BRACK: Our revised list of Continuing Objectives for  2025

By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum

JAN. 3, 2025  |  For the past year, our List of Continuing Objectives for Gwinnettm printed on the front page of each issue has been:

1. Move statewide non-partisan judicial and school board elections to the General Election.
2. Adoption of the 2023 Transit Plan for Gwinnett.
3. More creative efforts to support the arts in Gwinnett.  
4. Advancement and expansion of city historical societies.
5. Require establishments that serve alcoholic beverages to halt sales of such products at 1 a.m., and close by 2 a.m.
6. Require the Georgia Legislature to meet only once every two years.
7. 21st  century salary for the Gwinnett County Commission members.
8. Remove chewing gum on sidewalks at entrances of post offices and other governmental buildings.
9. Eliminate single-use plastic packaging and straws in Gwinnett and require instead the use of paper products.
10. Condos instead of apartments for Gwinnett.

As we enter the new year of 2025, it’s time to review this list of continuing objectives.

In the past year, we have seen advances on several fronts that have been positive for Gwinnett County. One reason for these solid improvements is that Gwinnett leaders for the most part have worked together in a good light. It’s good to see such cooperation on these many fronts, instead of squabbling that is sometimes obvious in other communities.  We urge this continued cooperative atmosphere. 

Now to examine our new objectives for the county for 2025.

1. Move statewide non-partisan judicial and school board elections to take place at the General Election.  Currently these important races take place every two years on the date of the primary. That’s significant, since fewer people vote in the primary than in the General Election. It makes much more sense to elect these officials when the most people vote. That’s why we feel this major change is needed. Our Gwinnett legislative delegation should take a leadership role in changing this for the entire state of Georgia.
2. We remove the item about the 2023 Transit Plan from this list. However, Gwinnett needs a new long-term solution to the way people move around the county in better and innovative ways. 
3. The creative arts in Gwinnett: this atmosphere has improved significantly in the last year, yet needs continual developments to make a more fertile community.
4. The City of Snellville has the best city historical society in the county. We urge the city councils in other cities to establish their city historical groups, to remember the past and honor those who came before. 
5. Halting alcoholic beverage sales in Gwinnett  at 1 a.m.: GwinnettForum cannot understand why  county leaders don’t jump on this as the best way to make significant headway for the safety of our county. Allowing bar sales to continue until early morning hours means nothing less than creating areas where crime, shootings and mayhem arise. People of the county will applaud the county commission when they take this important improvement. This is one way to significantly improve the safety of the county. We pray the commission hears this lament.
6. It happens so often: Georgia always seems to concoct new laws each legislative session. If anything, we are “over-lawed.” Such legislation always seems to help some small group, and throw equal taxation out of whack. And hurt the rest of us. Requiring the Georgia Legislature to meet less can relieve this continual burden of unnecessary legislation. We urge local legislators to understand this problem and work toward having the Legislature meet once every two years.  Texas does it.
7. Salaries paid for being a county commissioner have been changed and improved in the last few years. We remove this from our list of Continuing Objectives. 
8. Chewing gum on sidewalks in front of public buildings is nasty, unsanitary and awful-looking. We have suggested for public officials to tackle this problem to no avail. Therefore, while abhorring ugly gum’s presence on our sidewalks, we recognize the obvious, that others merely accept it. We won’t beat a dead horse, but remove this item from this list.
9. One of the best and easiest ways for Gwinnett County to move into a more sustainable new world would be to outlaw single-use plastic packaging and straws.  Other forward-thinking communities have done this, adopting paper bags instead of plastic, and requiring paper, not plastic, straws. Gwinnett officials might recognize this as one small step to help sustain and improve our world.  
10. The best way for a family to build wealth is to own their own living facilities, which over time when kept up, will appreciate significantly. You can’t say that about apartments, which over time, almost always deteriorate.  That’s why we encourage officials and their planning department boards, to take steps to encourage condominiums and townhouses for living facilities, and halt or significantly limit the number of apartment units.  This will help to improve our county in the long run. But key leaders must be able to take the heat for this change and stand by it.

So, our revised abbreviated List of Continuing Objectives for Gwinnett for 2025 is the following: 

1. Move statewide non-partisan judicial and school board elections to the date of the General Election.
2. More creative efforts to support the arts in Gwinnett.  
3. Advancement and expansion of city historical societies.
4. Require establishments that serve alcoholic beverages to halt sales of such products at 1 a.m., and close by 2 a.m.
5. Require the Georgia Legislature to meet only once every two years.
6. Eliminate single-use plastic packaging and straws in Gwinnett and require instead the use of paper products.
7. Gwinnett planners to encourage condos and  townhouses instead of apartments.

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