District 3 Commission Candidates Discuss Ethics

Next month, voters in Gwinnett County District 3 will decide if Mike Beaudreau, Jerry Oberholtzer, Tommy Hunter or Mike Korom will serve as the area's next county commissioner.

Dacula Patch asked each of the candidates to answer a  The questionnaires were based in part on questions submitted by readers. Dacula Patch did not limit the length of the responses. Each candidate's answers are presented unedited and in their entirety.

Candidate:  Jerry Oberholtzer
Occupation:  former mayor of Snellville
Campaign website:  www.JerryOberholtzer.com
Campaign Facebook page:  Jerry Oberholtzer

6.) In light of the recent bribery scandal, what steps would you take to prevent further corruption of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners?

All county real estate purchases, legal discussions and personnel decisions are being made behind closed doors in executive sessions. I would require that all those sessions be video recorded and released to the public at a later, appropriate, date.  As soon as possible, but in no event longer than one year from the final deposition of the matter. The public deserves the right to know how these decisions are being made.

Candidate:  Tommy Hunter
Occupation:  civil engineer
Campaign website:  www.ElectTommy.com
Campaign Facebook page:  Elect Tommy Hunter

6.) In light of the recent bribery scandal, what steps would you take to prevent further corruption of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners?

Engage the citizens and keep them involved. Engaged citizens are knowledgeable citizens who demand accountability and transparency.   Accountability and transparency keeps issues on the forefront and harder to hide what is going on behind closed doors. This is a two-way street. I will offer to be available and willing to answer questions, and the citizens must be involved and demand that I do so.

Candidate:  Mike Beaudreau
Occupation:  national accounts manager
Campaign website:  www.mikebeaudreau.com
Campaign Facebook page:  Mike Beaudreau
Campaign Twitter account: @MikeBeaudreau

6.) In light of the recent bribery scandal, what steps would you take to prevent further corruption of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners?

Since the grand jury report following the indictment of one former Commissioner and the resignation of another, I pushed for—and the Board has adopted—a new ethics ordinance and a revised procedure for property purchases.  These changes have given Gwinnett some of the strongest ethics policies of any county in the state. 

In the same way you can’t prevent a determined dog from jumping or digging its way out of his fenced-in yard, you can’t prevent a corrupt politician from being corrupt.  The county’s new ethics rules and other laws provide a strong deterrent to unethical behavior.  I do not see how additional changes would provide any meaningful deterrent to someone intent on breaking the law.

Candidate:  Mike Korom
Occupation:  independent contractor
Campaign website:  www.mikekorom.com
Campaign Facebook page:  Elect Mike Korom

6.) In light of the recent bribery scandal, what steps would you take to prevent further corruption of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners?

I think we need to go back and revisit what the Grand Jury report produced and see what we can glean from that to improve the trust of the Gwinnett Commission. I would be willing to bring in The Center for Election Systems out at Kennesaw State University to work with the county to lay out a clear path for sitting and future commissioners to avoid further corruption. This would be something new for both the county and the center to see if something could be developed. Unfortunately, there are going to be those times that an elected official is corrupt despite our best efforts.  

Click on the links below to read the candidates's answers to these questions:

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