Harvey Persons is OUT (of office and touch)

All politicians lie.  All politicians mysteriously change their mind after they get elected and are no longer needing to raise funds or win votes.  Harvey Persons, mayor of Douglasville (my home city), is no exception to this.  He recently vetoed referendums to allow the people of Douglasville to vote on Sunday sales of alcohol at stores and to extend pouting hours for restaurants.  You're probably thinking, "So what?!  He was elected to make decisions for his constituents and this is the Bible belt, where rewriting of the Bible to make the Sabbath on Sundays , drinking any alcohol is a sin even though Jesus drank alcoholic wine, gluttony is not a sin, and dancing will send you to hell."  And I agree with you 100%!  He was elected by the people of Douglasville, who voted for his platform, some of which can be found here.  Wait...you didn't click on that last link, so I will quote the relevant part:

"7. Do you think there should be a vote on Sunday package sales allowed? Why or why not?"


"Harvey Persons: I personally do not favor Sunday package sales of alcohol, but feel that there is substantial public opinion to allow it to be placed on the ballot and allow the citizens to decide. The facts for both sides need to be presented and the citizens need to decide this issue."

Wait...did we just read that correctly??  He said he thinks the people should decide.  So why did he veto the referendum?  Oh, that's right, because instead of talking to Phil Miller (the sheriff of Douglas county) or Chris Womack (the police chief in Douglasville), or reading an actual study he would go on the word of a H.E.A.T. officer he did a ride along with.  Now, don't get me wrong, that officer sees drunk drivers everyday, he sees alcohol related auto accidents and deaths that would make anyone never want to touch a drink again.  But that doesn't mean that the officer's perception is reality.  I work in Healthcare IT, so to me, the most important thing in the hospital is clinical computer systems and the access to internal systems.  But that is not reality, it is just my perceived reality.  The most important thing in hospitals is correct diagnosis, access to doctors, etc, etc, not some clinical system that let's the doctor know the person scraped their knee in the 8th grade and had 2 stitches.

Let's also keep in mind that Villa Rica (1 very close city over) allows Sunday sales of alcohol.   So what Persons has actually done, is increase the incentive for a person to drive to another city, and give that city the tax revenue of Sunday sales.

My prediction:  The city council will override Person's veto.  The citizens only need 5 in favor of overturning the veto from the council members votes on May 21, (all 7 originally voted for the referendum).  Persons will not be a mayor for a second term, although he may not run again anyways, he isn't exactly a spring chicken.  In November, the citizens of Douglasville will vote in favor of allowing Sunday sales and extended pouring hours, and Douglasville, along with the rest of Georgia, will slowly emerge from the stone age.  After all, we did finally get rid of the incredibly racist state flag a few years ago.