By Alex Kaufman / Staff

Is Johns Creek a synonym for contentment, or for apathy?

Local elections in the new city get canceled because there are no opposing candidates, and its mayor seemingly has a job for life.

Residents of Johns Creek – which once was described in this newspaper as a “loosely connected federation of gated communities lacking in community and devoid of collective soul“ — are perceived in some circles as apathetic and disinterested in anything that doesn’t relate to a lower property tax rate.

Yet the citizens of Johns Creek have at various times demonstrated great motivation and political interest – when, for instance, the city was created.

But to a reporter pursuing news in Johns Creek, one thing becomes readily apparent: there is not much to report there. So is the fact that there is no big news in Johns Creek the real story?

Georgia’s 10th-largest city, Johns Creek was incorporated in December 2006. The city was the result of grassroots activists tired of living as an unincorporated Fulton County community and unwilling to be annexed by Roswell or any other city.

A city created by activists seeking autonomy seems the ideal place for tough politics, or at the very least newsworthy developments, because the movement toward its creation was led by an idealistic citizenry that hammered their charter through the state legislature in short order.

Yet despite the ingredients for a perfect storm — influential, organized, and demanding activist residents — the city has gone through two election cycles that hardly raised an eyebrow. In fact, this past year none of the incumbent officials was challenged, so the elections were canceled. This is in stark contrast to the City of Roswell, where all of city council incumbents faced a challenge and a bruising, three-way mayoral battle was waged for nine months.

Naturally, Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker attributes his constituents’ apparent political apathy to satisfaction among the citizenry.

“Johns Creeks’ approach to making decisions is a slow and methodical approach,” he said. “We try to do things right the first time.” Asked if he was comparing his city to any nearby communities, Bodker declined to comment or name names. (Too bad — that at least would have made some news for next week.)

Interestingly, Johns Creek was the last of the North Fulton cities incorporated on the same day (Sandy Springs and Milton were also incorporated Dec. 1, 2006) to raise its own police force and fire department. By all accounts, Johns Creek also has undertaken fewer capital improvement projects than her sister cities. Despite the city’s appearing to be slower than its contemporaries in providing services, Bodker contends that Johns Creek did the job right the first time, rather than having to revisit its decisions. He said he thinks city responses should be slow but measured, and ultimately right.

Councilman Ivan Figueroa agreed that much of the city’s acts have been slow, but he contends that, “It kills me sometimes that we [Johns Creek’s city government] have to respond slowly to issues or building projects, but the reason for many of the slow responses is because we have limited resources and must stretch the taxpayers’ dollars as far as possible, rather than as a result of a deliberate decision-making policy.”

Community activist Rhonda Wilson, known for her fierce and successful opposition to Roswell’s attempted annexation of Newtown, agrees with the mayor that Johns Creek approaches all of its projects methodically and agreeably. She likens the citizen-politician interaction to parents having a child and trying to make decisions for the child’s best interest. She contends that what makes Johns Creek’s elected officials successful in satisfying community interests is that they are of a “kindred spirit from the start.”

Wilson notes that Bodker was also a grassroots activist fighting for the creation of the city, as were most of the city council members. Wilson said she thinks that because there have been no changes to the city council since its inception, everyone still shares a common vision.

Despite the utopia that apparently many believe is Johns Creek, it is becoming evident that many issues lurk in the darkness and that the city’s unchallenged leadership will not remain in place forever. Zoning issues and competing job creation strategies will undoubtedly create waves in the apparently ideal Johns Creek government. Wilson said zoning decisions are the most likely controversies to face Johns Creek leadership and could be the catalyst to awake the community from its current slumber.

Other potential sticking points include whether or not the city council will continue to be elected at-large. From prior comments, Bodker supports geographic representation over the at-large system currently in place. The outcome of this debate may change the manner in which Johns Creek operates.  By law, Johns Creek has what is known as a “strong mayor” form of government, meaning that the mayor may make many important decisions — such as the hiring or firing of the city attorney — without input from the city council.  However, Bodker seems to usually avoid governing with an independent and heavy hand. Perhaps it is his “walk softly but carry a big stick” approach to government that is keeping Johns Creek and its citizens out of the news, or at the very least quiet. For now.