Rumors run rampant about mayor's plans in Washington

Two weeks ago, Mayor Bob Young asked whether everybody in Augusta knew something he didn't.

"Do I have a terminal illness?" he asked. "Am I under investigation? What do I not know? These people know something I don't know."

His comments were in response to rampant rumors he will resign and take a job in Washington. He said it wasn't so, and he wouldn't go.

On Friday, he was backing away from those comments.

"Those quotes are stale," he said. "Beyond that, I can't comment."

Folks, something's definitely up.

The rumors ramped up after the Metro Augusta Chamber of Commerce meeting in Washington a few weeks ago. All kinds of tales were told when the travelers got back about Mr. Young having a meeting in the White House and who was going to run for mayor. We had it on good authority that Augusta Blueprint owner James Kendrick would run to fill the unexpired term. He denied it. Then an e-mail made the rounds from Deke Copenhaver, the executive director of the Central Savannah River Land Trust, saying he would run if the mayor resigned. He verified it Friday, saying it's time for some new dynamic leadership.

Then last week, Helen Blocker-Adams, the president and CEO of the HBA Group, announced she would run in 2006. In opening remarks, she talked about how nothing great has ever been achieved without enthusiasm.

Since consolidation, Augusta has had two mayors. Both came into the office filled with enthusiasm. Larry Sconyers' motto was "Together We Can." At his first meeting, commissioners threatened to walk out because he had made some changes in the agenda.

He was going to run the government like a business - like he runs Sconyers Bar-B-Que. Hands-on and customer-friendly. Well, his first move, to extend the hours city offices stayed open, triggered an employee revolt. Equally controversial was his plan to enlist city employees to help clean up Augusta for Masters Week.

And there's no point rehashing how commissioners fought him on everything he tried to do - to the point he finally gave up, saying the city should just do away with the mayor's job and save $60,000 a year. (With inflation it's now $71,634 a year.)

Mr. Young's motto was "It's A New Day."

Yes, it was, but the mayor didn't and still doesn't have a vote. He pushed for ethics reform. Commissioners wiped out his contingency budget and made it a commission promotions account. To get money for frames for proclamations and such, he must ask them to approve the expense. At other times, they have denied his requests for funding for various things he wanted to promote. He has tried to get an accounting of all the money owed the city with a little success. That's not a subject that interests most commissioners.

He's goofed up a few times, like when he let Operations Management International, the company that had just been awarded the largest contract in the city's history, pay for his airline ticket to fly to San Juan for the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Urban Water Summit. But all in all, he's done as good a job as anybody could under the circumstances. So he does like to travel to Washington every little whip stitch. If you had his job, wouldn't you want to get out of town every chance you got?

HOW IRONIC IS THIS? Augusta Human Resources Department employees who were supposed to screen rsums of applicants for the vacant fire chief's job to make sure candidates had a four-year degree before giving Administrator Fred Russell a list of five finalists apparently couldn't read or didn't know the difference between a bachelor's degree and an associate degree. That or they were daydreaming or goofing off at the snack bar downstairs.

After notifying Greensboro, N.C., Fire Chief Johnny Wayne Teeters that he was one of three finalists and arranging for him to come to Augusta for an interview Monday based on a final list that came to him from that department, Mr. Russell had to call him Wednesday and tell him not to come.

The employee who goofed had better be glad Mr. Russell was involved with a commission meeting and a fuel crisis when he found out about the mistake, because he was livid at being put in such an embarrassing situation.

By the next morning, he had cooled down.

"Everybody makes mistakes," he said.

City Ink does note, however, it is wise to limit your mistakes to those that don't make your boss look like a fool in public.

DON'T BE SURPRISED: If commissioners end up waiving the education requirement that put Chief Howard Willis and others out of the running. Chief Willis has some strong support on the commission.

But if they do waive the requirement, as they did for Mr. Few in 1997, would they be morally obligated to call Chief Teeters back for an interview?

And why shouldn't they waive the education requirement? Commissioners don't have one.

DON'T JUDGE A BOOK ... : Miss Augusta 2005 Ashley Foster looked exactly like a Barbie doll in her hot pink suit and crown as she appeared before the Augusta Commission last week, but when she started talking about the prevalence of strokes in this part of the country and her work with stroke patients, it was apparent she was no Barbie doll. Maybe the world is not going to hell in a handbasket as fast as I thought with young women such as her around.

When she finished speaking, Commissioner Jimmy Smith said, "You're talking about stroke. Could you come down here? I'm about to have one."

Someone noted that if he did, there were plenty of EMTs present to take care of him. They were there for Emergency Management Week 2005.

ANOTHER BENCHMARK FOR JACK: Friends and family members of former state Rep. Jack Connell have established a $50,000 endowment at Augusta State University that will help pay tuition for students who have been out of school for a while. A Jack Connell dedicatory plaque has been placed on a bench on the school's History Walk. Mr. Connell helped bring millions to Augusta State buildings during his 33 years in the Legislature.

"Allgood got a building," said Mr. Connell's wife, Nan. She laughed and added, "At least Jack got a bench."

Augusta State's Allgood Hall is named in honor of the late state senator and Georgia Board of Regents member Tom Allgood.

Why not a building for Mr. Connell? Maybe one of the ones he helped get the money for. After all, a man who flew 79 bombing missions over Europe in World War II and helped save the free world deserves an enduring monument, doesn't he?

AND HERE'S ANOTHER UNDER-SUNG HERO: Richmond County Marshal Sgt. Bryan Patterson should be commended for bravery in his handling of the man who tried to bring a Colt .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol with two loaded magazines into the municipal building earlier this month.

The man refused to put his backpack onto the X-ray machine, holding it away from his body and saying over and over, "I know what's in this bag."

Sgt. Patterson grabbed the man and whisked him outside.

"I just knew he was going to blow us all up," he said.

NO ASPHALT FOR THE TOW PATH OR DAYTON: The prospect of paving the Augusta Canal's 160-year-old dirt towpath re-emerged at a recent public meeting, when Canal Authority member Fran Stewart pointed out that many other bicycle trails - from Hilton Head Island, S.C., to the North Augusta Greeneway - all have smooth, blacktop surfaces.

The towpath, which gets rutted after heavy rains, could benefit from a more durable surface, she said.

Canal Authority Executive Director Dayton Sherrouse countered that when the issue came up two years ago, patrons of the area were sharply divided, with many wanting the historic dirt left just as it is.

"Fran, I'm still trying to get the tar and feathers off my rear end from the last time this came up," he said.

City Ink thanks Staff Writer Rob Pavey for his contribution to this week's column.

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