My Athens

Sherry Jackson Answers My Questions

Sherry Jackson ran for the 46th Senate district in 2008.

The district, which includes roughly the western half of Clarke Co., all of Oconee Co. and the northern two-thirds of Walton Co., is a tough one for Democrats. Jackson lost to popular Republican incumbent state Sen. Bill Cowsert, 57.8 percent to 42.2 percent.

Jackson is an attorney with an office near downtown Athens, but she’s also the executive director of the Northeast Georgia Community Care Services Program—a state and federally funded program that gets older and disabled people the help they need to live at home.

Here—I thought—is somebody who could start educating me a little more about local politics, and particularly about politics within the African American community in Athens. So I emailed her some questions…

Q. In your 2008 race, you outpolled Cowsert in Clarke Co. but lost by wide margins in Oconee and Walton counties. What did you learn about the 46th Senate District? Can a Democrat win in it now? What about an African American?

A. The 46th district is made up of a more progressive Clarke Co. along with a bit more conservative Walton and Oconee Counties.  The district was redrawn a few years back to capture a more Republican populace. In order to achieve this goal, Clarke Co. was divided, with the western half going into the 46th district and the eastern part falling into the 47th district.  Additionally, Walton Co. has enjoyed growth from the urban flight from the Atlanta area.  Like Walton Co., Oconee Co. has also experienced generous growth.  However, the difference is that Oconee Co. has maintained an active Democratic community.   It is unfortunate that the county with the largest population (Clarke Co.) is not represented by the party with whom they most identify and which shares their core values. With that said, I believe that it is possible for a Democrat, African American or otherwise, to win the 46th district, but the sun, stars and moon would have to line up perfectly.

Q. From your perspective, what are the most important local issues for African Americans in Athens-Clarke Co.?

A. The most important local issues for African Americans in Athens-Clarke Co. are jobs, job maintenance and career opportunities.  If there are ample employment opportunities, all of Athens will prosper.  Athens-Clarke county needs to attract hefty employers to this area while at the same time offer a labor-ready pool of employees.  Thus, we need to make sure our young folks are properly educated, trained and prepared for the workforce.  We have the infrastructure in place with our secondary schools, Athens Tech, UGA and other local institutions of higher learning.

Q. Is it fair to say there’s a leadership vacuum within the African American community here in Athens at least in terms of local and state issues?
   
A. We have representation at the local level and a state representative serving from Athens.  It would be great if we could have representation at certain other levels who are equally sensitive to the needs of constituents on both sides of the Arches.

Q. But do you think the leadership within African American community--and this is not just a question about elected officials--is effective in advocating for the community on important issues?

A. Since I believe that the "important issues" stem from the lack of employment opportunities, and since that spreads throughout the African American community as well as the community at large, I think that the leadership is now more apt to listen to viable options (i.e., bio-research facilities) advocated by African American leadership.

Q. Describe the political relationship between local African Americans and local white progressives. Is there much of a sense of partnership or alliance?

A. I appreciated very much the support I received from progressive folks in Clarke and Oconee Counties.  There appears to be a good relationship amongst those of us who share the same core values.

Q. Putting your campaign to the side for a moment, do you think progressives and the African American community do a good job of not taking each other’s support for granted? Is there enough work being done on each side to keep alliances strong?

A. Politics being what it is, I would venture to say that if the politician wants to be re-elected, they would have to have some accountability to the constituency in order to get re-elected.  Most of the local elected officials recognize whom they serve and seek input on how to best serve.

Q. Here’s a non-political question. Let’s say an African American professional—a lawyer or a professor—has a job offer from an employer in Athens. She wants to know what living and working in Athens is like. What do you tell her? What advice? Any cautions?

A. Athens is a great place to live, work, and raise a family.  We have a small town flavor with a progressive and diverse population.  You can witness a great hometown rivalry on Friday nights under the lights or take in a classical ballet or musical concert.  Athens is perfectly situated close enough to Atlanta to enjoy a visit there, but far enough away so that we don’t have to deal with big city issues.   One of our biggest assets is the University of Georgia, which offers cultural activities as well as a large pool of potential clients, and perhaps a friend or two.

Q. Do you have any plans to run for office again? For the state senate seat or something else?

A. Although I still have the political bug in me, I don't have any plans to run for senate or any other office.  I'll just have to satisfy my interests by working on the campaigns of others.

# # #

This interview was conducted via email. The text published here is an ever so slightly edited version of the actual exchange.

