Augusta Mayor Larry Sconyers is running against five other candidates for re-election. Some blame Mr. Sconyers for the water crisis and accuse him of poor leadership, but he says he leads by persuasive ability and the water problem was taken care of. JONATHAN ERNST/STAFF

Sconyers touts past leadership

Web posted September 27, 1998

 Sconyers' promises

By Sylvia Cooper
Staff Writer

Augusta Mayor Larry Sconyers was swept into office three years ago with an astounding 73 percent vote margin.

As the last chairman of the old Richmond County Commission, the first mayor of the consolidated government and genial host of Sconyers Bar-B-Que, he was at the height of his popularity.

Since then, many questions have been raised about his leadership, the latest round triggered by the past summer's water crisis -- which Mr. Sconyers still insists was not really a crisis at all but a ``situation.''

Public opinion about his leadership falls into three general categories:

--It's not Mr. Sconyers' fault. The consolidation law does not allow the mayor to vote except to make or break a tie and has rendered him powerless by leaving him without a bargaining tool.

--Mr. Sconyers doesn't know how to lead, communicate with other commissioners or the public. And he's asleep at the wheel.

MAYORS RACE  THE MAYOR'S RACE Each week until the Nov. 4 election, The Augusta Chronicle will feature a candidate running for Augusta-Richmond County mayor. Check back each Sunday for a new profile. •Ed McIntyre •Larry Sconyers •Elmer Singley •Moses Todd •Kenneth Winters •Bob Young  Q&A The Chronicle asks each candidate specific questions about their abilities and goals. Here are their answers. •Ed McIntyre •Larry Sconyers •Elmer Singley •Moses Todd •Kenneth Winters •Bob Young  ASK THE CANDIDATES Do you have a question you'd like to ask the mayoral candidates? •Click here

--Not sure what to think.

Mr. Sconyers says there are different styles of leadership, such as harsh leadership and soft leadership.

``And it was always my contention that you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink,'' he said. ``But yet you can guide him and make him want to drink.''

His style tends toward the soft, he said.

``I've always been able to convince people,'' he said. ``If I wanted something done, a lot of times I'd convince them it was their idea, and they would do it.''

One former commissioner said that was news to him.

``In the two years I served on the commission, I never saw Mr. Sconyers do anything that resembled leadership,'' said Rob Zetterberg, who did not seek re-election at the end of his two-year term last year.

``I know he never talked to me. And I never heard him make a substantive contribution. Most of the time, he's sort of a traffic director at meetings and very seldom offers opinions or any comment of substance.

``And I feel if Mr. Sconyers was running on his record -- things that he contributed to the consolidation effort -- it would be a blank page.''

Commissioner Jerry Brigham said that while Mr. Sconyers is ``basically a good person'' he could be a little more communicative.

``And now that he's running for mayor, I think he is,'' Mr. Brigham said.

Tuesday, at the south Augusta Exchange Club meeting at T's Restaurant on Old Savannah Road, Mr. Sconyers was communicating -- with friends.

Club president-elect Sonny Cato introduced him, calling him a ``native son, born and raised on the south end of Richmond County.

``I think he feels the same way we feel,'' Mr. Cato told the group. ``I think we've supported him in the past, and I hope we support him in the future.''

Mr. Cato said he had a couple of questions he wanted to ask Mr. Sconyers before he spoke.

``One in particular,'' he said. ``Larry, tell me something. For a fellow that don't even have a vote, you get blamed for everything that happens. I mean, is it the newspaper? The newspaper comes out, and no matter what happens, you get blamed for it, and it's by the decision of the council.''

Mr. Sconyers replied: ``I'm the only person elected countywide without a vote in the government.''

In his speech, Mr. Sconyers listed the government's accomplishments since 1996, such as equalizing police and firefighters' salaries and water rates.

He also talked about needing a veto to give the government a balance of power and him a bargaining tool.

``Whether you believe it or not, that's the way those things are done,'' he said. ``You have to have something to bargain with, and I have zero to bargain with.''

Mr. Sconyers also talked about this summer's ``little problem with the water.''

Problems with equipment forced residents to live with water restrictions and outdoor bans for two months this summer, destroying hundreds of thousands dollars worth of lawns and shrubbery.

``It was not a crisis,'' Mr. Sconyers said. ``It was just a situation. To me, a crisis would be hostages in Iran, for instance, or if we blew up an embassy. That's a crisis.

``We had a little situation. We resolved that situation and got it back to running. We had the very best minds working on those related problems. Sometimes what you see is not what is going on.''

After the meeting, William D. Postell of Hephzibah said Mr. Sconyers seemed to be ``a real good mayor, but his hands are tied.

