Ask the Candidates: Improve Businesses
Do you feel the business environment can be improved? If so, how?
Note: We invited the ALL Candidates to participate in an 11 Question Survey.
Carlos Carbonell participated in the Questionnaire & skipped this question.
Jay Lin & Nazeera Dawood chose not to Answer the Questionnaire, and we included their names and photos to show they are on the ballot and were not omitted on our part.
Candidates choosing not to answer and/or skipping the questions really is telling. Actually it speaks volumes = NO VOTE; which is a good thing. It clears the field for serious and qualified candidates.
The answers given by Stephanie Endres, Tom Radford and Chris Coughlin have constantly been on point, and have made it apparent that each one of them understands the inner workings of the city, as well as all indications they would move the city in the right direction.
You either have to be a fool to say or an idiot to believe that not answering questions from a local newspaper indicates a lack of seriousness on behalf of these candidates.
How about this hypothesis...look at the folks who didn't answer...notice anything? Ill help you out...They are not white.
Probably immigrants or 1st gen Americans. What that means to me is that THEY are all probably working their ass off and didn't see the email or the letter .....busy doing the jobs that you are either too lazy or too stupid to do.
Maybe that's the problem you should be talking about ...I see an Asian...A Latino and an Indian. So what you are really telling everyone is to not take the other candidates serious because they are not white.
But here is the truth...against the odds and probably against their families better wishes these 3 brave folks managed to qualify for an election in THEIR city. Knowing they would surely face blatant criticism from people like you and yet still feeling the need to put themselves out there shows me more than any answer to some question posed by a local media source. If you want to see the people who really care I say look at those three because they had to overcome the odds just to get there.
This has nothing to do with race.
To get into this election you had to file to run. That is all.
As low a hurdle as one can face in the American Election system.
If a candidate did not realize that they would need to answer questions about their election platform(one they had months to think about), do you really want them deciding important issues with short notice?
Two of those same three candidates will likely lead all others in fundraising.
What they are showing you is what they feel is important to this race: money.
Johns Creek voters are smart enough to draw the right conclusion.
@JCVoter. The candidates were fully aware of questionnaire, via by phone, email and reminders.
They were given 5 days, 120 hours to complete. Which is more time then other local news outlets of 12 hours.
I even sent out a reminder email and got the following response:
"the campaign is following its own timeline on the discussion of the issues most important to Nazeera for Johns Creek.”
Craig N. Kidd Campaign Manager, Nazeera for Johns Creek
I would say the majority of candidates were eager to participate, get their ideas out there. Several got their responses to me the same day using their campaign material.
We included Jay and Nazeera's photo and the "Chose not to answer" so readers know they are running and were not omitted on our part.
There are 9 more questions we will trickle out over the next few weeks.
Very Nice JCVoter. I am going to be nice here, not that you have any idea what that means.
There is no need for the personal attacks. You know nothing about me, so keep your obvious small-minded presumptious opinions to yourself.
My comments had/have NOTHING to do with race, but now that YOU point it out I see it. So, who is the racist here??? Maybe a racist in reverse??
If the candidates are too busy to come up with and/or express an idea of their own, and/or cannot find the time it would take to answer a few questions- maybe even to offer up some solutions to the problems our city is presently encountering, then they are too busy to be a council member. Period.
It's called campaigning.
You say they put themselves out there "against the odds" is laughable. What the heck are you taking about?
This is not 1950. You are the race-baiter, using a tactic many take to try to discount people they don't agree with.
To resort to name calling and race baiting as you have done here is just plain ridiculous & unnecessary.
Wow! our businesses are taxed so much no wonder companies do not want to relocate here. Who set up such a terrible economic structure?
Has it always been like this, since we have been a city?
I agree CSimms..I am very disappointed that some of the candidates did not answer questions. They could have, at least, said that they were not ready to comment because they were not up-to-speed yet on that subject.
A "no comment" does not "cut it". It just makes them look "uninformed". Sad!
Why don't you recommend the city has a debate then? Im sure you could suggest it. Hell, why not make it a pay per view and raise a little money for the city. I have been to several City Council meetings and all you need to do to get Stephanie Endres to go berserk is mention you have a way to solve the traffic problems but it would cost the city $10 to do it. She would be funnier than Rosanne Barr.
Uninformed JC Voter- there are not one but two voter forums scheduled.
And for the traffic problem? First you have to allocate $250k or more for a study to say that the $10 solution is the right one.
That's how the City of Johns Creek does it.
@JCVoter There is a debate scheduled Oct 15th. See link for details. https://www.johnscreekpost.com/city-council-candidate-forum-oct-15th-7-930pm/ Also JCCA is having a debate Oct 20th. I will post that flyer when received.
@JC Voter - You are obviously ill-informed overall. Going to "several" city council meetings does not qualify you as an authority on anything or anybody.
Stephanie has been an active participant in this community for years, standing up for the rights of all JC residents- even people like you.
I am not a personal friend of Stephanie, so I have no hidden agenda here. I will say, like you I have gone to several city council members as well as watching online streaming on a regular basis. Just like you I am no expert, but I know sincerity when I see it. Stephanie cares about JC, and has invested allot of her personal time and energy in trying to make a positive change.
You may have witnessed her frustration at some point, but I can assure you, and anyone reading here, it was provoked by the lack of leadership and mostly absent sound logical judgment/decisions made by the present mayor and council, repeatedly. There are more than likely things going on behind the scenes that you are not aware of. Think about it...
It is frustrating for anyone paying attention having to accept some of the bone-head moves this present council has made, which is why voting in the right people in this election is so important.
