Billy's Boy

Don't Hit A Foul Ball

Corporal Gripweed: District 1 Runoff Leaves Voters Little Choice

Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Augusta, GA
By Corporal Gripweed

  "Constantly choosing the lesser of  two evils is still choosing evil."

                                                                                        Jerry Garcia

  

It's down to two candidates in the undecided District 1 race for Richmond County Commission..On the one hand we have incumbent Matt Aitken, and on the other, challenger Bill Fennoy.

With about  a week to go before the decision is made, I do not envy the voters of District 1. How can it be that in one of the most important districts in the county, that includes downtown  and the manufacturing facilities downriver, that this is the best that can be done? Both men have proven themselves to be interested in public service.

Fennoy serving on the Coliseum Authority, and Aitken currently serving on the commission, but neither man has a track record of particular achievement to be touted as "praiseworthy" as it relates to public service.

As someone who tries to keep up politically ,while not allowing it to rule my daily life, I have two distinct memories of each man respectively. Fennoy was best known as the man who punched activist Woody Merry in an altercation after a Coliseum Authority meeting. And Aitken was  caught off-guard on camera by WRDW's Chris Thomas, concerning a budget vote, making it painfully obvious that he had no clue what he voted to approve. (see video below)

Fennoy? Who stated publicly that the seat belonged to a "black Obama supporter" or Aitken…who failed to show up at ANY Laney-Walker Overlay meetings…and only attended one of at least four debate forums leading up to the general election. 

A man who maybe, has trouble controlling his temper and doesn't think before he acts….Or a man who graduated from the "Deke Copenhaver" school of milquetoast politics and allows others to do the thinking for him.

Which leaves us with the question…Who will best represent the interests of District 1?

In my opinion….neither, but the reality is that one of these two men will represent District 1 for 4 years.

 One thing is certain. if re-elected Matt Aitken will continue to do as he has in the past... which is to say and do as  he's told by the power brokers pulling his strings. 

 Mr Fennoy may be the more pragmatic choice at this point, as he's never served on Commission and may be just the "roll of the dice" the city needs…because what District 1 HAS had the last few years has been more of a puppet than a leader and an advocate for his constituents.

 It's a shame that such an important district is left with such paltry choices….."the lesser of two evils" indeed.**

CG

*Editor's note: Harrisburg neighborhood activist and former Dist 1 candidate Lori Davis has officially endorsed Bill Fennoy in the Dist. 1 run-off

Matt Aitken Insults Downtown Merchants Over Clock Issue

Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Augusta, GA
By The Outsider

One of the cardinal rules in a political campaign is to avoid saying or doing anything that might insult a key portion of your constituency. Think of the video where GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney essentially called nearly half of all American voters freeloaders. His campaign is still trying to climb out of that hole. Facebook and Twitter have also become minefields for politicians-- think Congressman Anthony Weiner' s semi nude pics he tweeted out for all the world to see that resulted in his resigning his seat in disgrace. Well, it appears that Matt Aitken, who is running for reelection in the district 1 commission seat, may have offended many downtown merchants with the following Facebook posting this past Monday night. There are  no Weineresque crotch shots -- just commissioner Aitken standing in front of a clock with the message "found another clock downtown."

On the surface the post seems innocuous, but for anyone who has been following the saga of the downtown clock over the past year will understand why the above Facebook posting could be taken as an insult by some downtown business owners and government watchdogs. They have been questioning the unusual circumstances of how the downtown clock was removed from the center of Broad street with no public input and then wound up in the terminal at Augusta Regional Airport. And now, here was the commissioner for the downtown business district where the clock once stood, turning it into a joke -- essentially telling concerned downtown merchants to just get over it. 

