(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column of those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Augusta Press.)
In Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis’s last State of the City speech Thursday, he followed his normal modus operandi. That’s police talk for “method of operation.”
He took credit for all the good things that have happened in Augusta and ignored everything that’s crashing down around his feet. He ignored the controversy and strife he created with his over-the-top spending, lack of receipts, questionable hires and paid-for consultants who might have given him more than advice, not to mention the state ethics investigations into his “dark money” and campaign contribution spending.
He gave gift bags to three outgoing commissioners, and I wonder which city account he paid for those with and how much he had to pay the preacher who gave the benediction at the end to make it sound like he could walk on water. And with all of the technical equipment and stuff he bought for his office, it would seem he would at least have created a soundtrack for his presentation that contained canned applause instead of having to beg the sparse crowd for applause.
Here are a few excerpts:
“The citizens of Augusta trusted me to be your 84th mayor.”
(They trusted him until they found out he didn’t keep receipts for their money he spent. And after eight years, would you buy a used car from Hardie Davis?)
“We’ve demonstrated what it means to be our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.”
(By spending money from his My Brother’s Keeper’s account on his re-election political consultant. We just don’t have the receipts for that either.)
“We implemented virtual commission meetings.”
(Good thing too. It lessened the chances of Commissioner Bobby Williams beating somebody up.)
“We have a state-of-the-art transit facility.”
(But the buses still don’t run on time. Just ask Mr. Darrius Dante Barley who spoke about the poor bus service at the public services commission meeting last week. The transit director said the buses were old and they can’t get parts for them. But they’ve got a nice state-of-the-art office building.)
“I’m proud to say, we’re becoming an eco-friendly city.”
(Now, if we could just keep people from throwing their trash and fast-food boxes out their car windows.)
“I’m overcome by many emotions. … We knew there would be many bumps down the road.”
(I predict a lot more bumps for the 84th mayor before it’s over.)
In the Bag?
What did Davis give outgoing commissioners Sias, Hasan and Dennis Williams in their gift bags at his State of the City speech Thursday?
He gave Sias a soap-on-a-rope, a file and a roll of duct tape to keep his mouth shut.
He gave Hasan a copy of Machiavelli’s “The Prince” and graph paper to chart his political future.
And he gave Dennis Williams magnifying glasses because Williams was prone to press the “yes” button when he meant to press the “no” button, and vice versa, when voting on commission motions. He also gave him a copy of Dale Carnegie’s “The Art of Public Speaking.”
A Mayor Who Would Be Anything Else
WGAC FM 95.1 radio show host Austin Rhodes obtained and circulated a copy of a working paper purporting to be questions for Davis and his answers to prepare him to run for governor of Georgia. The anonymous paper is not dated but is thought to have been put together sometime in 2021. Here are some of the real questions and some answers we think Davis would have given if he were being truthful:
Q: Are you prepared for negative attacks?
A: I am prepared for negative attacks, but don ‘t ask me for receipts.
Q: Are you prepared for a statewide race in post-Trump America?
A: I guess I’d better quit.
Q: What are you prepared to do to win?
A: Use my personal resources and every tool at my disposal including the entire budget of the mayor’s office.
Q: Why is this office right for you?
A: It has a bigger budget I can spend on myself.
Q: What are your three biggest strengths and weaknesses?
A: I am what I am. And that’s my biggest weakness. My biggest strength is nobody believes what I am.
Multiply those by three.
Q: What are you prepared to give up in order to win?
A: Nothing.
Q: What are your vulnerabilities?
A: See “I am what I am” answer above.
Q: What’s your campaign style?
A: Lying. Telling people what they want to hear.
Q: How will you evaluate your performance on the trail?
A: How big my bank account grows.
Q: How will your family balance the campaign?
A: I am divorcing my sick wife, so that no longer matters.
Q: How will you balance your pastoral duties with your campaign schedule?
A: Jesus said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” I would prefer you render unto Hardie.
Q: How will you compartmentalize the campaign, personal obligations and your role as mayor?
A: I don’t really do anything as mayor anyway. I’ll have plenty of time.
