I write this letter to you, not on behalf of anything I personally have to gain, but so that you, as a sane Republican living in Cobb County, might be inspired to turnout on the morning of February 8 for the Republican Mass Precinct Meetings, and join a band of people intent on restoring trust and good faith back into the Cobb GOP.

In the title of this letter, I specify that you must be 'sane' in order to open and read this letter. I specify "sane" because for the last two years, the management and stewardship of this county party has been anything but.

Whether it's been Chairman Marilyn Gilhuly making-up stories about people and events that did not happen, or Gilhuly lying to me personally about who said what about me, or how prolific the degree of ballot stuffing and violations of county party rules practiced by Gilhuly's willing accomplices, or simply how immoral the leadership has been for the past two years, this party has been run like someone deliberately wanted to destroy it and the lives and reputations of any good people associated with it. It is amazing that before Gilhuly's 2-year stint, there was no infighting and hatred going on to the degree that it is going on now.

Now, there will be people on Gilhuly's side who will pooh-pooh me and what I'm saying and they will run around telling all sorts of lies about me being "anti-Republican" or "anti-Christian." IF it is "anti-Republican" or "anti-Christian" to be against people who lie, cheat, and, for all I know, steal, then I guess I'm guilty as charged.

As most of you may know, I'm not much for lying about things. Sure, I use the Political Vine to send out rumors and satire about politics in Georgia, but usually, there is a valid point to everything I write or present. (Though, you might not always get what that point is.)

I'd say most of the folks who dislike me do so because I don't hold back my opinions. I don't lie to make you feel "good." I don't have tact and I don't beat around the bush. You ask me a question, and more than likely, I'll give you a straight answer. It may not be an answer you like, but, you will know exactly where I stand. That's a lot more than I can say for most so-called "Republicans" in this county's GOP executive committee who try to hold themselves out to be of the highest moral and ethical standards.

In any case, this letter is not about me. It is about you. It is about your future in Cobb County politics. It is about uniting people instead of beating people over the head if they disagree with you. It is about kicking out the real psychotic people who claim they are "Republicans" in this party, but who really have a hidden agenda that doesn't involve you or anything remotely Republican.

Just so you all will know who is on the "Marilyn Gilhuly side" of this battle, the following people are just as reptillian towards others as she is:

Anthony-Scott Hobbs, who is running for Cobb County Chairman, and who didn't even bother to register to vote in this state until February 2001...after Bush got elected.

Paul and Nancy Ploener, Paule Chalmers, Lew Stafford, Doug DeBolt, Dawn Strickland, Frank Molesky, Ed Leidelmejier, Doris Fowler, Bill Lathum(em?), Harry Eubanks, Timothy Pilgrim, Carolyn Meadows, Dorsey Dodgen.

By the way, from this point forward, I'm certain they'll be acting on their best behavior now that they've been named. Don't buy anything they're selling though, and don't turn your back on them, literally or figuratively. Because these folks have a reputation for mischief, whether a blade in the back pocket or via words that roll off their forked tongues to stab you in the back.

Their agenda is only to acquire power and control over others, whether it be the county party, the district party, or even the state party. If this sounds a lot like the Democrat agenda, perhaps you will soon grasp exactly what we're facing in this county. Again, they only care about themselves and, as Cobb Countian Larry Ceminsky could tell you, they will turn against you in a heartbeat, and proceed with a character assasination assault that only James Carville would admire.

To give you Larry as an example, Larry used to be one of Marilyn's good pals. Then, Larry joined the slate of Scott Chadwick, who is opposing Hobbs for the county chairmanship. Larry is running for the position currently held by Paul Ploener, who has done nothing but aid Marilyn in destroying this party.

In May of 2002, Larry contributed $200 to a personal friend of his, Democrat Pat Dooley, who was running for House District 33, Post 3. At the time of the contribution, there was no announced Republican for the seat, and qualifying was a month away.

As it turned out, a Republican candidate did enter the primary and win his primary, as did Dooley hers. Larry didn't contribute anything to Dooley after that one contribution in May, and didn't help her once a Republican showed-up on June 21 to qualify for the race. Also, at the time of his contribution, Larry was not an officer of any district party, as he is now.

