Candidate Forum Tonight

NBC used to call its Thursday night lineup - which included Seinfeld and ER - must-see TV.  Well Thursday night's 7:30pm candidate forum at the new Dunwoody High School auditorium might not be must-see TV, but it should be both informative and entertaining. 
The forum will feature all the candidates in the November 8th vote that will elect three city council persons as well as a new mayor.  There actually will be three separate forums - or debates.  The first will pit the three candidates vying for the District 1 At Large position:  incumbent Robert Wittenstein, Terry Nall and Rick Callihan.  The second forum is the two candidates vying for the District 2 At Large position:  Kerry de Vallette and Lynn Deutsch.  The third forum is the three candidates vying for mayor:  Mike Davis, Bob Dallas and Gordon Jackson.
In all individual forums,  each candidate will have the opportunity make a one-minute opening statement.  That will be followed by questions to the candidates by moderators Dick Williams of the Dunwoody Crier and Peter Cox of Dunwoody Patch.  Then, each candidate will be given the opportunity to ask one question of an opponent.  Finally, a two-minute closing statement.
The entire program will last approximately 90-minutes to two hours.  The DHA will hold a second forum at 3pm on Sunday at the Georgia Perimeter College auditorium.

Parks' Bonds

In case you missed it this week, my fellow bloggers at Dunwoody Talk and Dunwoody Farmer Bob both had interesting pieces on the parks' bonds.  Even thought it's irrelevant how the candidates feel about the parks' referendums, as they are on the ballot and cannot be removed, I have a feeling they will be a large part of Thursday night's forum.  I'd like to ask each candidate, "if the bonds pass, what projects take priority?"  With that said, I feel both bonds will fall well short of passage.

New DES Transportation Plan

I saw the following article in the Dunwoody Patch on a new transportation plan for Dunwoody Elementary School.  If you haven't driven on Womack Rd. in the morning - don't do it!  The traffic is a disaster.  A nice story by Rebecca Barria.  I hope the city and the school are sincere about fixing the problem.

By Rebecca Barria

The woes of Womack Road traffic and how a new Dunwoody Elementary School transportation plan, currently in the planning phase, may help alleviate congestion.

"This isn’t exactly safe,” my neighbor recently said to me as we walked our kids down a sidewalk-less side-street towards Dunwoody Elementary School (DES).

Drivers, bikers, and pedestrians didn’t so much share the road as dodge each other in very slow motion. Fortunately, everyone appeared hyperaware and we arrived in one piece to the sidewalk on Womack Road. Due to heavy congestion, we made better time on foot down Womack Road than the motorists. Literally.
Click Dunwoody Patch to read the full story.