Game Changers: The Conscious Culture Volume 1 Issue 5 | Page 17

Is Voter Suppression bringing Socieoeconomic
segregation to Stockbridge's Destruction?
by Thomas White
These are the results of a
proposal in the Georgia
General Assembly by Sena-
tor Rick Jeffares (D – Mc-
Donough) to create a new
city of Eagle’s Landing.
You might think I am exag-
gerating, but that is likely
because you have only been
told one side of the story.
Eagle’s Landing Educa-
tional Research Committee
(ELERC) is leading the
charge to create the new
city of Eagle’s Landing.
Unfortunately, they are
misleading the public by
presenting slanted facts
that do all but tell the full
story, and they are doing so
without any data to back up
their assertions.
The new city would include
almost the entire southern
half of Stockbridge which
currently has the highest
median income of any city
in Henry County. Initial re-
ports show that Stockbridge
would suffer a 50-60%
revenue loss, immediately
cutting capital and infra-
structure funding.
Eagle’s Landing’s new
median income would be
over 100k. The housing
market there would initial-
ly rise, but it would not be
immune to the effects of the
catastrophic hit taken by
Stockbridge.
When a viable city sudden-
ly starts to struggle, the re-
sults are almost always the
same. If the Eagle’s Land-
ing secedes from Stock-
bridge, the property values
in and around Stockbridge
will crash. The housing
market will be de-valued.
In a few years, that problem
will surround Eagle’s Land-
ing. Henry County could
very well face a subprime
real estate crisis.
How can you stop this? Do
you get the right to vote on
the new city? If you live
inside the area of the new
city, then yes, you do get a
vote. If you live in North
Stockbridge, then you do
not get a vote. Even though
it will affect all of Stock-
bridge, Jeffares’s proposal
will only be voted on by
residents in the limits of the
new city. North Stockbridge
and the residents around it
will only watch their prop-
erty values fall.
The disgust I feel for voter
suppression on such a wide
scale is only surpassed by
the disgust I feel for the
reasons behind the new
city. Per ELERC, they will
be attempting to create a
city based on a median
income of $100k a year. In
other words, if you do not
make $81k a year, you are
not good enough to be in
the new city.
As chair of the Henry
County Democratic Com-
mittee, I am firmly opposed
to the actions of ELERC
and Senator Jeffares. I am
disappointed and appalled
that an elected official
would move forward with a
proposal that has such total
disregard for his citizens.
Modern society cannot
function when divide rules
it. Nonetheless, they try
to divide us. This time,
the attempt centers around
money.
Both ELERC and Senator
Jeffares seem to believe that
the citizens of North Stock-
bridge do not matter. We
will show them otherwise.
Game Changers Magazine Mar/Apr 2017 - 16