Bill Speaks: Q&A with Bill Mulrooney

. Earlier that week he announced his candidacy for the District 4 Commissioner seat.

Mulrooney, an electronic engineer for 25 years, moved to Forsyth County in 2000 with his wife Beth. In that same year, he began volunteering at the where he later served on the Board of Directors.

The couple later founded the Humane League of Lake Lanier, an organization that provides resources to local animal shelters.

In 2009, Mulrooney said he became involved with changes in Forsyth County's Animal Control Ordinance. "It was this experience that first led me to to start paying attention to what was going on in local government," he said. Two years later, he became active in the animal shelter issue.

Mulrooney answered our questions about the ousting of former Board of Commissioner Chair Brian Tam, his plans to move Forsyth County in a positive direction if he is elected and his current relationship with opponents Patrick Bell and Cindy J. Mills.

Cumming Patch: What are your thoughts about the ousting of former Chairman Brian Tam?

Bill: Like a lot of people I was surprised by the change. There is obviously some personal dynamics involved with the players that most of us will never really know. Sometimes a little shake-up is good for an organization, only time will tell if that’s the case here. I will tell you that I know Jim Boff as a man of integrity who does not have any hidden agendas. He will do what he honestly believes is best for the county.

Cumming Patch: What are your plans to move Forsyth County in a positive direction should you be elected as District 4 Commissioner?

Bill: I would not say that Forsyth is moving in a negative direction, I would say we are at a stand-still and how we move forward from this point is critical. How we proceed can be divided into two categories, internal and external. Internally, we need to put some constitutional sense back into our BOC [Board of Commissioners]. Externally we need to adapt to today’s economics and become more self-reliant, and not just a bedroom community of somewhere else. We need to rescind the changes to the ethics ordinances that the current commissioner from District 4 lobbied so hard to implement. Enacting threatening and cost prohibitive ordinances to discourage citizens from exercising their rights is fundamentally wrong. People should not have to fear reprisal for questioning their government. Ethics are never a problem if you have them.

We need to respect the homeowner. Situations where homeowners are steamrolled by their government, like what we’ve seen at Bethel Park and Crystal Cove, are the direct result of politicians looking out for themselves and not the people they represent. A sad fact of the matter is that in Forsyth County you have to ‘pay to play.' Too often decisions are not based on right and wrong, they are based on how much money you can contribute or which law office you hire. The role of commissioner should be about serving the community, as my wife and I have done for the past 12 years with local non-profits.

We need to recognize the economics of our time and act accordingly. To paraphrase the song, we cannot “party like its 1999." The homeowners of District 4 cannot afford to continue to subsidize all the pork-barrel wants of Cumming and south Forsyth. SPLOST VII was one of the biggest snow jobs ever pulled on the voting public in this county. If they continue down the path they are now on, the BOC will have to raise property taxes just to meet all the SPLOST obligations.  Spending like there is no tomorrow has to stop. We need to do a better job of encouraging industry. We need to attract companies that provide living wages to our residents. Forsyth County offers a great deal to prospective employers; an educated work force, proximity to a transportation hub and an above average quality of life. This is where my 25 years experience working with international manufacturers will be a big asset.

Cumming Patch: What is your current relationship with your opponents Cindy J. Mills and Patrick Bell?

Bill: I’ve never actually met Cindy, although we have exchanged emails and talked on the phone. We will have the opportunity to meet next week and I am looking forward to it. I do not have a relationship with Patrick Bell. I find it difficult to form personal bonds with people I do not respect. Understand that this is a commissioner whose very first official act, literally 4 minutes into his first BOC meeting, was to make a motion to put restrictions on the public’s right to address the BOC. Since then it has been 3 years of self-serving grandstanding and ethically challenged decisions.

Read more about Bill Mulrooney on his Web site.

Editor's Note: Cumming Patch has sent e-mails to Dist. 4 Commissioner Patrick Bell and Dist. 4 candidate Cindy J. Mills. .