Chatsworth, Ga., voters will decide July 20 whether restaurants in the city can serve liquor by the drink.
City leaders say there are supporters and detractors for the vote, but the City Council opted to let residents decide.
“I support democracy and I believe the people who elected me need to have a say-so,” Councilwoman Celeste Martin said.
Mayor Tyson Haynes, who only votes at council meetings in the event of a tie, said he doesn’t support the liquor-by-the-drink referendum. He predicted it won’t pass.
“I don’t feel … that there is consensus that citizens want this,” Mr. Haynes said. “I think you’ll see church groups organize against it.”
He said that roughly half the council was neutral on the issue and favored letting residents decide. The other half backed the measure because they believed it eventually would draw in chain restaurants and hotels.
Ms. Martin said allowing liquor by the drink could awaken Chatsworth’s stagnant economy.
“We are largely a carpet manufacturing area,” Ms. Martin said. “But we do have needs for restaurants, lodging and shopping.”
City leaders have been involved in a regional development effort guided by consulting firm Market Street Services of Atlanta. The company recommended both a full-time regional development coordinator and allowing liquor by the drink as ways to attract more business, Mr. Haynes said.
City voters will have to cast separate ballots if they want to weigh in on liquor sales. The citywide election will be held at municipal polling places. There also is a primary for state and congressional elections that day, and those ballots will be cast at county polling places, Mr. Haynes said.
The county election superintendent has said that moving polling places requires federal approval, and there simply wasn’t time to move the city and congressional polling places to the same location.
Continue reading by following these links to related stories: