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The Town Square Podcast

The Town Square Podcast

Written by: Trey Bailey Gabriel Stovall
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Not just another podcast, but a place to meet in the messy middle and have difficult discussions with transparency and diplomacy where the outcome is unity, not uniformity.

The primary topics will be the local interests of Newton County, Georgia residents and those in the surrounding community.

All rights reserved. Economics Management Management & Leadership Political Science Politics & Government Relationships Science Self-Help Social Sciences Spirituality Success
Episodes
  • Debbie Harper: The Business of Newton County—A 2026 Chamber Playbook –Episode 74

    Debbie Harper: The Business of Newton County—A 2026 Chamber Playbook –Episode 74
    Feb 17 2026
    The Chamber Isn’t Government… and That MattersDebbie Harper comes back into the studio for her second appearance on The Town Square Podcast, and right out of the gate she re-anchors something people still confuse: the Chamber of Commerce is not government. The Chamber is a member-driven organization—which means it works “at the pleasure of the members,” advocating for the business community from the largest industries all the way down to the smallest mom-and-pop operation.That distinction matters because the Chamber’s job isn’t to pass ordinances or levy taxes. Its job is influence, connection, advocacy, programming, and building the kind of civic/business ecosystem where Newton County can thrive long-term.And in 2026, Debbie says the Chamber has momentum.75 Years Strong and Growing Past 700 MembersOne of the coolest headline moments in this conversation is the reminder that the Newton County Chamber is celebrating75 years—established in 1951, with roots tracing back to the Newton County Trade Association.And the modern Chamber isn’t some tiny networking club. Debbie shares that the Chamber topped 700 members last year—representing roughly 25,000 to 28,000 employees connected to those businesses. That’s a huge “voice” in a county our size, and Debbie makes the point clearly: this many members means the Chamber carries real influence—not by flexing authority, but by convening people and pushing coordinated priorities.Trey even laughs about it from the perspective of being a small LLC himself: The Town Square Podcast joined the Chamber at the end of last year and is now stepping into Chamber 101 (yes—Debbie had the date ready).Who the Chamber Serves (Hint: It’s Not Just Small Business)Debbie breaks down the range of membership in a way that makes the Chamber feel more “whole community” than many folks realize:Small businesses (the majority—often defined as 120 employees or fewer)Large industries and major employersNonprofitsFaith-based organizations/churchesAssociate members (individuals)And she notes a cultural trend that’s been growing: larger employers increasingly want to pour back into the communities where they operate—through grants, sponsorships, volunteer hours, nonprofit partnerships, and intentional local engagement. In the conversation, Meta gets mentioned as an example of major industry support showing up in tangible ways (like grants and community investments).The underlying theme: you don’t get a healthy small business ecosystem without stable large employers—and large employers need a healthy local community to attract and keep talent. It’s cyclical.Practical Benefits That Make Membership Worth ItDebbie highlights something a lot of business owners don’t know: Chamber membership isn’t just “events and networking.” There are practical programs that can have real financial impact.Two examples she mentions:Georgia Drug-Free Workplace Program (when certified, businesses may qualify for a state-mandated discount on workers’ comp—Debbie cites 7.5% off).Healthcare options for small businesses, including a partnership pathway connected with the Georgia Chamber and Blue Cross Blue Shield for certain business sizes.That’s the Chamber at its best: not just rah-rah speeches, but real support tools that help businesses survive and grow.How the Chamber is Led (and Why Board Restructuring Matters)Debbie explains the Chamber’s governance structure and mentions a board restructuring over the past year designed to make leadership more representative of Newton County’s diverse business landscape.Key highlights:A smaller executive committee structureA broader at-large board to ensure big industry + small business + multiple sectors are representedThat’s a subtle but important leadership move: if your membership base is diverse, your leadership should reflect that diversity—otherwise you’ll unintentionally prioritize the loudest voices rather than the most representative voices.Networking Isn’t “Extra”—It’s the WorkThe Chamber calendar is packed, and Debbie acknowledges the strain: a small staff producing a full menu of events. But the strategy is intentional—different events serve different business types, schedules, and stages.Lunch Links (monthly)A structured networking lunch with either:pure networking, ora speaker/program (February features a motivational speaker focused on decision-making in business).After Hours (quarterly, returning trend)Debbie notes Newton County used to be more of a “bedroom community,” but that’s shifting. More people are working and staying local, so after-hours events are making sense again.The first after-hours of 2026 is at Render: Turner Lake (Feb. 19).Signature Events (the big ones)Debbie frames several major “anchors” on the Chamber calendar:Pre-Legislative Breakfast (January)Annual Meeting & Awards Banquet (the one everyone talks about)Business Summit & Expo (March 26)Chamber Golf...
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Councilwoman Charika Davis: Affordability, Stormwater, and “Serving in the Messy Middle” — Episode 73

