Augusta already is known as the home of the hardest working man in show business, James Brown. And if you believe the city's commissioners, it also was the home of the hardest working mayor, Bob Young.

"I don't think a lot of people recognize the hours he did put in," City Administrator Fred Russell said during a going-away reception in the mayor's honor at The Old Government House last week. "I'm the guy who used to call him in the middle of the night when something went wrong."

To hear Mr. Russell, Mayor Pro Tem Marion Williams and Commissioners Don Grantham, Richard Colclough and Bobby Hankerson tell it, Mr. Young has been a leader, a teacher and a friend. Forget about those little political squabbles and backbiting that went on during the 6 years of Mr. Young's tenure.

"I enjoyed working with Bob," Mr. Williams said. "I learned a lot from him. We disagree a lot, but I think he had a good insight. I think he really cares about this city. And I just hope he'll do well in the position he's going in. I think he will."

Mr. Young resigned two weeks ago with 1 years left in his second term to accept a presidential appointment as regional director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Atlanta.

Friday was his last day as mayor of Augusta. The Augusta Chronicle dropped by his office before he left with some questions about what he thinks about the future of Augusta, what he learned during his tenure, his high and low points, his challenges and future plans.

"What did I learn as mayor?" he asked rhetorically. "I learned you have to pick your own issues."

Forget about the things the city administrator is hired to do and forget about being a force in the commission's legislative process, he said, and find things you can influence. It took him a while to learn that, but once he did, he made great strides, he said.

For example, he took the lead in getting commissioners to settle on a site for the proposed new judicial center.

"You know how that went around to many different sites, and quite frankly it appeared to me that was an issue with the address of the site," he said. "Certain people wanted to have a James Brown Boulevard address for it, and at that point I decided I would pick that siting as an issue and see if we could get through the deadlock we had."

So he got together with Mr. Williams, and the two looked at the James Brown-Walton Way site and talked about how the area could thrive.

"And I think it was at the next meeting the commission voted unanimously to pick that site," he said.

Such endeavors are really the role of the mayor in Augusta, he said.

"The mayor is the chief salesman and lobbyist of the community," he said. "He's the face of the community."

He counts as major accomplishments an 11-point upward swing in job growth in Augusta since he took office in 1999.

"I don't say this is all me, because you do things in collaboration with other people, and sometimes you engage other people to do the work," he said.

He said his biggest mistake as mayor was in taking people at their word and thinking they will always tell the truth about their expectations.

"In politics, what you see in front of you, what you have on the paper that you're reading, may not necessarily be the issue," he said. "The issue could be something else, the so-called hidden agenda. So the biggest disappointment was not in understanding how all that worked initially. I understand it now."

Mr. Young sees Augusta's future as being tied to two economic engines, Fort Gordon and the medical complex, from which future economic investment and jobs will come, and to its greatest natural resource, the Savannah River.

"The challenge we have is to identify private investment opportunities that spin off Fort Gordon," he said. "This is something we've delayed for decades. With BRAC over, we need to focus on that and get busy.

"Likewise, we need to continue to nurture the medical environment here. The Savannah River is the natural resource that is going to enable our region to thrive economically, because you've got a constant, dependable supply of water from that river. The river is going to be a focus of attention in years to come. We're headed in the right direction early on by forming the Savannah River Basin Coalition. ... We've got to be proactive."

As for the local government's greatest need, Mr. Young said it is the people's trust.

"I think the government was terribly wrong with the last sales tax initiative, and the voters showed the government that," he said. "You have to have the trust of the people to succeed. And until this government earns the trust of the people, there's always going to be rough moments."

To those who question the number of trips he took at taxpayer expense while in office, Mr. Young said everything he ever spent is a matter of public record.

As for what he'll do after 2008 if the Republicans don't stay in power, Mr. Young said he doesn't know.

"You know, I had lunch with someone today and he said, 'What's the big picture? Where are you going?' And I said, 'You know, I'm at that stage in my life I don't need to look at a big picture. I'm not 25 years old. There's not much of a big picture left for me, so I'm going to take it in little spurts. And this little spurt has come along.' This opportunity has come along, and I'm gong to take advantage of it."

He can say he has no plans to run for any other public office because he doesn't have the "fire in the belly."

"In me, that fire is dimming," he said. "A lot of it has to do with the nature of campaigns. They're just not gentlemen's sport anymore. They get very personal. They bring your family into it, very unfairly, I think. It's not attractive.

"The other part of it is the money. I don't like to ask for money. I like to earn my money, and you need a couple of million dollars to run for Congress."

Could the fire be ignited?

"Perhaps," he said. "Right now I'm content to serve our president as a member of his administration in an appointed position, and that's what I'm looking forward to doing."

He takes pride in leaving on a positive note, with no ill feelings toward anyone.

"There are people who don't agree with me, but there are people who agree with me," he said. "Not just in leaving but in positions I've taken. I've enjoyed being mayor."

Reach Sylvia Cooper at (706) 823-3228 or sylvia.cooper@augustachronicle.com.