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Milton residents defend councilman, blast city manager, political committee By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com
HAYDEN SUMLIN/APPEN MEDIA
Both candidates running for the Post 2 District 3 seat on the City Council, incumbent Rick Mohrig and Phil Cranmer, address Milton’s most pressing issues at an Oct. 4 debate forum.
City Council Candidates spar at Appen debate By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com MILTON, Ga. — Development and selfrun elections highlighted a Milton City Council candidate debate Oct. 4 at St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church. Ahead of the advanced voting, which begins Oct. 16, about 100 residents showed up to track positions of candidates for the contested Post 2 seats on the City Council. At the event, hosted by Appen Media and the Milton Herald, incumbent Councilman Rick Mohrig and Phil Cranmer went toe-to-toe on issues to win the District 3, Post 2 seat. Meanwhile, incumbent Councilwoman Carol Cookerly in District 1, Post 2
drew less pressure with opponent Helen Gordon absent due to a prior commitment as a teacher at Milton High School. Though running unopposed in District 2, Post 2, Doug Hene introduced his platform to the audience before retiring to the sidelines as the other candidates fielded questions posed by Herald moderator Amber Perry, a staff reporter who covers Milton. Many of the questions were sourced from the community. Phil Cranmer, candidate for the District 3 seat currently held by Mohrig, has served as HOA president for Bethany Creek and on the Milton Parks and Recreation Advisory Board during his 17 years in the city. “Why am I running?... There’s a huge
opportunity for this city,” Cranmer said. He said the opportunities are “to get rid of special interests,” “to get rid of partisan politics” and “rechanneling city resources to matters that matter most to citizens.” Councilwoman Cookerly described herself as “independent-minded,” “negotiable for the betterment of this city” and willing to do anything she can to prevent overcrowding. “We have less density, that’s intentional, yet our spending is less per capita,” Cookerly said. “Let this sink in, how great this city is doing.” Councilman Mohrig gave his opening statement last.
See DEBATE, Page 4
MILTON, Ga. — Several Milton residents spoke out at the Oct. 2 City Council meeting to defend Councilman Rick Mohrig who has drawn fire for attending a campaign strategy meeting hosted by some of the city’s election poll workers. Speakers also questioned the scope of City Manager Steve Krokoff’s authority. Appen Media recently reported Krokoff surveilled the entrance of the Crooked Creek subdivision where the campaign strategy meeting took place. Mohrig remained silent following questions that had been raised by the council. In a late September email, Krokoff told Appen Media as well as the council that his previous professional training as a police officer is “to act on initial concerns as quietly and unobtrusively as possible, as one might not get the chance later.” Krokoff is the city election superintendent and the former police chief for the Albany, N.Y. Police Department. The campaign meet-up was the subject of an invitation sent to the council from Mohrig’s city email
See DEFEND, Page 5