But, because Larry has the character and intestinal fortitude that Ploener does not possess (and never will), Gilhuly has now taken it upon herself to launch a war to discredit Larry's good name and Republican efforts to date. She is doing this by declaring that his contribution to Dooley (again, a contribution made prior to any Republican entering the race) constitutes a violation of State Party Rules Section 7.8. Which states the following:

"If a member of the State Committee, a District Committee, or a County Committee shall publicly advocate the election of another candidate for an office for which the Republican Party has nominated a candidate, that advocacy shall be cause for which that member may be removed from party office."

At the time of the contribution there was no Republican who had qualified, and the Republican party had not yet nominated a candidate since the nomination did not occur until August 20 when the Republican won his primary. In short, Marilyn is trying to do anything she can to sully Larry Ceminsky's reputation so that her past do-nothing of a candidate for First Vice-Chair, Paul Ploener, can continue to carry out her goal of destruction and disarray of the Cobb GOP.

I could go on, literally, for pages about all of the crap that Gilhuly and her thugs have engaged in over the past 2 years, but I'm pretty sure most of you have received all of the past Vines when I described these events and the outlandish things that Marilyn and her Goons have said or done.

In order to restore decency and integrity to the Cobb GOP, those of you who are sane must drag yourself out of bed on two particular Saturdays, February 8 and March 8, at a minimum.

On Feburary 8 is the mass precinct meetings where you meet with other members of your voting precinct and organize yourselves. You will sign two sheets of paper. One is to join the county committee for the 2-year time span of 2003-2005, and one is to become a delegate to the county convention on March 8. The precinct meetings start at 10:00 AM, and be there by 9:30 AM to check-in.

The locations of all mass precinct meetings have been posted in the Marietta Daily Journal, but in case you were one of the 100,000 or so people who likely missed the legal notice, I have placed the list below this letter. Or, you can send e-mail to Craig Kootsillas who has a master list of precincts and where they are meeting. (Sign-up for his Cobb County e-letter as well if you haven't already done so because he is focused only on Cobb County, and the Vine has other stories to cover.)

You can only join the county committee if you personally attend February 8 and put your name on a sheet of paper, OR you tell someone who is attending from your precinct that you wish to have your name placed on the county committee sheet, and you will be on the committee. Do not listen to anyone who claims that you cannot bring a list of people and add their names to the list because neither the county party rules, nor Robert's Rules, call for delegates to personally attend. You can have people add your name, but they must add their name while attending the precinct meeting. No names can be added once the mass meetings have been adjourned.

[Note to you current proxy cheaters in the Cobb GOP: We will have cameras and copiers at these meetings to take pictures of all of the sheets of paper before they exit the building. If you raise a fuss of "How dare you question our proxies" like you have in the past when Craig Kootsillas asked to see the proxies from past committee meetings, we will assume you intend to cheat like we know you've done in the past. Randy Evans and other state GOP officials will be observing the proceedings as well. If names magically appear on the lists after the precinct mass meetings have adjourned, you can look forward to having the entire Cobb County delegation thrown-out of the Convention in Macon for violating the Call and the State GOP Rules.]

On March 8 is the county convention. It convenes at 10:00 AM at Kell High School. Be there early to check-in and get credentialed. You will not be allowed to enter after 10:00 AM, and you should plan on being there until mid-afternoon Saturday.

Even after I write this, I know some of you won't believe it is as bad as I say. So, let me paint you another picture. Let's assume it's next year when we have a presidential reelection and a U.S. Senate seat up for grabs. Do you want the county party to be the center of Georgia because of all of the normal things it is doing, or do you want the likes of Tim Pilgrim (whose actions against Judy Manning I've described in my column titled "Southerners, The SCV, and Me...") to be drawing the entire world to focus on the Cobb County GOP? Your choice.

- Bill Simon


Cobb County Mass Precinct Meeting Locations
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Listed below are the locations of the mass precinct meetings to be held Saturday, February 8. If you don't know which district or precinct you're in, please drop a line (including your address) to Craig Kootsillas and he will be happy to look it up for you.