``I mean, he don't have no voice in it,'' Mr. Postell said. ``He's just up there. The commission does all the voting, and he don't have a vote. And everything gets blamed on him.

``All this waterworks was blamed on him, which that's something he got whenever he took over the mayorship. It come from the city and all, and it had been thataway for years. And it came to a head now. It's got to be worked out.

``It's not leadership. It's when your hands are tied and you don't have a vote, all you can do is go up there and talk.''

The former city drained millions from water revenues in the decade before consolidation to keep the city going to the detriment of water and sewer infrastructure.

``He's got a difficult job, no doubt about it,'' said club member Charles Pritchett. ``The mayor needs veto power and a vote. Anyone in that job would probably be faced with the same thing, no doubt about it.''

It was a pro-Sconyers gathering, no doubt about that.

Mr. Sconyers was tapped to run for the old county commission in 1991 by a group of political king-makers, known as the Southside Mafia, after Commissioner Jesse Carroll's death.

Sheriff Charles Webster was among that group, which dominated county politics for at least 40 years. Sheriff Webster actually hand-picked Mr. Sconyers, supported him in his first run for mayor and ``wholeheartedly'' supports him today, Sheriff Webster said.

``Consolidation has not been easy, but I think he made a dedicated, honest mayor. He's had a lot of training during his first term, and he'll be able to accomplish more during the second term,'' the sheriff said.

Shortly after Mr. Sconyers was elected in 1995 he was caught holding a secret Saturday morning meeting of the newly elected commission at his restaurant.

Other problems and gaffes plagued him, especially that first year, chief among them was his frequent naps during commission meetings.

``Hell, I get bored,'' he said in 1996 after being asked about that by a reporter.

His nemesis on the board, Commissioner Moses Todd, who is running against him this year, said it was hard for anyone to have vision when they're asleep 50 percent of the time.

``If they don't like me nodding, to hell with 'em,'' Mr. Sconyers said at the time. ``The mind never sleeps, and I don't miss anything.''

He also gave River Race Augusta $50,000 without a commission vote so the group could put on the 1997 races, but the money went to pay old bills, and the races weren't held.

Once he lost his temper and attempted to have Mr. Todd physically ejected from the meeting.

Mr. Sconyers said he has gotten used to criticism the past three years, although in an offhand comment he calls public service ``a thankless job.

``One of the things I learned is no matter what you do, you're going to get criticized either way,'' he said.

``So what I try to do is what I think is the right thing to do, and you don't have to worry about it. It may not be the politically correct thing, but when you do the right thing, you don't have to apologize.''

Nevertheless, Mr. Sconyers said he needs a ``public-relations person'' and that his biggest mistake these past three years is in not having one.

There was much speculation he would not seek a second term, despite his statements to the contrary.

Then candidate Bob Young and his wife Gwen Fulcher Young paid him a visit in July and asked him to bow out, which actually stiffened his resolve to run again, he said.

``I was told that if I didn't run and supported Bob, I could be provided a job in government, but I don't need a job,'' Mr. Sconyers said.

``It didn't make me mad. It made me more determined to be a mayor for all the people. Exactly. I'm not down there for any reason. See, I've got more to lose than I have to gain, 'cause anytime you get in public service you have to make sacrifices.''

One supporter called the visit ``Larry's wake-up call.''

Mr. Young said the visit has been taken out of context and ``totally misinterpreted.

``It was an attempt to find out if Larry had some interest in government outside of mayor, and if he did I would be willing to help him pursue that, but not in the context of creating a paid position,'' Mr. Young said.

Besides, said Mr. Young, ``I think I told him I might need a job cooking barbecue when the race was over.''

Sconyers' promises

As part of The Augusta Chronicle's series on mayoral candidates, we will ask each candidate to state their promises to voters if they are elected. The newspaper expects to check up on the winner's promises after the election.

Here are Mr. Sconyers' promises:

1. First of all, you shouldn't make promises you can't keep. In government we can only do so much because of the constraints we work under.

2. During my administration I will attempt to keep from raising any taxes. The millage rate should not be raised at all. I think, through the revaluations of the property, that will take care of itself. We will not have to do that.

3. I will work hard to makes sure the 1 cent sales tax is passed. That's something we need to continue to continue the expansion program in place. The sales tax is the fairest tax because everybody pays it, and about 40 percent of it paid from outside our city and county.

4. Work hard with our Chamber of Commerce and Industrial Authority to bring new and clean, safe industries into our city.

5. I have gone to the U.S. Corps of Engineers and got a commitment from them that if we have one new industry come in that wants barge traffic, I have been assured they will deepen the channel between here and Savannah so that we can have barge traffic.