Augusta Commissioner Joe Bowles may have lost colleague Don Grantham's vote for re-election when he helped break a logjam on naming the new courthouse last week.
But we hope Bowles picks up hundreds more votes to replace Grantham's.
Grantham, who missed last week's meeting for business reasons, was said to be livid after Bowles agreed with black commissioners to name the new courthouse after local civil rights lawyer and judge John H. Ruffin Jr. Grantham thought he had an agreement with Bowles not to do that.
We're delighted Bowles did what he did. He averted a hurtful, racially divisive and totally unnecessary slight by white commissioners toward their black colleagues and the black community.
Moreover, the episode illustrates everything that is wrong with this commission. Back-room deals and race-based bloc voting are precisely what is holding Augusta back.
White commissioners lament that their black colleagues won't reach across the divide on some major issues - but meanwhile they won't deign to support naming a building after a local civil rights figure?
For the sake of this community and its future, Augusta commissioners can't hold themselves hostage to pre-arranged votes and sticking with one's own race. They're elected to be leaders of the entire community, not followers.
We're all in this together. It's time our commission started acting like it.
Comments
Very well said. Amazing that even something this simple must be over racial lines. Joe Jackson, who had left the room also said he would have voted yes which is a positive sign from at least two commissoners. Vote for what is right not based on race, etc. as has become the norm in Augusta waisting our time, money and patience. And, for all those who say the AC never supports issues such as this, read it over a few times.
I can't believe Grantham went public with that stupid mess.
Everyone called me a jerk back when I supported Butler over Good Ol' Don for this very reason. Grantham is a backroom man. I think this proves that Grantham should not be a commissioner in this day and age.
That's not why everyone called you a jerk Brad. You're a much improved person at a distance.
I agree with cn. Not only was this a needless mess that was more than satisfactorily settled, but why'd Grantham bother to mention he was part of the log jam...after it was settled. I hope the voters are taking notes.
conernednative, in my opinion, this is just a concerted effort for Mr. Bowles to distance himself from Mr. Grantham for political purposes. It will allow Mr. Bowles to pick up a scant number of African-American (Black) votes that he would not have gotten otherwise. Election year politics as usual. After the election, voting will return to "your regularly scheduled gridlocks". How can you criticize anyone's vote if you did not vote yourself? If you believe this crap, I could probably sell you some of the WMDs that G. W. Bush said was in Iraq. The one thing that is definitely true in the story above is that Grantham and Bowles had an "agreement".
Thanks WhippingPost.
Evidently they did not have an agreement. So Fred, are you accusing Joe of being a Politician?
This article fails to point out that black commissioners do this same thing regularly too. They prove everyday that blacks can do the "good ole boy" thing just as well white commissioners.
The obove opinion editorial sounds like it could have been taken from www.butchforaugusta.org
The continuous soft sell, EVERYWHERE, is getting hard to stomach.
Given that A-RC is pretty much evenly divided between the majority racial identifications, naming of public common-use facilities probably should be alternated back and forth, depending of course on the target group using the facility. The last big thing named or renamed in Augusta, by my less-than-perfect memory, was the James Brown Civic Center. That makes very good sense to me. After all, what more famous native son has Augusta ever had, especially in entertainment? Jesse Norman already has the River Walk venue. As for the new judicial center's name, there have been plenty of people whose names would be appropriately attached to it, many of whom had far more reaching impact on Augusta, the state, and even the nation that the Honorable Mr. Ruffin did. I don't begrudge the naming choice at all, but I would like to see a little more balance in the future. Throwing bones like this seems more like appeasement rather than representing the kind of change we really need, from BOTH perspectives on this issue.
For the record, I supported Butler, too, but Joe Bowles supported Grantham. I now think Bowles is our finest Commissioiners....Heheh...go figure all that out.
Fiat Lux, name one person that would be more deserving than Judge Ruffin? I'm not starting nothing. I would just like to hear a name or two.
I too would like to see Fiat's answer to your question RCR...
What the Ruffin naming opponents will bring up is Joseph Lamar because he served on the U.S.Supreme Court, but what's not admitted is he's part of the OLD segregated era. His Supreme Court reign ended in 1916 when segregation still ruled. We are in a different time and would no sooner name a building after Lamar than we would a Confederate war hero. Honestly, folks, time to move on.
A few I could list, in addition to Lamar, who certainly is worthy of recognition, include: William Hale Barrett, U.S. Judge for GA Southern District, 1922-1941, who has descendents still living in Augusta. Also, we could have easily chosen the more familiar Thomas Allgood, who certainly deserves more exalted recognition than an interstate interchange. And another obvious name would be Doug Bernard, Jr., for obvious reasons. A courthouse facility would be about right for him. If these aren't sufficient, I could give it more thought. There are others, to be sure.
Fiat, did you forget that ASU has a building named in Allgood and his wife's honor?
Good post Riverman. And Judge Lamar has a school and many other things named for him already. No Fiat Lux, Judge Barrett served at a time that is not relevent to the Augusta we live in now. Mr. Allgood and Bernard already have honors already bearing their names in our community. Keep trying, these aren't better alternatives.
And, R-MAN, being white and famous before desegregation doesn't automatically disqualify someone who contributed to our community and nation, any more than being black during any time frame automatically qualifies someone. Just because there was injustice doesn't mean everything was unjust. You're like a lot a relatively shortsighted people who are happy to condemn everything about the South because of slavery. That's pretty stupid given that it was northern commerce interests that brought slavery to the South, and then perpetuated it so that northern manufacturing, including government interests, had a cheap source of agricultural products, like cotton. How about getting some balance and reality to season your opinion.
Yeah, Anotherlook, I did forget about the ASU building. Still, I think his and Doug Bernard's stature surpasses that of the esteemed Mr. Ruffin, and I don't think the honors accorded them are commensurate with their contribution. No offense intended, but it's what I think. I agree that Lamar's and Barrett's contribution are a bit distant to really be in the running.
One name that I really would like to see added to some place prominent is that of Charles DeVaney. He certainly deserves this kind of recognition.
Fiat Lux, just admit there are no immediate name available. Doug Bernard, although prominent already has a parkway and wasn't directly involved in the judicial system.And speaking about the North's culpability in slavery doesn't justify the barbaric and unhumane treatment here in the South.
discresion is the better part of valor... Joe did what he thought was best for Augusta, if only we could get a few more on the commission who can put their own agenda's aside. I don't agree with Joe on many issues, but in this case he showed himself to be a good representative of the people he serves.
RCR, I'd pick DeVaney over Ruffin simply because of his impact. And I personally don't believe a parkway really cuts it when compared to Doug Bernard's service. As for immediacy of names, Bernard and DeVaney were PDQ, don't you think? Ruffin was out of the blue as far as I was concerned. I was and am more in favor of something like the actual name that has been given to the center, though I certainly have nothing against adding Ruffin's name to the courthouse. The question I have, and I really don't know the answer to this, is whether Ruffin was a judge who stood out and above his peers or whether he was simply a black judge who was at least as honorable, wise and upright as his peers. If this is because of the quality of his judgeship, then I'm all for it. My enthusiasm wanes if he was merely average and got extra points simply because of his race. As for the rest of your comment, well, it's typically irrelevant and the standard bigotry from your corner.
It doesn't matter what you name it, it will be called "The New Courthouse"
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