Evermore CID Drama Today
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Four members of the Hwy. 78 community improvement district led by Harrison Volkswagen owner Dwight Harrison have forced a recall vote to remove two other members. That vote is today (Wednesday) at Snellville City Hall.
In a nutshell, the CID hired an economic development manager last year. After just a couple of months, CID Executive Director Brett Harrell fired him for undisclosed reasons. In response, Harrison and his allies moved to fire Harrell, but Harrell’s supporters on the board blocked it. Harrison countered with a petition drive, signing up enough CID property owners to authorize today’s vote to remove Dean Robinson and Ken Shiver, two of Harrell’s backers.
Board Chairman Gary Custar subsequently accused Harrison and compatriot Kenny King of stymieing the board’s efforts and asked the Gwinnett County Commission to recall Harrison and King. To date, the Commission has not acted. Custar has said that he will not honor today’s vote if it is successful:
“It is not an officially board-sanctioned election,” board chairman Gary Custar said. “This is something that the four board members seeking this recall election are doing on their own outside the realm of the board. If the recall vote is successful, then because of that I’ll probably rule that it’s an invalid or improper election.”
I do not know the details of the dispute, but I do know several of the players. In 2004, Dwight Harrison bought a house in Snellville just to run for the District 3 Commission spot now occupied by Mike Beaudreau. (After his loss, he immediately returned to his Lilburn home.)
Harrison is a vindictive, sneaky atheist who alienated many who worked on his campaign. His angry outbursts and name-calling reportedly escalated as his run-off campaign against Beaudreau spiraled out of control. I followed Harrison closely in 2004 and even published a web site documenting his lies and hypocrisy. This morally and ethically deficient man should have no place in public service.
In direct contrast, I have found Gary Custar to be a man of integrity and honor who has the best interests of District 3 and the Hwy. 78 corridor at heart. I trust Custar, whom I have known for about five years, to be on the right side of this issue.
I plan to attend today’s vote and the board meeting that follows. Check back for details.
Evermore board’s recall vote is today