The clock seen behind Aitken in the above Facebook posting is located at 13th and Broad in front of an old bank building. The downtown clock that has been the center of controversy (not the one in the above photo behind Matt Aitken) was purchased with over $60,000 in special purpose local option sales tax funds (SPLOST) in 2003 for the specific purpose to give that area of downtown a focal point. It stood in the median of Broad Street between 10th and 9th streets across from The Whites Building for 8 years until last fall when it was removed in the cover of night by The Downtown Development Authority (DDA). It later made its way to the airport. Many downtown business owners were furious. Some of them had even used the clock in their advertising. 

Now it was gone and no one was giving them a satisfactory explanation. Margaret Woodard, director of the DDA, said that it was removed because it it did not function properly. She says there was a vote by the DDA board to do this. However, in an open records request by City Stink at the request of concerned downtown business owners, we found no vote or discussion of the removal of the clock in any of the DDA meeting minutes.

Here is what else we found out in our open records request:

The clock was insured, and a claim for it was made by the DDA. The insurance company later deemed the clock irreperable and payed off the claim to the DDA. 

The DDA's 2011 audit report still lists the clock as an asset worth approximately $35,000

The clock later ends up at Augusta Regional Airport and is miraculously repaired -- after the insurance company paid off the claim deeming the clock a loss. Records show the clock was repaired at a cost of between $8,000 and $9,000.

Questions:

• Why did the clock end up at the airport with no vote or discussion?
• Where is the money that the insurance company payed off to the DDA on the clock?
• How was a clock deemed "irreparable" later repaired?
• If the clock was considered a loss by the insurance company, then why was it still listed as an asset worth $35,000 by the DDA on their books.?

If seeing an empty spot wasn't bad enough for downtown merchants and visitors who had grown accustomed to the large black Victorian style clock as a focal point, things were made even worse when the focal point was taken up by a hot dog trailer. Instead of the elegant clock-- this is what diners on the outside patio of The Casa Blanca Cafe located on the first floor of The Whites Building get to see directly across from them: 

Lovely, isn't it? But it gets worse. During the Arts in the Hearts Festival earlier this month this is what took the place of the clock:

Rather ironic when you think about it since the circumstances of how the clock was removed from downtown certainly do stink.

But to Commissioner Aitken all of this is just a big joke and to him, downtown merchants and concerned citizens are making much ado about nothing -- but they aren't laughing.For many of them, the clock had become a focal point to that part of downtown and they want it back -- and they want answers as to why it was removed -- not insults from the commissioner who is supposed to represent their interests.

Another bit of irony in all of this is that when Commissioner Aitken ran for election in 2009, where do you suppose he decided to give his speech officially kicking off his campaign? Yep.. the same downtown clock that he is now making fun of -- the clock that now resides at the airport. Below is a photo from Matt Aitken's media event in 2009 where he officially announced himself as a candidate for the District 1 seat.

Seems back then the clock was important to him -- now it has become a punchline. Of course if Aitken had decided to hold his reelection announcement at this same spot this year, he would have done so in front of a tacky aluminum trailer or a cadre of crappers -- the latter of which is where Aitken's reelection hopes are likely to end up.***

OS

* Special thanks go to Taylor Bryant for providing the screenshot photo of Matt Aitken's Facebook posting

Related Stories:

• The Case of the Disappearing Downtown Clock

Aitken Will Have a Poor Record to Defend

Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Augusta, GA
CityStink.net Commentary

Augusta Commissioner Matt Aitken ended weeks of speculation yesterday by issuing a press release that he would indeed seek re-election. The news was not released until after 5pm yesterday on The Augusta Chronicle website, and a formal announcement is expected today at 5pm. Aitken will face challengers Bill Fennoy, Stanley Hawes, Thelonius Jones and Denice Traina. Aitken had previously said that he may not run for a second term because of what he complained as "negativity" from the media. We suppose what Aitken means as "negativity" is people holding him accountable for his record, and this time Aitken will have to defend his record as a commissioner. Let's take a look at it:

The main impetus behind Aitken's first run for the commission was passage of the TEE Center, the same one that has been mired in controversy over delays, cost over-runs and land not being deeded to the city as promised. As a commissioner, Aitken has voted consistently "to just move the project along", despite the mounting evidence showing waste of taxpayer dollars and the commission being mislead about key elements of the project. In fact, When Aitken was first elected, the TEE Center agreement was hurriedly passed just days later. Aitken has repeatedly voted against audits investigating the TEE center and parking deck debacle.

