Giving Augusta’s mayor a vote has become a hot-button issue in Augusta Commission elections as it goes before voters in May 21.
Most of the 11 candidates for five open commission seats presented their views on the mayor’s vote and other issues as a weekend forum, held at an A.R. Johnson Magnet school auditorium.
Four candidates – District 3 incumbent Catherine Smith McKnight and newcomers Joidaz Gaines, Don Clark and Tina Slendak – gave the mayor vote a resounding yes, while others said they had questions.
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McKnight said the city’s biggest issues include road maintenance, potholes in particular – but insisted any department budget cuts be levied equally across them all.
She said candidates for her District 3 seat must be prepared for non-stop questions from constituents.
“When I say 24-7,” McKnight said, “you are going to constantly have constituents reach out to you. I am a constituent’s commissioner.”
District 3 challenger Carol Yancy said potholes indeed are a pressing issue, as well as the constant presence of road work in the district.
Funding for “polices, security and safety services” for youth and seniors ought to be protected, Yancy said.
“We need to train these youth to stop getting in trouble,” said Yancy, who retired as an educator with the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Yancy said she’d target vape-shop operators and turn to Augusta Housing Authority – where she is a mayoral appointee – for agency help with the problem of homelessness and youth crime.
Gaines said the city’s priorities should be serving as models for the area’s youth, through recreation and other programs.
Gaines, a dentist, said “first responders” such as firefighters and law enforcement, as well as “healthcare” should be protected from cuts.
District 7 commission candidate Tina Slendak said “absolutely yes” to Augusta’s mayor having a vote on all commission matters.
Her opponent, VA physician Marshall Bedder, did not attend the forum, but has said he fully supports Mayor Garnett Johnson.
Currently, the city’s part-time mayor only gets to vote when a 5-5 commission tie occurs. Non-unanimous votes are rare, but when they happen, sometimes commissioners abstain to prevent ties.
Slendak said she is involved with several community Facebook groups and is a fiscal conservative most concerned about Augusta Parks and Recreation.
Super District 9 incumbent Francine Scott said she’s learned about constituent service from 30 years in state government.
“I pride myself on being accessible, dependable and ready and learn and listen,” Scott said.
Former four-term commissioner Marion Williams, who is challenging Scott, said he’d only missed two meetings in 16 years.
“The commission forgets that the government belongs to the people,” Williams said.
While Scott said the city is in active talks to bring a grocery to the Laney-Walker-area food desert, Williams said such a development requires economic development to make it possible.
“The reason there is a food desert is because there is no dollars to be spent,” he said.
Neither Scott nor Williams said giving the mayor a vote was an easy decision.
“My answer would be no, but there’s more to it than that,” Williams said.
“There is so much more to how this came about, but if you want an answer, ‘no,’” Scott said.
Former commissioner Matt Aitken, who is challenging District 1 incumbent Jordan Johnson, echoed former mayor Deke Copenhaver in recalling the development-friendly commission of the early 2010s.
“We got the convention center built, we got the Richmond County law enforcement center done, we got the Augusta Library finished,” Aitken said, advocating to expand the 12-year-old convention center.
“We must expand the convention center to keep our events coming and also to be competitive for larger events,” Aitken said.
District 1 incumbent Jordan Johnson said poverty in the city’s urban core, including its homeless, is being overlooked. He spearheaded the creation in 2022 of the city’s homelessness task force.
“I’m proud to say that I voiced advances for people that don’t have a voice,” Johnson said.
Johnson said he opposed giving the mayor a vote, while Aitken said it is vital.
“You can see why we need it right now,” Aitken said.
District 5 Augusta Commission challenger Don Clark said he is no stranger to public service after 21 years in the Army, including three combat tours.
Asked about plans to renovate the defunct Regency Mall in District 5, Clark said the privately-owned property is ultimately subject to the will of its private owner.
Today, April 22, is the last day to register to vote in May 21 elections. Early voting in the commission and other nonpartisan contests and state primaries begins April 29 at four Augusta locations:
- The Linda W. Beazley Room at Augusta Municipal Building, 535 Telfair St.
- The Charles Evans Community Center, 1866 Highland Ave.
- The Robert Howard Community Center, 103 Diamond Lakes Way
- Warren Road Recreation Center, 300 Warren Road
View video of the forum here: https://www.facebook.com/nphcga.augusta/videos/408833145345591
