We have a run-off for mayor in Albany between B.J. Fletcher, a local businesswoman, and former City Commissioner Dorothy Hubbard. Former State Representative, John White forced the run-off with his third place showing. So here we are. Regardless of the final outcome, it is a turning point for our Albany. It will be the first time a woman has served as our mayor. That will be interesting to see, but is there more to this? Albany needs a substantive change in direction. Is this it?
How many opportunities does Albany get to change it's destiny? So far, I believe, we have not taken full advantage of any previous shots at community wide improvement. SPLOST money has been misspent, attractions sit empty, or underutilized, large employers shut down, while the big business of poverty goes unchecked. The powerful few would rather Albany stay the way it is, than risk losing their grip on the reins. As long as the average citizen is not engaged, they will continue to run Albany as there own cash cow, in both the private and public arena. It seems we prefer to stay distracted and mired in scandal, petty crimes, corruption, apathy, and social laziness. It's easier. That's not to say that the Fletcher and Hubbard camps lack a real passion to serve the entire community. I have to assume both are motivated by a desire to make things better. I have to assume that, or I have to move, and I'd rather not just yet. Moving is such a hassle.
So now we gear up for a run-off election for both the mayor's office, and the city commission seat of Tommy Postell, who finds himself fighting to keep it away from Victor Edwards. I'm not in that ward, so any thoughts I have on that race I'll keep to myself and just say if there is one, may the better man win. But I do have a thought to share on the mayoral race. I want to see Fletcher win.
It's not complicated. Of the two choices, Fletcher has the most real world experience at creating real jobs for real people. No other issues matter at this point.Without income, without some kind of financial security, all of us flounder. We need a successful business person as mayor right now, and that is Fletcher.
Create enough new jobs, and I mean real jobs, not government subsidized, grant-based, glorified, feel-good, vote buying, temporary positions, and all of our other problems as a city are effected. We need to convert our city from the mecca of regional poverty that it has become over the last few decades, into a shinning example of how people can come together and really fix things. Just think of our economic woes as a raging, rushing Flint River, and apply those same 'bonding skills'. There is nothing we cannot do, if we want to do it bad enough. Do we?
The few times I've met Dorothy Hubbard, it was pleasant. She seems like a nice person, and someone trying to do her best. But she is from the school of 'been there, done that'. Regardless of what she may want to do now, or may say in the campaign, her vision of Albany city government is tainted by old habits learned as a commissioner. Those cannot be unlearned. She is the candidate of the established power base. My other, more political and cynical concern, is that her best shot at winning will require some type of reaching out to those that voted for John White. They will want something for that support. If there was ever a candidate that was all about the old ways of governing this city, John White is it.The politics of division along racial and economic lines lead us into the mess we find ourselves in today. A house divided cannot stand, and our home is already in desperate need of repair. I am concerned that Hubbard would feel obligated to steer policies in ways that put more distance between us as fellow citizens. That would be a disaster.
We need a drastic turnaround in how local government functions. Fletcher is new to local politics, although she has been an active member of the business community here for years. It is her newness, and her singular focus on shutting down the industry of poverty and creating jobs, that has myself and many others supporting her. Is it risky stepping off in a new direction? You bet. The first days of a Fletcher administration may be a hectic mess. There may be back-steps, and mid-course corrections of one sort or another. Fletcher will run into old ways; black and white. They will fight her at every turn to keep things as they are, but she is a stubborn lady. My money is on that stubbornness winning the day for all the people of Albany, not just one side or the other.
So is this a symbolic election of our first lady leader, or is it something more? For Albany's sake it must be something more. The right leader at the top can make a huge difference, but let's not think that one person can save our city. Fletcher, Hubbard, and the other candidates, have all done a wonderful thing for Albany. They have shown us that to be a part of a community, you have to step up, take a stand, roll up your sleeves, and get to work. Albany's future is in all of our hands, and this run-off election will be what we make of it.
- Lon McNeil
- Gainesville, Florida, United States
- Albany, Georgia is my hometown. I am a father and a grandfather.