The Citizen News in Fayetteville, Georgia reported this week that just over 5,000 Peachtree City, Georgia residents spoke up at the polls on November 27th, electing planning activist Steve Brown as the city’s next mayor. The paper said the “staggering result” of the election was the landslide by which Brown carried all 12 precincts (3,171 votes to 1,946). An outspoken opponent of Wal-Mart and Home Depot, who stood up to the City Council over the years, Brown captured 62% of the vote to easily beat his opponent. Brown told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that one of his first priorities will be development: he’d like to see a return to the city’s former “development standards.” Brown articulated many voters’ dissatisfaction with the rapid pace of development in recent years and opposed the construction of the Wal-Mart and Home Depot on Ga. 74 West. Here’s Steve Brown’s statement to Sprawl-Busters everywhere: “My city, Peachtree City, is one of the nation’s premier master planned communities. Few cities can rival our quality of life. However, when Home Depot and Wal-Mart wanted to bring their architecturally devoid big boxes to our city along with their crime, regional traffic and their ability to devastate our carefully nurtured small business sector, I began to fight. Our local government allowed the big boxes into the midst of our charming, livable city and I decided to run for elected office. I introduced the concept of the ‘big box ordinance’ and we passed one by unanimous vote of the city council. My stance against the big boxes was rock solid and 62 percent of the voters agreed with me and elected me Mayor to insure that we never make that mistake again.”
Mayor-Elect Steve Brown assumes office on January 3rd. To contact the new anti-sprawl Mayor, call 770-487-7790. Brown joins a growing list of activists who see how badly city government is run during sprawl-busting campaigns, and then run for office to try and make things better. Congratulations Steve Brown for a “staggering” victory.
