Gilvin Enters Race for City Council Post 4 to Defend Vision for Alpharetta

Jim Gilvin announced he was running for election to Alpharetta City Council to give his vision a chance to be heard by city residents and voters.

"The voters of Alpharetta can now choose between two very distinct visions of their future. Voters can choose to elect the incumbent with a record of supporting unbridled growth regardless of the consequences or they can choose to vote for my proven track record of promoting growth that is consistent with Alpharetta's strong family oriented environment while rejecting growth that will irreparably harm our city and our families," Gilvin said in his candidacy announcement.

He said during the November 2007 election, not a single candidate for City Council ran on a platform of unbridled urban development.

"Yet as we look back, that is exactly what we got," Gilvin said.

Since the 2007 election, Givlin said City Council approved a 15-story condo tower on Windward Parkway. He also said approving a Livable Communities Initiative will bring thousands of condos or apartments to the North Point area in a bid to attract MARTA.

"Then the City Council approved two more high density mega projects in addition to the Prospect Park debacle. All of that will now compete for residents, shoppers and dollars that could have otherwise been drawn to Alpharetta's struggling downtown area," Gilvin said.

The candidate also said the city's proposed comprehensive land use plan revisions will add to traffic problems and erode the quality of life. He said it could add more apartments and condos along Haynes Bridge Road and around Wills Park.

"And while reasonable people can disagree about the future of our community, the voters of Alpharetta were never given that opportunity. None of those drastic changes were ever discussed during the election of 2007 and that is unacceptable," Gilvin said.

That's why he decided to run for the Post 4 Council seat now held by Cheryl Oakes, he said: to assure frank and open discussion about such issue before an election.

"Alpharettans deserve a City Council representative that will work tirelessly to promote and defend their vision of Alpharetta's future. I am that person," Gilvin said.

Gilvin is a real estate agent and has been president of Windward Homeowners Inc., the voluntary homeowners' organization for the master plan community.