By Deke Copenhaver
Twenty-eight years ago, in 1996 the City of Augusta and Richmond County governments consolidated in order to avoid the city going into bankruptcy. Having spent nine years serving as mayor of Augusta-Richmond County, I can speak with authority to the fact that our current form of government was founded upon mistrust and continues to breed mistrust in our community, both internally and externally, to this very day.
I recently learned from former state Senator Charles Walker, who was at the negotiating table to draft our current charter in 1995, that the foundational document upon which our government operates was put together in an hour and a half due to time constraints placed upon those drafting it by then Speaker of the House Representative Tom Murphy. Twenty-eight years since consolidation took place, a charter that was flawed from its inception has remained virtually untouched for nearly three decades. To put this into perspective, the document that represents the business plan for our city has not been updated since the Spice Girls “Wannabe” was number one on the music charts and “Seinfeld” was our nation’s top rated television show. In the world of business, if you don’t update your business plan in thirty years, you don’t have a business to update your plan for. It’s just that simple.
For those of you who have tuned out the workings of our local government and who are fed up with the toxic and dysfunctional politics which play themselves out across our nation daily, I’d like to give a quick overview of how our government functions. Since consolidation took place, our mayor, whoever he or she may be, has the right to vote on any agenda item coming before our government only in the event of a tie. Each of our 10 commissioners, representing eight individual districts and two super districts, have the right to vote on every agenda item.
Commissioners also currently have the right to abstain with no reason necessary, or to walk out of the chambers without voting, in order to block the mayor from casting a vote to break a tie. An affirmative vote of six members of the body, which includes the mayor, is necessary to approve any agenda item. As we’ve seen this practice play out publicly over the past several months, our current form of government allows an individual commissioner to deny the one individual elected at large by the entirety of our city the ability to take part in the governing process by casting a vote. As opposed to our government functioning as a representative democracy, its current form enables the tyranny of the minority to come to the fore time and again.
When one considers the younger generation of Augustans, I believe it is inherent upon our community to ask for their input into how our local government works. With local citizens who were born the year consolidation took place approaching their thirties and young people born in 2005, the year I was first elected to office, now eligible to vote, we have two generations of Augustans who have never had the opportunity to be a part of shaping how our government functions. In a year when first time voters have to choose between two presidential candidates with no connection to their generation, on May 21 the younger generation of Augustans have a chance to stand together and help to take the first step in fixing a government that has been broken for decades by voting to approve our mayor having a full and equal vote on items which come before our local government.
In today’s environment of toxic political polarization, I consider it a blessing to serve as chairman of the Augusta Stronger Together campaign at the request of my good friend Mayor Garnett Johnson. Through this campaign I honestly believe our community has the opportunity to unite around a positive movement to make history and create a brighter future for our city as well as for our region as a whole. In all honesty, the actions of our local government have more of an impact on our daily lives than the actions of politicians on either side of the aisle in Washington, DC. And on a personal note, I know that having recently come through cancer through the prayers and support of family, friends, and our community as a whole, the Good Lord has kept me around for a reason and I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that this campaign is a major part of His calling for me.
At the end of the day, none of us has the power to fix our federal government and I choose to leave that in God’s hands. However, we do have the opportunity to begin the process of fixing our local government by voting to grant our mayor a full vote on May 21st. I look forward to casting my vote in favor of granting our mayor a vote and I would ask that you all join me in standing together to make our voices heard in creating a better government to serve the greater good of all of our citizens.
