money to NoCity Brookhaven. They stood in front of the seniors on fixed incomes and young people just starting their families to protect all of us from the increased taxes and risks of a city. They did this not for personal gain but because they cared for their neighbors and community.We also extend thanks to our kind and generous neighbors who defended against the false promises of BrookhavenYES - that our taxes would decrease and we would have more local control, more police and more services. Everyone in these difficult economic …

Recently the president of Oglethorpe University opined that if Brookhaven incorporates within DeKalb, citizens of the new city will forgo their opportunity and obligation to support DeKalb County as a whole. His opinion is curious to me considering he is employed by a private university that competes with public universities in the area. Even more interesting is that his employer recruits students nationally and even internationally - yet the university advertises on television as 'Oglethorpe University in Brookhaven.' Incorporating Brookhaven is not mutiny or secession. It is very simply a …

In a recent Huffington Post commentary, Dr. Lawrence Schall of Oglethorpe University posits that society should be measured not by how it treats the most capable members, but rather how it treats those who, from time to time, need investment in their future and an investment in a shared fate. Dr. Schall's assertion will certainly steel the resolve of those who agree.The opinion is well-written and contains moral and emotional appeal, but Dr. Schall has glossed over vital points to draw a conclusion on Brookhaven incorporation not supported by his own facts.DeKalb County has nearly 750,000 …