Athens Politics Nerd

Chris Dowd

5.0 (5)
Music
Updated Biweekly

Athens Politics Nerd is an independent media organization keeping you up to date on local news and politics in the Athens, Georgia area. APN takes a progressive view of the news, focusing on both the mayor and commission and protest movements alike. We strive to hold the powerful to account.

May 11

Lillie Brooks and Adam Shirley are running for ACC School Board in District 7

Former second grade teacher Lillie Brooks and former member of the Board of Elections and current science teacher Adam Shirley are both running for School Board in District 7 in Athens, Georgia. Current Board of Education member LaKeisha Gantt is running for mayor, so there’s no incumbent. 0:00 - Intro0:33 - Meet Lillie Brooks3:56 - Meet Adam Shirley9:38 - Adam's assessment of the school system17:38 - Lillie's assessment of the school system23:14 - Lillie: How can we improve our schools?26:29 - Lillie on student retention27:52 - Adam: How can we improve our schools?29:29 - Adam on student retention32:40 - Adam's parting thoughts33:33 - Lillie's parting thoughts37:03 - Outro

38 min
Apr 28

Tracy Smith and Barry Irwin are challenging Ovita Thornton for ACC Commission in District 9

Insurance agent Tracy Smith and lawyer Barry Irwin are both challenging incumbent ACC Commissioner Ovita Thornton in District 9 in Athens, Georgia. APN interviewed all three candidates and edited them together for this week’s podcast. 0:00 - Intro0:28 - Meet Barry Irwin2:14 - Meet Tracy Smith5:23 - Meet Ovita Thornton10:36 - Tracy's experience12:42 - Barry's experience & top priorities15:08 - Tracy's top priorities18:46 - Ovita's top priorities19:47 - Ovita's voting record on resolutions25:40 - Tracy's thoughts on Ovita as commissioner26:44 - Ovita responds to Tracy's criticism29:24 - The water crisis in Pinewoods33:37 - Why voters should choose Ovita35:36 - Why voters should choose Tracy36:15 - Why voters should choose Barry37:53 - Outro

38 min
Apr 21

Who will be the next Mayor of Athens?

Pastor Sharon Miller, Commissioner Dexter Fisher, community advocate Mara Zúñiga and ACC Board of Education members Tim Denson and LaKeisha Gantt are all running to be the next mayor of Athens-Clarke County in 2026. 0:30 - Meet Tim Denson1:40 - Meet Mara Zúñiga3:00 - Meet Sharon Miller4:18 - Meet LaKeisha Gantt5:35 - Meet Dexter Fisher6:49 - What is your most important issue?13:13 - How will you make housing more affordable?24:17 - Why should voters choose you?

36 min
Apr 20

Bennie Coleman and Ed Tolley are running for ACC Commission in District 7

Housing advocate Bennie Coleman and lawyer Ed Tolley are both running to be the next ACC Commissioner from District 7. Commissioner John Culpepper is not running for re-election, so there’s no incumbent. 0:00 – Intro0:29 – Meet Ed Tolley2:44 – Meet Bennie Coleman3:59 – Bennie’s housing plan11:04 – Ed’s top priorities16:45 – Ed’s opinion of the current commission21:18 – Bennie’s opinion of the current commission22:39 – Bennie’s experience24:17 – Ed’s experience26:46 – Why you should vote for Ed Tolley27:14 – Why you should vote for Bennie Coleman28:18 – Bennie’s final thoughts

35 min
Apr 14

Four candidates are running for District 5 Commissioner

Community advocate Kimberly Bennett, vice chair of the ACC Hearings Board Rick Stanziale, financial advisor Zander Mason and chaplain Craig Topple are all running to be the next ACC Commissioner in District 5. Commissioner Dexter Fisher decided to vacate this seat to run for mayor, so there's no incumbent. 0:00 - Intro 0:45 - Meet Craig Topple 4:48 - Meet Kimberly Bennett 8:36 - Meet Zander Mason 10:40 - Meet Rick Stanziale 14:01 - Zander's experience 16:25 - Kimberly's experience 16:52 - Craig's experience & priorities 20:31 - Kimberly's priorities 24:44 - Zander's priorities 31:55 - Rick's priorities & assessment of the commission 42:14 - Zander's assessment of the commission 43:39 - Kimberly's assessment of the commission 45:57 - Craig's assessment of the commission & why you should vote for him 49:48 - Why you should vote for Kimberly 50:27 - Why you should vote for Zander 52:43 - Why you should vote for Rick 53:29 - Outro Music: Vlad Gluschenko — Touch of the Sea License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

54 min
Apr 6

Tammie Foote is challenging Tiffany Taylor for ACC Commission, District 3

Social services case manager Tammie Foote is challenging Commissioner Tiffany Taylor to represent east Athens on the Athens-Clarke County Commission. 0:00 - Intro 0:25 - Meet Tammie Foote 2:50 - Tammie's priorities 6:15 - Tiffany Taylor's accomplishments 10:31 - Tiffany on housing 15:49 - Tammie on the Triangle Plaza community garden 20:30 - Why Tiffany voted for the community garden 24:49 - Tiffany's priorities 26:27 - Tammie's priorities and experience 27:33 - Why voters should choose Tammie 28:11 - Why voters should choose Tiffany

30 min
Mar 22

Terry Johnson is challenging Patrick Davenport for ACC Commission, District 1

Handyman Terry Johnson is challenging incumbent Commissioner Patrick Davenport for the privilege of representing the southeast side on the Athens-Clarke County Commission.

26 min
11/19/2025

Interview with Eric Gisler, candidate for State House 121

Democrat Eric Gisler is running to become the next state representative for district 121. His Republican opponent is Mack “Dutch” Guest IV. APN sat down with Gisler for an interview on November 3. Guest did not respond to repeated interview requests, which is why this video only includes a conversation with Gisler. The election is coming up on December 9.

19 min

5

out of 5

5 Ratings

Athens Politics Nerd is an independent media organization keeping you up to date on local news and politics in the Athens, Georgia area. APN takes a progressive view of the news, focusing on both the mayor and commission and protest movements alike. We strive to hold the powerful to account.

Creator

Chris Dowd
Years Active

2021 - 2026
Episodes

39
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Chris Dowd
Show Website

Athens Politics Nerd