---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Harvey Davis <harveydavis@bellsouth.net> Date: Thu, Oct 20, 2016 at 8:54 PM Subject: [Sandtown] Federal Lawsuit may stop City of South Fulton Vote To: sandtownmembersonly@googlegroups.com, sandtown@googlegroups.com *Two articles…* 19 OCTOBER 2016*Federal Judge to Hold Emergency Hearing on Halting City of South Fulton Referendum* *by* *Andre Walker <https://plus.google.com/104135916327280174122>* The vote on creating a new city in unincorporated south Fulton County may be put on hold, if one local resident has his way. Sandtown resident John Davis filed suit late last week asking the United States District Court to rule the City of South Fulton legislation unconstitutional and stop the 8 November referendum. The complaint relies on the uncertainty surrounding Atlanta's annexation of several neighborhoods in the Cascade community as the reason why the South Fulton cityhood referendum should be halted. "Because of an October 3, 2016 Supreme Court of Georgia opinion in one lawsuit, however, and another lawsuit pending before that court that will not be decided before the Referendum, Plaintiff’s and similarly situated unincorporated Fulton County voters’ rights will be diluted and debased if the Referendum takes place next month," the Davis lawsuit reads. "This dilution and debasement arises because House Bill 514 requires Defendants to count the votes of persons who will not and others who may not even reside in the proposed new city." Fulton County Superior Court Judge Alford Dempsey overturned a series of annexations completed by Georgia's capital city in June, placing homeowners and registered voters who thought they were Atlanta residents back into the proposed city of South Fulton. Dempsey's ruling was appealed by Atlanta to the State Supreme Court, meaning that it's possible that the Atlanta annexations might be reinstated. Until the high court issues a final opinion on the matter, however, those residents in the contested areas will have an opportunity to vote on creating a new city called South Fulton. U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross will hear the case, set for Thursday, 27 October. Davis is represented by Robert Highsmith of the law firm Holland and Knight. Davis v. Cooney et al <https://www.scribd.com/document/328213802/Davis-v-Cooney-et-al#from_embed> by Andre Walker <https://www.scribd.com/user/76336615/Andre-Walker#from_embed> on Scribd http://www.georgiaunfiltered.com/2016/10/federal-judge-to- hold-emergency-hearing.html *Court will hear arguments to stop City of South Fulton referendum* LOCAL GOVT & POLITICS <http://www.myajc.com/categories/news/localgovtpolitics/> By Arielle Kass <http://www.myajc.com/staff/arielle-kass/> - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Posted: 5:54 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016 South Fulton residents have already started to vote in a referendum that would decide whether the area of about 100,000 people will become a new city. But on Thursday, a federal judge will hear arguments that the election shouldn’t be happening at all. John Davis, a South Fulton resident, filed suit in the Northern District of Georgia last week, claiming that his right to vote will be “diluted and debased” if the referendum takes place as scheduled. His attorney, Robert Highsmith, has asked the court for a temporary restraining order on the election. Because of a series of lawsuits regarding what areas will be in the City of South Fulton, Highsmith said, the borders remain malleable <http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/atlantas-south-fulton-annexation-goals-knocked-bac/nsm9r/>. But the legislation that allows for the referendum, and the orders of various judges, mean some people who may not be in the city will have a chance to cast their ballots for or against its existence. “We really don’t have an accurate picture of what the boundaries are,” Davis said. Davis, who wants to remain unincorporated and would vote against the city, said by having some voters in limbo, his and others’ votes are infringed upon. In one area, the Fulton Industrial District, residents are eligible to vote in the election, but cannot become part of the city. A companion piece of legislation that would have repealed a law that keeps the district from being incorporated or annexed into a city was not passed. This fall, in a case also argued by Highsmith in which Atlanta tried to annex the district, the state Supreme Court ruled <http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/court-ends-atlantas-bid-for-lucrative-south-fulton/nsj52/> that the law is valid and the district could not be annexed or incorporated into a city. Still, the residents there will have a vote on the City of South Fulton. Fulton County director of elections and registration Richard Barron said he did not know how many voters were in the district, but that it could be several hundred. Additionally, residents who are disputing their annexation into Atlanta will be able to vote in the referendum, even though they may not live in the new city. Fulton County spokeswoman Jessica Corbitt said in an email the county did not have a response to the suit, which seeks to stop the elections board from allowing the vote. Highsmith, with Holland & Knight, said the vote could simply be put off until the next election, in March. Before then, he said, the court cases could be resolved and the legislature could fix the borders in Fulton Industrial. “I’ve never seen anything where people who don’t live in a jurisdiction are being allowed to vote,” he said. “There’s no reason to rush this.” http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/ court-will-hear-arguments-to-stop-city-of-south-fu/nstfn/ -- -- You received this message because your email address is subscribed to the Sandtown Community Association Email Distribution www.sandtown.org IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO RECEIVE EMAIL FROM THIS GROUP JUST SEND AN EMAIL TO sandtown-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/ group/sandtown?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sandtown Community Association" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sandtown+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. 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