When The Augusta Press began publishing, part of our mission was to do our part in ridding Augusta of the governmental corruption that the city has become known for.
The work is not close to complete. Augusta needs the FBI to dig deeper than just the missing $6.3 million including looking closer at the Weed School transaction, Augusta’s Land Bank and former mayor Hardie Davis.
From the wild, freewheeling days of Prohibition, to the vice-grip control of the old Cracker Party all the way up to today’s “fiefdom” mentality among some of our political elite, Augusta politics have always been rife with corruption, almost on par with cities like New Orleans and Chicago.
Augustans have witnessed a sheriff, a mayor, a coroner, several commissioners and state representatives go to jail for dalliances with the public till.
While some very competent and motivated people in both elected offices and staff positions run the day-to-day bureaucracy of our city, every ounce of good they provide to the public is negated by the grifters who view taxpayer funds as “found” money for themselves and their friends.
Four years in, we are proud of the work done to uncover corruption in our local government. We have exposed the gratuity-hungry former mayor Hardie Davis and his many money grabs, including the infamous “My Brothers Keeper” account, as well as the outrageous spending by Shawn Edwards of the Augusta Land Bank.
The Augusta Press reporting has aiding in bringing down political empires, aided the rise of politicians who have shown themselves to be ethical and, when necessary, put our money where our mouth is and successfully forced government transparency through the courts.
Yet, there is only so much a small, independent newspaper can do.
Finally ridding Augusta of institutional corruption will take an agency with subpoena power and the ability to incarcerate those guilty of violating the public trust.
We absolutely welcome the FBI to Augusta, and we only ask that they do a thorough job of shaking every tree they encounter. They are welcome to as many free subscriptions as their agents need. Old news stories will provide a road map to several years of corruption.
We are not just using lofty words, phrases and ideals. We want Augusta to be a city that sets the benchmark for honesty and transparency in government.
The FBI generally relies on states to police their own, but when they do get involved, it is serious business. Just ask disgraced former Commissioner Sammie Sias and former Senate Minority Leader Charles Walker.
We Augustans signaled our demand for a change in the establishment at the ballot box with the election of a political outsider as mayor and a political newcomer as sheriff. Now, it is up to law enforcement to finish the job and cull the political herd of ne’er-do-wells.
Hopefully once the FBI is finished looking into the matter surrounding the “lost” $6.3 million in American Rescue Act funding, they will dig into the many other shenanigans committed against the tax payers of Augusta-Richmond County.
