Dunwoody voting districts
Tuesday, March 10, 2009 12:11 PM EDT

The County Voter Registration Department

An idea from a freshman state senator that grew into a three-year crusade ended Tuesday night with a resounding vote to create the city of Dunwoody. Though few in Dunwoody know it, it was a movement that began 37 years ago.

Voters in both the Republican and Democratic party primaries combined to choose incorporation of the 14th largest city in Georgia by a margin of 81 percent to 19 percent. That margin should rise, election officials said, after absentee ballots and early votes are counted.

“In a general election cycle, 55 percent of the vote is a landslide,” said state Rep. Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody), “I guess with 81 percent, this is an earthquake.”

Voters in 12 of Dunwoody’s 13 precincts affirmed creating a city by margins no smaller than 2.5 to 1. (The Chesnut precinct had not reported as The Crier went to press.)

For Dunwoody supporters, the stars of the day were voters in the Austin, Dunwoody Library, Mt. Vernon East and Kingsley precincts. Voters there chose incorporation by margins of more than 6-1.

On a day in which statewide voter turnout was below expectations, the Dunwoody vote was not. Turnout approached or exceeded 40 percent at several sites.

State Sen. Dan Weber (R-Dunwoody), who cruised to re-election Tuesday night, recalled how he assembled a small group of people in 2005 to discuss creating a city.

He introduced his legislation for the 2006 General Assembly and saw it sail through the state Senate before stalling in the state House committee process.

“When I first ran for office in 2004,” Weber said, “I talked a lot about building community. We have built a community.”

Millar echoed Weber’s words.

“I defined community as a place where your children will want to live,” he said, adding that his children and grandchildren all have lived here.

The neighboring city of Sandy Springs provided a backdrop to Tuesday’s election returns.

One of the legislators instrumental in the creation of Sandy Springs and Dunwoody, state Rep. Harry Geisinger (R-Roswell), was a quiet, historical force.

In 1971, Geisinger, who then represented Dunwoody, teamed with state Rep. Stan Collins to introduce a bill to create a city of Dunwoody. In the late 1970s, when Geisinger was succeeded in office by John Linder, now a congressman, Linder introduced a similar bill. It too failed.

The current effort had its setbacks.

Oliver Porter, once the chairman of the Governor’s Commission on Sandy Springs, has advised the Citizens for Dunwoody for three years.

“We had a low point in 2007 when we were defeated in the state House,” he said, “and the next low point was when we lost in 2008 in the House Government Affairs Committee.”

Porter drew applause when he said, “But then the Sandy Springs mafia came through for us on reconsideration.”

The Dunwoody bill finally passed the state House by a vote of 106-66 and was signed into law by Gov. Sonny Perdue.

While praise was thrown about like parade candy Tuesday night, Porter singled out two people for special recognition.

He said Tom Taylor and Brian Anderson were indispensable.

All the speakers active in the movement commented that hard work was just beginning.

Porter invited those interested in seeking the mayoralty or a city council spot to attend a candidate information session from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday at the Dunwoody Library.

Dunwoody residents will go to the polls again September 16 to elect a government. The City of Dunwoody begins operations December 1.

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