Let’s start this week’s column off with what many will say is a ray of hope for Augusta District 5, if not for the entire city.
My dear friend Don Clark called to inform me that he had filed all of the documents with the Augusta Board of Elections to raise campaign funds to seek the District 5 commission seat.
Some may know Clark from his involvement with former Augusta Mayor Bob Young with their work in bringing a National Military Cemetery to Augusta. From what I have seen, read and been advised, the endeavor will prove fruitful.
Clark brings many necessities to the table, the most important being integrity. Over the past several years of interactions with him, he has always shown me to be a very open and straight forward individual.
Needless to say, we all will be watching this unfold.
Now, onto Commissioner Bobby Williams. According to sources who wish to remain unnamed, Williams is in a stew with Mayor Garnett Johnson. The reason being is that he thinks the mayor had something to do with finding an opponent for his commission seat.
Well, as it goes, it could be, or it couldn’t be. Who could blame the mayor for fostering good political candidates.
The bigger point is that Williams knows there is a more-than-capable opponent for the seat he currently occupies; and for pure educational purposes, let’s dive into this a little deeper.
Bobby Williams has openly proclaimed his opposition to any issue Mayor Garnett Johnson has wanted to push forward. Every single time the mayor proposes something, Williams and his Gang of Five swoop down like a swarm of murder hornets on a honeybee hive.
Williams has been openly rude and defiant towards the mayor during public meetings. Commissioner Bobby “Bully” Williams has a high degree in education and has been a high school principal. So, it would seem that he should have the intelligence to know that if the mayor pushed for a candidate for any seat, well, that’s just politics 101.
In fact, the mayor is quite candid when it comes to him mentoring potential candidates for office, and he says that he supports anyone who is qualified to run for office, but does not publicly endorse anyone.
“I am sick and tired of kingmakers, and I do not want to try and become one myself. We are in need of good, honest people to run for office. Competition makes democracy stronger, in my opinion,” Johnson said.
A warning to all: don’t give investigative reporter Scott Hudson with The Augusta Press a sharp stick and point him in the direction of a hornet’s nest. He will stir up the hornets to a tizzy and beat the hive until it becomes, as the song goes, “Dust in the Wind.”
Scott Hudson has been on a roll lately. First, with the Weed School story and then the Land Bank spending spree story. The stories were so informative and full of accurate and verified facts that it caused the Attorney General’s Office of Georgia to cry “uncle.”
You would have thought they were singing the James Brown song “Please, Please, Please,” when asking that a follow up story be printed to inform The Augusta Press readers that their office can’t get involved because the Augusta Land Bank does not get state money. The Augusta district attorney will have to be the one to call for an investigation.
I personally can visualize past Augusta District Attorney Natalie Paine doubled over in out-loud laughter at the even remote possibility of Jared Williams ordering such an investigation.
While some in Augusta still feel they are politically insulated from investigation or prosecution, they are beginning wake up and realize that Hudson means business, and he doesn’t mind slogging through reams of records to connect the dots.
While it is true that former Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. did not get prosecuted for his many documented misdeeds in office, Hudson’s exposure of Davis toppled what was once Davis’s carefully built empire. In fact, I am told that Davis went so far underground that even his ex-wife does not know where he is or what he is doing.
There is the old saying, “follow the money.” In Augusta politics when following the money, there are more twists and turns made than the video game “Grand Theft Auto.”
When I was first elected to the commission, I called for a full forensic audit. I got no support from anyone. I was still calling for an audit when Catherine McKnight was elected. McKnight joined in my motions to have a full forensic audit.
Again and again, we got no support.
It was always the same reasons: It would cost the taxpayers too much money. It would shut the government down. It would take years to get a complete audit. There is no indication of wrongdoing..blah, blah….
Then, there was only one.
Yes, only Commissioner McKnight was left to ask for the audit after I was out of office. Well, they had to find a way to shut her up. And they did. The commission agreed on an “operational audit.” Make sure the departments are operating as they should.
Commissioner McKnight settled for that in the hopes that it would shed some light on the truth. Well, how’s that working out? How far along has that gotten?
Is the almighty Procurement Department still putting together the scope of the details for bid?
Citizens, a forensic audit has to be called for and demanded. That is the only way to the path of truth. If the other nine sitting commissioners do not call for and will not support a forensic audit, then in my opinion, they are compliant in hiding the answers to questions that only the forensic audit would answer and not the ” clean” yearly audit.
I find it really strange that during a meeting, four commissioners wanted a 1.5% budget cut. Couldn’t get it. Then a .75% budget cut. Again, they couldn’t get it.
Then all of a sudden, they agreed upon 1% budget cut.
Knowing how these backroom deals are typically reached, I wonder what concessions were made to secure that magic sixth vote and if it had anything to do with trying to outmaneuver the mayor and help get Interim City Administrator Takiyah Douse across the finish line to become the permanent administrator.
Whatever the scheme might be behind the scenes, Garnett Johnson knows that even without a vote on the commission, he is in the driver’s seat on this one, and he is not letting anyone else in his lane.
During the last commission meeting, they recessed and did not adjourn. This was because of budget reasons. They will reconvene on Dec. 5 at 2 p.m.. This will be most interesting.
You only have to look at the money the non-governmental organizations are receiving to find where huge amounts of money are going.
Once upon a time, MACH Academy received $50,000 a year, now they are slated to get $250,000. They operate the Fleming Tennis Center and the Diamond Lakes Tennis Center. According to their website, they charge $50.00 a month for the participants.
The Augusta Library is receiving around $3 million. Remember that Commissioner Bobby Williams already got his gang to give the library $1 million in rescue funds so that they could repay the $1 million dollar loan to Augusta. WOW, talk about creative financing.
Commissioner Jordan Johnson tried giving the Georgia Soul basketball organization $$250,000, but came up just a bit short. So that little item was given to Interim Administrator Douse to find the funding. I have inquired as to that status, but have only heard the sound of crickets.
Speaking of commissioner Johnson, I was watching an old rerun of Saturday Night Live the other night. They used to feature Al Franken as the fictional character, Stuart Smalley, who would stand in front of a mirror and give himself a daily affirmation. He would say, “I deserve good things. I’m good enough. I’m smart enough. And doggone it, people like me.” Now close your eyes and just invision Commission Johnson.
As always, folks, you just can’t make this stuff up.
