(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column of those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Augusta Press.)
The City of Augusta has a major decision to make as we elect our next mayor who will serve the city we love for the next four years. He or she will also become the face of our community for businesses and families considering moving to Augusta while serving as our city’s lead salesman and ambassador. Considering who the best candidate is to help our city fulfill its vast, and often times untapped, potential, I proudly voted for Garnett Johnson, and I did not make the decision lightly, to say the least.
I know and like most of the candidates running for the seat and have had the pleasure of working with many of them. However, I honestly feel as though Garnett is the best person to lead Augusta to greater heights. Like me when I first ran in 2005, Garnett does not have experience in elected office. When people brought this up as a negative when I ran, I reminded them that I had run small businesses, chaired boards of directors, served as co-chair of the Red Carpet Economic Development Tour and had many strong relationships with decision-makers at the state level that would help in our efforts to bring businesses to Augusta. I made the case that I had all the leadership experience that I needed, and I would say the same for Garnett.
As we work to increase our business recruitment efforts while leveraging the blessing of U. S. Army Cyber Command calling Augusta home, having a member of the board of the Georgia Department of Economic Development in the mayor’s office would assuredly help to maximize our economic development efforts.
One thing that I see as a huge advantage to local government elections in Georgia is that they’re nonpartisan. During my time in office, I focused on remaining nonpartisan in my governing role as it is my firm belief that the mayor should focus on serving the greater good of the community as a whole and not the interests of any one party. Having spent many hours talking with Garnett, I know that he is committed to governing in this manner and to bringing our community together as opposed to playing one side of town off of the other. In a day and age when most of us are fatigued by negative, hyper-partisan politics on both sides of the aisle, having a mayor who is committed to valuing the needs of all of Augusta’s citizens equally is something I believe most people would find to be a refreshing change and Garnett is just the change we need.
Several years ago, I had the pleasure of working with Garnett’s wife Toni while consulting with the Augusta Convention and Visitors Bureau. Having had a strong and supportive wife in Malisa for nine years in office, I can assure you that having a spouse who is tremendously supportive during some of the stressful days that serving as mayor can create is absolutely crucial to a successful administration. Knowing what a fine and supportive woman Toni is, she will undoubtedly be an asset to both Garnett and the city.
In the end, I firmly believe that new blood from outside of our local government who brings a fresh perspective, a new set of eyes and a business-minded approach to governing is exactly what our city needs at this critical juncture. Simply put, if I was going to hire Augusta’s next mayor based on a track record of building a successful business from the ground up, a strong and unwavering faith and proven strong, positive and ethical leadership in multiple capacities, I would hire Garnett Johnson
Deke Copenhaver is a former mayor of Augusta.