District 1A
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Acworth Beach House 4425 Beach Rd; Acworth, GA

Acworth 1A Acworth 1B Acworth 1C Baker 1 Big Shanty 1 Elizabeth 1 Kennesaw 1 Kennesaw 2 Kennesaw 3 Kennesaw 4 Kennesaw 5A Kennesaw 5B Lewis 1 North Cobb 1

District 1B
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Red Rock Community Center (Mars Hill & Due West Roads)

Cheatham Hill 2 Due West 1 Ford 1 Frey 1 Harrison 1 Hayes 1 Kemp 1 Lost Mountain 2 Marietta 4B Mars Hill 1 Pine Mountain 1 Pine Mountain 2 Red Rock 1 Vaughan 1

District 1C
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Police/Fire Station Precinct #5, 4640 Dallas Highway Powder Springs, GA (corner of Dallas Hwy & Midway Road)

Cheatham Hill 1 Cheatham Hill 3 Dowell 1 Fair Oaks 6 Kemp 2 Lost Mountain 1 Lost Mountain 3 Marietta 2A Marietta 2B Marietta 3A Marietta 3B Marietta 4A Marietta 4C Marietta 4D Oregon 1 Oregon 3 Oregon 5

District 2A
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Chattahoochee Baptist Church, 375 Johnson Ferry Road, Marietta, GA

Dickerson 1 East Valley 1 Eastside 1 Fullers Park 1 Mt. Bethel 1 Mt. Bethel 2 Mt. Bethel 3 Parkaire 1 Sedalia Park 1 Sewell Mill 2 Sewell Mill 3 Sewell Mill 4 Sope Creek 1

District 2B
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Houck's Steak and Seafood, 305 Village Parkway, Marietta, Georgia 30067, Telephone 770-859-0041, e-mail: www.houcksrestaurant.com

Brumby 1 Chattahoochee 1 Chattahoochee 2 Cumberland 1 Marietta 7A Mt. Bethel 4 Paces Mill 1 Powers Ferry 1 Sope Creek 2 Sope Creek 3 Terrell Mill 1 Vinings 1 Vinings 2 Vinings 3

District 2C
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City of Smyrna Community Center, 200 Village Green Circle, Smyrna

Nickajack 1 Oakdale 1 Smyrna 1 Smyrna 2 Smyrna 3 Smyrna 4 Smyrna 5 Smyrna 6 Smyrna 7A Smyrna 7B Teasley 1

District 3A
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Covenant Presbyterian Church, 2881 Canton Road, NE, Marietta

Addison 1 Bells Ferry 1 Bells Ferry 2 Bells Ferry 3 Big Shanty 2 Big Shanty 3 Blackwell 1 Chalker 1 Elizabeth 2 Gritters 1 Marietta 5B Marietta 6A Marietta 6C Palmer 1 Wade Green 1 Wade Green 2

District 3B
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Mountain View Community Center, 3400 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta

Davis 1 East Cobb 1 Elizabeth 3 Elizabeth 4 Elizabeth 5 Hightower 1 Keheley 1 Mabry 1 Marietta 6B McCleskey 1 Nicholson 1 Rocky Mount 1 Rocky Mount 2 Sandy Plains 1 Sewell Mill 1 Simpson 1 Sprayberry 1

District 3C
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Chestnut Ridge Christian Church , 2663 Johnson Ferry Road, NE, Marietta, GA

Chestnut Ridge 1 Dodgen 1 Elizabeth 6 Garrison Mill 1 Murdock 1 Pope 1 Post Oak 1 Roswell 1 Roswell 2 Shallowford Falls 1 Timber Ridge 1 Tritt 1 Willeo 1

District 4A
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Hollydale United Methodist Church, 2364 Powder Springs Road

Austell 1A Austell 1B Clarkdale 1 Clarkdale 2 Cooper 1 Macland 1 Macland 2 McEachern 1 Oregon 2 Oregon 4 Powder Springs 1A Powder Springs 1B Powder Springs 2A Powder Springs 3A Sweetwater 1 Sweetwater 2 Sweeetwater 5 Sweetwater 6

District 4B
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Cobb Police/Fire Precinct #2, 4700 Austell Road, Austell, GA

Birney 1 Dobbins 1 Dobbins 2 Fair Oaks 1 Fair Oaks 2 Fair Oaks 3 Fair Oaks 4 Fair Oaks 5 Fair Oaks 7 Marietta 1A Marietta 1B Marietta 5A Norton Park 1 Norton Park 2 Oregon 6 Sweetwater 4

District 4C
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Mableton Library 5801 Mableton Parkway, Mableton, GA

Birney 2 Bryant 1 Bryant 2 Harmony-Leland 1 Lindley 1 Mableton 1 Mableton 2 Mableton 3 Mableton 4 Mableton 5 Pebblebrook 1 Pebblebrook 2 Poole 1 Riverside 1 Sweetwater 3