Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson can now officially do something other than break a tie as citizens voted overwhelmingly to give the mayor a vote on the Augusta Commission.
The margin was 73.94% yes, to 26.06% no with a final turnout of 21.86% of eligible voters. Turnout was ten percentage points higher than the last election of 2022, making the vote a landslide, according to Johnson.
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“I am very excited, and I am humbled that the citizens of Augusta have placed their trust in the office of the mayor, and I can’t emphasize enough that this is a good first step in the path forward,” Johnson said.
Johnson campaigned on the issue prior to being elected and was able to put together a powerful coalition of support from former mayors Deke Copenhaver, Hardie Davis Jr. and Bob Young, as well as one of the architects of the city charter, former state Senator Charles Walker.
Meanwhile, the decision on giving the mayor a vote also had its detractors, with a group calling itself Helping Our People Excel, HOPE, strongly opposing the initiative. One member of the group, former Commissioner Ben Hasan, went to community forums and spoke on podcasts, claiming that the mayor did not “follow the legal procedure” of getting the referendum on the ballot.
According to Johnson, the next step is going to be forming a committee that will work with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at UGA and make recommendations on a full overhaul of the charter.
“I think before we form a committee, we should have some public forums to bring the community together and give everyone a chance at providing input,” Johnson said.
The mayor’s vote on the commission becomes effective July 1 of this year.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
