James Magazine May-June 2020 - Magazine - Page 41
hat a difference 20 years
makes in Gwinnett County.
Its population is now estimated
to be about 1 million, making it the
second-most populous county in Georgia. Twenty years
ago the census pegged the count at 588,448. In 2000
Republicans were dominating the county with elected
office-holders. Democrats now ex their political muscle
and are electing more candidates to office. Twenty years
ago the county was 67 percent white. Now whites are a
minority and 25-ve percent of the county’s populace is
foreign-born, fueled by legal and illegal immigration.
County Commission Chairwoman Charlotte Nash
has described Gwinnett County as a “beautiful mosaic.”
And she isn’t just talking about the county seat of Lawrenceville and Gwinnett’s 15 other municipalities. She is
also talking about all the people!
What hasn’t changed in 20 years? Growth.
A magnet for business & jobs
Growth over past decades occurred in a pattern
extending along the I-85, I-985 and Georgia Highway
316 corridors into the northeast and eastern-most parts
of the county. It was fueled by the
vast amount of land that was
available for residential development, the area’s transportation system and the
availability of wastewater
service that allowed commercial and industrial
development.
Nick Masino, president and CEO of the Gwinnett Chamber, mused to this
writer that “Gwinnett County
led the nation’s growth in the
masino
late 1980s, and the state’s growth
over the past four decades. While COVID-19 has been
a horrible thing, we have been through other tough
times, such as 9/11 and the Great Recession of 2008-2011, and through all of that
we are stronger. On the other side of this,
continued on page 42
MAY/ J UN E 2 0 2 0
41