Image credit: from the Sherry Jackson 2008 State Senate campaign web site

A. R. Killian's Athens

A. R. Killian is a retired letter-carrier who lives on Chase St., right across from Chase St. Elementary School and kitty-corner from The Bread Basket. He served in the Air Force during the Korean Conflict, and was Athens’ first African-American police officer. I spotted him in his yard the other day, and asked him a few questions about Athens.

Where do you enjoy walking in town?

Right now I don’t walk. I used to walk downtown. I used to go downtown, park my car and walk all over town. I parked where I could park without getting a ticket. I just walked through town to see what was going on.

And I guess that habit started when I was in high school and I worked downtown. I worked for Fickett’s Jewelry store back in the 50s. Mr. Fickett was a New Englander, and he moved to Athens and started a jewelry store. He was an optometrist, and a watchmaker. I really learned a lot working for them. I made $2.50 a week—that was a lot of money back then. I cleaned-up. Polished jewelry. Went to the bank. Went to the post office. Delivered packages. Repaired jewelry. Went everywhere.

If you worked downtown, you could go in any establishment because they recognized you as working for Mr. Fickett.

If you could change one thing about traffic in Athens, what would that be?

Slow it down. People drive, and don’t pay any attention. They run the red light. I have seen people right in front of this house talking on the telephone and get so engrossed in the phone they just come to a complete stop in the middle of the street.

What’s missing in Athens?

I don’t know. I really don’t know. When you go downtown, there’s everything kind of eating establishment. I really can’t think of anything that’s missing—at least not for me.

What annoys you most about Athens?

The police locking up students. Instead of giving a student a second chance or talking to him, trying to put him on the right track, they lock him up, and give him a record. I was reading in the paper this morning, they locked up 18 underage drinkers. That’s going to be on their records forever. The law for drinking in Georgia when I went in the war was 18. Now, it’s 21. You are going to send a man off to Iraq, Afghanistan—to get him killed, and he can’t drink a beer. There’s something wrong with that.

What’s your favorite spot in town? 

The Bread Basket, right across the street. Newspaper. Food. I see people I know. I walk over there every day. I guess the main reason I don’t subscribe to the paper is I get up every morning and walk to the Bread Basket and buy it there. The people that work there are nice. It’s a good routine. I guess it’s my favorite place.

What picture would you put on a postcard of Athens?

The University of Georgia. That’s what it’s known for. But I haven’t thought about it, really.

Is there a local issue you want to comment on?

The main thing is, if the economy is down and the people don’t have money, how in the world are you going to finance things like the tennis courts? We don’t need tennis courts…I mean, I can’t say we don’t need them, but you don’t need them if you can’t pay for them. That’s what I’m saying. Anything you can afford is all right. But if you got to use deficit spending, and put other people in a bind, then you need to let that alone.

Is there anything else you’d like to say about Athens?

Well, I left Athens in 1950, and I swore that I would never come back to Athens for anything except my mother’s funeral [because of the racial climate and lack of job opportunities].

I served in the Air Force in Europe. I moved to California and went to school, and I was doing well in California. And one day I just got the urge to come back to Athens. And I called my Momma, and she told me I was crazy.

But I came back to Athens [in 1961]. And I guess my job was to keep Hamp [Hamilton Holmes] home so he could integrate the University of Georgia. Then I integrated the police department, and then I went to the post office…And one thing after another.

When Hamp came—Hamp and Charlayne [Hunter]…the week they were supposed to start at school the decision came down that said unless Hamp had a place off campus to live, he could not go. My mother got a call wanting to know if she knew anybody who could keep Hamp. I hadn’t been back from California too long. I told her I had been through a war. I fought to be free. And he could stay with us. And he did. He stayed with us two years [at a place on Harris and Broad Sts.] And the clan came out to burn a cross…Now, the army taught me what to do. I didn’t go to the military just to go. I went to learn to be free…

# # #

This recorded interview was lightly edited and condensed.

“Cutting Back in Every Way Possible"

Pilgrim’s Pride is closing its Oneta St. chicken processing plant today, and about a hundreds Athens-area workers will be laid-off.

According to an Athens Banner-Herald report, a company spokesman said some of those workers will find jobs at the firm’s sister plant in town, and others may secure positions in plants in Commerce, Elberton and Gainesville.

But many are unlikely to find new work anytime soon, and can now be counted among the latest causalities of the current recession.

