If you spotted a leaky trash truck in the neighborhood, would you follow it around and watch it -- or try to get it fixed?
The keep-an-eye-on-it approach is essentially what citizen activist Woody Merry is proposing at his town hall Thursday evening at Fort Discovery: He wants to form an ad hoc "shadow government" of 10 citizens to monitor Augusta's 10 commissioners and ask them to explain their actions.
Voters and reporters do that now to little avail. It's unclear how a "community buddy" will make commissioners perform any better. Rather than ask the trash truck driver to explain the spills, let's fix the truck.
First, a critically important commission election is currently on, with voting this week and next Tuesday. It's essential to elect commissioners who can work together and across racial lines. We think those people are Matt Aitken, Joe Bowles and Bobby Hankerson, candidates in commission districts 1, 3 and 5.
We've studied this situation for years -- and we are certain those three can help make this government work.
Regardless, we need to change the consolidated government charter, which is designed to water down authority (no mayor's vote, six-vote supermajority required) and to produce logjams.
Woody Merry's minions no doubt agree. We hope they pursue that true fix.
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the problem is ACES... the majorityof our fair community don't give a hoot if the same failures are re-elected. Besides, odds are with yer endorsement of Aitken we'll get more of the same. I for one am glad that Merry is back on the scene. If he can get people riled up about idiocy at the marble palace, and help keep commissioners accountable for their actions, I'm all for it.
Until the charter is fixed we'll continue to have the same problems as we have now. The shadow of Charles Walker continues to haunt A/RC. Without a leader, the commission will continue to define insanity.
*Whew* I scanned this article for Obama's name, *Wow not a word about him LOL. OMG had it been mentioned there would probably be well over 50 post by now. Ok let me go scan for his hated name in another article (which is everyday here), I know there must be one if not two articles about him.
Let me voice the politically incorrect truth that will anger whites and blacks. Augusta is in a difficult transitional phase to black leadership and government. The quicker it happens, one could argue the less turmoil for the county. Much of the conflict today reflects the racial politics that permeate everything. An obviously beneficial proposal for all will be scrutinized from a black and white perspective. Who brought up the proposal is as important as the actual application. Whites in Richmond County need to get out of the way and not block the natural transformation reflecting the population. The most imporant thing is for blacks to assume control and be wise enough to keep the expertise of the talented whites who are generally better educated in the various divisions of county government and services. A macrocosm example of good and bad change equals South Africa and Zimbabwe. Both sides should learn from those experiences.
What proposal are you speaking of, Riverman?
Riverman, YOU ROCK. What a great post! You said what I have thought for the last 10 years.
I'm glad I don't live in Richmond County!
How exactly do you "change" government by electing people to the commission like Aitken whose campaign is backed by the likes of Ed Presnell, Billy Morris, Don Grantham, and the same cast of characters who've been running this city from behind the scenes for years. Now don't get me wrong, Aitken seems like a nice guy, really, but the crowd he associates with represents Old Augusta.. and we are not going to get change from that.
It doesn't change, that's why Augusta is like it is. The whites that control things aren't about to give up their power and control. Money talks.
At last night's debate only one Dist 1 candidate supported changing the city charter to give the mayor a vote rather than being an overpaid ribbon-cutter.. that was Butch Palmer.. so it seems to me if you really supported government reform, you'd support Butch.