Sunday sales, Imker prevail in PTC

0
22

In Peachtree City, the voters cared more for their alcohol than any of the City Council candidates on the ballot.

The Sunday alcohol package sales initiative won 2,835 favorable votes, making it more popular than even unopposed council candidate George Dienhart (2,586), re-elected Post 1 incumbent Eric Imker (2,039) and Imker’s unsuccessful challenger, Steve Allen (1,468).

While Dienhart was the leading human vote-getter on the ballot, the ancillary results left some scratching their heads. A total of 943 voters who voted in the election didn’t bother to record a favorable vote for him, and another 171 voters decided instead to “write in” a different response.

So while on the official record Dienhart won 93.8 percent of those voting, that number dips precipitiously if you factor in the non-voters as a quasi-‘no’ vote: putting the mark at 69.9 percent for someone running unopposed.

Dienhart chalked the “un-votes” up to residents who oppose his conservative Republican beliefs, which they knew of because of his previous local newspaper column, and also to voters who didn’t think he “needed” the vote because he was unopposed.

Dienhart said he wasn’t going to get too wrapped up in the numbers from the election.

“What I can do here is move forward and do the job as I intended: to be the best councilman I possibly can,” Dienhart said.

Imker, who won by a healthy 571 vote margin, said he was “looking forward to a positive working relationship with the citizens and other council members.”
“I’d like to thank Steve Allen for the competition,” Imker said. “It definitely raised awareness of the important issues facing our city.”

If thinking about city politics gives you the urge to drink, no worries. The City Council is soon expected to pass the official ordinance allowing Sunday alcohol sales, with the start date expected to be Dec. 1.

In other words, it may be a very merry pre-holiday season in Peachtree City, for some anyway. But not for others: some 852 voters lodged a “no” vote against Sunday sales.

The city has already drafted an ordinance expected to be heard at a November council meeting, with a potential start date for the ordinance of Dec. 1, according to City Clerk Betsy Tyler.