I recently talked briefly to two now laid-off Pilgrim’s Pride employees, Pauline Scott and Chakisha Gresham, both of Athens, Ga. I asked them about their plans going forward and about how they and their fellow former employees, their neighbors and families are coping with the recession.

Here’s what they said:

Pauline Scott: I’ve noticed that a lot of people have cut back a lot of activities from the things that they used to do. Now, you see more of the kids out at Burger King playing and stuff. It used to be not as many. But I guess due to the fact the way the economy is, people can’t afford to take their kids to movies and different things like that, so they’re finding other activities like hanging out at Burger King.

And, me personally, I have cut back on everything.

I don’t go out to eat that much. If I do I’m eating off the 99-cent menu. When I go out, like if I leave home to go get gas or whatever, I do all my errands while I’m out. I do not go back and forth. I just do everything once I’m out.

My biggest concern is—I’m 56 years old—I’m more concerned about my health care insurance. And a lot of people on the job are more concerned about their mortgages because they have 700-800 dollar mortgages, and they’re more concerned about those.

Me and Chakisha are blessed because we got in the program in with Habitat [Athens Area Habitat for Humanity], and our mortgage is more affordable. I’m not saying there’s no stress with the mortgage, but it’s more affordable. The people at Habitat agreed to try to work with us to keep it affordable—and that lifts a lot of pressure off.

Chakisha Gresham: After Friday, I’m going to try to look forward and find me a better job or even go back to school. What I’m going to do is basically try to find something. But it’s going to be kind of hard, because people aren’t hiring right now. I want to try to go and get a job at the university, but right now they have a freeze on hiring. So, I guess I don’t know what I’m going to do really. But I’m going to keep trying and trying because hopefully something will come up.

What’s hurting people the most is not knowing which way you’re going to go after you’re laid-off. You’re just worrying about how you’re going to pay your bills and stuff.

Pauline Scott: What’s hurting the people the most is…when you go to the grocery store everything is so expensive. When you’re not making much money the cost of living is really, really expensive. And, you know, like I said people are cutting back in every way possible to try to make ends meet.  Most of the people I’ve talked say, they say their concern was about paying their mortgage and losing their health care insurance—that’s the basic problem.

___ ___ ___

This interview was conducted over the phone on Sunday, Oct. 4. The conversation has been condensed and lightly edited to improve readability.

Jmac Answers My Questions

By Dan Lorentz

In high school they called him Johnny Mac. At his blog Beyond the Trestle he goes by Jmac. And in the pages of the Athens Banner-Herald, where he writes a weekly opinion column, his byline is Johnathan McGinty.

He’s been an assistant news editor for the Athens Banner-Herald, worked on many state and local political campaigns, co-edited the state’s most widely read Democratic blog and now runs his own public relations and fundraising shop for non-profits.

He seems to know a lot about Georgia politics, and that’s why I decided to ask him to explain my new hometown’s place in state-level politics.

Q. A liberal Democrat.  From the Midwest. Accustomed to being represented by centrists in Congress. Contributes to Democratic gubernatorial and senatorial candidates because they have an even chance of winning. Expects forceful—and fairly liberal—local representation in the state legislature. Just moved to town. What would you tell a person with this background about what to expect from politics in Athens?
 
A. Confusion sums it up in one word.
 
Locally, you've reached an island of blue awash in a sea of red, and that's good and bad. It's good in that your local officials are progressive and willing to tackle big picture issues from a progressive perspective. For instance, the OneAthens initiative a few years back sparked a community-wide discussion on combating poverty, and local leaders pledged to launch a program aimed at providing health insurance coverage to low-income and uninsured citizens in the community (the momentum has stalled, as has the existence of necessary funding, but that's another story). It's bad in the sense that conservative officials who run the state have little incentive or desire to work with progressives in this community (and vice versa).
 
Statewide, though, there's ample room for frustration. Athens is represented by three members in the State House—Rep. Doug McKillip (D-Athens), Rep. Keith Heard (D-Athens) and Rep. Bob Smith (R-Watkinsville)—and they run the ideological spectrum.

McKillip is a solid progressive who is in his second term in Atlanta. He's emerged as a good champion for a state version of the Earned Income Tax Credit and is finding his voice up there.

Heard is a different story as he typically votes the right way, but has a tendency to also back non-progressive pieces of legislation (i.e. his recent vote to raise rates on Georgia Power customers to pre-pay the construction of nuclear power plants in the Augusta area, his willingness to relax restrictions on predatory lending, his opposition to Sunday sales of alcohol). Plus, he's got a tenuous residency issue as he keeps a house in Atlanta for his wife's business and his state work, and it's where he spends most of his time during the year thus opening him up to criticism from locals regarding representation.
 
