Lisamarie Bristol, a candidate for Gwinnett’s next Solicitor-General, wants to use her experience to create a safer, more compassionate community through effective early interventions that protect victims and help to set low-level offenders on the right path. Lisamarie shares her story, her beliefs, and why she feels led to serve in this ever-growing community.
Timestamp:
[00:00:30] – Intro [00:03:50] – Lisamarie’s Background [00:05:37] – Switching between Defender and Prosecutor [00:10:08] – Improving the System and Lowering Crime Rates [00:16:20] – Criminal Justice Reform [00:17:13] – How COVID has Changed the Process [00:20:14] – Advocating for Victim Rights [00:21:35] – Leadership Gwinnett [00:23:52] – Community Involvement [00:28:00] – Closing
“I am not a politician. I am a community servant. And it’s interesting because those who know me know, I always said I would never, ever run for office. But I really do feel compelled. I want to make my community safer. I want to make it better for my children and my neighbors’ children. And for all of us. And so it’s not something I chose lightly. But definitely something I am committed to. I want to see these gaps in our services, I want to see them filled. I want to see a comradery among our colleagues that we can do this and we can have a better, safer, greater Gwinnett. And that’s what I’m working towards.”
LisaMarie Bristol
Podcast transcript
[00:00:30] Rico: Hi everyone. This is Rico Figliolini, host of Peachtree Corners Life. The podcast that talks about everything happening, not only in the city of Peachtree Corners, but things that relate and would affect the residents and the people that live here, the workers that live in Peachtree Corners. We’re a work, live, and play community and so politics sometimes gets in the way. We have elections coming up soon and another year there’ll be elections that were, even this year city elections actually. But next year we have the Gwinnett County Solicitor-General’s office. That’s going to be up for election. And we have a guest today that’s going to be a candidate in that race. So let me bring her on. Lisamarie Bristol. Hey, Lisa, how are you?
[00:01:10] Lisa: Good evening, I’m great. How are you?
[00:01:13] Rico: Good, thanks. It’s been a brutal hot day today. So think we’re all inside right now, right?
[00:01:19] Lisa: Yes, very much.
[00:01:20] Rico: By the time this streams, hopefully it’ll be a little cooler out there, but I’m glad that you came. I’ve done these candidate interviews before, a variety of them, Gwinnett county, Supreme court candidates, state house candidates, congressional candidates. So it’s always great to be able to find out, and interview, and question those running for office to see why they’re running. To find out their background, how they feel about certain issues, where they stand. So I’m glad that you’re here to be able to do this with us.
[00:01:47] Lisa: Thank you so much.
[00:01:49] Rico: Sure. And you have a great background. I think that especially for the office you’re running for, you’ve dealt with both sides of the fence, if you will. So tell us, because most people really don’t know what the Gwinnett county Solicitor-General’s office, what you would do once you win that seat. So what does the office do? Explain that to our listeners.
[00:02:08] Lisa: Absolutely. Well, first Rico, thank you so much for the invitation. I really appreciate the opportunity to be here and to speak to your audience and to hopefully answer some questions that they may have about this race. To answer that, the Solicitor-General is the prosecutor in the county that is responsible for handling all prosecution of cases that go through state court and recorder’s court. So that’s any misdemeanor, traffic violations, or county ordinances will likely go through the Solicitor-General’s office. If there’s a felony attached, or if the person involved is a juvenile, then it would go to a different court. But most often it’s going to be in state court in the Solicitor-General’s office.
[00:02:49] Rico: And that office from the county website handles like 9,000 misdemeanor cases through the year.
[00:02:56] Lisa: It does.
[00:02:56] Rico: That’s a lot. And how many, I don’t even know how many staff members are in that office or how that works, but I’m sure you’d be the manager of that office, if you will.
[00:03:06] Lisa: Yes. So it fluctuates. You’re right, Gwinnett County is the second largest county in the state. We have a very large Solicitor-General’s office. I actually interned in the office way back in 2008. So we have six state court judges in state court. We have three recorders court judges over in recorders court. We also handle things at the jail in that office. So it’s a pretty robust office. It staffs prosecutors, victim advocates, legal staff, investigators. So it’s a pretty full staff. I’m not sure what the actual number of positions are at this time. Because it’s changed over the years, but we have a lot of judges and a lot of, like you said, a lot of volume to deal with in that office.
[00:03:50] Rico: For sure. So now that we understand a little bit about what that office is about, why don’t we backtrack a little bit and tell us a little bit about yourself and your family, your experience, where you’ve come from. So this way people can understand who Lisamarie Bristol is?
[00:04:04] Lisa: Absolutely. Well, I’m a proud graduate of Georgia State College of Law, class of ’09. Go Panthers. When I graduated, I actually started off on the other side. I started off doing criminal defense work down in Henry and Clayton Counties. I did that for about a year before I moved to the public defender’s office in Walton county. And I spent three years out in Walton county as a public defender where I handled again, just like in Henry and Clayton county where I was handling state court, in Walton I handled everything. So from traffic violations up to murders. I was a public defender for all kinds of cases. I transitioned back to prosecution in 2014, I believe is when I joined the DeKalb County solicitor-general’s office. I was there for about four years before I came home to Gwinnett County. Gwinnett’s been home for my husband and I, and our three children, for over 10 years now. And we love it here. We chose Gwinnett quite intentionally to raise our family and we’re thrilled to be a part of this community. And so when I joined the Gwinnett county district attorney’s office, it really gave me an opportunity to dig deeper into the community that I live in to understand our community a lot more. And I spent three years there. I’m currently back in the DeKalb County district attorney’s office in the senior assistant district attorney position. And, you know, I did that for a couple of reasons. It just gave me a really good opportunity to have a little space in order to run for Gwinnett County Solicitor-General.
[00:05:37] Rico: Now you have three kids 8 to 14. Gwinnett County has faced a lot of different changes. Diversity, crime rate to some degree has risen. Schools where kids have to, either they’re doing remote work, I’m sure your kids have to face that, or going back to school now with mask mandates. And who knows what other mandates that may come. But you’re tasked as a prosecutor, your test to protect the safety of the Gwinnett citizen. Law and order, but the office also handles crime victim assistance programs, which is part and parcel of that. You become a victim of a crime. The county doesn’t want to just leave you out in the cold. The county wants to be able to help you through that. You were a public defender for a while and you’d decided to go to the other side, if you will, and become a prosecutor. What motivated you to do that? To do the prosecution side. What did you see that you decided to go there?
[00:06:28] Lisa: Well, I enjoyed my time as a public defender. I did. I was in a great office with great people but the power really lies with the state. And the reality is no matter how reasonable my recommendation may have been as a public defender. I knew my clients, I knew what their limitations were, what their parameters were. And if I made a reasonable request, if the prosecutor said no, or if the prosecutor was unreasonable, or whatever the situation was, it didn’t matter. I was powerless to set my client up to be in the best position possible to be successful. And that became frustrating. Because the prosecutor in the system is the one that has all of the power. The prosecutor decides what charges to bring, how many charges to bring. The judge really can only rule on what’s before them. So that became a kind of a constant issue. And I realized, if I can look at it on the front end as the prosecutor and make more intelligent or more holistic charging decisions, it would streamline the process. And so that’s what I fortunately was able to do when I became a prosecutor. Especially in the DeKalb solicitor’s office. I could look at my cases and be more critical at the front end and think to myself, Hey, this person is shoplifting basic needs. Perhaps they can’t handle a $500 fine plus surcharges. Maybe we need to look at community service. Maybe we need to look at other alternatives. And that was something as the prosecutor that I could just put out there as opposed to hoping to come across the right prosecutor, who was willing to hear my considerations.
