By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
OCT. 11, 2019 | Many of our readers may not remember what happened politically in Gwinnett in 1984.
It was a major year for change in Gwinnett.
There’s reason many Gwinnettians may not remember it. That’s because in 1984 there were 226,100 people in Gwinnett. Today the population is 921,781, so another 701,681 people live here now. A majority were just not here in 1984.
Four major events took place:
- Gwinnett Place Mall opened, the first mall in Gwinnett.
- Gwinnett Technical College opened its doors.
- The Gwinnett Hospital System opened its now vast Lawrenceville campus, and closed its Button Gwinnett and Buford Hospitals.
- In the 1984 election, all Democrats running with opposition lost the election.
The last event, the political one, was the beginning of the change in politics in the county. The only Democrat to survive was Probate Judge Alton Tucker. Seventeen Republicans in all 17 races. Up until 1984, Democrats had virtual control of the county. But 1984 changed all that, and since then, Republicans have ruled the roost in Gwinnett.
But matters (and the population diversity) are fast changing. Hillary Clinton won Gwinnett in the 2016 Presidential race. Then in the 2018 election, Stacey Abrams won the county overwhelmingly, causing heads to turn. She also pulled along with her several other Democrats who few thought would win office.
Now the obvious trend in Gwinnett is that the 2020 election will see the Democrats score heavily, somewhat like the 1984 election outcome….except in reverse.
In fact, it looks so bad for Gwinnett Republicans that their party is having difficulty scaring up candidates for office. We know of only one or two Republicans who say they will contest a Democrat in office. And those Republicans who are in office are running scared, almost meekly.
Even the popular Republican Gwinnett County Sheriff, Butch Conway, feels the pressure. Some have suggested that the only way he can remain in office (he was elected sheriff in 1996) is to run as a Democrat. But the sitting sheriff cannot stomach national Democrats, and if he runs, will do so under the Republican banner. But the question: will he run or retire?
Another Republican office holder, District Attorney Danny Porter, some say might switch parties, since he may be seeing the writing on the wall. Although in office since 1992 (28 years), he remembers what happened in the last election to highly-respected Republican Solicitor General Rosanna Szabo, first elected in 2006. Out of the blue, Democrat Bryan Whiteside upended Szabo after 12 years in office.
While Republican County Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash has announced that she will not be a candidate in the 2020 voting, several Democrats have begun campaigning for this office. But again, where are any solid Republican candidates? Nowhere to be found!
Remember, in 2016, Mrs. Nash, considered by many to be a solid chairman, had opposition from Gabe Okoye, who got 48 percent of the vote. And with the population changes since then, some say that foretells a Democratic victory in many county-wide offices. That’s why it looks like “Shades of 1984” all over again, except in reverse.
Now you 700,000 not living here in 1984, have a new understanding of the ramifications of politics in Gwinnett County.
–Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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