Newspaper Page Text
I a noteworthy event... I
T Augusta Jazz Project
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1~~~ See Arßeat, page 6
Firm hired to
do city books
is Melvin Ford
contributor
By Rhonda Y. Maree
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
While Baird & Co., the accounting firm hired
to clean up Augusta’s financial mess, has been
accused of covering up a
potential deficit to stay
in good graces with elect
ed officials, reports reveal
the firm is also one of
former City Councilman
Melvin Ford’s biggest
campaign contributors.
According to campaign
contribution disclosure
reports filed Nov. 22 at
the Richmond County
Board of Elections, Baird
& Co. donated $250 to
support Mr. Ford in his
bid for the state District
117 House of Represen
tatives seat recently va-
cated by former Rep. George Brown.
Teddy Lee, executive secretary of the State
Ethics Commission, said there is a legitimate
question of a conflict of interest in the contribu
tion since Baird & Co. has a contractual rela
tionship with a government to which Mr. Ford
is closely connected. -
“There’s always the question of whether there
is 2 conflict of interest if there are business
dealings that could affect that person’s judg
ment,” Mr. Lee said. “I'm not saying that there
is or is not one, but people could raise that
question. b
“It’s almost inevitable under circumstances
in which a candidate accepts contributions from
private sources with the need to be looked upon
favorably for the sake of their business.”
J.T. Cosnahan, an administrative partner with
Baird & Co., was out of town and unavailable for
comment on the seeming conflict of interest.
City attorney Paul Dunbar declined to com
ment.
Baird & Co. trailed Mr. Ford’s most generous
See CAMPAIGN, page 3
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Maestro Portnoy and Augusta Symphony
bring Holiday POPS to the Bell. See Artßeat
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# > m
Ford: Campaign
disclosure forms
indicate he has
raised more
money than his
oppeonent.
Your local newspaper sponsored by your local grocer.
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Nov. 30 - Dec. 6, 1995 V V NO. 727
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Augusta native wins IBC
Super Lightweight crown
before hometown crowd.
By Rhonda Jones
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
Augusta native Vernon Forrest has taken
the Internatienal Boxing Council’ssuper light
weight title before a friendly crowd in the Bell
Auditorium, but Coach Tom Moraetes of the
No women lawmakers?
Political analyst says they have themselves to blame.
By Rhonda Y. Maree
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
Women have no place in the
new government, and they have
themselves to blame, according
to a local political analyst.
Last hopes of having a wom
an on the unified city-county
government died Tuesday with
District 8 candidate Martha B.
Sherrod’s loss.
Of the 47 candidates who
sought seats on the merged gov
ernment to take over Jan. 1,
only six were women. Most of
RACE MATTERS
White police charged with murder
B Accused officers
now in custody after
black businessman
died after being
arrested for routine
traffic violation.
By Henry Cutter
Associated Press Writer
PITISBURGH
Two white police officers were
charged with murder Monday
in the death of a black busi
nessman who suffocated as they
fought him during a routine
traffic stop.
A third officer faces a charge of
involuntary manslaughterinthe
Oct. 12death cf Jonny Gammage,
31, a cousin of Pittsburgh
Steelers defensive end Ray Seals.
Twoother suburban officers were
not charged, including one who
will be a prosecution witness.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson has
called the death a “lynching.”
Autopsies indicated that
Gammage died as a result of
pressure on the chest and neck.
A coroner’s jury had recom
mended that all the officers be
charged with criminal homicide
Augusta Boxing Club, where he got his start, is
not surprised.
“Vernon is just a dedicated, strong-willed,
hard-working young man,” he said, whose tal
ents “snowballed” during the 10 years he was a
member of Augusta Boxing Club. “He just
walked in one day,” the coach said, when the
gymwas located at Chafee Park. Though Vernon
was just a 60-pound eight-year-old, Coach
Moraetes could see that he “had a passion” for
the sport.
See FORREST, page 2
this half dozen, including vet
eran incumbents, were tram
pled at the polls. .
But women contributed sig
nificantly to these big losses if
Augusta and Richmond Coun
ty follow the national trend of
women being the majority of
registered voters.
“Women need to look at them
selves for the answer to why
they don’t hold more political
offices. There are more regis
tered women voters than men,
so women have the power to
elect women,” said Augusta
College political scientist Ralph
“l am deeply com
mitted to the idea
that Mr. Gammage
should not be dead
after seven min
utes in police cus
tody.”
—A. Colville, prosecutor
— a category comprising first-,
second- and third-degree mur
der and voluntary and involun
tary manslaughter.
“I have a duty to file only those
charges which I believe can be
substantiated by admissible evi
dence at trial. ... I am deeply
committed to the idea that Mr.
Gammage should not be dead
after seven minutesin police cus
tody,” said prosecutor Allen
Colville.
The prosecutor charged the two
officers with third-degree mur
der, saying a coroner’s inquest
produced no evidence that
Brentwood Police Lt. Milton
Mulholland and Officer John
Vojtasintended tokill Gammage.