[00:08:15] Rico: I think what happens is that most people wonder why prosecutors will choose what the prosecute, right? So with the Georgia election laws, the way it’s turned out right now you can be prosecuted for supplying drink or food to someone online for election. Now, the prosecutor doesn’t have to prosecute that. You can choose where to spend your resources. Is that really where you want to spend your resources or do you want to spend the resources somewhere more effectively where it could have a bigger impact on safety and community. Does that make sense I guess?
[00:08:47] Lisa: It does. The prosecutor, there is a separation of powers and obviously the prosecutor is responsible for enforcing the laws that the legislature has set out. But there is still a lot of discretion. There’s a big spectrum of what we can and cannot do, and you’re absolutely correct. You as the prosecutor have the power to look at, is this something that we need to expend a lot of resources on? Do I need to have my investigator out pulling reports and street cam videos and things of that nature on this case? Or do I need to realistically look at what’s happening? Make a triage assessment and then pour my resources into these DUI cases, which is a big part of what the solicitor-general’s office handles, or this domestic violence case. Domestic violence, family violence, battery, family violence, simple battery, simple assault, stalking. Those are all misdemeanors. That are typically handled by the solicitor-general’s office. Those are cases that typically require more resources, more time, more training for the victim advocates and the investigators. And so the prosecutor really has the responsibility, in my opinion, to reasonably use the resources of the state to focus on the cases that need those resources.
[00:10:08] Rico: Are you finding, because you’ve worked with the office in DeKalb as well. What would you change coming in? Are there any things, aside from what we just discussed setting parameters of what you wanted to do, are there any things within the office structure that you would change the way they operate and such?
[00:10:24] Lisa: Well, I’m not 100% certain how the office operates in its current structure. One thing I would like to focus on is I would like to make sure that we are focused on triaging the right cases and using our resources on the cases that need the resources. And that might mean training. It might mean shuffling how things are done and how accusations are done and drafted. But I would like to see more emphasis on getting rid of the cases that don’t need to be prosecuted. The ones that come in, the ones that are easily resolved either with a program, or with a diversion program, or accountability court. Get those done at the front end so we can focus on the ones that we do need to take to trial. There are a lot of cases that do still need to be tried. And for every case that we bog down the system with something because of an unreasonable offer, or we’re just not returning a phone call. That takes away from the cases and therefore from the victims who need justice and now it’s delayed. And so I would really want to focus on making it a priority that our office identifies quicker, the cases that need the resources so we can focus on those. And then we can properly route the ones that have alternative resolution options.
[00:11:46] Rico: That would make sense. A part of what you want to do is you want to make sure that the perpetrator, if you will, it doesn’t have to keep coming back again into the system. Because like you said, maybe it is food that they need that they’re shoplifting or necessities of life. And I know some people will say well, you need to punish that. And you’re not saying you’re not going to punish that. What you’re saying is that if there’s other programs that can help them get out of what they’re doing, that means they’re not going to do it again. And then you’re still addressing the victim rights as well and what has to deal with that.
[00:12:19] Lisa: Absolutely. Our victims have to be a priority, whether it is the small business owner who’s merchandise is stolen or the victim of a crime. Our victims absolutely have to be a priority. But we have to think holistically. We don’t want them to be revictimized. What can we do? Is it an anger management issue? Is it a conflict resolution issue? It might be an alcohol and a drug issue. If we can try and identify some of those problems at the outset and put the right treatment, put the right programs, get them in the right supervision and structured situation. I think we have a stronger chance of breaking the cycle of recidivism. If the person is shoplifting, for example, for bare necessities because they can’t get a job because they don’t have their education. Rather than fining them hundreds of dollars and putting them on probation with a monthly supervision fee. Perhaps what we need to look at is getting them into a program to get their GED or hooking them up with a community partnership where they can get some technical or trade skill training. So that they can in fact, get the resources that they need to break that cycle. If we put people on probation, which is a monthly supervision fee, which is taking time off of work if they have it, to come and report and all we do is push them down further and further, when probation is over we’re leaving them worse than how we found them.
[00:13:43] Rico: Probation fee. That means they’re paying a fee every month on that?
[00:13:47] Lisa: Every month.
[00:13:48] Rico: Really? What is that fee?
[00:13:49] Lisa: Last time I checked was around $40 a month in monthly supervision fees. Sometimes those fees can be waived, sometimes they’re not. But it definitely can be a domino effect. It absolutely can be a situation where I’m shoplifting $50 worth of goods. I’ve now been caught. I’ve been arrested I’m in jail now. Maybe there’s restitution owed, so the victim is owed money for whatever the crime was. Supervision fees, a fine, charges for class. It gets expensive. And I think if we’re not careful, it just avalanches against people and just sets them up to just steal bigger and better the next time.
[00:14:29] Rico: Right. When you end up being in the hole even more, you’re not going to just go with the little stuff anymore. So rising crime rates, the hope is that the way you’re looking at it, you’d be able to curtail some of that. Now different crimes, right? Violent crime either depending on your office and what it can handle, some of the crimes are out of your hands anyway, because they’re not dealt with in your office, right?
[00:14:53] Lisa: Well, the reality is though, violent crimes have gone up I think about 62% in 2020. And that trend is continuing in 2021, which is really unfortunate. So violent crime is a community issue. And this is really important. Because what we need to realize is that crime is not a law enforcement issue. It’s a community issue. And that means it impacts everyone and everyone needs to come together and work holistically to address the issues, whether it’s from the law enforcement side, the education side, the community partnership side, the business side. And the rising crime rates are a problem. A lot of family violence crimes start as a misdemeanor. Our opportunity for effective intervention with our victims, putting safety plans in place, letting them know what their rights and their options are. Hopefully getting conflict resolution or family violence intervention in place at that first incident before it escalates to an aggravated assault, or a strangulation, or heaven forbid a murder. So yes, they’re not as serious in theory, but they build on each other. So if we can get that treatment and that effective intervention in place the first time or earlier in the process, the hope is that they don’t then turn around and come back and join the DA’s office with a more violent felony.
[00:16:20] Rico: Now, you also talked about criminal justice reform and I mean, is that part of it? What would that look like with the office?
[00:16:28] Lisa: I think we have the opportunity to have accountability courts. So we can hold people accountable for their behavior and make sure that our victims are made whole, try and keep our communities safer, without just punishing them, putting them in jail, throwing them on probation and forgetting about them. So let’s correct the behavior and do the treatment. Criminal justice reform at the solicitor-general’s office level looks like better community partnerships with conflict resolution courses, education training, alcohol and drug abuse evaluations and treatments. And we have all of those things available to us here in Gwinnett county. We just really need to dig deeper and tap into that. So that we’re not just sending people out to do the exact same thing that they’ve already been punished for doing.
[00:17:13] Rico: COVID changed a lot of things to some degree this past year and a half. I know when I was speaking to one of the Gwinnett superior court judge candidates, she talked about how court cases would be done through video, through online. It’s not the same thing obviously, when you see a victim or you see a criminal being prosecuted, you want to be in person with them. To be able to see them eye to eye versus on a screen. It becomes less impactful, I think in the situation. Is there anything that you see that you would change technologically? Or how has it worked over the past year of being a prosecutor with that?