Aitken has taken great interest in trying to get a new ballpark built for Ripken Baseball, despite this ranking very low on the priority list for most District 1 constituents. Aitken even introduced a motion last Summer to commit the city and taxpayers to a partnership with Ripken Baseball to build a new ballpark at The Golf and Gardens site. The Commission rejected Aitken's motion but it was brought back in a different form by Commissioner Joe Jackson for City Administrator Fred Russell to enter into negotiations with Ripken Baseball to develop a "creative financing" package for a new ballpark.

Aitken has a habit of keeping his constituents out of the loop on key issues. One instance is the Opportunity Zone for Harrisburg, a motion that Aitken put on the commission agenda. The problem is he neglected to inform the residents of Harrisburg, which falls in his district. State law requires public hearings before these opportunity zones are put into effect. That was never done and residents were never informed. It was all done under the radar with no public input.

Aitken also ignored concerns from Laney-Walker residents when the Planing and Zoning Department was trying to sneak through an incomplete and fatally flawed overlay zoning application without conducting the required public hearings. When a concerned citizen, Dee Mathis, brought her concerns to the commission, Aitken (who serves as her commissioner) was silent, and ended up voting for the overlay application despite numerous errors. And when public meetings were held in the community, commissioner Aitken did not attend a single one of them.

We have heard repeatedly from downtown business owners that Aitken does not respond to their concerns. When the downtown clock, paid for with SPLOST money, was suddenly removed from downtown without any input from the downtown business community, there was no response or intervention from Aitken. Small business owners also complain that their calls for an enhanced security presence in downtown has gotten no response from their commissioner. In fact, Aitken voted for a budget that cut over $1 million from public safety. Instead of championing the interests of the small business owners, who are the backbone of downtown, Aitken often champions the special interests of the cliquish Downtown Development Authority, an entity that has virtually no representation from the downtown small business community. Aitken consistently favors big spending boondoggles that benefit the cronies of The DDA over basic needs that benefit the average small business owner.

Aitken is consistently absent from committee meetings and he rarely asks questions at regular commission meetings. It is also obvious that Aitken is clueless on many of the items that come before the commission. Does he even bother to research the items on the commission agenda or does he just vote as he is instructed to by his handlers? It appears to be the latter. If there is one glaring example of this it is the budget that was hurriedly passed last fall. Aitken voted for the budget, not realizing it contained over 30 lay-offs. He was even under the impression that it contained raises. Had Mr. Aitken even bothered to read key elements of the budget before voting on it? Apparently not. Isn't that the job of a commissioner.. to know what he is voting on?

In the following video that appeared on WRDW News 12 after the budget vote, reporter Chris Thomas queries Commissioner Aitken about the budget and whether he was aware of the layoffs. It was obvious that  Aitken was clueless... the awkward moments of silence... the deer in the headlights look... it said it all. Aitken can complain about a "negative" media all he wants, but  it's his responsibility to know what he is voting on. Aitken is simply not prepared to be a commissioner. The following video should become an albatross around his neck. Watch the video below. Is this someone who deserves a second term?

Where Does Your A.R.C. Commissioner Stand on Property Rights and Due Process?

The Sensible Six

The following six commissioners stood on the side of individual property rights and the rule of law by voting against an incomplete Overlay Zoning District application for Laney-Walker/Bethlehem at the Nov 15th Augusta Commission meeting that could have impacted individual property rights throughout the county. They wanted more caution and a more thorough and complete process that included homeowners. 

