The Augusta Commission will soon select one of its members to serve in a key role alongside Mayor-elect Garnett Johnson.
The position is mayor pro tempore, which is Latin for “for the time being.” Every two years, the commission elects one member to serve as mayor pro tem, a title that comes with an almost 60% pay bump, to $27,000.
Commissioner Jordan Johnson said the position takes on added significance with Johnson coming in from the private sector and two new commissioners coming in.
“I think for the first time in a long time, the position is actually going to be used,” Johnson said. “You have a brand new mayor and brand new commissioners. It’s not just going to be a stand-in position.”
Johnson, who is in his first term, said he isn’t seeking the slot and hasn’t attempted to secure the supporting votes. He’d need six of the 10 commissioners to back him.
“It feels like you have to promise everybody a pot and a chicken, and I don’t have a pot or a chicken to give,” Johnson said.
But at least two other commissioners, Francine Scott and Brandon Garrett, are known contenders, said Commissioner John Clarke, who leaves office this year.
Garrett, who was unopposed for reelection this year, confirmed his interest.
In a statement, Garrett said he’s shown the ability “to work with everyone” as well as lead the task force seeking to preserve the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam. He touted the elimination of Augusta’s environmental services director and the consolidation of those services in the Engineering department as accomplishments made while he served as chairman of the Engineering Services Committee.
Scott did not return a message seeking comment.
Besides the title, the mayor pro tem’s most visible aspect is the role as that of vice-chairman, presiding over commission meetings in the mayor’s absence. But unlike the full-time mayor, who can only vote to make or break a tie, the mayor pro tem can vote on any measure. As defined in Augusta’s Consolidation Act, the mayor pro tem also is expected to work with the mayor to make commission committee assignments and can perform other duties the commission authorizes.
Commissioner Catherine Smith McKnight, who is in her first term, said she was asked to pursue the post but chose to wait.
“I’m flattered, and I know I would do a good job,” she said. “I haven’t served a full term yet and most of them have served (a term) and done their due diligence. In two years? Maybe so.”
Clarke predicted a different outcome in which neither Scott nor Garrett had six supporting votes and another commissioner, Alvin Mason, wound up as pro tem.
“I think it’s going to come down to the nominations between Brandon Garrett and Francine Scott and the the compromise, Alvin Mason, might be it,” he said.
Mason has the advantage of serving two prior terms on the commission, during which he served as mayor pro tem with former Mayor Deke Copenhaver.
At the time, the commission had a “gentleman’s agreement” under which White mayors had to have Black mayor pro tems. The agreement was broken in 2011 with the appointment of Mayor Pro Tem Joe Bowles, but resumed with the appointment of Mayor Pro Tem Corey Johnson. When Hardie Davis, the consolidated government’s first elected Black mayor, took office, the city had a succession of three white pro tems – Grady Smith, Mary Davis and Sean Frantom – followed by current Mayor Pro Tem Bobby Williams.
The commission elects a mayor pro tem at the first meeting of the year, which is Tuesday, Jan. 3.