[00:17:51] Lisa: Well, those kinds of decisions are a lot of times left up, not only up to, but that’s a collaboration between the district attorney, the solicitor, the chief court judges, and the defense bar. Everyone needs to have a seat at the table to figure out what can we do to effectively still move cases, keep our community safe, do our part. We’re in the middle of a global pandemic, obviously, which has just, I think it’s shifted our criminal justice system in ways that we’re going to take years to figure out the true impact of what’s gone on. I think that again, front loading cases and looking critically at cases when they come in, as opposed to just shuffling them into the pile without being more critical is a huge part. People don’t always realize that a pending misdemeanor has a huge impact on their lives. It could impact schooling, school loans, job applications, housing opportunities. So while if you have a case that’s just sitting there in the queue. Nobody’s calling victims. We need to move our cases at the front end. The sad reality is criminal cases don’t age well. So the longer they sit, it doesn’t get better like wine. So we need to be more prudent about looking at them critically at the front end and those that don’t need to be in the queue need to be removed. Minor violations or people who don’t have much of a history or don’t have any history at all, we can put them in a diversion program. And for those who may not know, pretrial diversion is typically a program where someone who has minimal to no criminal history and it’s a non-violent case in most cases, they can enter a program where they are still supervised for a period of several months to a couple of years, depending on the charges. Where they are put through a program where they can do anger management, maybe a drug and alcohol evaluation, whatever treatment is deemed appropriate in their case. Perhaps a mental health evaluation. But they go through the program. They’re still being supervised, but they’re not being prosecuted. And if they successfully complete that program, then we can dispose of their case that way. Those cases don’t take as many resources as a full blown jury trial.
[00:20:14] Rico: I would think yes, time and budget. You’ve been talking about advocating for victim rights. And we talked a little bit about that before, but would there be anything different that you would do that’s currently being done? How would you handle victims?
[00:20:28] Lisa: Well again, I’m not 100% certain how it’s being done now, but I know that Marsy’s law is definitely in place and victims do have a constitutional right to be kept informed of their cases. We need to be sure that our victim advocates are maintaining reasonable contact with our victims, that they’re being alerted of each and every court appearance, because they have the right to appear and be there. We need to make sure that we’re putting resources in place or connecting our victims with resources as needed. There is no point in putting the suspect through a bunch of anger management training or conflict resolution training. If the victim is saying that they need help as well, it’s our responsibility to provide those resources to them as well. I would love to see our program increased and beefed up so that we could bring in the training necessary to make sure that our victim advocates are asking the right questions, are communicating with the victims to ensure that safety plans are being put in place if necessary. Even with restitution for financial cases, ensuring that we know what damages are you entitled to and how can we get those back for you?
[00:21:35] Rico: For sure. And domestic violence cases are a little different, right? You do have to address both sides of that a little differently than a normal crime. Beyond that, we talked a little bit earlier about community partners and responsibility. I know that you’re a part of Leadership Gwinnett now, class of 2020, which is cool. I think there’s 42 odd people there from a variety of backgrounds. So tell us, did that start already, actually?
[00:22:01] Lisa: It hasn’t. Actually, I was originally selected for the class of 2021, but COVID. Leadership Gwinnett made the decision for our safety to defer for the year. And so we’ve recently announced being a part of class of 2022. From what I understand, we will be the longest class ever.
[00:22:19] Rico: Because of the Pandemic.
[00:22:23] Lisa: Definitely. And so I didn’t make that decision lightly either. The Leadership Gwinnett process is very intense. It’s a 10 month program where you take a really deep dive in all facets of our community. Education, civics, infrastructure, the criminal justice side. You really get to dig deep. And after doing the Glance Gwinnett program probably a couple of years ago at this point, I just knew that this was definitely a program I wanted to invest the time and the energy into. And I’m so grateful to have an opportunity to start. I believe we’re starting next month.
[00:22:54] Rico: Okay, yeah. For people that don’t know, I mean obviously the variety of exposure and experience that you get through that 10 months for any leader, any politician, any government worker, or leaders within the community of nonprofit organizations. Because you are surrounded by a variety of people it’s great to not only learn about those areas, but also learn from each other. Because you get to see what other people’s experiences have been.
[00:23:21] Lisa: Absolutely. And everyone gets to bring a little something different to the table. A career educator will be great to learn from because my exposure to education is just as a parent with my three children. And so while I’m grateful, I have one child in each school in my cluster. I have a third grader, a sixth grader and a high school freshmen. It’s still a very different perspective than that of the educator. So that’s just one example. I’m excited to learn from them, from their purview.
[00:23:52] Rico: It’s almost like, I mean I’ve been doing these podcasts for about four years now, I think. And I get a chance to meet a variety of people. But it’s very different when you do it so intensified in that type of program and you learn from so many experiences. So community involvement outside criminal law, you’ve been involved in other things I’m sure. So why don’t you share a little bit with us about what that is?
[00:24:13] Lisa: Sure. Well, one of the things I’m most proud of is I’m actually a part of a group, the national clearinghouse on abuse in later life. Which is actually based out of Wisconsin. It is a federally funded group under the department of justice. And I’ve been teaching with that group since 2017. And our focus is on training prosecutors and law enforcement, as well as sometimes advocates and other community partners, on the prosecution of elder abuse cases. I love the work beyond getting to travel and meet new people all across the country. Our population is definitely aging and it’s a beautiful thing, but unfortunately it sometimes breeds opportunities for people to take advantage of those who have lived a beautiful life. And so it’s really wonderful to be part of such a robust project where I get to go and meet people and learn about different parts of the country and help them navigate these cases because they’re just so important. Beyond that, I’m involved with our local church. My family and I, we’ve been members of Berean Christian Church Gwinnett for about 10 years now. So we’re all involved in ministry. I’m a part of the music ministry and that’s home. I’m so grateful for them, they keep me grounded. And my children are very involved in the youth and the children’s ministries there. So I just really try and then I run my kids around, which they are the real bosses, so yes.
[00:25:38] Rico: I’m sure. Are they involved in sports or after school activities?
[00:25:43] Lisa: They’re involved in everything. So my oldest is in marching band with Shiloh, which is a beast that I was not at all prepared for, but he’s so excited. He’s a trombone player. My middle son is a black belt in karate. So he spends several hours a week at the dojo training.
[00:26:00] Rico: Black belt?
[00:26:01] Lisa: Yes. He tested for his black belt last October. It was beautiful to see the progression in his skillset and his confidence. And so we’re so proud of him that he has stuck through it all these years and made his black belt. And my daughter dances. So my daughter has been a dancer with Triple Seven Studios in Snellville. She does ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, tumbling. So we stay very busy running the children around.
[00:26:29] Rico: Yes, I can see that. You’re all over the place. Yes. Wow. Did the karate black belt watch any of the Olympics?
[00:26:35] Lisa: He did. It was interesting to see, if you stick with this, these are some of the things that can happen. So it was interesting to see him experience for the first time, it on an international stage and really see it beyond his own dojo. So it’s like, it’s outside of Snellville. You can go so much further and he’s dedicated.
[00:26:55] Rico: For sure. He’s young, so he’s got plenty of time.
[00:26:58] Lisa: Exactly. He’s only eleven.
[00:27:00] Rico: Yeah, and a black belt at 11. That’s cool. You’ve also been part of Georgia State University’s top 40 under 40 alumni. You’ve been part of, well you’re president of the Greater Atlanta Black Prosecutors Association.
[00:27:12] Lisa: Yes.
[00:27:13] Rico: A member of the Gate City Bar Association. You’re involved, you’re out there. This is the first office that you’re running for, I think right?