Corey Johnson (D2)                 Grady Smith (D10)                        J.R.  Hatney (D9)

Wayne Guilfoyle (D8)                      Al Mason (D4)                            Bill Lockett (D5)

The Foolish Four

The following four commissioners voted in favor of the incomplete overlay zoning application. They sided with the private out of town developer and against long time homeowners in the Laney-Walker area and property rights advocates. These four wanted to rush through an application that was incomplete and would likely not withstand a court challenge. These four commissioners voted against property rights, due process and the rule of law.

Matt Aitken (D1)                   Joe Bowles (D3)                         Jerry Brigham (D7)                   Joe Jackson (D6)

And Deke

Though the Mayor didn't get to cast a vote on the overlay zoning district proposal, he lobbied very hard for its passage. He even brought in a  Pastor Aline Scott to speak as a resident of Laney-Walker in favor of it. But Pastor Scott was not even on the agenda to speak before the commission. And pastor Scott does not reside in Laney-Walker. In fact, Deke allowed Pastor Scott and the developer rep. seeking the OZD to speak more than once, a privilege he did not afford the opponents of the OZD who actually bothered to go through the process to get themselves on the agenda for that day's meeting.

Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver

Contact your Commissioners and the Mayor and tell them how you feel about their position on property rights and upholding due process and the rule of law: Contact Augusta Commissioners and Mayor

Related articles: 

• Dee Mathis Wins Battle Over Overlay Zone
• News of the 'Burg: What Does the Opportunity Zone Really mean for Harrisburg?
• Urban Redevelopment or Land Grab?
• Open Letter to Planning and Zoning Regarding The Overlay Zoning District
• Matt Aitken: Like a Deer Caught in the Headlights

***Do you have a story idea, a tip, or would you like to write for City Stink? Then please contact us at:  CityStink@gmail.com***

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Matt Aitken: Like a Deer Caught in the Headlights.

Matt Aitken (Dist 1 Comm.)

CityStink.net Commentary
Augusta, GA
By: The Outsider

Seriously, where did this guy come from? Matt Aitken has been District One Commissioner for two years now and it just gets worse and worse.  Too many brain cell killers in the early years? Is there a better excuse for just not knowing what is going on? I'd plead the brain cell killers.  In An Augusta Commission meeting yesterday, Aitken found himself so totally out of touch with the 2012 budget proposal that he did not even know that there were employee layoffs associated with it. When Chris Thomas from WRDW asked Mr Aitken about his yes vote on the budget, he was completely oblivious: Watch the video here: 


Had he read the proposal? My bet is,"No," yet he voted to pass it. Does he prepare for Commission meetings or just votes accordingly? Might as well not waste the government paper on printing out his agenda book. If I were to vote,"Accordingly," I would be smart enough to make my handlers look good. Wonder how," They," are feeling today? Reckon they got the right boy elected to do their dirty work?

Prior to the budget vote, Commissioners heard both sides of the of the Laney Walker District Overlay Zone argument. I watched Mr. Aitken as he rocked in his leather rocking chair and seemed disinterested.... By the way, I'll give him best dressed Commissioner and First Place for rocking.... I think he was still reeling from an earlier interview request from a reporter from CityStink.net who asked him if he minded answering a few questions.  He replied,"You must be from that City Stank." Perfect answer, cause his handling of his constituents really, "Stanks." 


As Commissioners continued to heatedly discuss the Laney Walker matter, Aitken was totally disengaged until Commissioner Mason asked him to speak on the subject. Mason said," We have yet to hear from their Commissioner." 


Aitken stammered around as he always does and then in his best deep intellectually sounding voice, he began to talk about,"Moving Forward and Growing the city."  If I have to hear the words,"Growing the City,"one more time, I will have to run against him for District One. Seems like that was all he knew to say in his campaign three years ago, and here it was again today. 