You make rude comments on almost everything you post. You are highly confrontational. You name call and on your point of view, which is fine if you could be respectful. Maybe maybe you can participate here without being so mean-spiritted.
I personally would like to see you blocked from posting here at all. You add NOTHING positive.
Suzi, I appreciate your candor, I don't remember this question in the questionnaire but I did however, answer it below. Indeed I am catching up as fast as I can with everything and believe me it is somewhat overwhelming.
Once again I want to thank you and everybody who is participating in these comments sections for their spirited remarks and for challenging us as candidates to do our best.
Nazeera has pretty signs. We should vote for her.
My apologies, I don't remember seeing this question in the questionnaire, if you allow me, I will post a short response now:
I would improve the business environment by lowering the occupation tax to make it more competitive, at least so in neighboring cities. Finally, businesses being taxed on a per employee basis (on top of other taxes such as FICA and Medicare) makes no sense, as in a way, it creates a condition where it makes it difficult, if not impossible for small businesses to grow and expand.
Thank you for your time,
Carlos J Carbonell
Candidate for City Council Post 5
Thank you so much Carlos. :-)
Nazeera Dawood & Jay Lin have done a lot to inform us of their vast money chests for the campaign. Neither has excelled in showing us their interest in the city or their knowledge of city affairs.
Two questions for Nazeera oe editor or anyone:
Is Nazeera even a dr? I found that she has a MBA in Health Promotion! But does she have a doctorate?
Is she even married like she said she was? I think she is divorced?
True?
It is NOT an MBA but an MPH. Big difference!
How ever, her resume has a lot of holes in the timeline. We are speaking to coworkers at Grady Hospital where she was a Research Associate for Emory collecting data from Medicaid patients. Not a physician's job but one ANY high school or college intern could do.
That's weird since she always talk about her loving husband in posts and even to local newspapers.
Nazeera became a doctor in India, then came to the US and got a degree in public health from Univ of North Carolina. She works for Fulton County Public Health and Community Relations, but does not see patients.
Then she's not a DOCTOR in the USA. She is whatever her degree from NC is. Her divorce was in Feb 11 of this year. Check the records. It's there!
OMG, not happy with her lying about her marital status, that's not necessary, it doesn't make her more or less qualified. I don't like liars, even if it's a small lie, once a liar always a liar.
She lies in her latest newsletter too, representing herself as an authority on traffic solutions as "Her firsthand experience in leveraging resources with Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), planners, funding agencies..." Well, an attendee-not a member-at a single ARC follow up meeting over a year ago does not an authority make. Have y'all noticed that she is always in attendance at the big boy meetings like this, but as a nobody? Talk about manufactured.
Nazeera has a bachelors in medicine from India, the most basic degree to practice medicine there. Then she obtained a master's in NC. She doesn't have a PhD or MD, so she cannot call herself a doctor in the US or worse, lead people to believe she is, wether she sees patients or not.
http://www.mciindia.org/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=81013
She divorced the man she calls "loving husband" as Wendy points out in December 2014.
http://www.usdocket.com/6b440f/j-raja-wisepearl-vs.-nazeera-b-dawood-court-case-detail.html
Who she marries or what she does with her life it's her business, like DME says, it doesn't maker her less or more qualified. The lie in the other hand, is not good. Seems she has a lot of explaining to do.
Can anyone see details of the court case from the link provided by Ed? I can't. Can someone post? If these are lies, will other papers cover this important news item?
People,
As someone that wants to see our City Council operating under a new set of principles, I assure you that personal lives are NOT the issues we face in Johns Creek.
What we need is a thorough examination of the issues and what we face going forward.
I encourage you to challenge the candidates on WHY they want to do what they want to do, and HOW they came to these principles.
If we as a community can openly and honestly do that, then we can avoid some expensive and irreversible decisions that will be made for Johns Creek in the near future.
If we want to discuss whispers about someone's personal life, then perhaps you can tell me how that will lead to a better Johns Creek.
I am looking to support candidates that understand what is going on in the City of Johns Creek and who have principles of governance that align with mine. I encourage you to do the same.
I am not interested in their personal lives. You should not want that either. Unless one day you want government to also be interested in yours.
Politicians leave “private life” when they file for elective office. They can expect gossip and personal attacks in the course of getting elected and serving. If they can’t take this heat, they should find work behind the scenes. If they mess up in any way, they need to come clean – explain circumstances and apologize. If they cannot be truthful and reliable with friends, family, and the public, then they should leave the public’s business to others who can meet this basic qualification for office.
If a candidate for public office has significant problems in their past, those problems may potentially damage their candidacy if they are NOT WILLING to release that information THEMSELVES. Issues almost always surface eventually if a candidate is not candid about their past associations, has submitted padded and false resumes where events and timelines don't match, phony titles, age/birthdates(41 according to the Johns Creek Herald candidate information and 40 on personal Facebook page) etc.
Because actions speak louder than words, and one’s private actions that one may wish to keep private are relevant when they do not align with words and promises made publically.
I care about a politician’s private life to the extent that it gives me insight into her/his character. So I don’t care about a person’s sexual orientation, but I do care about the extent of the lying people do to hide their extramarital affairs.
The public's right to know takes precedence for several important reasons. In order for the public to make a decision we need information. The more information we have, the better decision we can make. The relevance of the information is unimportant, but rather that we are given the information to figure out for ourselves. Plus, by running for a public office, the candidate relenquishes most of his/her private life to the public.
I echo what others have basically said, that I do not care if said person is a Dr/not a Dr, married/divorced. What I do care about is whether I was lied to. I'm not ready to say that I was lied to, but rather, I'm hoping that someone can nail down just what the truth is for sure.