[00:27:20] Lisa: It is. I am not a politician. I am a community servant. And it’s interesting because those who know me know, I always said I would never, ever run for office. But I really do feel compelled. I want to make my community safer. I want to make it better for my children and my neighbors’ children. And for all of us. And so it’s not something I chose lightly. But definitely something I am committed to. I want to see these gaps in our services, I want to see them filled. I want to see a comradery among our colleagues that we can do this and we can have a better, safer, greater Gwinnett. And that’s what I’m working towards.
[00:28:00] Rico: Cool. We’re at the end of our time together, and I appreciate you sharing everything with us that you have so far. Being a prosecutor that’s running for office, essentially like being a politician in a way. I’m sure there’s things out there that you have to do, you have to go to barbecues maybe you have to do certain things like that. Which is good. You get to meet a lot of community people and such. Do you want to share with us where you might be, what you’re going to be doing next month or so? Or how people can find out more information about Lisamarie Bristol?
[00:28:31] Lisa: Absolutely. Right now, my focus is on meeting the voters. I am canvassing, we are knocking on doors and we are trying to meet as many voters as possible. For people who are interested in volunteering, or just getting to know more about me, you can certainly go to www.LisamarieBristol.com. There’s tons of ways that people can get involved. I plan to be in as many places as I can. Gwinnett has a lot going on and it’s been something I’ve always enjoyed with my family. Now it’s something I enjoy on another level. So festivals and parades and food truck Fridays in Duluth. Fantastic. Food truck Tuesdays and Lilburn. Sugar Hill has some great concert series. So I’m really just trying to get out and meet the people. That’s been a huge thing. I’m on social media, I’m on Facebook and Instagram, Lisamarie Bristol for Solicitor-General. So people can jump on. They can join my list serve to get the emails. They can donate right on my website because it does cost money to reach all the voters. And that’s what I’m trying to do. And that’s what we’re doing. So, you know, you might get a knock on your door. If you see someone in a baby blue t-shirt please answer and say hello.
[00:29:55] Rico: Alright, cool. And for those that, just as a reminder, that the election is actually next year. May 24th, 2022. So early in the year versus November. I forget if this is a nonpartisan race or is this a primary?
[00:30:11] Lisa: It is a primary. It is a partisan seat. But right now I’m running as a Democrat. The current person holding the seat is also a Democrat. So we will both be on the Democratic ticket. It’s a very important election cycle. We have five superior court judges that are also on that ticket. The only opportunity to vote for your superior court judges will be on that May 24th ballot. So I just need people to keep scrolling down, until you get to the solicitor general and Lisamarie Bristol, put a check next to my name.
[00:30:41] Rico: Cool. Lisamarie, thank you for being with me. I appreciate it. And I’ll have more links within the show notes, so people can look at this, link up with you here after the show. You know, if you have questions, obviously reach out to Lisamarie or put your questions in the comments and we’ll make sure that we can get an answer for you. So thank you again. Appreciate it. Everyone check out our latest issue of Peachtree Corners Magazine. If it hasn’t hit your mailbox, let me know. You should be getting it, if you haven’t already gotten it. Otherwise go online to LivingInPeachtreeCorners.com and find out more information. Thank you guys. I appreciate it.
On this episode of Peachtree Corners Life, Diane Fisher, a representative from the League of Women Voters Gwinnett chapter, delves into the world of voter registration and municipal elections in Georgia. With the implementation of automatic voter registration and the upcoming municipal elections in Peachtree Corners, Fisher sheds light on the importance of informed voting and active participation. From understanding address updates to exploring the power of thoughtful voting, listeners will gain valuable insights on enhancing voter engagement in their community. This podcast serves as a guide for residents to make their voices heard and shape the future of Peachtree Corners, Georgia.
“Being a prepared voter means being an informed voter. It’s not just about the presidential election, but about all the congressional seats, the House and Senate seats, and county positions. So, there will be an awful lot on that ballot. Knowing when and who is on the ballot is crucial for an informed vote.”
Diane Fisher
Time Stamp
0:00:00 – Introduction 0:01:54 – Voter registration process and information for new residents in Georgia 0:05:13 – Voter maintenance and the importance of updating voter registration 0:08:34 – Absentee voting process and how to request an absentee ballot 0:10:52 – Municipal elections in Peachtree Corners, Georgia 0:17:18 – Being a prepared voter for the 2024 elections 0:20:37 – The need to know who’s on the ballot 0:21:31 – Sharing personal experience about involvement in politics 0:23:02 – Misleading information and the importance of understanding the ballot 0:23:45 – Lesser-known positions on the ballot and the impact of voters’ knowledge 0:25:42 – Thoughtful voting and participation in local elections 0:28:04 – Encouraging voters to engage with candidates and attend events 0:29:39 – The process for third-party and write-in candidates in Georgia for the 2024 elections 0:31:25 – Seeking additional information that Georgia voters should know 0:33:28 – Advising voters to verify their voting location due to possible changes 0:34:17 – Closing
Podcast Transcript
Rico Figliolini 0:00:00
Hi, everyone. This is Rico Figliolini, host of Peachtree Corners Life. Appreciate everyone joining us. We have a special guest today from the League of Women Voters, Diane Fisher. Hey, Diane, thanks for joining me.
Diane Fisher 0:00:11
Nice to be here.
Rico Figliolini 0:00:13
Yeah, this is going to be a good educational podcast. We’re going to be discussing how to be a prepared voter and everything that comes with that for 2024 and municipal elections. But before we get to that, I just want to thank our sponsors, Clearwave Fiber, our corporate sponsor. They’re an internet providing business here in Peachtree Corners, serving over a thousand businesses. Peachtree Corners Life, they’re actually based in the Southeast, and they provide better than what you would expect from a cable provider. Fast Internet connection, great support, especially to businesses and residents. So check them out. Clearwave Fiber also check out EV Remodeling, Inc. Eli, who is the owner of the company. Him and his family live here in Peachtree Corners. It’s a great business. They do design to build renovation work. Lots of good activity out there, lots of good references for them. So check them out, Evremodelinginc.com, and you’ll be able to find out a little bit more about our two supporters that way. So let’s get right into the show. Diane, I appreciate you joining us. League of Women Voters, it’s been around for quite a while. You are the Gwinnett chapter of the organization, correct?
Diane Fisher 0:01:28
We are the Gwinnett chapter. The national organization has been around since 1920, founded out of the movement for women’s suffrage. And we in Gwinnett in this iteration, have been around since 2019. Comes and goes. And so it is relatively new coming back. And so that’s where we are now.
Rico Figliolini 0:01:54
Excellent. So I saw you, I met you at the Peachtree Corners Festival, which is part of what you all do, outreach to the community. And you were out there, I think, at the time when I passed, you were registering a new voter that came on and she was asking questions so similar to what we’re going to do here. We want to know a little bit about how if you’re a new voter and you haven’t voted yet, or if you just moved to the state of Georgia and you have to register here to vote. Because obviously, from where someone comes from, you have to register in the state that you’re going to be voting in at the residence that you’re going to be voting in. So tell us a little bit about what would be needed for someone to register new here in the state of Georgia and Gwinnett County.