    Councilwoman Charika Davis: Affordability, Stormwater, and “Serving in the Messy Middle” — Episode 73
    Feb 10 2026
    If you’ve been anywhere near local government conversations lately—city council meetings, social media threads, neighborhood group chats, or just the line at the coffee shop—you’ve heard the same word on repeat:Affordability.It’s not a trendy political slogan anymore. It’s a pressure point. A real-life math problem families are trying to solve every month: rent, groceries, utilities, gas, childcare… and now, depending on where you live, fees you didn’t even know existed until the bill showed up.That’s why this episode mattersIn our first recording of 2026, we sat down with Covington City Councilwoman Charika Davis, fresh off a reelection campaign and stepping into her second term. And she didn’t come in with polished talking points. She came in with something you can feel through the mic—conviction, fatigue, gratitude… and a genuine desire to be the kind of public servant who doesn’t forget what it’s like to live on a budget.“I made it to 2026.”That’s how Charika answers our opening “what’s good in your world?” question—and it sets the tone.2025 was a grind. She describes the reality of running for reelection while still doing the job: door knocking, listening sessions, community events, and all the invisible emotional weight that comes with being the person people call when they’re frustrated.And here’s the part that’s easy to overlook if you’ve never run for office:Even at the city level, where government feels “closer,” you still can’t promise the world.Charika says it plainly: “I’m one vote.”That sentence comes up again and again throughout the conversation, because it explains one of the biggest misunderstandings residents often have about local government. People assume a councilmember has executive power—can hire, fire, fix everything, and change policy with a snap. But as Charika explains, the city manager runs operations: staffing, HR, internal processes, and day-to-day execution. Councilmembers vote on policy, budget priorities, and direction—but they’re not the CEO.And that misunderstanding gets messy fast when emotions are high.Why she ran again: “There was still work that needed to be done.”This was her second race, and she had an opponent again—something she describes as humbling.Not because she doubts her work, but because campaigning forces you to face the truth: you can do a hundred good things and still lose. You have to show up, ask for trust, and take the risk publicly.So why do it again?Charika’s answer comes back to one theme: advocating for working- and middle-class residents—especially when the costs of living rise faster than people’s paychecks. She talks openly about the fear many residents have: that they’ll be priced out of the city they call home.And she admits something interesting: during her first term campaign, she was advised to avoid the affordability conversation. It was treated like a “code word,” something that might be interpreted as only relevant to certain socioeconomic groups.But now? She says you can’t avoid it.If you’re going to claim you’re “for the people,” you have to talk about what people are actually carrying.The other side of Charika: corporate America, quiet mornings, and soft skillsA lot of folks only know Charika from council meetings and civic debates. But she shares a snapshot of her day-to-day life outside council—working in corporate America (now from home), starting her mornings slowly, and valuing a calmer pace than the old “rat race” schedule.That contrast becomes important later, because she makes a point that’s easy to miss:Serving on council doesn’t feel like “work” to her.It’s purpose. It’s passion. It’s giving back.And that makes late meetings, community events, and phone calls feel different than a normal job—even when they’re exhausting.When we ask what she learned from her corporate career that translates into public service, she goes straight to something schools rarely teach directly:Soft skills.· How to handle high-stakes situations.· How to communicate without detonating relationships.· How to control emotion when the moment is intense.And if you’ve ever watched a public meeting on a hot-button issue, you already know why that matters.Born and raised here—and proud of itCharika is Covington through and through: born at the local hospital, raised on Oxford Road, Newton High, and a childhood that included the movie theater, the skating rink, and the kind of community identity that sticks with you.She talks about how her early involvement in student leadership, her time at Georgia College, and her connection to service through Delta Sigma Theta shaped her mindset: be the voice for people who feel unheard.She even answers the “why didn’t you leave?” question in the most honest way possible:She stayed because she didn’t want to pay rent.It’s funny, but it’s ...
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    50 mins
  • Commissioner LeAnne Long: Data Centers, Back-Room Silence, and a Facebook-Fueled Uprising – Episode 72