Evidence of intent would have
been needed for the more serious
charge of first-degree murder.
The charge of second-degree
Walker.
He continued, “What it boils
down to is if women want to
hold office, they need to get more
active.”
Although they constitute 52
percent of the nation’s popula
tion, “women are the most
underrepresented body in this
country,” Dr. Walker said.
Now, as it has long been —
with an exception of Augusta
City Council —the local gov
erning board is yet another
men’s club.
See WOMEN, page 3
murder for a killing committed
during a felony crime, did not
apply to Gammage’s case.
Mulholland and Vojtas are also
charged with the misdemeanor
charges of involuntary man
slaughter and official oppression,
orusing the law to harass others.
Third-degree murder is punish
able with a 20- to 40-year prison
sentence. First-degree murder
can carry maximum penalties of
life in prison or the death penal
ty.
Vojtas’ attorney, Jim Ecker,
said he was confident that Vojtas
will be cleared.
“He and I both believe in the
American system of justice,”
Ecker said. :
Officer Michael Albert of
Baldwin was charged with invol
untary manslaughter.
Robert DelGreco, an attorney
for Gammage’s family, said
Albert should also have been
charged with third-degree mur
der. Albert testified that he ap
plied pressure to Gammage’s
shoulder and the back of his neck.
“He did this by baton, he did it
by foot and he did it by knee,”
DelGreco said.
The lawyer called Colville’s
decision not to charge Sgt. Keith
See POLICE, Page 2
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IGERIA
NIGERIL
Former Minister
calls for oil embargo,
freeze on assets.
See Page 2
Neel bounced
by Zetterberg
B ‘Building up’
people is priority
for new District 3
representative.
By Rhonda Jones
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
“Tired, but feeling pret
ty good,” is how Rob
Zetterberg described him
self the day after election
results declared him the
District 3 winner against
incumbent Lee Neel. At a
time when the “new” con
solidated government is
simply recycling the old
county commission, politi
cal newcomer Mr.
Zetterberg, who took 63
percent of the votes,isabit
of an anomaly.
According to political sci
entist Dr. Ralph Walker,
local political experts ex
pected him to win, though
the wide margin did come
as a bit of a surprise.
“It just goes to show you
that he ran one heck of a
campaign. He was a rela
tively unknown person on
the political scene and he
won big.”
“I think my immediate
plan,”says Mr. Zetterberg,
who runs a five-year-old
transportation brokerage
to facilitate the delivery of
goods, “is to get back to
work.”He also planstostay
in touch with the local po
litical scene between now
and January by attending
the transitional meetings.
Once the new year, and
the new government, is in
Savannah newspaper
publisher to become
city’s first black mayor
By Jingle Davis
ATLANTA JOURNAL Writer
SAVANNAH
Floyd Adams Jr., a Sa
vannah newspaper pub
lisher, overcame long odds
to become the first Afri
can-American elected may
or of the coastal city in
Tuesday’s runoff election,
by a margin of 260 votes.
According to unofficial
returns, Adams took
15,916 votes to the 15,656
votes for Susan Weiner, the
Republican incumbent
who out-spent him almost
six to one.
In a brief victory speech
from campaign headquar
ters Tuesday night, Adams
pledged that his first offi
cial act after he takes of
fice in January will be to
appoint a human relations
council “so we can start
bringing this city back to
gether.”
Although Adams had
said during the campaign
that he did not think race
would be a major issue in
the election, district vote
totals indicate he received
major support in predomi
'v.-‘(v._..fi - 3 I_‘,
e 4 e
Rob Zetterberg
place, he seeks to promote
racial harmony by encour
aging the community to get
involved, instead of just try
ing to change everything
by passing laws.
“Open dialogue is a part
of that,” he said, and wants
to “(build) up people com
inginto the community that
want to lift the community
up,” but realizes that he’s
set himself up for a lot of
work.
“I'm not talking about an
overnight thing,” he said.
Commissioner Lee Neel
became the first and only
sitting commissioner not to
be included in the new gov
ernment. Neel was badly
defeated despite being en
dorsed by The Augusta
Chronicle. Mr. Neel, a Re
publican, was considered to
be very conservative.
Mr. Zetterberg is also a
Republican. He raised a lot
of eyebrows when he forced
Mr. Neel into a runoff dur
ing the Nov. 7 general elec
tion. A political unknown,
up to that point, Mr.
Zetterberg campaigned
door-to-door and made a
good impression during
candidates’ forums.
; iy 1,: ’. ._ ,f/ P
'
Floyd Adams Jr.
nantly black districts, while
Weiner’s support came
mostly from white neigh
borhoods. The city is about
51 percent black. Adams
thanked God, his family,
friends and supporters for
“pulling the right levers” to
elect him.
Weiner, closeted with
supporters at a historic
downtown inn, could not be
reached for comment. Cam
paign volunteer Bryan
Noyes said the first-term
mayor was not ready to
See ADAMS, page 2