Smith, of course, is a whole different animal. He's a dyed-in-the-wool conservative who, by sitting on the Appropriations committee, proves to be a thorn in the side of local progressives. He has routinely not supported local initiatives from Athens-Clarke County because they are at odds with his ideology. For Athens liberals, he's pretty much useless.
 
In the State Senate, Sen. Ralph Hudgens and Sen. Bill Cowsert are mixed.

Hudgens has been Public Enemy No. 1 for quite some time in this area for reasons that will be explained in the next answer, and he's a staunch social conservative.

Cowsert is a different story. He's a good team player for the GOP, but he's also very engaged in the local community. Most local officials have good working relationships with him, even if they disagree on the issues, and I've heard that he's very good at entering in dialogue with local progressives and sticking up for Athens-centric projects. Plus, he's the governor's floor leader in the State Senate, which gives him tremendous clout in Atlanta, and that's a good thing for the community (or should be).
 
If you're looking for hope at the state level, good luck. Democrats are on the verge of losing all constitutionally elected offices at the state level in 2010 as Georgia is one of a handful of states that has grown more conservative over the past 15 years. There's little fundraising infrastructure these days, and most candidates with a 'D' next to their name lose regardless of who they are or what they campaign on. The candidacy of Roy Barnes for governor, though, gives Democrats some hope as he still enjoys strong name recognition and is enjoying positive support among moderates and independents who long for the economic successes of the 1990s when he was governor.
 
Long term, the state is wired for Democratic success. Demographically, the urban areas are growing more diverse, and they're growing fast. These voters lean more Democratic than Republican, suggesting that Georgia could achieve swing state status in the next 10 years or so.
 
Q. In the state Senate, Athens is represented by Bill Cowsert and Ralph Hudgens. They’re both Republicans. If Athens is so liberal (is it?), how did that happen?

A. That's a good question we all want to know.
 
Athens traditionally has had just one state senator representing it. In 2005, however, Sen. Ralph Hudgens who lived in and represented neighboring Madison County, put forward a redistricting plan aimed at giving the community two state senators. In effect, it cut the community in half and lumped its progressive population with the more conservative rural areas.

This was something Athens officials had never asked for, though the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce –which, at the time, was run by a conservative president and operated a conservative PAC aimed at mobilizing business/Republican support in the area—did support Hudgens's efforts to do so. Jane Kidd, now the chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, was then state representative for the area in the seat now held by McKillip and had already announced her intention to run for the recently vacated District 46 seat when it covered primarily Athens-Clarke County.
 
Once the redistricting went into place, Cowsert announced his intention to challenge her (Kidd had defeated Cowsert for the State House seat just two years earlier). There was ample speculation that this was an attempt by Cowsert's brother-in-law Brian Kemp, himself a state representative who had embarked on an ill-fated campaign for Agriculture Commissioner, to put a family member with similar views in the Georgia General Assembly (though I personally never really bought into that line of argument, despite how nonsensical and shameless the redistricting was).
 
District 47 then was expanded to gobble up portions of three local commission districts in Athens-Clarke County, while District 46 took the rest of the community and lumped it into all of Oconee County and most of Walton County. Both Kidd and, in 2008, Sherry Jackson, turned out significant Democratic voters in Athens-Clarke County only to lose by 10 points or more.
 
In actuality, rather than help Athens-Clarke County, it has the potential to hurt it. Hudgens has proven to be utterly useless for the community, and Cowsert is expected to seek another office down the road. Given the demographics of the district, it's plausible to concede that a more conservative Republican from Oconee County or Walton County would win the primary to replace Cowsert, trounce the Democrat in the race and then leave the urban center of Northeast Georgia and home of the state's flagship university without any representation in the State Senate.
 
It's fair to call the redistricting what it was—a shameless partisan attempt to pad the lead for Republicans in the State Senate while, at the same time, sticking a thumb in the eye of Athens progressives who they disagreed with.

Q. You said the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce supported dividing Athens into two Senate districts even though city officials never asked for that. Who was in charge of the chamber then?

