District 4 Commission Choice Must Be Made By the People

Someone sent me Lisa Cupid's Cobb Chair newsletter and pointed out comments she made about her friendship with Monique Sheffield and her “so called qualifications” for office. I almost fell out of my chair laughing after reading it!

We do not need or want a close friend for the job of Commissioner, we need someone in office to sincerely move our community forward and that is Shelia Edwards. She has the support of the voters of District 4 who agree that our community deserves better and can be better with the right leadership.

I welcome you to drive around our community over the next few days and notice the negative developments that continue to want to locate themselves near our homes and families as well as the lack of progress right here in our area. If Monique Sheffield understands the zoning laws, as she says, you look at the community and you'll see her understanding of the laws has prevented all mutual progress from coming to our community.

Monique Sheffield has touted her years of being on the Board of Zoning Appeals, yet nothing positive has happened for our community under her tenure, except her close friendship with lawyers who represent community killers such as waste management and concrete companies.

When the residents fought Sterigenics, did you see Monique Sheffield on the front line? As a matter of fact, she was GHOST; didn't see her, didn't hear her, but yet her tenure on the Board of Zoning Appeals makes her the most qualified candidate to lead our district forward, by her own admission.

If Monique Sheffield understands our community, then why are our residents having to fight to prove that their property value matters due to her stint on the Board of Zoning Appeals? Under her tenure, the only businesses that have come to our community are old tire shops, gas stations, and liquor stores. We lost a major brand, the Waffle House on Six Flags Drive while she was there. I wrote, I asked for support to bring the Waffle House back, but to no avail. Shelia Edwards has conversated with the Waffle House Representative asking them to come back to the community. What has Monique Sheffield done, NOTHING. Shelia has demanded the development of Magnolia Crossing. Monique Sheffield, only the sound of silence, concerning this prime piece of real estate. I have NEVER seen her attend a South Cobb Redevelopment Authority meeting, and I have NEVER seen her come before the Board of Commissioners advocating on issues in our community, but her tenure, so she says, on the Board of Zoning Appeals makes her the better candidate. I have stood with Shelia Edwards at the South Cobb Redevelopment Authority meetings and the Board of Commissioners because Shelia cares about our community, a community she also lives in!

Shelia Edwards' election to District 4 Commissioner represents the path to real progress in District 4, while Monique Sheffield will continue the process of slow to no progress including no economic development, no community development, no affordable housing and no high paying jobs, which will not move our community forward.

Monique Sheffield is also purposefully misleading you on her civic engagement which only started when she decided to run for Commissioner. I have lived here for over 30 years and never heard of Monique Sheffield before now. Others in the community with whom I have spoken to about this race have never heard of her either before now. In addition, Monique Sheffield has no work in the community that we can point to, even though we have had some major issues including the waste station illegally operating in our community that was stopped by Shelia Edwards. Monique Sheffield's only calling card is being “a friend to the current commissioner”. By her own admission, that is why Monique wants you to elect her, which is simply not the qualifications we need in our next Commissioner. That is not good enough for me and should not be good enough for you and the rest of the voters of District 4.

Just as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream for this country, Shelia Edwards has a vision for our community. She has the vision to erase the food and banking desert as well as bring quality major brand establishments to our community. We cannot continue to travel the road that has been paved by electing Monique Sheffield as our next commissioner. We can no longer accept that our community isn't viable to businesses, as “elitist: Monique Sheffield" has stated time and time again, along with her announced plans to revisit/rewrite the zoning laws, which our community believes will allow her waste stations and concrete company lawyers and buddies to place their noxious businesses near our homes and our children. Let's not forgot the zoning laws are in place to protect your home's property value and your quality of life.

I welcome you to go back and look at some of the community forums for District 4 Commissioner and you will have your answer as to who is the better candidate to move District 4 forward. Shelia Edwards has a body of work in the community that we can point to. In contrast, Monique Sheffield has a padded resume and a friendship with the current commissioner, which is flaunted at the beginning of every conversation you have with her. She cannot stand on her own merits because they are nonexistent.

Monique Sheffield may be a “friend to the current commissioner”, but friendship with the current commissioner will not get the job done, nor is it the qualification voters should use when selecting our next commissioner. Friendship does NOT make Monique Sheffield the right person for a job where experience, knowledge, and leadership are the qualities we should look for. Shelia Edwards has these qualities and will represent us well as our next Commissioner for District 4. #electshelia #sheliaedwardsdistrict4commish