Diane Fisher 0:02:40
Sure. So in Georgia, we have automatic voter registration through the DDS, through driver services. And so when anyone gets a new license or changes an address on a license or does anything with DDS, they actually are automatically registered to vote. So we actually have very high voter registration in Georgia because of that. What doesn’t happen, though, is sometimes people you know move down the street, sometimes they move across town, sometimes they move within a county, sometimes they move out of the county. And you do, as you mentioned, need to be registered to vote at your current address. And so it’s important for everyone to make sure that they take care of making sure that that happens. Because sometimes people don’t always update a license in a timely fashion, but they actually move. And the reason why it’s linked to where you live is because who you vote for is determined by where you live, what precincts, and so it is important that you are registered your current address so you can always check. One of the best resources for checking the status of your registration is the Secretary of State has their website which is MVP, SOS ga gov and if you put in your name and birth date and county you can find out where you’re registered to, if you’re registered, where you’re registered, what precincts you vote for, where you vote. All of that information is available on that site. And so we encourage every voter before every election to check the status of their registration, to make sure that everything is above board, that it’s where you need it to be and that nothing happened. Because there is a list maintenance that happens as a regular part of the process and sometimes people are put moved to inactive status if they miss a notice or something like that. So we just always want to make sure that everybody checks their status, which makes sense.
Rico Figliolini 0:04:55
I just did that for two of my kids, I showed them how to do it because they hadn’t voted since they hadn’t voted. So I think one of them, in a decade maybe voted once and I said there’s maintenance, they could purge you from the list and they were still on the list, right?
Diane Fisher 0:05:13
So if you don’t vote in two federal election cycles, then you are moved to inactive status and that starts a process of eventually dropping you off the roll. So you’re not obligated to vote in elections. But obviously we encourage everyone to vote, but it is important to respond to those kinds of requests that you get because they probably did get some kind of notice in the mail indicating that, questioning if they are still at address, that they live, that they were registered, right, no doubt.
Rico Figliolini 0:05:48
And I think younger people have a bit more of a problem following that up because it’s not on their to do list, obviously. I think the demographics show that older people more regularly, younger people less regularly, unless it’s a presidential race and even still sometimes it just depends. And COVID hasn’t helped either, people moving back home with their parents, whether they moved in from out of state, maybe they still wanted to vote for if they were living in New York, maybe they still wanted to do an absentee ballot back up there, and that’s possible, but they wouldn’t be able to vote down, right, right.
Diane Fisher 0:06:26
You can only be registered to vote in one location. And quite honestly, one thing that people don’t know is that if you register so say you move I’ll use your example from New York and you move to Georgia and you register to vote in Georgia. There is not a process like an automatic unregistering. You from New York, you actually have to request that. My daughter, when she moved out of state, it took us a long time to get her off of the voter rolls, know, because you actually have to request that to happen. Most people do not think that that’s something that they have to do. And that’s why sometimes the roles are not updated or updated. You might show up on a place where you have no intention of voting and never voted because you’ve moved and you just didn’t think that you need to do anything about it.
Rico Figliolini 0:07:17
Sure, I think you’re right. Most of my friends would not even think about, oh, I need to know if someone know. Technically, you could end up doing a mail in ballot to New York, let’s say, and vote here, and no one would know the difference, apparently. Obviously we don’t want that happening.
Diane Fisher 0:07:39
There have been cases before the state election board that come, people being caught doing that, and it is not situation. So yes, that is illegal.
Rico Figliolini 0:07:50
It’s a federal offense.
Diane Fisher 0:07:51
It is a federal offense. That is certainly not something that we encourage. And most people who register, they move someplace, they register, they have no intention of voting elsewhere. But young people particularly, or people who are transient, it does mean that you have to pay a little bit more attention and make a plan to vote. I think it’s also important to think about not just being registered, it’s then knowing when elections are, knowing what your plan will be. Will you vote absentee, will you vote early advanced voting, will you vote on election day? What’s that plan? To make sure that you’re actually being able to vote.
Rico Figliolini 0:08:34
So in the state of Georgia, if I’m going on vacation or even an absentee, you don’t need an excuse for an absentee ballot. You can ask for that.
Diane Fisher 0:08:44
Right.
Rico Figliolini 0:08:45
So you could go online to one of the sites or which site to go to to get an absentee ballot.
Diane Fisher 0:08:51
Yes. So that depends on the election. And I will say, and I only raise that because we’re coming up on municipal elections here in Gwinnett County, actually statewide, but also specifically here in Peachtree Corners and in Gwinnett, the county does not run the municipal elections. Every city runs their own municipal election. So the answer for coming up for the November 7 election, which will be the municipal election here in Peachtree Corners, is that you need to request the absentee ballot from the county clerk in Peachtree Corners. And if you go to the website, you can get that information. There’s a form there that you can request the absentee ballot for the Peachtree Corners election. Typically for every other election, you would go to the county. Well, actually either the Secretary of state’s website or the county Board of elections office, and you can get the form there. One of the changes that happened in election forms is that you can’t register just on an online portal anymore. You have to print out the application because it has to have a wet signature. It has to actually have an actual signature on it. So you have to print off the form, fill it out, sign it, and then you can send it back digitally. But you can’t just I think there was a time when there was a portal where you could just go on and put in your information and request it. So now you have to print out the form and then return it to the county election office.
Rico Figliolini 0:10:29
But you can scan that form, return.
Diane Fisher 0:10:31
It digitally, scan it, or take a photo of it, and then email it back to the elections office and do it.
Rico Figliolini 0:10:40
So they’re just forcing you to print it out to do that website, which.
Diane Fisher 0:10:45
Means that you now have to have access to a printer, right?
Rico Figliolini 0:10:49
How many people do know?
Diane Fisher 0:10:52
And so that is the process now and where you go. And again, because Gwinnett is unusual, Gwinnett’s one of the few counties in Georgia that the municipalities run their own elections. Most other counties in the area, Fulton, Jacab, the counties run the municipal elections as well. And so what that means for us here in Gwinnett and in Peachtree Corners is that when you go to vote on election day for the municipal elections, you will not go to your regular location where you normally would are used to voting. So at Simpson elementary or at Peachtree Corners Baptist Church or any of the different locations where you always go to your regular precinct location, everybody in Peachtree Corners for the municipal election will vote at City Hall, down around in the room, around the bottom, the community trust room, around the left side of the building. That’s where elections are held for the county, for the city, I’m sorry, for the city.
Rico Figliolini 0:12:02
And there’s one open seat, one open contested seat, I should say.
Diane Fisher 0:12:09
Every other election cycle we would have. So in this case, on the ballot is the mayor, post one, post three, and post five. So the only contested seat is the post five. And post five is an at large seat. And so that means that everybody, Peachtree Corners will vote for that seat. Post one and three are geographically defined, so the first three posts are based on geography. So post one, I think, is the southern section. And then three is the sort of the northern part of Peachtree Corners. So Alex Wright, Is and Phil Sod are in those seats, and those are uncontested seats. And then, of course, the mayor’s race is also citywide, and that is uncontested as well.
Rico Figliolini 0:13:07
So people understand this, come November, you’re going to have to go to two different places to do this.
Diane Fisher 0:13:15
No, the only election in 2020, right. The only election in 2023 is the municipal election.
Rico Figliolini 0:13:23
That’s right.
Diane Fisher 0:13:23
There have been times when you’ve had to go to two places because there were simultaneous elections, but that is not the case now. So November 7 and actually early voting and early voting does start for the municipal election on Monday, October 16. So Monday through Friday from October 16 through November 3 and then October 21 and October 20 Eighth, which are Saturdays from nine to five, is early voting. So you can go for three weeks early voting, including two Saturdays. And then, of course, on Election Day is seven to 07:00 a.m. To 07:00 P.m., election Day, November 7, and that will be just at the City Hall. If you go to your regular polling location, there won’t be anything going on there other than school or church or whatever might be happening.