"Growing the city," means get out of the way and let certain Cabal-connected "developers" make some money here! In all seriousness, Matt Aitken, Commissioner for the Laney Walker District proceeded to vote to allow an Overlay Zone for the Laney Walker area without attending ONE public hearing, finding out what it was about, making sure that his constituents were well informed, and assuring that all documents for the application were in order. 

Matt Aitken: "No Comment!"

He knew that this Zoning change was causing unrest in his district yet he chose to ignore it. Cha-Ching for the developers! As it turned out, other Commissioners listened carefully to arguments from both sides and made the right decision to hold off on the Overlay until all residents understood the ramifications and the proper documents were filed in the proper manner. One has to wonder if Mr. Aitken receives text messages during Commission meetings from Mayor Deke that say,"Dont Cave or we'll rescind your pardon." One has to wonder what pressure this must put on this man so that he continues to make decisions for his constituents that are so unpopular...And if this weren't enough....


Just recently as noted in CityStink.net, Commissioner Aitken was responsible for putting an item on the Augusta Commission Agenda over a year ago that eventually made all of Harrisburg an Opportunity Zone.  All of this was done without a public hearing as required by law. If this was such a great thing for Harrisburg, why was it carefully hidden until it was done? Mr Aitken, this is where I draw the line. Are you that afraid or your puppeteers that you will not do what is  right and follow the correct procedures under the letter of the law? Poor Matt Aitken was on the road to personal recovery and now obviously has gotten side tracked by the Augusta Cabal.  What a shame this is for a man who was doing so well.


Related articles:

• Matt Aitken Will Have Poor Record to Defend
• Matt Aitken: Like a Deer Caught in the Headlights
• Dee Mathis Wins Battle Over Overlay Zone
• News of the 'Burg: What Does the Opportunity Zone Really mean for Harrisburg?
• Urban Redevelopment or Land Grab?
• Open Letter to Planning and Zoning Regarding The Overlay Zoning District

***Do you have a story idea, a tip, or would you like to write for City Stink? Then please contact us at:  CityStink@gmail.com***
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Dee Mathis Wins Battle Over Overlay Zone at The Marble Palace...For Now (Videos)

Dee Mathis Claims Victory at The Marble Palace

Augusta, GA

Dee Mathis and her allies reigned victorious after the Nov 15th Augusta commission meeting in halting approval of a proposed overlay zoning district for the Laney-Walker/Bethlehem neighborhood. You can read more about the background over this here: CityStink: Commission Set to Vote Today on Overlat Zone.

Bringing a flock of supporters, Dee Mathis was joined by veteran property rights advocate, Al Gray, in making oral presentations before the commissioners as to why they should deny approving the application for the overlay zone as submitted by the developer.

In the end a majority of commissioners, in a 4-6 vote, sided with Ms Mathis and Mr Gray and denied the application. A second motion was approved that would have the commission revisit the overlay proposal at the first scheduled commission meeting in January 2012. You can watch videos of the proceedings at the commission meeting below.

Al Gray's Presentation :

video courtesy of Kurt Huttar

Dee Mathis' Presentation:




video courtesy of Kurt Huttar

More Video from Later in the Meeting when the Vote was Taken:


video courtesy of Kurt Huttar

Related Articles:

• Commissioners set to vote on overlay zone today
• Urban Redevelopment or Land Grab?
• Open Letter to Planning and Zoning Regarding The Overlay Zoning District

***Do you have a story idea, a tip, or would you like to write for City Stink? Then please contact us at:  CityStink@gmail.com***
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Lori Davis: What Does the Opportunity Zone Really Mean for Harrisburg?

By Lori Davis, chief Harrisburg correspondent for CityStink.net

Yes, I am, "That Harrisburg Lady," the name that Brad Means of WJBF gave me when I was running for Mayor of Augusta last year. Somehow I don't think this was a term of endearment and that's OK. No hard feelings. I'll wear it with pride.

