Recently, I was contacted by a new upstart news group called The South Hall Gazette to answer questions the group is asking of all the Flowery Branch City Council candidates. You can visit the online article here The South Hall Gazette Part 1 Interview and here Interview Part 2 or read the entire interview below which I have reproduced.
Enjoy the interview!
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Councilwoman Amanda Swafford is running against challenger Damon Gibbs for the Post 1 seat on the Flowery Branch City Council on November 8th. Councilwoman Swafford was kind enough to take the time from her schedule and grant the South Hall Gazette this exclusive interview. We asked the Councilwoman the same 5 questions we asked Councilman Fetterman and Damon Gibbs.
SHG: "What inspired you to get into public service or into politics?
Swafford: "When I was in 3rd grade, I wrote a letter to President Ronald Reagan as part of a class project and ended up receiving a response from the President. Ever since receiving that letter, I have always had a natural interest in government."
SHG: "Where do you stand on alcohol sales here in the City of Flowery Branch?"
Swafford: "Allowing the citizens of Flowery Branch the opportunity to decide whether or not alcohol will be sold in our retail establishments on Sundays in Flowery Branch has been one of the more satisfying efforts I have undertaken during my time on the Council. Our job on the Council should be to give our citizens as much opportunity to participate in the decisions of our community as possible. When our citizens have the chance to do so, it makes our community a better place. Personally, I will be voting YES on the referendum."
SHG: "Where do you stand on allowing more fast food restaurants here in the City of Flowery Branch and how's that affect the quality of life in the community?"
Swafford: "Private property rights are an essential element in America that sets our country apart from many other countries. It is the marketplace of ideas and consumers that are best equipped to place restraints on the development and use of private property. I would probably not support any kind of moratorium on new fast food restaurants. That being said, however, I certainly would not want 20 fast food chains along a one mile stretch of road in our town and if that situation ever come to fruition in Flowery Branch, our citizens would need to look at alternatives. I feel as if Flowery Branch is the type of community that strongly supports a variety of restaurants, including food services that are not part of a national or regional chain. We can definitely encourage locally owned and operated establishments to provide a more balanced selection of choices to our citizens."
SHG: "What makes you a better choice than your opponent?"
Swafford: "I feel there are three strong components to why I am the best choice to represent Post 1.
(a) I began regularly attending our City Council meetings in May 2010, just a few months after the meetings were moved to the evening so that those of us with full time employment could participate. I continued to attend almost every meeting until I was elected to serve on the Council on September 21, 2010 and have had perfect attendance since. There has certainly been a learning curve involved in understanding the inner workings of our city government and I bring "shovel-ready" experience directly to the Council from day one of my term if I am elected to continue serving the citizens of Flowery Branch.
(b) I have been a very strong participant in our city and have lived in the city or within 1-2 miles of the city limits for over 20 years of my life. I attend our festivals, I visit our establishments in town. I am actively involved in many different facets of our city, our county and our state. For two years, I have been extremely involved in the organization of the city's downtown holiday parade, I have led a first year family team in Hall County's Relay for Life to "Rookie Team of the Year" status with over $6,000 raised and I serve many roles statewide with the Fair Tax movement. By being involved with a variety of organizations and activities, I can better observe potential problems or issues with the delivery of services by our government to our citizens.
(c) My professional background in legal and human resource services brings needed diversity to our Council. I have directly seen my skill sets and experience in the legal industry provide substantial benefit to the Council. While the Council does utilize the services of an attorney, often times, lawyers don't like to re-invent the wheel and therefore, they use ordinances from other communities to form the framework of the ordinance to present to the Council for adoption. Having an analytical eye with attention to detail toward the draft ordinances allows me to quickly identify areas that may need revision to reflect the unique situations of Flowery Branch. We currently have two Council members already involved in the public sector and thus I feel as if my own professional background is a more necessary asset for the Council than perhaps that of my opponent."
SHG: "What is the one thing you want the voters to know about you?"
Swafford: "I have a website voters can visit for additional information. I try to update the blog on my website as much as time allows in order to help keep our citizens informed and involved with our city. The site is www.AmandaSwafford.net.
Early voting is now underway at City Hall in downtown Flowery Branch Monday - Friday from 8:00am - 4:30pm until Friday, November 4. I encourage all voters that can vote at City Hall ahead of time to do so!"
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I encourage everyone to check out The South Hall Gazette as they try to bring coverage to South Hall issues that are frequently left out of the traditional news sources in Hall County. To access the South Hall Gazette, go to www.zoomvillage.com. Once on the site, find the search box at the top of the page where you are asked to enter the name of your town. Enter "South Hall" to be directed to the main page for The South Hall Gazette.
