By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
NOV. 30, 2021 | Before the ink was dry with us saying Carolyn Bourdeaux got a “bye” in Congressional redistricting by the Republicans, politics had changed.
The change came from her fellow Democrats, who eliminated that bye. First Congresswoman Lucy McBath decided that the 7th, not her 6th District, looked like an easier place to seek re-election to Congress. And before you knew it, Gwinnett Democrat State house Rep. Donna McLeod felt it was time for her to run for the Seventh district seat.
Meanwhile, Michael Corbin of Peachtree Corners announced he would be a Republican candidate for the 7th District seat in the May 24, 2022 primary. In addition, Ballotpedia says that Yahanseh George (also known as YG Nyghtstorm) will also be a Republican candidate.
And, who knows? More candidates, probably from both parties, may think the year 2022 will be their year to seek to join the Congress!
OOPS: The new 7th Congressional is made up of parts of two counties, contrary to our earlier statement that it was wholly in Gwinnett. While the majority of the 7th district is in Gwinnett, a portion of the district extends into North Fulton County. As mentioned above, the northwest part of Gwinnett is now in the Sixth District. Additionally, the northeast part of the state is now included in the 9th District, which includes part of Gwinnett. (See maps). Gwinnett will no longer be part of what is now Rep. Jody Hice’s 10th District.
CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT? Georgia Tech Football Coach Geoff Collins has been telling the press that he sees “continued Improvement” as his Yellow Jacket team has been on a continual downslide. He has now lost six games in a row, and finished his third season at Tech with his third 3-9 record. Perhaps we finally understand his comment. After all, two weeks ago he lost to Notre Dame by a score of 55-0. Last weekend, the No. One team in the nation, the undefeated University of Georgia Bulldogs, beat him 45-0. Yep, that improvement, losing by 10 points less against Georgia.
Fleming
LOCAL HISTORY BOOKS are valuable for a community. They memorialize the events of that community, so people can actually look matters up in years to come, events often not found in other places.
The latest local history we have read is Pete Fleming’s book on the 150 years of the Duluth First United Methodist Church. This 464 page hardback came out recently as that church marked its beginning from 1871, the same year the town was founded. Pete is a Tennessee Tech graduate with two degrees, and concentrated in history for his master’s. He also did graduate work at the University of North Carolina. He was for 38 years with the U.S. Department of Labor, retiring in 2010 as the regional director for Workforce Development.
There were two particularly interesting aspects of this book: first, I enjoyed reading about many people I have known in Duluth, who guided the varied aspects of the church over the years.
The second aspect is that this church, or really any church anywhere, goes through periods of “feast or famine,” having its own particular problems, whether it is attendance, finances, or differences within the congregation over particular issues.
One thing for sure: the handsome Duluth First UMC has continued to expand over the years, as it has had good growth, especially in the last 20 years. Though recently harmed by Covid, its membership now numbers 3,000 members. Thank you, Pete, and his helpers, for putting this history together.
The church history is available from the church, at a cost of $35.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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