The Augusta Press delved into Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis’ finances and published our findings about irregularities involving his bank account marked as “My Brother’s Keeper” and now the mayor is reaching out to our attorney, saying he wants to be transparent. His actions, though, say otherwise.
Indeed, the Mayor’s office continues to stonewall and claim records do not exist. The Mayor has now been put on notice that if our Freedom Of Information Act requests filed back on April 8 are not answered in full by Wednesday, May 5, The Augusta Press will file a lawsuit against him and his office.
MORE: City Budget Shows Unexplained Expenditures Connected with At-Risk Youth Program
The mayor is certainly aware that we are serious as The Augusta Press et. al. V. The City of Augusta is currently before the Superior Court over the city’s abject refusal to follow the open records law in reference to the current search for a Fire Chief.
Despite the stonewalling on records, the financial irregularities in the Mayor’s office are clear and the mayor himself will now either open up and explain it to the public as prescribed by law, or he will be pressed to do so in court.
Davis can either open the records or have a judge do it for him. The law demands those records are to be made public.
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In 2015, Davis launched Augusta’s version of My Brother’s Keeper, a program aimed at mentoring young boys and men of color, to much fanfare. The literature made available at the time touted the program as mirroring the national My Brother’s Keeper initiative started by the Obama Administration which fosters public/private relationships to help at risk youth become promising adults.
A long list of sponsors and/or partners included (now) Augusta University, Goodwill Industries, Augusta Rotary, The Boys and Girls Club of the CSRA, the Augusta/Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and Augusta Technical College.
In announcing the program, the Mayor Davis stated: “We as a community are responsible for the success of Augusta’s sons and daughters. This is our plan to employ a laser focused strategy on the success of our sons. As you know my son, Benjamin, my nephews and my godsons are near and dear to me. I pray for them, I serve for them and for the hope of their future in Augusta.”
The Mayor’s office was given an extra $35,000 a year, separate from his regular budget, to administer the program which was funded through the city’s general fund.
But then, nothing happened. And nothing of any consequence has happened since the program launched six years ago. However, the funds have been spent year after year.
Davis announced his office would be creating a My Brother’s Keeper website, establish a youth advisory board, establish a MBK directory, recruit an AmeriCorps Vista volunteer and launch an “extensive communications and media campaign.”
None of that ever materialized.
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In fact, the Mayor’s office has spent a total of $19,407 from the MBK fund just this year, but the only event scheduled for this year was a baseball clinic on April 22. The Mayor’s office confirmed that the baseball clinic never happened.
To sum it up, Davis has, over six years, spent over $200,000 of taxpayers funds earmarked for an organization that does not exist.
Davis has an obligation to explain himself to the public and he now knows that stonewalling is doing nothing but eroding his support from the Augusta Commission. Not one Augusta commissioner has been willing to go on record to voice support for Davis or defend him in any way; conversely, District 10 Commissioner John Clarke’s call for a financial audit of the Mayor’s office is gaining steam with commissioners who don’t want to appear to be turning a blind eye to possible malfeasance.
The fact that Davis has been absent from meetings since these findings were made public may be a sign that he now understands the gravity of the situation.
MORE: Augusta Mayor’s Financial Records Produce More Questions Than Answers
The mission of The Augusta Press is to expose corruption in government if we find evidence of it and ultimately hold transgressors responsible in the public arena. The United States Constitution gives the press free access to investigate and report what is in the public interest and the court system is there to act as arbiter when controversies arise.
It is time for the Mayor to obey the law and open up his file cabinets for inspection or he will find himself party to a legal action that will likely not bode him well.
Scott Hudson is the Editorial Page Editor of The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com.
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