The Augusta media sure has had no problem showing their bias. I think a lot of people were unhappy with me for running against the Beloved Mayor Deke Copenhaver. Well, someone needed to bring the true issues of this city to the forefront. I tried, but the local media would not engage in it. On the other hand, I know a lot of people who were very proud that I gave them a voice. The kind of people who truly matter in Augusta but who are often ignored: like the decent, hardworking people of Harrisburg. By the way, I am the President of the Harrisburg West-end Neighborhood Association, so you see I am a little more than just,"That Harrisburg Lady."

In recent months, I have uncovered the fact that the Harrisburg neighborhood has been designated an Opportunity Zone by the State of Georgia Department of Community Affairs. This state designation on the surface looks all fine and good, but when you dig into the details of how all of this happened without any involvement from the leaders of Harrisburg it becomes a whole other matter. How did this happen without us knowing about it? Very carefully. Is it good? is it bad? We don't know. We do know that the process was carefully hidden. It seems that in March of 2010 the Augusta Commission voted to declare Harrisburg an Enterprise Zone. Our District 1 Commissioner Matt Aitken put it on the agenda and George Patty and Fred Russell rammed it through.

Dist 1 Commissioner Matt Aitken by "The Shadow"

Matt Aitken didn't even know what it was all about, and has yet to answer any of my questions regarding it, claiming that he would have to get someone who knows more about it to explain it. Jeez!!!!! Just like what occured with the proposed Overlay Zoning District for the Laney-Walker/Bethlehem neighborhoods, this all happened without any public notice or hearing. This designation actually encourages big business to come into the area via tax breaks. This came as a surprise to me because Harrisburg leaders have been engaging in a five year battle to take back this crime ridden neighborhood and have been quite vocal about how we have wanted to do it. So why were we left out of the process?

We wanted our neighborhood to be restored to it's former greatness as an Historic Mill Village, and bring in Urban Pioneers to help reclaim one of the best downtown Augusta neighborhoods. You can't tell me that physicians who drive through here everyday don't wish that they could live this close to their work? All of this caused me to dig deeper into what was really happening with the area. I started looking at just how we had gotten the Opportunity Zone designation from the State. I asked for documents from the Department of Community Affairs which they quickly provided.

As I studied the documents I zeroed in on one interesting sentence. Mr. Patty of Planning and Zoning had written that the statistics recorded in the application had been derived from a,"Privately Funded Study." Another intersting thing for sure. Who provided the money for a study of Harrisburg, and why? Why were we not privy that this study was going on, and it's all important results? I decided to meet with Mr. Patty whom I have always said that I respected more than anyone else in Augusta Government. We might need to start calling him David Fry... Mr. Patty admitted to me that there was no study and no funding and that he did all of this on his own and that no one put him up to it. He just wanted to help Harrisburg. Oh really?? Let's go back a few years to understand where we are today in Harrisburg, and why this new information becomes so important.

George Patty, Dir. Planning & Zoning

Back around 2005-06 several of us in Harrisburg got together to begin the plans to take back this neighborhood from the drug dealers, the addicts, prostitutes and pimps. Shouldn't be that hard with good leadership and the law on our side. Boy were we wrong. We began to make all of the appropriate contacts, set up all of the appropriate meetings and make it known that we were true leaders and could turn around a sinking ship. All we needed was a little cooperation from law enfocement. Up until now, no real movement had taken place in Harrisburg.

I credit Butch Palmer with bringing us all together. Butch was born and raised in Harrisburg and has watched her decline over the years with no way to stop it. We began writing letters to landlords asking for their help with the tenants they were putting into their properties; The types that were drug dealers and hell raisers. We even protested one landlord in particular and took him to court over the drug dealing of his tenants. We got no response. We began making numerous calls to RCSO, set up our own neighborhood watch and patrol and began the hard work to rid this area of the troublemakers. We ultimately stumbled across an ordinance called," The Chronic Nuisance Property Ordiance," that was being used effectively all over the United States and even raised the money to bring a nationally known expert of this ordinance to Augusta to have a two day meeting with city leaders to explain how great this ordinance has worked around the country.