    Commissioner LeAnne Long: Data Centers, Back-Room Silence, and a Facebook-Fueled Uprising – Episode 72
    Feb 3 2026
    Data Centers, Communication, and the New Newton County ConversationIf you’ve been anywhere near Newton County or the handful of Facebook pages our there, the last few months, you’ve felt it: the volume is up, the stakes feel higher, and the words annexation, zoning, moratorium, and especially data centerare showing up in everyday conversations like they’ve always been part of the local vocabulary.They haven’t.And that’s part of why this episode matters.In Episode 72 of The Town Square Podcast, we sat down again with District 5 Commissioner LeAnne Long for her second appearance—about a year after our last conversation. The unofficial theme this time? The good, the bad, and the ugly of public service in 2025… with a very specific emphasis on how communication (and yes, transparency) has become the battleground in Newton County’s growth debates.LeAnne doesn’t pretend to be everyone’s cup of tea. She’s blunt, high-energy, and unapologetically direct. But what’s impossible to miss is this: she’s been a major catalyst in getting regular citizens to pay attention again—especially around development pressure, annexation requests, and the rapid emergence of data center proposals.And love her approach or not, the impact is real.The “Good” in 2025: Citizens Woke UpLeAnne says her biggest accomplishment in 2025 isn’t a single vote or a flashy project—it’s engagement.Newton County isn’t a small city where everyone bumps into each other at the square and hears news by accident. District 5 includes large rural stretches, and people are busy living life outside the county for work, school, and schedules. That makes engagement harder—and it also makes “surprise outcomes” more likely.Her solution has been consistent: put information where people already are.That mostly means Facebook.She describes her approach as part public service, part community organizing, and part marketing. She posts often, posts long when she has to, and (this part matters) she engages in the comments. The goal isn’t to “win the internet.” The goal is to reduce misinformation and stop the rumor mill from setting the narrative first.A line that captures her mindset:“If you’re not telling your story, somebody else is going to tell your story.”This is the heartbeat of the episode: whether you like the method or not, she believes the people deserve the information early enough to respond.“My Style Doesn’t Work for Everybody” (And She Knows It)LeAnne doesn’t hide the fact that her style ruffles feathers. She’s not a “sugar-coater.” She chooses clarity over smoothness, and she’s willing to call out when conversations drift into personal attacks or off-topic narratives.Her reasoning is simple: vague communication is a breeding ground for confusion—and confusion is where mistrust thrives.She also admits she’s learned over time. She talked about the value of pausing, re-reading posts, deleting drafts, and listening to a trusted voice (including her daughter, who sometimes has to tell her to “take a chill”).So no—this isn’t a story of someone who thinks they’re perfect. It’s a story of someone who feels responsibility so intensely that it occasionally overwhelms them… and still shows up the next morning ready to keep going.The Flashpoint: Annexations + “Too Quiet” Data Center MovesA big chunk of the episode centers on two annexation situations connected to the City of Covington:The Falconwood annexation request on Highway 278A proposed data center tied to the Elks Club Road areaLeAnne’s concern wasn’t that the process was “illegal” or that someone was doing something shady. In fact, she repeatedly acknowledged that the city followed the steps correctly.Her frustration was this: the process can be “correct” and still be too quiet.Here’s what she was watching for:Citizens not finding out until late in the gameNo signage (because sometimes it isn’t required at that stage)Public discussion delayed until the moment of a voteThe fear that once something gets deep enough into the process (including potential state-level review), it becomes harder to stop—or even influenceShe explains that annexations often begin with a request to the city, followed by courtesy notification to the county. The county response is time-sensitive and not structured like a full public hearing where people can step up and speak.So her logic was: If the normal process doesn’t naturally “surface” the situation to the people early enough… then I will.That’s what kicked off the online storm.The Outcome: Covington Votes “No” (and the Clock Resets)LeAnne and the hosts note that both annexations were voted down by Covington City Council on January 20, 2026(as referenced in the conversation). That matters for two reasons:It reduced immediate pressure on those specific proposals.It validated the power of citizen engagement—people showed up, spoke, ...
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    1 hr and 3 mins
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