Rico Figliolini 0:14:19
So people should also be aware, I think, when they send in the absentee ballot, how long do they have? How does it get date stamped if it arrives three days later? I mean, how is that process explain?
Diane Fisher 0:14:32
So, legally, your absentee ballot needs to arrive, in this case, City Hall by 07:00 P.m. On Election day. If it gets there the next day, it’s not going to count. It has to arrive. So if you’re going to be voting with an absentee ballot, you need to make sure that you’ve planned ahead to request it. And I would say request it like today. When you hear this, make sure you request it, and then as soon as it comes, fill it out. And you can actually I mean, if you are local and you’re just going to be out of town, you can actually just bring it down to City Hall. Worry about the postal service. Obviously, if you’re a student who lives out of the area, needs to mail it again, do all of that life ASAP, because the time is a very limited window.
Rico Figliolini 0:15:31
Okay. And just because I’m thinking along this line, if someone was going to drop it off, like if I was going to drop off my son’s ballot, I could drop that off at City Hall. That’s okay.
Diane Fisher 0:15:42
Yes, you can drop off a ballot for immediate family, relatives, so your wife, your kids, a parent. You can’t, though, start collecting from people in your neighborhood and bringing those in, but for close family.
Rico Figliolini 0:16:00
Okay. All right, that sounds good. So the League of Women Voters is known for providing good nonpartisan information to get people to do to vote, to fulfill their civic responsibilities and all. And we talked a little bit about what it means to be a prepared voter before we started. So tell us a little bit, Diane, what does it mean to be a prepared voter going to 2024 into the presidential race, election year, where there’s going to be a lot on the ballot, I’m sure in a variety of states, but even here in Georgia, sure, because.
Diane Fisher 0:17:59
It’s not just about the presidential election. There will be all the congressional seats, there will be all of the House, the Georgia House seats and the Georgia Senate seats. There will be county positions, all of the county constitutional positions will be on the ballot. So there will be an awful lot on that ballot. And so being prepared voter means being an informed voter. So obviously, the first is to know when you need to be voting. And there are lots of elections in 2024, starting in March. The presidential preferential primary will be in March. Then we’ve got the regular primaries in May, and then we’ve got November elections and then any runoffs that may need to happen as well. So there will be a lot of elections. So it’s not just go in and vote once and be done with it. So that’s one thing knowing when all those different elections are. The second is knowing who’s on the ballot. And through that MVP site that I mentioned earlier, the MVP. SOS Ga gov, you can pull up it’s not available right now, but it will be available for 2024. All of who is on your ballot, you can pull up sample ballots. And so that will be really helpful to know ahead of time because I hear people all the time saying, like, I got into the polling booth and I had no idea that there were all of those things on the ballot. I wasn’t prepared. And so you can be prepared by pulling up the sample ballot and actually marking, doing your research. And there are lots of different ways to get information. There are candidate forums. Certainly the candidates themselves are out there putting information out. Will. The league is known for doing candidate information forums as well, and we likely will be doing particularly for our county races. The state may be doing some larger scale ones, but here in Gwinnett, the Gwinnett League focuses very much on what’s happening here in so, you know, doing your research in terms of getting information about not only what’s on the ballot, but then being able to check out the candidates so that you know who aligns with your values and with the things that are important to you. And so that becomes part of the conversation it’s important to have.
Rico Figliolini 0:20:37
Yeah. Coming from New York, I was involved quite a bit in political politics when I was younger, 1820. You see the things that go on, the amount of so doing it for such a long period of time to hear people say, I’m not prepared, or I don’t know who’s on the ballot. It gets really frustrating when there is a lot of information out there between news outlets. Granted, there’s a variety of news outlets, so some agendas on some of these outlets, but for the most part, you’ll be able to get the information out there. Candidates are especially local candidates are doing more door to door campaigning. You will get it inundated with mail, right? I mean, last year or the year before was just ridiculous. The amount of mail that was going out, literally three or four postcards a day coming in.
Diane Fisher 0:21:31
And you have to be careful about that mail because it’s not just the candidates who are sending out mail now. It’s all kinds of organizations, and some of the information is not always accurate or it’s political spin. And so I think if you’re looking to find out candidates positions on things, that’s where it’s important to look at various sorts. So the league does run nationally, a website called Vote Four One One, where we reach out to candidates to get their input so that you can hear from them what they believe about certain things. So we ask questions. There are other sort of neutral, if you will, sites. Alopecia has sort of a candidate profile site. So there are ways that you can get sort of just factual information candidates, as opposed to sort of the political spin that can sometimes make noise. And so we do encourage, but at the very least, pull up that ballot to say, this is what’s going to be on there. So you don’t get in and say, I didn’t know county, the clerk of the court, I don’t even know what that is. Those are the things that sort of sneak up on people.
Rico Figliolini 0:23:02
I mean, they’re lesser known positions. They get less exposure. People either tend to skip over them or they tend to, depending on the politics, tend to either vote for the incumbent because there’s an eye next to it, because that seems safer, or if they want to stir the pot, they’re voting for the other candidate to come in. It’s a variety of reasons, right, that people vote.
Diane Fisher 0:23:24
Right.
Rico Figliolini 0:23:24
And then there’s referendums on the ballot, and because they’re written in such legalese, sometimes you may be reading it in that moment at the ballot box and not realize really what it’s saying, because some of it’s written in such a way, you would think, oh, that’s easy, that’s what that means. And then you find out later, no, that’s not what that meant.
Diane Fisher 0:23:45
Right. If I vote yes, it’s actually voting against. That’s right, because of the way that it’s written. Right. And so I think that those referendum and those also those are available, you’ll be able to pull those up on your sample ballot at the MVP site so that you can actually see it and read it and do your research. I mean, I know that I sit down when my kids were first voting, we would sit down and literally go through the ballot and research candidates together. And the referendum questions, even life, talk about what they mean and what the pros and cons, and if we didn’t have an answer, we disagreed or whatever, we talk about it. Sometimes we disagreed and they would vote one way and I would vote a different way. But point being that having that conversation and being informed because that is how we citizens are being able to make sure that what we want is actually happening. I mean, you hear so often people saying like, it doesn’t really matter who I vote for if I vote, because it just doesn’t matter, my voice doesn’t matter. Well, it matters if you do it thoughtfully. And if everybody were to participate, then we’re all in a better place. Here in Peachtree Corners, just going back, we have 27,000 registered voters, and in the last six municipal elections, the most we’ve ever had is a 10% turnout. So like 2700 voters. So when people complaining about whatever they might be complaining about, about the city, you need to actually vote to have your perspective put forward.
Rico Figliolini 0:25:42
It’s the frustrating part. Yeah. When I read things on nextdoor and people say, these people, they have an agenda, this is what they want to do, and it’s like it doesn’t take much. You’re right. Sometimes there’s more than 2700 votes. Right. There’s more than that, depending on the year now, really.
Diane Fisher 0:26:05
More than 10% of the voting. I think that when we first became a city that was a higher turnout, but since then, yeah, it’s a very small and we know there are elections that have been won by 15 votes, there are elections that have been won by one vote. And so especially in these smaller elections, makes it more important to get out there and have your voice heard.
Rico Figliolini 0:26:39
Yeah, especially because, I mean, in small elections like this, it depends on how many friends you have. You’re right. There was one election, I think was the last election that we had, where it was a 14 vote difference or something along those lines. If you want to make change. You have to be involved. You have to knock doors. You can’t just send postcards. You have to meet your neighbors, your voters, and figure it out.
