The 2010 Georgia Governor’s Race:

            Jekyll’s Chance for Progressive Change

One of the responsibilities of the new Governor of Georgia to be elected in 2010 will be to make appointments to Authority boards.  Among the ten gubernatorial candidates, two—David Poythress (D) and John Oxendine (R)—have already expressed dissatisfaction with the actions of the JIA board, particularly with regard to the deal the board cut with Linger Longer Communities. Candidate Poythress, who is a former JIA board member, has stated that, “Redevelopment should not be used as a smoke screen for a politically rigged sell-out of the pristine barrier island that every Georgian could call his own since 1947…. If I am given the chance to be the next Governor of Georgia, the voters can rest assured that my appointments to the Jekyll Island Authority will have better negotiating skills and very different priorities than the current Authority.  On my watch, we will invest our dollars wisely and spend them in a way that provides a return on our money - not give political donors and insiders the equivalent of a winning lottery ticket!”

Because the results of the 2010 gubernatorial election are critically important to Jekyll’s future, IPJI will be using its website to provide information about the Jekyll position of the various candidates. Our interview with David Poythress (D) has already taken place [click here to watch the Poythress interview]; and DuBose Porter (D) will be interviewed on May 26th.   

While citizens will cast their votes for Governor in 2010 based on a host of issues—many of which are more important than the Jekyll development question—IPJI nonetheless wants the public to be fully aware of the candidates’ Jekyll stance come election time.