With Thanksgiving only three days away, it’s time to talk turkey! And for the first time the winner of the Turkey of the Year award is not an Augusta politician.
It was not even human. It was Hurricane Helene, that blew in from the Gulf of Mexico to the Florida panhandle and roared through Georgia to the Appalachians as a tropical storm, leaving a 500 mile path of death and destruction we still haven’t recovered from and probably never will. Not completely anyway.
And while the devastation and misery Helene created might make the usual turkey awards seem insignificant, we will carry on here trying to get back to normal like everybody else. We will recognize a flock of tough turkeys who in a cruel and calculated way, fired their interim administrator and two longtime city department heads.
Augusta Commissioner Jordan Johnson, who was not a part of the firing squad, said the Sept. 24 terminations of interim City Administrator Takiyah Douse, Finance Director Donna Williams and Procurement Director Geri Sams were orchestrated by Mayor Garnett Johnson because they stood up to him for not following the city’s credit card policy.
“They voted to fire the same people who told him he couldn’t use his credit card the way he wanted to use it,” Johnson said. “We need change. Right. No, that was vindictive. The mayor was pissed because he had to follow the rules.
“Tell me one thing either one of those individuals have done to warrant their having to resign from their positions other than tell power no. Under Williams’ direction, the city has an A+ credit rating and is in the best financial position it has been in in decades. And Sams has followed the rules ‘to a T.’
“If she hadn’t, she’d be in jail now,” Johnson said.
No doubt former Mayor Hardie Davis would have retaliated if they’d pressed him to turn in receipts, but he warned finance early on and in no uncertain terms that he’d handle his office and Freedom of Information requests from the media himself.
It was like when an alumni association gives the coach a vote of confidence
The mayor and commissioners had honored Williams for 45 years of service, and she’d received a standing ovation in commission chambers, in addition to having pictures taken with the mayor and commissioners Francine Scott, Wayne Guilfoyle, Sean Frantom, Stacy Pulliam, Catherine McKnight and Tony Lewis, all of whom except for Lewis, would vote to force her out the next week.
Commissioners Alvin Mason and Brandon Garrett who were not in the picture, also voted for the terminations.
Anybody who can last that long working for the city of Augusta definitely deserves more than a standing ovation, and certainly not being fired and escorted out of the building by marshals like a common criminal.
“I think it’s a bad deal,” said Commissioner Bobby Williams. “The mayor has effectively destabilized the entire government of Augusta, Ga.”
(Truthfully, I think Commissioner Williams is just mad because he’s been trying to destabilize the government for four years, but couldn’t get it done.)
The turkeys who forced the resignations said the city needed to go in a different direction, whatever that means. I’m sure they couldn’t tell you if they tried because they don’t know. And I can’t for the life of me understand why they blamed the department heads.
“There has to be a change if you’re going to change the culture of direction of any organization,” Commissioner Garrett was quoted as saying. “So, the commission took action today, hoping to start that process.”
Three weeks later, Garrett announced he was stepping down from the commission for an undefined period to work through some issues that have affected his family and his spiritual and mental health.
That karma is a bitch, ain’t she?
What new direction?
“The only way we’re gonna change this government is to change what we have in place and give this government a new direction,” said Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle.
The way they got started on that change was to call Douse, Williams and Sams into conference rooms separately where two or three commissioners were waiting with City Attorney Jim Plunkett who told them they had to resign or be fired. It was shocking and humiliating.
Some commissioners had been talking among themselves about wanting to hire a CFO, defined as a senior executive who manages a company’s financial activities, including accounting, budgeting and financial reporting, all of which Williams did. And the proof is in the pudding. It’s going to be hard to beat Augusta’s credit rating, no matter what you call yourself.
After all, S&P Global Ratings assigned its ‘AA’ ratings to Augusta, Ga.’s roughly $250 million series general obligation bonds.
For the record, Williams is a certified government financial manager, a professional certification awarded by AGA, demonstrating competency in governmental accounting, auditing, financial reporting, internal controls and budgeting at the federal, state and local levels.
“All of these ladies have served this city well in the capacity they have served in, and so where we go from here, I couldn’t tell you,” Lewis said.
How ironic
“Drive around Augusta. You see the work that needs to be done,” Garnett Johnson said. “You see the condition of our city. And I think that change needs to occur. Leadership change needs to occur.”
