In this country, we should not honor criminals, no matter how charismatic and/or likable they might have been in life or what good ideas they had. Those who violate their oaths of public office should never have public infrastructure named after them.
Richard Nixon was poised to become known as a great president. He was hailed for ending the Vietnam War and opening America to the Far East. Yet, despite his pardon, Nixon went down in history as the only president to resign over his misdeeds, thanks to the Watergate scandal.
This is precisely why there is no Nixon International Airport or Nixon Memorial in Washington D.C.
However, Augusta Commissioner Francine Scott and eight of her colleagues on the commission believe that everyone “deserves a second chance,” and that was the rationale for naming Riverwalk and the Eighth Street Plaza in honor of the disgraced former Mayor Ed McIntyre Sr.
After being convicted on federal charges of soliciting bribes and only spending a fraction of his sentence in prison, McIntyre was not contrite. He remained defiant and continued to divide this community until his death in 2004 by claiming he was a victim due to his race.
For those who do not know the history of McIntyre, here is the synopsis:
Ed McIntyre came into office in 1981 and was lauded nationally as Augusta’s first Black mayor. He hatched the idea of creating a giant park along the Savannah River to be known as the Riverwalk.
Behind the scenes, however, he used the riverfront development idea for his own personal gain. Local businessman L.D. Waters was one of the people McIntyre attempted to extort. Waters went to the FBI and agreed to wear a wire to capture the bribery attempt on tape.
A jury of his peers found McIntyre guilty.
Rather than own up to his misdeeds, McIntyre claimed he was set up and was a victim due to his race and the fact that he was the first Black man to be voted in as mayor.
After prison, McIntyre convinced then-Sen. Tom Allgood to have his civil rights restored so that he could be bonded to run a limousine service. Part of the “handshake” agreement was that McIntyre agreed not to run for office again.
How did McIntyre repay Allgood for helping him out? He ran against Allgood for his Senate seat in the following election cycle.
No, McIntyre was not a statesman. He was a charlatan and, incredibly, the Augusta Commission voted almost unanimously to name Riverwalk in his honor.
Commissioner Al Mason has always voted, in the past, against naming public infrastructure for people. Most recently, he voted against naming a building and a ball field for Tom Wiedmeier and Andy Cheek, two men of impeccable character. Yet, Mason cast an affirmative vote for McIntyre.
Commissioner Brandon Garrett even suggested that more parks ought to be named after McIntyre in the future.
Ridiculous.
The community has one opportunity to nip this in the bud. The naming still has to go through the Planning and Zoning Commission, and the taxpayers of Augusta/Richmond County need to show up and loudly proclaim that our city does not honor criminals.
