How the mighty can fall, and that’s exactly what happened to former commissioner Sammie Sias.
The convicted Sias could face up to 20 years in a federal prison, and that could well be a life sentence for someone his age as there is no probation in the federal system.
Where did it all go wrong for a retired United States Army sergeant major with a stellar military career? He was long a leader of men and one who knew how to command. Maybe it was the beginning of the end when Sgt. Sias retired from active duty and moved into the top ranks of government.
Sias became very involved with the neighborhoods located around his own. He was able to rally the homeowners and began to clean up the area, making the neighborhood once again an inviting place to live. He also became involved with the Jamestown Community Center.
In 2014, Sias ran for and won the District 4 seat on the Augusta Commission. Once elected, Sias showed great promise for change in Augusta, and this is where it all started to slowly unravel for him.
Once firmly entrenched in the government, Sias started to wield the stern fist of dominance as if he had never left the military. Somehow, he managed to convince those in department director positions that if they didn’t play ball his way, their careers would be short-lived, and a couple of careers were.
Even though the Jamestown Community Center was not in District 4 but in District 8, he took it over without opposition. The center became his private kingdom. There, the wheeling and dealing of favors and power were the normal daily activities, and no one dared cross one of Sias’ rules, or there would be the piper to pay.
Such was the case when Sias allegedly chose to take a young teenager into his office to scold him about his behavior. It was reported by the boy’s parents that Sias closed the door and locked it behind him, making the young man feel intimidated. There were several incidents such as this reported to have taken place; however, according to reports in The Augusta Press, the claims were investigated by DFACS and ended with no evidence to file charges.
Meanwhile, as a commissioner, he was gaining control on that body with his strong-arm tactics. If James Brown was known as the Godfather of Soul, then it must be said that Commissioner Sias was the Godfather of Stormwater.
As a commissioner, I complained for years that the fee is a $14 million a year FUN FUND. No one can really give a believable answer to how all the money is spent.
When I, as a commissioner, wanted answers as to how and where the money was being spent, Sias invited me on a look and see tour of all the great things being done, so off we went.
The first stop was Skyview Drive. There, the drains had been corrected to prevent flooding on the street in front of the businesses located there. Also, a new cemented drain river culvert was built. I had to admit that it was a good job; but not $14 million worth of improvements, unless the cost was greatly inflated.
Next, we moved on to a neighborhood that had flooding issues in the yards.
In that neighborhood, a ditch was dug and rocks stabilized the walls. The ditch ran into a culvert creating the needed drainage. Still, it was not $14 million worth of work.
We visited another neighborhood with the same flooding issues. Again, Sias pointed out a ditch that had been dug and rock wall stabilization that had been installed. I was in no way convinced that any of this accounted for even a fraction of the $14 million spent.
As a commissioner, Sias also pushed streetlight fees on the citizens. So what if you didn’t have streetlights in your own neighborhood? Sias’s mentality was that when you go into areas that have streetlights, you use them. So, pay up.
As the city’s ex officio to the Augusta Regional Airport commission, Sias saw the golden opportunity to appoint his secret lover to the District 4 represented seat; it is now clear that he was trying to gain more control over the airport.
When Sias gained control of the operations of Jamestown Community Center, he made it the center of his operations and enterprises. With not a word opposition from the government, the center became his campaign headquarters as well as a polling place.
Sias would hold a monthly Saturday morning breakfast at the center. There, he would bring his followers up on his ideas, what he thought about the important issues and how he was going to push for changes. On those Saturday mornings, you would find city department heads, the fire chief, the trash haulers, the auto towing companies, Gold Cross and anyone else that had he had demanded to be there dutifully sitting in their seats.
I happen to know this because I attended some of those breakfast meetings and was privately told by many that they could think of plenty of other ways to spend a Saturday morning.
The citizens who came would be regaled with Sias’s tall tales of what he was doing and what he was going to do to make Augusta great again. I watched in awe as some seemed to fall in line to the piper’s tune. How he gained that power was bewildering to me.
When Sias started spending money at Jamestown and was the only one who had keys to the Jamestown Kingdom, Commissioner Marion Williams started raising Cain about Sias and his shenanigans. A couple of times they nearly came to blows on the dais. That would have been a sight to behold.
Think of the money for charity that could have been raised if both men had agreed to a no-holds-barred boxing match at the Jamestown Center.
When word reached the commissioners as to what was happening concerning Sias and the search warrants, it wasn’t really a shock. It was more a matter of that it was about time.
If the FBI had fished even more with the can of worms that was found, they likely would have caught a couple more big fish, it is believed.
For example, everyone heard of the lost file of receipts for the money spent, and Sias testified that he was told that there was no need to keep receipts. That seems to be a pattern in Augusta government that is in dire need of correction.
The government’s propensity to toss receipts to the wind is precisely why I kept demanding an audit.
When the issue of changing the street name from Sammie Sias Way to Jamestown Lane came before the commission, Commissioner Bobby Williams objected. Speaking along the lines that Sias was a great legislator, Williams claimed that Sias was one of the best. The street name should be unchanged, according to Williams.
Williams holds breakfast meetings on occasion. Following in the style of Sias, there are the department directors and profiled leaders and politicians spewing their own brand of “see me, hear me” nonsense. The only difference is that Williams gives away door prizes such as plasma televisions. I guess getting the free breakfast is no longer the draw it once was.
It is now the end of the line for a man who was once a feared and powerful local politician. All throughout history it is written about the powerful who have fallen due to a lover scorned. Perhaps the blow-up mattress on the Jamestown office floor with those paisley sheets was the last straw for Sias’ lover.
One has to wonder if things would have turned out differently if Sias had tried a daybed and champagne instead.
Sias could have been a great leader if he had stayed on the path of righteousness. The things that have been done can’t be undone. Just like a bell, once it’s rung, it can’t be un-rung.
On a different note, the city has been a victim of a cyberattack and I feel sorry for those that have been affected.
Tameka Allen is Augusta’s director of the Information Technology Department. She is very, very capable of directing the department. Allen would send all of the commissioners tutorials on a regular basis to teach and remind them of how to spot a questionable email.
The tutorials had a test at the end of each lesson, and it had to be passed before credit was given.
I know that steps were taken to beef up the security around sensitive data, but I am told that if hackers want to get in, they will eventually find a way.
This past week I had to conduct business with the Utilites Department as well as Planning and Zoning, located on Marvin Griffin Road. Even with the computer issues, I was able to get what I needed accomplished. The people that I interacted with were very polite and performed customer service to a very high level.
I’ve got to give credit where credit is due.
