By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
JULY 10, 2020 | One of the first elected Gwinnett officials to anticipate how the county would grow and who helped pave the way for it, died on June 30. He is Ray Gunnin, who was 92 when he passed away at the home of his daughter in Colorado.
Gunnin was elected in 1968 to represent County Commission District 2 (the Norcross and Lilburn areas, which now includes Peachtree Corners). In those days, the population of Gwinnett was 65,362 residents.
When elected to the commission, Gunnin was with Southern Bell, having joined the company as a file clerk. He attended law school at night, and also went to Georgia Tech and Clemson. With his imaginative and quick mind, he rose through the Southern Bell ranks quickly, becoming a manager and engineer.
His innovative and creative mind resulted in him leading a study of Gwinnett County government that eventually changed the structure from three persons to a commission of five. He was elected to that first five-person commission, and served for 10 years. He was the first commissioner from the Norcross area in 50 years.
Gunnin
Among his significant accomplishments was proposing to the State Legislature to allow referendums to create both the first Fire District and the first Recreation District, supported by taxes, in the county. The legislation was far-sighted, in that it allowed other militia districts to join both the districts by petition to the county commission for a vote without having to go back to the Legislature. Eventually, the entire county joined both taxing bodies. The formation of the Pinckneyville fire district guaranteed fire protection for the first major industry in Gwinnett, Western Electric, in 1972.
Back when this writer was researching Gwinnett history, Gunnin told me that when as a commissioner, he began studying a variety of county subjects. He would give the results to his fellow commissioners. “I did a lot of those studies myself. That was before the day when you hired consultants, for we simply didn’t have the money to pay for them.” The other commissioners began instituting the changes these studies would suggest. Gunnin also understood the need for structure in government and wrote the county’s first policy and procedure manual.
Gunnin played a key role in ensuring Gwinnett had water for its future. Gunnin and Commission Chairman Bill Atkinson, in 1972, were present at Fort McPherson when the Secretary of the Army, Bo Callaway of Georgia, signed an authorization allowing Gwinnett’s Water System to pull drinking water from the Corps of Engineeer’s Lake Lanier. Gwinnett is the only metro Atlanta county with an intake to Lake Lanier.
Wayne Mason of Snellville, who joined the Commission in 1972, speaks well of Gunnin.
“He was a really intelligent guy. The best thing he brought to the Commission was this vision, able to see where Gwinnett County was going. He had a bigger grasp on that than anyone on the board, and he understood the need for county wide services.”
Atkinson, who became chairman of the commission in 1972, served four years with Gunnin. “He had the county at heart, and represented the county on several boards. He was a really smart person, and served the county well.”
Gunnin was a past chairman of the National Association of County Commissioners, and president of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia.
Ray W. Gunnin 1928-2020): May you rest in peace.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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