A. Larry McKinney, who has since moved on to work in Daytona Beach for its chamber, and he was replaced by Doc Eldridge, the former mayor. Though it's unclear if it was McKinney's choosing or through a directive from chamber leadership, during his tenure that body became more openly hostile with the more progressive Athens-Clarke County Commission. It started a PAC that aimed to support 'business-friendly' candidates and causes, though all of its contested candidates would handily lose in 2006, and McKinney's openly combative style ultimately lost the chamber a lot of local support and ushered in his early exit. Though still strained, Eldridge is working to rebuild that relationship (though the recent flap over a supposed 'secret meeting' reopened some old wounds).

Q. In every community there’s a relatively small group of behind-the-scenes people who play an outsized role in local politics. Of this group, who are the key players in shaping how Athens is represented in the state legislature?
 
A. It's tough to say. If you're referring strictly to the election of candidates, there are a host of folks—really too many to name—who are influential Democratic donors, opinion makers and 'movers-and-shakers' in this community. That's the benefit, I suppose, of it being a progressive community.

For instance, a pair of former progressive officials still hold much sway in former mayor Gwen O'Looney and former state representative Louise McBee. There really isn't a progressive candidate seeking state or national office that doesn't sit down with the two of them before running to pick their brain, seek advice and try to win an endorsement.

Current Athens-Clarke County Commissioner Mike Hamby has worked to get countless local and state officials elected, and he served as the interim executive director for the Democratic Party of Georgia when Jane Kidd was elected chair. Again, there are a host of others too.
 
Crafting policy is a bit different. A lot of folks, from both sides of the aisle, have a hand in policy matters. Rep. Bob Smith sits on the Appropriations committee, and that gives him a lot of sway over pieces of legislation. Oconee County Chairman Melvin Davis is a vice chair of the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia, which has grown into a very influential advocacy organization for local communities, regardless of ideological leanings. Lucy Rowland, a member of the Athens-Clarke County Planning Commission, has a great policy mind for land use issues, preservation issues, etc. The late E.H. Culpepper did a ton of things behind the scenes, such as being an instrumental person in crafting the vision for the 'Brain Train' commuter rail project that would connect Atlanta to Athens-Clarke County.
 
Q. To many folks who live in Athens, U.S. Congressman Paul Broun is an embarrassment. How did such a goof get elected?  Voters in Athens must make up just a small part of the 10th Congressional District. Who are the other voters?

A. Ah yes, that question.
 
Rep. Paul Broun, quite simply, got elected in 2007 because a good-sized contingent of Athens progressives voted for him ... which, given his penchant for calling the president a Marxist dictator, is somewhat ironic.
 
In 2007, Rep. Charlie Norwood passed away, thus resulting in a non-partisan, special election for that seat. If there was ever a time for a progressive to score an upset, it would be in a low-turnout, non-partisan race like this one. Early on, progressives in the district rallied around James Marlowe who had connections to Lincolnton (where his father had served as mayor), and he ran on a smart policy platform built around rebuilding the dwindling economic base around 'Green Jobs' and the like. He raised a good bit of cash and, given the sheer volume of candidates in the race, he was the favorite to land in a runoff with Republican State Sen. Jim Whitehead from Augusta.
 
The other candidates descended into a near-comical parade of the insane, and Broun was an almost forgotten member of that group. Bill Greene had earned the backing of the anti-immigration 'Minutemen' group, and he figured to be the other Republican with a serious chance in the race based on his ability to appeal to the far right elements of the GOP base.
 
The election told us a different story. Broun, who had been informally campaigning for the seat since before Norwood had passed away, locked up decent support in the rural areas of the district. He stacked up massive signs all along the country roads throughout Northeast Georgia, thus boosting his name recognition in a crowded race with little information available to voters. He was aided by surprisingly low turnout among Democrats in Athens-Clarke County, and the defection of African-American voters in Augusta-Richmond County and its surrounding areas to two African-American candidates. Further boosting Broun's candidacy was his family legacy as his father, Paul Broun Sr., was a very popular 'Yellow Dog' Democrat who represted Athens-Clarke County for more than two decades in the Georgia General Assembly (in fact, I heard numerous folks tell me they were so glad that 'Senior' was back into politics ... even though he had passed away a few years earlier).
 
Whitehead cruised to 40 percent or so, while Broun edged Marlowe for second place by 198 votes (something which depresses me greatly to this day).
 
Now, Whitehead was also kind of a hothead. And, to burnish his Republican credentials, he regularly poormouthed liberal Athens-Clarke County including a now infamous joke about bombing everything in the community except Sanford Stadium. He criticized academic liberals at the University of Georgia. He refused to debate Broun and wouldn't visit Athens-Clarke County to save his life. He made some crack about terrorists coming over from Mexico.
 