Three days later you couldn’t drive around Augusta because of the massive debris in the roads. I don’t know if Donna, Geri or Takiyah could have prevented the hurricane, but I do know during their years of employment we’ve never had such a devastating natural disaster.
Just saying.
We did have an ice storm in 2014, a few weeks after Augusta commissioners fired City Administrator Fred Russell and hired Tameka Allen as interim administrator, putting her in charge of the government during that disaster.
Fast forward to Sept. 24, 2024, at the Marble Palace where commissioners hired Chief Information Officer Allen as permanent city administrator at the same meeting they fired Douse, Williams and Sams, which put Allen in charge of the government three days before the storm devastated Augusta.
Some people believe there’s no such thing as a coincidence, but I can’t remember any natural disasters wreaking havoc in Augusta until commissioners started firing administrators and hiring Tameka Allen.
That karma is a bitch, ain’t she?
Together again
Thursday a week ago, former Augusta commissioners and other officials met for lunch at Sconyers for their annual get-together, organized by Moses Todd and Jerry Brigham.
As usual, I asked them a question or two.
This year, I asked them what they thought about the presidential election and whether the results would cause family feuds at their Thanksgiving dinners.
“We survived 200 years with folks we didn’t agree with,” Todd said. “We’ll survive this one.”
Todd also said there wouldn’t be any family feuds at his Thanksgiving dinner. That’s not surprising. I’m sure they all belong to the same political party. Guess which one.
District 7 Augusta Commissioner-elect Tina Slendak said, “We were pleased with the results of the election. The only way it will affect my Thanksgiving, since my family was also pleased with the results, is we may open a bottle of wine.”
Two would be better than one, Tina.
Former District 7 Commissioner Hap Harris said, “I think the election was wonderful. A grand slam. It was a massive difference between the two candidates. And it was a massive difference between the votes of the two. As far as Thanksgiving, I hope to eat turkey and take a nice nap and watch football like all the other Thanksgivings, The only liberal in our family lives in Virginia, so we’ll talk to him on the phone.”
Jerry Brigham said he was pleased with the election and that Thanksgiving wasn’t going to be a bit of a problem.
“We all know how to vote in our family,” he said. “And the one that didn’t vote like that, we’re not going to say nothing to each other about it. So, we’re going to be happy and enjoy good food.”
District 5 Commissioner-elect Don Clark said, “Thanksgiving will still be what it’s about for me. It’s about being thankful for all the wonderful things that we have – fellowship, family and friends. The political aspect of it is what it is, but we still have to live and thrive and work together. And we’ve got a lot to be thankful for, coming out of such a massive storm. So many of us working together as a community, and we can continue to build upon it.”
Former Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver said the election was how democracies are supposed to work.
“People are supposed to vote for whichever candidate they want, and so Donald Trump is our president,” he said. “But whoever is in the White House, God is on His throne, and I put my faith in Him and not in politicians. It doesn’t change our Thanksgiving plans one bit. I tell people I can’t do anything to fix Washington, but I can do things to help my community.”
Fred Russell said, “I’ve spent most of my life working at the beck and call of politicians to get elected. Some won and some lost. And some should have won that lost. And some should have lost that won, but the people have spoken, and we’re going to be able to listen to what they’ve said, and the impacts on the country are going to be exactly what the majority of them wanted. Whether that makes me happy is somewhat immaterial at the moment.
“As for Thanksgiving, we normally have turkey, but this year we’re eating crow.”
Former Augusta Commissioner J.B. Powell said, “The election is over, and we’ll all move on. And we hope the best for the new president and his cabinet. And Happy Thanksgiving everybody!”
Someone asked me what I thought about the election, and I said, “I’m the interrogator! I ask the questions. But then I just had to put in my two cents.
“I was feverishly happy and stayed up until 4 o’clock.”
Oh yes! Moses gave me a huge box of pecan products that came from CharAnne Powell’s Pecan Barn in Blythe. They are truly delicious and would make fantastic Christmas presents.
Moses also bought a barbecue plate for me to take home to Ernie. Wasn’t that nice? And, Fred bought my lunch. Oh, I know I’m not supposed to accept gifts from people I write about, but I did because nobody can compromise me at this late stage.
Happy Thanksgiving!
