WHAT BISHOP DESERVES
Financial Accountability
Do you know where your tax dollars are going? The Town Council doesn’t. Despite being mandated by state and local law to have annual financial audits, the Town of Bishop hasn’t had one in seven years.
If you pay $300 per year in town property taxes, about $120 of it goes to the Bishop Boogie.
Transparency
Bishop deserves an open and transparent town council that conducts its business publicly. Not one that hides behind executive sessions and coordinates voting privately before the public ever even has a chance to comment.
Comprehensive Planning
Mindy Porterfield is the only member of the current Town Council to have consistently pushed for long-term planning for the Town and its goals in coordination with the State’s university system.
Safety
In its most recent budget meeting, Mindy Porterfield was the only member of the Town Council to vote against removing the budget line item for public safety; meanwhile, nearly $40,000 was budgeted for the Bishop Boogie alone.
Democracy
Mayor Kurtz was appointed to his office, then he used his position to unlawfully appoint Hudson Holder to the Town Council despite Holder not living within the town’s limits or paying property taxes to the Town on his primary residence. The bottom line is, no one ever voted for Kurtz to be mayor or Holder to be a councilmember.
This council, all of it members having run unopposed, and 40% of its members having been appointed to their positions, has repeatedly sneered at democratic principles. Despite receiving a petition from townspeople in which over 85% of households polled disagreed with Town Council’s termination of St. Aelred’s lease the Town Council (except for Mindy Porterfield) voted to proceed with it’s termination.
WHAT BISHOP
DOESN’T DESERVE
Deborah Lucas’s Shameful Conduct
Councilwoman Deborah Lucas has repeatedly embarrassed our town with arrogance and hostility toward those she disagrees with. At a public meeting, she self-rightously shouted at Bishop residents, telling them that she was “filled with the Holy Ghost and can discern everyone in this room” — implying her perceived spiritual and moral superiority over her own constituents. Even worse, on the day of his shooting, Lucas took to social media to seemingly mock the murder of conservative speaker Charlie Kirk, posting crying laughing emojis and claiming that he was “HELL BOUND.” Whatever one’s politics, celebrating anyone’s death is disgraceful.
Hudson Holder’s Illegal Tenure
Councilman Hudson Holder was unanimously found by the Oconee County Board of Elections to be ineligible to serve on the Bishop City Council. The Board determined that Holder does not live within the town limits in clear violations of the town charter. Despite all this Hudson Holder continues to hold his seat on the council illegally, if the Board decided correctly. Mayor Drew Kurtz chose to appoint Holder without doing due diligence. Even more outrageous, the Town of Bishop used taxpayer dollars to have the town attorney appear at the hearing and defend him, rather than defend the law. Once again, the council has chosen to circle the wagons and protect one of their own instead of protecting the integrity of Bishop’s government.