October 17, 2017

Yesterday, I published a post about Mr. Lusk’s assault on Crabapple under the cover of darkness.  On the night before early voting, Mr. Lusk plastered Crabapple with many dozens of illegal signs.  Let’s be blunt . . . this is cheating pure and simple.

So cheaters never prosper, right?  Well, I would like to think so, but that is not always the case, particularly with the campaign signs.  The City of Milton will certainly remove signs on city property (and there were some) and signs in the right-of-way.  However, signs that are properly located on private property are off-limits . . . the city has no way of knowing whether the sign placement was authorized by the property owner or not.  And Mr. Lusk knows this . . . and accordingly he will continue with his cheating . . . that is, unless we can change the calculus.  The calculus?  Yes, calculus.

You see, Mr. Lusk is an engineer.  To Lusk, politics is an equation . . . benefits on one side and costs on the other.  (BTW, integrity counts for nothing in this calculus.)  Every decision he makes is based on benefits vs. costs . . . to Mr. Lusk (not to you, the citizens).  The benefit of illegal signs are more votes.  The cost of illegal signs is perhaps—a big perhaps—a penalty (mostly likely a small fine) from the city.  This is a no-brainer for Mr. Lusk.  The benefits, more votes, outweigh the costs, a small fine (that is, if you can prove the infraction . . . a big IF).

Fortunately for citizens, Mr. Lusk has made many miscalculations over the past 2 years.  He has often gotten the calculus wrong.  The costs of many of his decisions have exceeded the benefits.  Why?  Because Mr. Lusk left out one critical variable in his cost-benefit analysis.  It is Milton’s X-factor.  What is that X-factor?  It is you . . . citizens.  Long ago, Mr. Lusk forgot about you and cast his lot with Milton’s Special Interests, aka developers.  Mr. Lusk became arrogant and entitled.  However, for the past 2 years, more and more of you have been showing up, standing up, and speaking out.  And that has made all the difference.  The citizen X-factor has turned Mr. Lusk’s calculus upside-down.  Mr. Lusk has increasingly found himself on the losing side of many issues.

So citizens, let’s turn Mr. Lusk’s yard-sign cheating to our advantage.  Let’s take the high road and leave Mr. Lusk stranded on the low road.  Here’s the plan:

• Do NOT uproot Lusk’s signs. Leave that to the City and to private property owners.
• Do NOT erect illegal signs—e.g., put signs on city property, in the right-of-way, or on private property without the property owner’s permission.
• Report immediately any sign violations to City code enforcement.
• If you see any Lusk crews erecting illegal signs on private property (also known as trespassing), immediately contact the Milton police. Ensure that Milton police trespass the perpetrators.
• If you live in a subdivision where Mr. Lusk has planted signs on your subdivision’s borders (usually at the front entrance), immediately contact your HOA to request expeditious sign removal. HOAs should lodge a complaint with the City, so that Mr. Lusk is cited for a violation.  HOAs should also contact Mr. Lusk and demand that he cease-and-desist from illegal sign placements on HOA property.  Lusk’s city e-mail is bill.lusk@cityofmiltonga.us
• Ensure your own yard signs are in good shape—that is, erect and perpendicular to the road. Those displaying signs on the open road should ensure their signs are out of the right-of-way.
• If you don’t have a Bentley sign, get one.
• Email Mr. Lusk to express your dissatisfaction with his blatant disregard of Milton’s sign ordinances. Here is Mr. Lusk’s e-mail address:  lusk@cityofmiltonga.us
• Most importantly, educate your neighbors, friends, and family about Mr. Lusk’s attempts to subvert democracy in Milton.

If enough citizens take the above actions, we will once again upend Mr. Lusk’s political calculus.  He will stop the illegal sign placement.  Citizens, you are the X-factor in City politics.  If enough citizens are informed and engaged, we will oust Mr. Lusk and usher in an era of good governance in Milton.

The above photo shows some of Mr. Lusk’s signs on Mayfield Road.  Note the Milton Library in the background.  This is the sole location for early voting in Milton.  These 4 signs were placed on the night before early voting, along with dozens of other illegal signs in both Milton and Alpharetta.  The four signs in the photo are actually in Alpharetta.  The board fence is on the backside of Alpharetta’s St. Michelle neighborhood.  It is doubtful that the residents provided permission for these signs . . . or even know about them.  Code enforcement in Alpharetta will not remove these signs.  Removal requires tracking down the property owner and convincing him to take down the signs.  This example of Mr. Lusk’s sign placement is a metaphor for his record on Council . . . always bending, breaking, and changing the rules to his advantage and the advantage of his patrons.  Milton, we deserve better.

Advocating For Clean Elections,

Tim Becker