This, understandably, infuriated Athenians of all stripes. And Broun, to his credit, took advantage as he positioned himself as someone who was from the community, would fight for us on the national stage and, even though he might disagree with our views, he'd always have time for us. And it worked to some extent. The Athens Banner-Herald endorsed Broun solely for those reasons. Pete McCommons from Flagpole endorsed Broun and encouraged liberals from the community to go vote for him. Democrats wrote letters to the editors of both papers blasting Whitehead for anti-Athens comments.
 
Of course, all this was political absurdity because Whitehead, arguably aloof and easily more conservative than area voters, also knew how being a representative worked (i.e. you have to bring home the bacon). Broun, on the other hand, was someone who had campaigned on a platform of Medicare and Social Security being unconstitutional and swore off earmarks (which, for a community that lives and dies by the prosperity of publicly-funded university, was not a good thing). The Broun that sought election in 2007 was just as conservative as the one in 2009 who thinks Americorps is a secret plot aimed at installing a Marxist Gestapo, it's just that he happened to be running against someone who said mean things about our town.
 
So, the same progressive community that gave him 1,474 votes in the first election gave him 5,122 the next time around. He crushed Whitehead by more than 4,400 votes in Athens-Clarke County and won the election by a bare 394 votes.
 
From there on out, with a district that is roughly 65-35 Republican, Broun is virtually assured of re-election (particularly after staving off a primary challenge from Augusta in 2008).

Q. In 2010, voters in Athens will help decide five state legislative races. From a progressive perspective, what will be the most important and interesting races?
 
A. Three are out of pocket right off the bat, but we'll take a quick look at them.
 
Rep. Bob Smith is a lock given the majority of the district lies within Oconee County, though that isn't to say he couldn't be vulnerable to a primary challenge. While that won't happen given Smith's influential status on various House committees, he has burned some bridges in the local community which would make it interesting to see what could happen. A centrist Republican might garner lots of support in Athens-Clarke County, which could impact that race. Again, I don't see anyone desiring a challenge though.
 
Rep. Doug McKillip is a safe bet. He's regarded as one of the top young progressives in the Georgia House of Representatives, and that's his seat as long as he wants it.
 
Sen. Bill Cowsert has survived a pair of strong challenges, as well as a primary challenge on the right, and he's locked in for the long haul too. I'd venture to say that some Democrat will challenge him, but it will be hard to garner more than 45 percent against him.
 
Two races, however, should be in play in 2010.
 
State Senate District 47 will be interesting, even if it lacks a Democratic challenger. With Sen. Ralph Hudgens seeking the GOP nomination for Insurance Commissioner, the Republican side has filled up rapidly. One candidate that has peaked the curiosity of moderates and progressives is Braselton Mayor Pat Graham. She's well regarded as a competent manager who approaches policies and issues from a pragmatic, albeit conservative perspective. Arguably, anything is better than Hudgens—or so we think—but Graham might be able to attract some crossover Democratic support (particularly if the governor's race has thinned out by then).
 
State House 114 figures to be different this time around too. Rep. Keith Heard is rumored to be interested in seeking the Democratic nomination for Insurance Commissioner, which would make that an open seat for the first time in 10 years or so. Regardless, there have been ample rumblings that Heard might face a primary challenge. He's fallen out of favor with a lot of local progressives for a variety of reasons, ranging from basic representative issues to his willingness to crossover and vote with Republicans on things like Senate Bill 31 (which raised Georgia Power consumer rates to pre-pay profit for the company's shareholders). He's always butted heads with the Athens-Clarke County Commission, including a now famous public argument with various leaders in which he assigned the blame for the community's poverty problem with them, and I think a challenge from the left would be interesting.
 
That district is viewed as a safe Democratic seat, and it has a large number of African-American voters, which have sent both him and current Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond to the Gold Dome over the past 20 years. However, the rise of the progressives in places like Boulevard, Normaltown and Cobbham suggest it might resemble a dynamic that's closer to local political realities. In that case, it would be all about voter turnout and the effectiveness of the challenger to mobilize that emerging base of support.
 
Those might be the most entertaining electorally speaking, but from a policy perspective I still argue it begins and ends with Cowsert. He's got the governor's ear, is the most receptive conservative to the progressive community among the local delegation and, if he went to bat for something (like, say, a pilot program for circuit breaker property taxes), it stands a good chance of getting through.
___ ___ ___
This interview was conducted via email. The text published here is an ever so slightly edited version of the actual exchange.

