Three County Commission Seats Up for Grabs in 2012

Forsyth County will have three contested seats on the Board of Commissioners next year.

Chairman Brian Tam, who represents Dist. 2, will complete his second term in 2012. Dist. 5 Commissioner Jim Boff and District 4 Commissioner Patrick Bell will complete their first.

Bell is the only one who has announced his intention to run for reelection and already one opponent has announced he will challenge the incumbent.

Republican Bill Mulrooney announced this week that he is a candidate in Dist. 4.

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

Following that, the couple 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.

But Mulrooney said the animal shelter will play only a small part in his campaign.

"The biggest issue is what's going on with our tax dollars," he said. "The spending of our tax dollars has been too willy nilly. Residents in our district are taxed like everybody else, but the benefits we're seeing are very little. The SPLOST is a good example. Less than one percent of the proposed SPLOST will be spent in Dist. 4. We're being taxed for the parks that are being built in South Forsyth."

Mulrooney, who is campaigning in a North Forsyth district said, "I'm also concerned about growth in the county. It's not too hard to figure out where most of the future growth is going to be. Developers have had a free rein to do what they want. If the growth continues to go unchecked, we're going to look like Fulton County."

Bell made it official this week that he plans to campaign for a second term.

"I'm very proud of the accomplishments we've made in slashing spending and creating an environment that will attract jobs to the county," Bell said.

"In 2009, a previous Board of Commissioners set the budget at $103.8 million. During my first year in office, I served on the Finance Committee and we reduced the next year's budget by 26 percent to $77.9 million. That is a significant achievement on behalf of our citizens."

Bell also spearheaded the effort to create an opportunity zone in Forsyth County.

"I was told repeatedly that is something I would never be able to do because Forsyth County is too affluent. But I'm pleased that I continued to work on it because I did get it done and it puts Forsyth County in an advantageous position to compete with other counties and be able to bring in business."

But Bell said there is much left to do.

"I don't believe the job is done yet. We have to streamline government and make each of our departments more user friendly. The goal for my next term is to strip away the bureaucracy, continue to bring in more jobs and protect our low millage rate to ensure our citizens don't shoulder too heavy a burden for the cost of government."