A Sandy Springs delegation, including the mayor and the Chamber of Commerce president, are on a lengthy visit to India through May 2.
The business-oriented visit, which began April 22, was arranged at the invitation of Consul General Nagesh Singh of India’s Atlanta consulate, which is based on Glenridge Drive.
Delegation members, according to the city, include Mayor Rusty Paul; Jan Paul, the executive director of Leadership Sandy Springs and the mayor’s spouse; and Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber of Commerce president Tom Mahaffey and board member Jim Kelly.
The itinerary includes stops at a wide variety of corporations, tourist attractions, film industry sites and colleges. A Mercedes-Benz factory is among the stops; Mercedes-Benz USA is building its new headquarters in Sandy Springs.
Other stops indicate some of the mayor’s personal and professional interests. The mayor, a beekeeper who tends hives in a city park, was scheduled to visit the Central Bee Research and Training Institute in Pune. Another stop: a visit to a monorail office. Monorails have been discussed, and sometimes mocked, as a circulator system for Perimeter Center.
Costs and payment details for the trip were not immediately available.
Sandy Springs has several consulates and other international business offices, and the mayor has a particularly close relationship with Singh.
Yet another reason to vote out the Sandy Springs mayor and entire city council in the upcoming elections.
Sure is a long time to be visiting India on the taxpayer’s dime.
More politicians shirking their responsibilities to the citizens. This is just a taxpayer-funded boondoggle.