Image credit: from Beyond the Trestle blog

Ben Emanuel Answers My Questions

By Dan Lorentz

For those of you who don’t take notice of bylines, Ben Emanuel writes about local government and politics for Flagpole Magazine.  He pens the City Dope column.

To help me better understand my new hometown, I asked Emanuel a few basic questions about the landscape of local politics here in Athens.

I’m glad I asked him my questions when I did. In September, Emanuel will mark his fourth—and, it turns out, final—year as city editor for the weekly paper. This fall he will be transitioning out of local journalism and into environmental advocacy and watershed protection.

Q. Every community seems to have a set of durable conflicts that shape local politics. What are the key conflicts in Athens? Who are the major players?

A. Certainly there's the longstanding issue of town-gown relations—both cooperation and conflict—in all its permutations. The multitude of permutations means that town-gown conflict can take shape through any number of issues, from homeowner-renter/student conflict. For example,  the single-family zoning issues and the rental registration ordinance, early in Heidi's [Athens-Clarke Co. Mayor Heidi Davison] first term), to conflict over the growth of the university (where did that new parking deck at the intramural fields come from?!).

In the end, of course, all the town-gown stuff basically boils down to economics—pretty paradoxical economics. The smallest county in the state has a lot of state-owned land that's off the tax rolls, although not all the UGA Real Estate Foundation's land is off the rolls, [UGA director of community relations] Pat Allen pointed out to me once.  But then again, would Athens even be here if not for UGA?

This economic angle leads straight into a more cultural dimension of the same thing: the resentment that many locals feel toward students, despite the obvious relationship that, for example, [Flagpole Magazine publisher] Pete McCommons hit on in a Pub Notes column at this time of year, two years ago: "This is where Athens gets really strange. It's why we're here, really, as much as the students. You may not personally brighten at the prospect of liquored-up red hordes, but you benefit from them. They bring you money, whether directly or indirectly, and their cash helps keep Athens weird and also reminds us why we want it so."

Another key conflict, while not nearly as old as that one, is growth. In terms of the sprawl angle, this conflict is maybe just a decade or two old, but it's still a defining one—in part because Athens has tried to take a different approach to the issue from the rest of north Georgia.

Of course, "growth" to some means general economic growth, not just land development, so then you get into economic development issues like NBAF [the proposed National Bio- and Agro- Defense Facility] or even the Enron (!) thing several years ago. [Enron thing=the controversy that erupted in 2001 about Athens-Clarke Co.'s efforts to encourage Enron to build and operate a 560 megawatt natural gas power plant in the county.]  The major players are: environmental/land use advocates, economic development/Chamber of Commerce folks, local government (on both sides of the equation).

There's also the not-really-all-that-often discussed matrix of race issues, with poverty issues intersecting heavily. There's Athens/Oconee Co. stuff, with so many upper-middle-class Clarke Co. workers living in Oconee.

Let's close for now with the intra-government conflict between Athens-Clarke Co. (ACC) elected officials (and their constituents) and ACC staff. Since, under the ACC charter, the manager's office holds a lot of power and the mayor is basically assigned the task of herding cats on the commission (okay, along with some other things), many people see this as an ongoing friction that's important. It is, but sometimes I think this friction is overstated.

Q. There will be a few major stories about the upcoming 2010 mayoral election in Athens. What will they be? Speculate. [Note: I asked this question just before Spencer Fyre, executive director of Habitat for Humanity in Athens, announced he was setting-up an exploratory committee to raise funds for a possible run for mayor.]

A. Well, it'll depend who's running, won't it?

It's fair to say that Charlie Maddox and Nancy Denson appear be trying to line up support very early, but I tend to think there will be at least another fairly serious candidate or two before it's all said and done. Sorry, but at present I don't see either of the college students who are running as serious candidates.

If we assume that there's an additional candidate (or candidates?) on the left end of things, then I think we've got a story along these contours: What's next for the whole general liberal-progressive agenda which has taken hold in Athens over the past decade? The commission has changed character almost completely in 10 years, and while there might be a few seats up for grabs in 2010, outside of District 7 [seat currently held by Commissioner Kathy Hoard] it's hard to see the general bent of the commission changing much.

But it has taken several years (a) for the mayor and commission to fully turn over, and (b) for the body then to find its footing and learn how to advance a progressive agenda in the most efficient ways.