Q: How will voters differentiate you from your Democratic and Republican opponents?
A: I’m really down the middle, but I don’t know exactly what a donkey/elephant combined would look like. I do know there would be a big trunk where I could keep your money, and instead of a small tail, it would probably have a big a–.
People Who Oppose Open Governance also Oppose Honesty and Truth
From everything I know about Wayne Guilfoyle when he was on the commission for eight years, he’s a fine man, and I would never say anything negative about him. But I can’t figure out what incumbent District 10 Commissioner John Clarke has done during his tenure that caused him to have such opposition.
Clarke is the one who spoke out about the underhanded way the Augusta fire chief selection was rigged to get the least qualified candidate on the finalist list. Remember how the city paid more than $100,000 to a recruiting company and then-Administrator Odie Donald circumvented the process by intervening to get Fulton County Deputy Fire Chief Antonio Burden added as a finalist. Donald denied it, but the emails between him and the recruiter that The Augusta Press obtained showed he lied.
Clarke told the public what was going on behind the scenes. He talked publicly about the misuse of city money and led the charge for city department audits and total financial transparency. During the Covid pandemic, he organized vaccine stations at both Augusta airports and helped get hundreds of people vaccinated. He was one of two commissioners who met with other neighboring governments and groups to try to save the Savannah River Bluff Lock and Dam and Augusta’s riverfront. He also pushed for money for the sheriff’s department to buy security cameras. And he and Commissioner Catherine McKnight brought attention to the deplorable conditions at the Bon Air apartments and got Congressman Rick Allen involved. He put state inspectors on the case.
But to the commission majority, Clarke and McKnight are loose cannons because they don’t follow their key majority rule to keep as much information as possible from the public. Why does the majority do it that way and then lie about how they work so hard on transparency in government? Bad or no advice from their attorney? Sometimes. Maybe. But, in my opinion, commissions want to do things inside, out of the light of the public view wherever possible, regardless of whether it’s illegal. Even the day-to-day things – they don’t want people talking about them. They don’t want people saying, “Well, wait a minute. Isn’t there something better we could do with that $6.5 million? What about…? Or, ‘Excuse me, why are we doing this?’ Even a question. They don’t even want a question because a question means what? Somebody has got to come up with an answer, supposedly.
They don’t have answers. They often don’t even know why they’re doing what they’re doing. What do they know about running the city or county? Most of them have never run a business. Most of them have never done a payroll. They don’t want that exposed either. They don’t want a good question to come, and they’re sitting there looking around saying, “Well, we’ll have to table that and maybe the sub-committee can take a look at it.”
And they don’t like Clarke and McKnight telling the truth about what’s going on. It’s embarrassing, especially when it forces them into a public vote they don’t want to take.
Ignorance of the Law is No Excuse, Especially if You’ve Hired an Attorney
At Tuesday’s Augusta Commission meeting, commissioners had to rescind a motion passed the week before to allocate $62,500 to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office for the purchase of surveillance cameras.
The revote was necessary because the original measure was discussed in a legal meeting where, according to Georgia’s open meetings law, only pending litigation, pending real estate transactions and matters pertaining to a specific employee may be discussed in closed session.
Policy matters, such as departmental funding, are not allowed to be discussed in private when a quorum of commissioners is present.
The revote was prompted by a letter from the attorney for The Augusta Press, David Hudson, threatening litigation if the commission didn’t rescind the previous measure and vote again in public. Then the Augusta Press would consider the commission has learned a lesson, Hudson’s letter states.
What Suits Me Might Not Suit You
Augusta faces one of its most important mayoral elections in its history Tuesday. The differences in the candidates have been well articulated, and their behavior scrutinized with a microscope. I encourage everyone reading this column to go out and vote for the person who will best serve the interests of Augusta for the next four years.
While I’m not endorsing a candidate, we all know who would give me the best material to write about until my fourth and final retirement. So, personally I hope you would vote that way, but for the good of Augusta that might not be the best choice.
Sylvia Cooper is a columnist with The Augusta Press. Reach her at sylvia.cooper@theaugustapress.com
