Can you explain "We’ll see how that plays in District 1, which, politically, might as well be Oglethorpe County?"

Among Sara's pages are "I Don't Get Drunk, I Get AWESOME". Sweet.

Oh, and apparently she's against free speech. And anonymous comments on web pages.

Can't we just have a long-distance relationship with "Lone Wolf" Lowry instead?

to take down that Facebook page. Brilliant - already hiding.

I said this yesterday to JMac - when is this community going to stop inbreeding when it comes to elected officials. Whereas I am very appreciative of Ms. Bickerton's work at the Boys and Girls Club, but we already have 70% of the Commissioners either actively employed or retired from a government or quasi-government agency. Those agencies and most of the employees are completely out of touch with the realities that most citizens face day to day due to the "guaranteed" funding source that they live off of. Yes, I know that running a government should not always be like running a business, but can anyone tell me another government let alone a business that would have spent as much time over the past 30 days talking about cats?

In reference to the last two posts:

Agreed

Apparently she's a liar too :)... UGA doesn't offer a Master's in Public Policy.

The actual name of the degree seems to be a Masters in Public Administration, from what I can see, but it's offered by the Department of Public Administration and Policy. So kinda close. And no, never met her, don't know her.

There is a major difference between Administration and Policy. Administration is generally more focused on management and the actual "running" of things. Policy refers to well... policy. It is generally about studying how policy affects the system. Policy focuses much more economics while Administration focuses on management.

UGA offers an MPA, but does have a focus in policy (which is what Sara has). However, MPP's and MPA's are different enough that GSU has them listed as different degrees.

http://aysps.gsu.edu/2212.html

Though, a little actual journalism would have found this difference. Looking things up is hard!!!

But galiberal, is her UGA degree technically a Masters in Public Administration? Any name from GSU is immaterial. My point was simple -- even if she called the degree "policy" but technically it's "administration" it doesn't matter -- the department has both names so it's no big deal. When I looked at the program of study it says Masters of Public Administration. Did I miss a Masters in Public Policy? But yeah, the course listings have a lot of policy and administration classes and I'm sure you choose your emphasis. A lot of UGA stuff is that way.

So aside from your snotty "journalism" comment (wanna compare skills there? pick the time and place), my point was simple and aimed at someone above who suggested she lied about her degree when, instead, it hardly qualified as such. And that person may have been teasing, given the emoticon that follows. So if looking things up is hard, what's the link for a Masters in Public Policy at UGA?

All I found is: http://bit.ly/aegU5c

bulldog77: She has a master's in public administration with a focus on public policy. It's really a stretch to call saying she has a master's in public a policy a lie.

Albert: District 1 is on the Oglethorpe County line, rural, more conservative than Athens as a whole and about 50/50 Democrat/Republican.

paveplanet: I believe her Facebook page was previously set to private, so it was pointless for me to link to it.

Four of 10 commissioners are employed at UGA. One is a teacher and one is a retired teacher. One is a retired police officer and postman. Three own small businesses. Eight of the 10 list private-sector experience on their resumes. Consider that 37 percent of Athens workers are employed in the fields of education, health care, social services and public administration, and 27 percent work for the government, according to the Census Bureau. In addition, government funding is far from guaranteed, as we are now seeing during the budget crunches at the state and local level.

galiberal: Barry Hollander is a veteran newspaper reporter and a UGA journalism professor. Your remark is like Greg Norton bragging to Chipper Jones about his ability to hit a baseball.

"I believe her Facebook page was previously set to private..."

For some values of private, anyway. Sure was easy to read, just by looking at it. And it sure did disappear fast - I wish I'd made note of some of the other links on there.

This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever read. Do you people have nothing better to do than to bash a person who is simply running for commissioner of District One? This is not Washington D.C., it is Athens, Ga. This is exactly why myself, and a lot of other people hate politics. It's so ugly. Sara is simply a person who is passionate about government, and who is volunteering her time and money to her community. I don't see anybody else giving up their time to run against her. She can't hurt Clarke County, she can only help. And I'm sure she didn't lie about her degree. That's just silly, people. Why don't we all start worrying about things that really matter, and start supporting people who are actually trying in some way to help.

Listen, I think the whole PBR army thing is cute and all but it’s going to take more than theatrics to solve some really big and growing problems. People are losing their jobs.

They’re not getting awesome, they’re getting evicted.

Leadership of the city is not like winning the battle of the bands at your high school. At some point, experience and contacts beyond the same ole scene end up being a requisite.
I hope Sara ends up being a great candidate. I hope she’s not yet another tortured artiste/martyr/trust funder masquerading as a person that must work for a living. I hope she goes back and reads the interview in the above post. Oh the times, they have a changed.

Sheesh, with constituents like you people, no wonder your commish Andy H. headed for the hills to hang with those socialist boozers up in the Great White North!!! Kudos to Ms. Bickerton for taking a stand on her beliefs rather than going the typical weasely politicians' route and spouting a bunch of vapid innocuous catch-phrase b.s. just to get elected. I don't live in her district, but I'm signin' up to campaign for her!!!

ooops, I mean Doug Lowry!

Constituents like you people? Really?

Oh, and by the way, not everyone in the Washington Street Liberation Army can be wholly classified as young. Many of us are 40ish or older and have lived, worked, owned homes, paid taxes, and volunteered in Athens for decades.... You make us sound like a bunch o' drunkass whiny college kids!!!