The race to represent the most diverse swath of Gwinnett County pits a two-term Republican incumbent against a newcomer trying to make history.
Republican Lynette Howard, a chemist by trade, is seeking her third term representing Gwinnett Commission District 2, which covers the Lilburn, Norcross and Peachtree Corners areas. She's being challenged by Ben Ku, a software engineer and entrepreneur who's gunning to be the commission's first Democratic member in 32 years.
He would also be its first-ever member of Asian descent, as well as its first openly gay member.
Ku, the grandson of Chinese immigrants, bills himself as a problem solver — and a doer.
He's fond of talking about how he worked to save the homeowner's association of his subdivision near Jimmy Carter Boulevard from the brink of bankruptcy. He likes to talk about building websites and smartphone apps in the early days of the concepts — and he recently built a new site, myvoterpage.org, that allows Georgians to plug in their info, get their sample ballot and find interactive information about where candidates stand on different issues.
“I feel like if I provide the solutions, people will see that, and people will recognize it,” said Ku, a metro Atlanta native who moved to Gwinnett in 2014. “I bring skills and perspective that never has existed on the Board of Commissioners.”
Howard, meanwhile, has campaigned primarily on what she’s done and helped do during her eight years on the commission. She referenced her willingness to work with residents and other stakeholders so everyone “has a voice.”
She touted the collaboration involved in the development of the county’s comprehensive transportation and transit plans, which will guide how those services are rendered for the next several decades.
“The Gwinnett standard, which we’ve worked really hard to build, is doing things effectively, efficiently, with the taxpayers’ money in mind,” Howard said. “That’s what I’ve done for the past eight years. And, if I’m lucky enough, I get to do it for another four.”
Howard is in favor of transit expansion in Gwinnett, which will be on the ballot in a special March election. The commission voted earlier this year to approve a potential contract with MARTA.
Ku is pro-transit as well, but he criticized the decision of Howard and her commission colleagues to not hold the vote during November’s general election, which is expected to have a higher turnout. He also said the current expansion plan doesn’t do enough — and that more should’ve been done sooner to help people get around.
“They’re just spending millions of dollars making plans instead of taking actions and doing things,” Ku said.
Howard, whose mother and grandmother were Cuban immigrants, calls District 2 the most diverse district in the Southeast. And she knows that, if there is indeed a Democratic wave pushing across the county, her district may very well be at the crest.
But Howard said most of the divisive political issues driving folks to the polls are “stuff that’s not even going on in their county” and should be less of a factor in local races.
“It’s making sure we don’t forget that we work together in Gwinnett County. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat or a Republican, where you come from,” Howard said. “It’s people who are engaged in making sure that it’s a better place for our kids, and so it’s a good place to live, work, play and learn.
The District 2 seat is one of two Gwinnett Commission spots up for grabs Nov. 6. In District 4, which primarily covers the Lawrenceville and Buford areas, Republican incumbent John Heard will try to fend off Democratic challenger Marlene Fosque.
Advance voting begins Oct. 15 at the Gwinnett elections office in Lawrenceville.
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