Butch Palmer: Harrisburg neighborhood leader and civic activist

We really thought we were getting somewhere except that the push back from a well known and well connected slumlord stopped us in our tracks. You see, a CNPO holds landlords accountable for the behavior of their tenants after so many calls to the authorities. The ordinance was never meant to criminalize the landlord in any way but to solicit his/her help in problem solving. The city was even gracious enough to set up a CNPO committee to draw up the ordinance.

For once it looked like we were getting somewhere. Mr. Patty served along side me on this committee while he continued to work on his application for Opportunty Zone designation for Harrisburg. The key point here is that an OZ cannot be awarded unless the area has certain horrible and provable statistics such as high crime, blight, and unemployment. While we were working to change these dynamics, a behind the scenes plan was obviously being executed by Mr. Patty and his cohorts. Harrisburg could not look good to get this OZ designation. The CNPO was further derailed by a city attorney who drew up the ordinace and then declared it federally unconstitutional. That was the end of the committee and the end of all of our hard work to draft a Chronic Nuisance Property Ordinance.

Commissioner Joe Bowles even appeared to be working hard on our behalf. What a ruse!! I remember my meeting with Sheriff Strength prior to bringing the CNPO consultant to Augusta. He said that he would support this ordinance 100%. If this had been the truth, we would have this ordniance today. It was all a smokescreen. My question was,"Why?" Who was behind the destruction of Harrisburg? During all of this, Butch Palmer ran for District One Commissioner and was defeated by Matt Aitken,  a Cabal backed and funded candidate.

We kept working in Harrisburg and kept getting a push back. We were not getting the help we thought we deserved out of all of our effort. To this day, Matt Aitken has not done one thing to help Harrisburg. It was beginning to become evident that someone did not want Harrisburg to prosper. Crime reports were worse and worse each month even with our dogged determination, letters to the editor and continued calls to code enforcement, the Marshall's Department and the media for coverage. Because of this, I decided to run for Mayor to hopefully expose what was going on behind the scenes in Augusta's government that was holding neighborhoods like Harrisburg back.

 I decided to run a clean campaign and did not alert the media when I found out that a former employee of Deke's family lived in Harrisburg next to one of the worst drug houses in our neighborhood. I chose to alert Deke for help after the lady came to me and explained how she had taken care of Deke's dying father. I got no response from Deke and still have not to this very day. The media never even wanted to discuss the issue of crime in the county even though this was a huge part of my campaign and a huge issue for the city and county with one of the highest crime rates in decades. It was conveniently ignored. Deke won. So after a five year battle, what is the state of Harrisburg today?

Typical blighted property found in Harrisburg (one of the better ones)

Two nights ago a person was shot in the chest in front of my house on Crawford Ave. Property is being silently bought up in certain areas of the neighboirhood by numerous LLC's connected with a major member of The Cabal as they hide behind philanthropic projects, all the while ignoring the major issue called,"Crime." The neighborhood over the past three years has had extensive studies performed by the Georgia Conservancy, Historic Augusta, and some other group that represented,"Lifelong Communities."

Crime is still not being addressed at least not to the level that it should be. Ten year old drug houses still abound, while prostitutes are being picked up in broad daylight. Harrisburg has been designated as an Opportunity Zone with a bogus study, no public hearing as required by law, and property values have plummeted even more. The Kroc Center has been completed, however, Harrisburg does not have a sitting member on the BOD of the Kroc Center, nor is there any community outreach as promised. I guess all of this is going according to someone's master plan. Nothing else makes sense. We believe that Harrisburg is being allowed to decline and at some point a land grab will be the reality when no one is looking. I can assure you,"That Harrisburg Lady" will not let this happen.

Lori Davis,
President of the Harrisburg West-end Neighborhood Association
***Do you have a story idea, a tip, or would you like to write for City Stink? Then please contact us at:  CityStink@gmail.com***

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