UPDATE: On November 2, 2021 the TSPLOST Referendum Vote was held. Union County Residents sent a loud and clear message to Sole Commissioner Lamar Paris, Voting NO (3,987) / Yes (1,538) to TSPLOST. The concept of More Taxes, Intrusive Regional Transportation Access, and subsequent Higher Density Development within the region has been DEFEATED.
Many years ago I was led to run some investigations in Union County. Initially they were focused on United Community Bank. Ultimately this led to their political puppet, Sole Commissioner Lamar Paris. For several years I investigated this man, and the local financial network that drives regional development. It even involved my suing Norm Cooper, who was the Editor of the North Georgia Newspaper at the time; was consequently fired from the paper; and ultimately ended up as a disgraced, broken, and eventually arrested man. That was a consequence of allowing your newspaper to be weaponized in support of a corrupt financial network and dictator-like politician.
My News Reports & Investigations terminated upon the defeat of the TSPLOST bill back then. At that time Lamar Paris was also spearheading the push for TSPLOST, not only at the County Level, but also Regionally, and Statewide. He was the head of the ACCG (Association of County Commissioners of Georgia). Many people thought he was being groomed for Governor. I personally just saw him as a liar, a bully, a blowhard, and a man who viewed legal process as simply an obstacle to be overcome. From what I hear, most of that hasn’t changed.
A friend from Union County has recently asked me to make available some old Complaints and Reports that were done many years ago regarding Union County Commissioner Lamar Paris. With so many new move-ins, I am sure that there are a lot of people that aren’t aware of this man’s past and activities. So I am re-releasing some old Reports to remind voters of who this man really is, and how he blatantly ignores legal process in pushing his hidden agendas.
- Union County Newsletter / April 2013 – 24 Page Pdf
The above Newsletter was widely distributed at the time. It is free to distribute, print, make copies etc. Note that any web links referenced in the newsletter are long gone, as this is an old report. - Union County SPLOST Complaint to the Georgia Attorney General – 142 Page Pdf / 55Mb
The above AG Complaint is very large and takes time to load. Be patient. The Complaint went through almost a year of political hot potato, before being dropped for “lack of resources” to prosecute. The State Auditors, and the County Auditor Mauldin & Jenkins were all part of the circle jerk, going round and round and round pointing fingers at “others” that had the responsibility. In fairness, the AG’s Office is little more than a political figurehead organization. They have almost no resources to launch the kind of criminal investigations and prosecutions these things require to actually bring accountability. Unfortunately, at the time the true power, the voters, proved themselves to not care either, keeping Lamar for another term…. except for the one bright spot, that TSPLOST was defeated, keeping these pristine mountains from being opened up to transportation expansion and rapid development. Unfortunately that is on the table again, but nobody really realizes that because the current TSPLOST Referendum is about as flaky and unclear as all of Lama Paris’ old SPLOST programs, with NO specifically identifiable Projects listed, as is required by law.
If passed, your tax dollars will also go to pay “some people” exorbitant amounts of money for critical land needed to be purchased for the roadway expansion projects. I remember a lot of Lamar’s cronies owning land in those areas, including a lot of UCBI Insiders.
Linked is a Copy of the Full Union County TSPLOST Resolution that you will be voting on. It asks for $35 Million Dollars and allows Lamar Paris to take out Bonds (aka Advance Loans) based on the “Estimates” that they think they will collect in Taxes. If those taxes don’t materialize (we are after all possibly heading into another recession), the law gives the County the MANDATE to raise property taxes in order to satisfy their financial obligations. And I challenge anyone to point out in that Referendum a single, identifiable PROJECT, remembering that they are required BY LAW to be “SPECIFICALLY” identified. Citizens don’t even know how the money is going to be used, or who will be the biggest recipients of the monies. But I do. Because I read and study the long range plans of the GDOT, and I also know who the big land owners are that have amassed Hwy frontage and other key properties.
The final phases of tying together the Appalachian Highway System is under way. The ultimate goal is to allow easier high speed access from surrounding cities and interstates into the mountain interior. Blairsville is at the crossroads of many of those plans, with extensive highway expansion planned on Murphy Hwy to the north, Hwy 76 towards Hiawassee, up SR 515 into North Carolina in Towns, and even down through the core of the Mountains, expanding Hwy 129 to the South. This TSPLOST funding will grease the way for a multitude of highway expansion projects all at once, furthering decades of ongoing planning, and making the local financial network flush with land development & loan opportunities.
Lamar Paris wants your money, which will pad a lot of insider pockets, and with which he will enable irrversible changes to your ways of life! Remember why you moved here in the first place. And if you have always been here – realize what you could lose. Votes have consequences, some more important than others. This is such a vote.
All eyes are on Union Couty Voters and their TSPLOST Referendum.
Best of luck. The Mountains are counting on you.
Peace,
– david / publisher
Focus on Big Canoe, GA
* a publication of The Mountains Voice
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