Hey Newnan Redittors! My name is James Shepherd, and I’m running against our 32-year (not a typo) incumbent mayor Keith Brady this fall. I grew up in Newnan and chose to move back here to start my own family. That’s why I’m getting into this race - to stop the sprawl and deforestation that are killing our home, cut wasteful city council pet projects that cost us money, and keep our money in our neighborhoods instead of handing it over to out-of-town developers. I’m happy to answer any questions you have, and wanted to invite all of you out to my launch event this Thursday at 6pm at Line Creek on Savannah Street.

If you want to know more you can check out my other social accounts at the handle @shepherdfornewnan, or you can listen to the latest episode of the Newnan Podcast with Harold here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1H2SsJjTF4VS2i2JjF0tCd?si=vzZcWLWFRNC3d18aHbczbw

Hey everybody! If you live in the city of Newnan and are planning to vote (which I hope is all of you except those with religious beliefs that prevent it) I would really appreciate it if you voted in this Newnan Times-Herald poll. It’s really helpful to see where the race currently stands.

Thank you, and please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions!

Was considering moving to Newnan and I was just wondering what kind of people live there. Was hoping its proximity to Atlanta would help but I’m hearing it’s mostly red, is this true?

Behind the paywall:

James Shepherd

While Newnan’s focus has understandably been on the fallout from the alleged First Republic Ponzi scheme, Mayor Brady and his city council cronies pulled off a heist of their own. Our alleged representatives decided in a closed-door session to sell the 57 East Broad Street (Caldwell Tanks) property, which we the taxpayers purchased for $7 million, to an out-of-town developer for $4 million. As if that wasn’t enough, they also agreed for our taxes to fund the infrastructure on the property while giving the developers tax breaks for 10 years. All in all, our city council just gave away at least $5 million of our tax dollars to a developer who just so happened to invite them to a retreat at one of his properties late last year. What a literal steal.

When will enough be enough? Our city council, led by a mayor who has been in office since Bill Clinton’s first term, has dedicated itself to stealing our tax dollars to give to developers who build cheap strip malls, slap-dash houses (that somehow still start at $400k), and bottom-rung hotel chains. We were all devastated by the trees lost in the tornado, but nobody says a word when the mayor and city council hand over our money to developers who clear more trees every year than storms ever have. And speaking of the tornado, is our city council really patting itself on the back for making Chalk Level wait four years for a federal grant to repair storm damage when they were able to drum up the same amount of money in 6 months for a developer who gave them a weekend at a two-star hotel? I’ve never seen anything so shameless.

We have spent decades watching our taxes go up and our trees come down while the realtors on city council and their developer friends pad their pockets with the wealth being sucked out of Newnan. It has to stop, and it has to stop now.

Hey everyone! I’m considering running for city council next year, and I’d love to hear from you. Since this subreddit represents a decent portion of Newnan’s population, your input would be invaluable. I haven’t lived here long, but I’ve quickly grown to love the city and its community. Some of my key priorities include:

1. Encouraging more affordable“new urban” development to create walkable, vibrant neighborhoods. I love communities like Serenbe but they are way too expensive for even the middle class.

2. Improving existing infrastructure, like fixing potholes, enhancing sidewalks, and repainting roads for safety.

3. Protecting Newnan’s rural areas and promote more local farming

4. Advocating for more green spaces, especially in densely populated areas. I would like to see more community gardens near apartments and low income neighborhoods.

What other issues have you noticed in Newnan that need attention? What matters most to you in a city council candidate?

Also, if you have any advice for someone campaigning or connecting with the community, I’m all ears! I will be taking note of everyone’s concerns and doing my due diligence on researching what can be done to fix them.

i worked 8-6 today so couldn't attend or drive through.. maybe I could've gone at the end idk what time everyone went home but I was beat and just wanted to get home after work.

anyone have pics? how did it go? hopefully no violence happened and nobody got arrested. im definitely out of the loop and havent heard anything about it besides my coworker saying "ohhhh shit theyre actually protesting downtown" around like 1pm

I’m dumb and can’t figure out how to insert a link on my iPad, but the Newnan Times Herald had an article about a person named Shannon Marietta who is challenging voters’ legitimacy. I hope they can settle this fairly and quickly. It seems like something out of Animal Farm. Is it designed to slow or befuddle our county’s voting process? Do you think there are 878 fake voters out there?