Diane Fisher 0:27:10
I will say, I think candidates these days are very open to certainly the local candidates, the county positions, the state House representatives, and so mean you can go onto their websites, know, ask for a meeting. They will meet with you. And I think that that is important. And it’s important to meet with not just the people who you think you might agree with, but also the other side to hear what they stand for and what they plan on doing. And I think that we are in a time when it is easy to access your candidates, particularly at the more local levels, and go to events that they’re having or send an email and say, I’d love to talk to you. Will you have coffee with me?
Rico Figliolini 0:28:04
Right. Yeah. Some of them will put out their cell phone numbers, and you can literally call them and talk to them because how many people in their district, how many people actually can actually call their representatives? And I think people should be aware that their representative is they’re there to be able to expedite things. The constituent service, if they have a problem with government that rep, that represents you, is there to help make things easier or to at least guide you into what you need to do. They’re there for a reason. They work for you. I know that’s, like everyone says, they work for me. But they do work for you, and you’re the one that votes them in, and you should be able to they’re there to represent you. So to fill a purpose that way.
Diane Fisher 0:28:52
Yeah. You have resources and access that we don’t have, and they’re happy to facilitate things for us. Yes.
Rico Figliolini 0:29:00
So let me ask you. I’m a bit of a political junkie, but you don’t know about Georgia politics as much as I probably should after being here since 95. But now that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. For example, decides he’s going to run as an independent candidate because the Democratic Party, according to him, has not given him the right for a debate or to run properly, they’ve changed the rules a bit, I guess. What happens with a third party candidate in 2024 when you live in the state of Georgia? Can you do a write in on a candidate like that?
Diane Fisher 0:29:39
So, two different things. There is a process for being put on the ballot as a third party candidate. And my presumption, I mean, we’ll often find a Green Party candidate on the ballot or things. So there is a process for that. Write ins are a whole nother story in Georgia. So I know a lot of people know, I’m going to write it in my husband, I’m going to write my neighbor, or I’m going to write in whatever you actually have to register to be a write in candidate. So only, the only write in votes that will count are people who have gone through the process of actually registering to be a writing candidate. If you don’t write in one of those people, it’s not going to count. So they don’t do a tally of all of those. Rico you couldn’t get 100 votes as a write in because unless you obviously go, yeah, so that notion of sort, I’m just going to write somebody in, in Georgia, it’s not possible. The different part, you do not have to be just a Republican or a Democrat to show up on ballot. There are processes for being a registered candidate from whatever party it happens to be.
Rico Figliolini 0:31:11
What should a Georgia voter know that we haven’t covered that may be trivial or not trivial, but detail that most people know that we should mean? Is there anything gone over?
Diane Fisher 0:31:25
So I will say that one of the things that I always say about voters is voters are creatures of habit. So if the last election I showed up and voted in this location, and I voted in that location for the past three elections or ten elections or 20 elections, don’t always presume that things stay the same. We know that we just had so, for example, we know that we just had redistricting with the census and numbers have shifted. And so there is a shifting of precincts and so on. And most of the time you’re going to stay in the same place, but always, again, check to make sure that you know where you’re voting. And just because you always voted at Simpson or New Age building or wherever it might be, don’t presume that that’s where you voted last time, that’s where you’re going to vote this time. Because sometimes because of the ways that the numbers have shifted, they shift. So again, I think it’s really important to always check, even if you think I’m pretty involved, and I check my voter page periodically and certainly before every election, just to make sure that, first of all, my precincts, not just the precinct is the same, but that I know who I’m voting for. Because we know that there were changes in congressional seats and House and Senate races and even County Commission seats. We have a new County Commission situation now from a couple of years ago. And so just knowing where the lines are, because the lines do sometimes change. So I think that that’s something that particularly coming right off of the redistricting situation that we had. If you haven’t voted recently since the last election, you may find that things have changed a little bit.
Rico Figliolini 0:33:28
Makes sense. I know that state House and Senate seats have changed. People have disappeared, or they’ve been drawn out of a district that they were in.
Diane Fisher 0:33:40
They may be running, and the lines have just changed. The numbers have changed. The lines have changed. Yeah, it’s.
Rico Figliolini 0:33:46
Amazing. So it really should go to that website that they have mentioned, MVP.
Diane Fisher 0:33:50
SOS ga gov, if you just remember MVP, if you start typing in MVP and in Georgia it’ll show up. And that really is if you remember one thing from this conversation, I would say remember that. And then the other piece is remember that for the upcoming election in Peachtree Corners, you’re going to be voting at City Hall right.
Rico Figliolini 0:34:17
For 2023. All right, cool. I think we covered quite a bit. We’ve given places that people can go. Is there anything else that you want to share, Diane?
Diane Fisher 0:34:31
I don’t think just I think if we want our government and our society to work for us and we need to be actively engaged with the process and the League of Women Voters is always happy to give information. I get calls all the time, emails from friends, neighbors, people across the county asking questions. So you can always call the county election office. But if you I’m a local Peachtree Corners gal, people are welcome to reach out to me. It’s Fisher@lwvga.org and I’m happy to answer any questions that you have.
Rico Figliolini 0:35:13
Cool. If anyone wants to volunteer for the League of Women Voters, they can reach out to you.
Diane Fisher 0:35:18
Absolutely. We are always looking for new members. As I said, we are relatively new in this iteration and we started right in 2019 and just as we got our feet wet and going COVID happened. And so we are eager to engage people who want to do voter education, voter registration work, helping people. We are nonpartisan. We do not support candidates or parties. So we really are just wanting to make sure that people have the information that they need to be able to exercise their rights.
Rico Figliolini 0:35:54
Excellent. Doing great work. I mean, that’s the biggest battle, getting people educated because walking into that booth, not knowing three quarters of that ballot would be the worst thing to be doing. So I appreciate, Diane, your time with us. We had a little power outage before so this recording took a little later than it was and there was not even a storm cloud in the sky and yet we had a power outage. So go figure. But appreciate you helping with educating our listeners on this. Thank you everyone for being with us. All these links will be in the show notes as well. But do remember MVP, I think if you put MVP elections, it’ll probably pop right up as the first thing on that page. But thanks again, Diane, and appreciate your time.
Lorri Christopher will remain active in the community but wants to pave the way for the next generation of local leadership.
When it comes to Peachtree Corners City Post 5 Councilmember Lorri Christopher, her actions speak for her. Not one to raise a ruckus, her four decades as a resident of the area before it became a city had been chock full of leadership in business, education, and community service.
With all she has accomplished, it shouldn’t be a surprise that this 80-year-old woman with the stamina of the Energizer Bunny has decided she won’t be running for re-election when her term expires in 2024.
“I’m not going to stop advocating for the city,” she said. “I’ll still be Lorri Christopher. I just won’t be a city council member.”
Lorri Christopher in 2021 received the “Rotarian of The Year Award” and within days she was one of seven winners (out of 90 finalists) named in Gwinnett Chamber’s annual Moxie Awards. Lorri received the “Greater Good Award” from the chamber in August 2021. (Top photo by George Hunter.)
A life filled with achievements and successes
Christopher’s bio on the Peachtree Corners website points to a career brimming with numerous titles. Here are a few:
Principal in CAP Associates, a human resources consulting firm
Computer Information Systems (CIS) Faculty Program and IA Director at Gwinnett Technical College
Trustee of the Gwinnett Senior Leadership program
Former IT Project Manager for the 1996 Olympics
High school Math and Science teacher,
Management Information System (MIS) Director and CIS Program Chair at Trident College
COO of Atlanta Desktop
Co-president of United Mortgage Company
Marketing Director of Right Associates
Vice President at Midland Associates
Vice President of Finance and Management Information System (MIS) for Edwards, Inc.
