Varnell councilman declines re-election run

For two weeks this summer, Varnell City Councilman Jan Pourquoi slept with a .44 Magnum atop his nightstand.

He and his wife, Debra, said people had been driving back and forth in front of their home, which is on a cul-de-sac in a small neighborhood in a small Whitfield County town of 1,800. A couple of times, Pourquoi said, strangers got out of their cars, lingering in front of his home. He read comments on Facebook, promising abuse.

"We could hardly sleep," he said Friday, a couple of days after deciding not to run for re-election. "We were so worried. This is the type of stuff you read about in Bangladesh. And Pakistan. And the Congo. And in Varnell."

The catalyst for the threats and fear? A decision by Pourquoi, Councilwoman Andrea Gordy and Councilman David Owens on July 11 to immediately disband the police department. They did so at a special called meeting, which they advertised simply as an opportunity for the council to discuss employees.

Mayor Anthony Hulsey vetoed the move two days later. And now, two of the three votes to cut the department will soon be gone. Gordy resigned two weeks after the vote, when two residents sued her and alleged she lived outside city limits.

Pourquoi said he would not run in the November election at the request of his wife. In addition to the alleged threats against him, residents openly wondered whether Pourquoi, an immigrant from Belgium, could be deported. They also packed meetings, yelling for his resignation.

After Gordy's resignation, Pourquoi and Owens planned to put an item on a non-binding referendum on the November ballot, asking voters whether they wanted to cut the police department and, in exchange, eliminate the city's property taxes.

On July 25, Councilwoman Ashlee Godfrey missed the meeting, leaving the council unable to form the three-person quorum to put the referendum on the ballot. This month, in the middle of a meeting, Godfrey left when Pourquoi and Owens again tried to put the item on the ballot, again blocking the move.

Now, there will be no election at all. Every candidate is running unopposed, including in the mayor's race.

Tom Dickson, a former Whitfield County Schools Superintendent and state representative, will replace Hulsey, who chose not to run for re-election. Hulsey did not return a call seeking comment.

Dickson, who lost his state representative re-election last year after 12 years under the Gold Dome, decided to run after the council's surprise vote to eliminate the police.

"I thought this was a good time to put my name out to qualify," he said, "see if I could help bring some calm and future to Varnell."

Contact Staff Writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or tjett@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.