Dear Editor:

Many good things were accomplished in Bryan County in 2023, but we did have some glaring failures as well that need to be addressed in this yearly evaluation.

#1. 6 months ago, the Commissioners were petitioned by the people of Bryan County to pass a resolution encouraging the state to get rid of the Dominion Voting Machines and go back to paper ballots. The commissioners passed 82 other resolutions- but not this one.

Grade: F - for failure to faithfully represent the people of Bryan County in safe elections.

#2. For 3 months, Bryan County has been waiting on the State Attorney General for advice & instructions on how to fix our problem with illegal ballots. Well, Chris Carr has had 3 years to fix the many problems with our election system and has accomplished nothing.

Grade: C - for having a bad strategy.

#3. On November 7, 2023, Bryan County ran an election using illegal ballots- ballots that were not “in a format readable by the electors” thus exposing our county to the possibility of being sued by the voters.

Grade: F - for using ballots not in compliance with Georgia’s election codes.

#4. In June, Bryan County applied for a grant from HUD - the Department of Housing & Urban Development - an agency that is unconstitutional. 

Grade: F- for failing to support the Constitution & uphold the 10th Amendment.

#5. In November, Bryan County unnecessarily added $1 million to our national debt of $33 trillion by accepting money from HUD- thus piling even more debt upon the backs of our children & grandchildren. This was very unwise and unnecessary when Georgia has $10.7 billion dollars in cash in the bank.

Grade: F - for fiscal irresponsibility- spending federal money we don’t have.

#6. Listening to the citizens; a mixed bag here - Our leaders have been very patient & gracious with people speaking about zoning issues, but with citizens concerned about our illegal ballots, they have sometimes been impatient, disrespectful and falsely assumed they knew what the citizens wanted to say.

Grade: D - for impatience, ungraciousness & an inconsistent policy on public comments.

Conclusion: Though we had many successes last year, there are several key areas here that need improvement.

Let’s hope our leaders work on these issues and do better in 2024.

M. Thomas Seaman, Richmond Hill, Georgia