So, I think it's already an open question about where we're headed as a sorta-working-on-progressive city, and it makes sense to me that that concern would be crystallized in the mayor's race. But I'll admit it's my own bias to see that as a big issue.

But there's also economic development. All candidates will have to be thinking about it. A relevant question: What have various folks learned from the NBAF thing?

Just one more issue: charter review. I don't know and can't say how it will come up in the election, but it's supposed to happen soon thereafter, if I understand correctly. Periodic review of the ACC charter is built into the document itself; open questions may well pertain to the form of government here. Could get interesting.

Q. A little history lesson, please. How has the commission changed almost completely in 10 years? What drove the change?

A. In a nutshell, it's just that the mayor and commission, as a body, has shifted toward a strong predominance of liberal-progressive political perspectives. You can see the contrast most starkly in seats like District 5, where David Lynn replaced the late Hugh Logan, and in the mayor's seat, where Heidi replaced Doc Eldridge. Even if most folks around here were called Democrats back then (and Doc was, in case you don't know), they were traditional centrist/conservative "Democrats" (or good old boys, as some would say). I don't want to overstate it—after all, Gwen O'Looney was mayor before Doc, and if Gwen wasn't a break with tradition...

Basically, you now have folks in elected office here who value environmental protection, neighborhood protection, who are socially liberal and who seem to be interested in promoting the kinds of things a progressive city promotes, from bike lanes to partner benefits to vigorous recycling and on down the line. I guess that's fairly obvious to a newcomer, but just remember that we are a smallish Southern town, so—like anywhere—things haven't always been this way!

What drove the change? I don't know—maybe the townies and the liberal profs and their kids all just finally built up enough critical mass to win elections? Maybe certain issues—like land use/ sprawl/ growth—catalyzed political change? I wasn't around back then (er, okay, I technically was around starting in the very late '90s, but I was in college, and NOT paying attention to this stuff), so I have to say I really wouldn't know.

There's probably a lot in what I've written above that long-timers here could and would correct or finesse!

Q. Who cares the most about the outcome of the 2010 mayoral election? Which people? Which constituencies or interest groups are hungriest to win?

A. I'm not sure I know yet. I've already made clear here, I think, that I tend to think from the liberal-progressive (and enviro) perspective, and I think that that whole crowd will be very interested in holding onto their gains of the last few election cycles while also laying a foundation to continue moving their agenda forward. So I think those folks are hungry to win for those reasons.

Is the Chamber of Commerce/ Republican crowd hungry to win back City Hall? Maybe, but we're not really seeing it yet. And if they are, they might need to find a stronger candidate than what they've got. Who knows: maybe they will find someone else.

Meanwhile, for some people there's probably a very real question of how much the mayor's race matters, on account of our form of government. It will matter, though, to enough people, at least as much as past unified government mayoral elections have: after all, you could say that change is still underway here, and has only begun but is not fully accomplished. And you need a mayor to direct that change, most likely.

So personally, I see the race in those terms: the folks who want to see a truly progressive city here probably feel the need to keep working hard and lay the groundwork for continued progressive change. This may be a narrow perspective on my part, but hey: it's early yet. It may well be that a lot of people will express their preference for a moderate political position (or conservative, for some), but I don't see them as "hungriest." That's just me!

Q. Local government officials have recognized and are dealing with a host of challenges facing the community. Are they missing anything? What challenges aren’t getting the attention they should?

A. I tend to give our local officials a lot of credit on this front. I'd be tempted to say that air quality doesn't get quite the depth of attention it really needs, but then again it was a topic at this month's Mayor & Commission work session (see John Huie's story in Flagpole), and apparently ACC Environmental Coordinator Dick Field made the argument there that we've done a lot to improve the situation already.

To take another example from last week's Flagpole, homelessness is a growing problem, which everyone's aware of, but I think it's fair to say that the problem is outstripping the "solution infrastructure" at present.

That's not really the kind of thing you're asking for, I realize, but I'd guess (purely a guess) that you could say the same about a lot of social-service issues right now. For instance, it seems like out-of-school opportunities for middle- and high-schoolers are light here compared to bigger cities, but I've heard folks recently talking about getting those kids into work readiness stuff and other programs.

That's the thing about Athens: most stuff is probably on the radar, but a whole lot of stuff probably also needs attention in more depth. But I'm probably missing something!
___ ___ ___

This interview was conducted via email. The text published here is an ever so slightly condensed and edited version of the actual exchange, and has been reviewed by the interview subject.