Charlie Hannah, president of the Richmond County School Board, officially announced Thursday, July 8 his intent to run for Augusta mayor.
Speaking in the Linda W. Beazley Room at the Augusta Municipal Building, Hannah spotlighted the issues of homelessness, affordable living and labor, as well as education in his platform.
“I have great memories and moments of downtown and Broad Street in days gone by,” he said. “We have to save downtown from becoming a ghost city and re-imagine the riverfront beyond a place just to walk. You deserve something better than a city where the downtown lights are off at 8, and folk are afraid to walk the streets at night.”
Hannah also emphasized using resources throughout the city, not just downtown.
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“If we are going to reinvent Richmond County and bring her into the sunshine, we have to get beyond the rhetoric and commit to an equitable investment into the government of south Augusta,” he said.
A central point in his campaign, and a goal if he is elected, is expanding Augusta’s workforce capital and maintaining a strong working relationship with middle and high schools.
Several of Hannah’s colleagues at the Board of Education attended and spoke in support of his mayoral campaign, including Jimmy Atkins, former board president; Venus Cain, former board vice-president; Charlie Walker Jr., board vice president; Walter Eubanks, school board member; and Patsy Scott, school board member.
Augusta professional boxer Justin DeLoach, whom Hannah used to coach, and Hannah’s son Jonathan, introduced Hannah.
Skyler Andrews is a reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
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