Marketing and technical leadership positions at DCA and Burroughs/Unisys, and
Founding Director of Paces Bank & Trust.
Christopher has been well-recognized through the years. She is a recipient of the 21st Century Award from The International Alliance,Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) award, and the Triumph Inspiration 21st Century Woman Award. Christopher is also a member of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Academy of Women Achievers.
Her accomplishments include service to the community, business, and charity organizations. Christopher served on the leadership committee for the Center for the Study of the Presidency, chaired the Gwinnett County March of Dimes, and served on the Georgia Alliance for Children Board.
She is a member of several chambers of commerce, including the Gwinnett, Hispanic, Southwest Gwinnett, and Atlanta chambers, as well as the Gwinnett Village Alliance Board. Christopher is a past officer of Fox Hill homeowners’ association and a member-volunteer for United Peachtree Corners Civic Association (UPCCA), Peachtree Corners Business Association (PCBA), and the Peachtree Corners Festival.
Then there’s her education. Currently a Ph.D. candidate in Information Systems at Nova Southeastern University, Christopher holds an MBA in Business and Finance from Emory University, an MBA in Global Ecommerce from Georgia State University, and a BA in Mathematics and Chemistry from the State University of New York. She has additional graduate studies in CIS at Georgia Tech and Education at Hofstra University — and she holds a number of professional certifications.
“I worked in Peachtree Corners in the 70s and 80s in the Summit Building. Our technology firm, Burroughs/Unisys, was located there where we developed financial applications for the world …we had over 400 people in that facility,” she told Peachtree Corners Magazine in a 2019 podcast. “So, I’ve seen Tech Park when it was in its heyday. I’ve seen it since, and it is so exciting with what’s happening now.”
She added that seeing the vision that she and several others had for the area during the cityhood movement more than a decade ago now coming to fruition makes the hard work worth it.
A vision that’s blossoming
Besides the business growth and economic development, Christopher said she is proud that the city has remained one of the few that doesn’t collect property taxes from its homeowners. And instead of building a city hall right off the bat, Peachtree Corners officials chose to turn the Town Center property into a place for people to gather and be together.
“We’ve worked really hard at keeping the millage zero and being fiscally responsible,” she said.
Christopher is a pioneer in her own right, blazing a path in Information Technology when women were often relegated to administrative support roles instead of heading departments.
After college, she’d gone back home to Charleston, S.C., and was offered a position as Chief Financial Officer and IT Director for a chain of stores where she’d worked as a cashier in her youth. Even back then, Christopher realized that she didn’t have to tell anyone what she could do — she just had to show them.
That’s what she hopes for the future of Peachtree Corners. She doesn’t want future leaders judged by anything more than their credentials.
It’s that kind of stewardship that Christopher said she’s looking for in her successor. She has someone in mind but insists that she’ll back anyone who has the knowledge, passion, and energy to continue the work that was begun more than a decade ago.
Christopher hopes someone will bring Peachtree Corners into its next phase with diversity and inclusion. “I’d like there to be more people who don’t look like me involved in city government,” she said. “I think it’s important that we do everything we can to make sure that we’re an inclusive city.”
Passing the baton
From the outside looking in, many people may not see the pockets of need in this seemingly affluent area.
Christopher would like the city to start receiving federal funds to pay for things like a homeless shelter. “We don’t have a plan for people that are indigent,” she said recalling a section of Spring Drive that had no streetlights for seven years. “It took too long to get lights there and that subdivision has over 200 homes,” she said.
Even though it’s impressive to gather a list of titles, Christopher stressed she does what she does because it’s the right thing to do — and she wants to see the city continue doing what’s right.
“I don’t want to be one of those people who die in office,” she said. “The City of Peachtree Corners is going to go on long, long after I’m gone. I see my decision as making room for another person.”
Before you head to the polls to vote, it’s a good idea to be aware of some of the questions you’ll face on the ballot. Peachtree Corners Councilman Eric Christ included the following information in his recent newsletter, along with his insights.
In addition to the Federal, State and County races on the ballot, there are also five questions for Gwinnett voters to decide. You will see these questions at the bottom on your ballot, so be sure to scroll all the way down.
Gwinnett SPLOST Renewal Referendum
Question: Shall the one percent sales tax in Gwinnett be renewed for a period of six years commencing on April 1, 2023 to raise an estimated amount of $1.35 billion to fund courthouse facility renovation, transportation (roads, streets, bridges, sidewalks and related facilities and equipment), public safety facilities and equipment, park, trail and recreational facilities and equipment, senior services facilities, animal welfare facility renovation, fleet management facility expansion, city administrative facilities and equipment, city water, sewer and utility capital improvements, etc.?
Christ explained, “If it passes, the existing 1% Gwinnett sales tax (in place since 1997) will be continued for another six years. The sales tax is charged on purchases within the county, and it is estimated that 30% to 40% of the taxes are collected from people residing outside of the county who shop in Gwinnett.
The taxes collected are split between the county and the 16 cities in Gwinnett. The City of Peachtree Corners is projected to receive $58 million over the six years and has allocated these funds as follows: 80% to Transportation (roads, streets, sidewalks, etc. and related equipment); 9% to Administrative Facilities; and 11% to other Capital Projects.”
On the other hand, if it doesn’t pass, “the county sales tax will end in March 2023 and Gwinnett County and its cities will have to make up a $225 million annual gap in revenues for each of the next six years by increasing other taxes and/or by cancelling projects,” Christ said.
Constitutional Amendment #1
Question: Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to suspend the compensation of the state-wide elected officials or any member of the General Assembly while such individual is suspended from office following an indictment for a felony?
Christ said that if it passes, Georgia will become the first state to stop paying the salary of an elected official immediately upon being indicted for a felony and prior to their trial. He noted that other states only do this if the official is found guilty after a trial.
“If the Georgia elected official is found not guilty or the charges are dismissed, the suspended pay will be reimbursed,” he added. “If it doesn’t pass, the current law that stops salary payments if the official is found guilty of a felony will continue.”
Constitutional Amendment #2
Question: Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so that the local governing authority can grant temporary tax relief to properties within its jurisdiction which are severely damaged or destroyed as a result of a disaster?
According to Christ, if it passes, counties, cities and school boards will be able to make temporary adjustments to property tax after a natural disaster so property owners whose property has been severely damaged or destroyed don’t have to pay some or all of the property tax.
“If it doesn’t pass, property owners will have to pay the full property tax [as valued at the start of the year] even if their property has been severely damaged or destroyed,” he said.
State Referendum A
Question: Shall the Act be approved which grants a state-wide exemption from all ad valorem taxes for certain equipment used by timber producers in the production or harvest of timber?
“If it passes, timber producers will be exempt from property (ad valorem) taxes on some of their equipment,” Christ noted. “If it doesn’t pass, timber producers will continue to pay the same taxes they do now.”
State Referendum B
Question: Shall the Act be approved which expands a state-wide exemption from ad valorem taxes for agricultural equipment and certain farm products held by certain entities to include entities comprising two or more family-owned farm entities, and which adds dairy products and unfertilized eggs of poultry as qualified farm products with respect to such exemption?
“If it passes, family-owned farms and dairy and egg farms will be exempt from property taxes on some of their equipment,” Christ said. “If it doesn’t pass family-owned farms and dairy and egg farms will continue to pay the same taxes they do now.”
A further explanation of this Referendum can be found here.
A sample ballot for Gwinnett voters can be found here.
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