Our opinion
Municipal elections are going on all over the county right now leading up to Nov. 2, but there is nothing quite like an election in Demorest.
Small-town politics are often entertaining, and they make quite good chatter around the neighborhoods and at the water cooler. But whether it’s texts to try and keep candidates out of your way, or questions about candidates’ addresses, or minutiae of financial decisions, it always stays interesting in the “Heart of Habersham.”
Thursday’s forum was enlightening, and the four candidates who came to speak to the citizens were honest and forthright throughout. They are willing to serve, and they seem to have a good grasp of what people in a small town expect from their public servants.
The Northeast Georgian’s forum was structured well and covered a variety of issues, and Demorest citizens are used to providing their own questions as well, something we were happy to honor.
The only time it got a little off the rails was when mayoral candidate Ken Ranalli faced a barrage of questions about decisions made during his time as fire chief.
In fairness, most of those questions were perfectly legitimate. He was a public servant in Demorest for 10 years, if not an elected one, and his decisions that affected the public are well in play for scrutiny if needed.
For that decade of service, Ranalli served the city well as fire chief. But his battle with the city council over the fire truck purchase was played out in the public, though he intimated at the forum that there were forces at work behind the scenes that the residents did not see. He also went to a fire while he had COVID, again something the public knew about.
The other question raised at the forum was about alleged “double dipping,” both for Ranalli and for two of his officers working the Piedmont graduation.
Ranalli explained the situation about the payroll error and claimed he has never filled out a paid time off form in his entire career in Demorest.
The lingering question then, is how did that information get out?
Ranalli said the issue was brought to his attention by the city attorney and the city manager and discussed in an executive session with the council. While we, the local newspaper, would almost never advocate for information to be private, personnel discussions and actions that do not lead to terminations should be. That and attorney-client privilege are the only real legitimate reasons for closed sessions in government.
Since Ranalli was not terminated, this personnel discussion about the firefighters working the Piedmont University graduation should never have come out into the public, and yet it did. How? That’s a question we cannot answer, but everyone in the meeting – including Ranalli himself – needs to self-assess with whom they discussed these matters.
Either way, it is well known that Ranalli also worked in DeKalb County as well as at North Georgia Tech, so if he never filled out a PTO form, why is this an issue now?
We know why – because it’s the silly season of political maneuvering.
Folks in Demorest should go back and listen to the forum on The Northeast Georgian’s Facebook page, because both Ranalli and Jerry Harkness gave great insights as to why they want to lead Demorest.
By the time most folks read this edition, Tuesday night’s county commission forum will be archived on our page as well. We have written extensive articles in the paper about the other municipal elections this year.
Hearing directly from the candidates is the best way to make our choices, not through rumor or political scuttlebutt.