Newspaper Page Text
8A
FEBRUARY 14, 2002
Upinion
City needs a powerful
mayor, not a mayor
with expanded powers
or 50 years, state and
local leaders struggled
to consolidate the two
heads of Augusta-Rich
mond County government.
For 50 years, we had bicker
ingandbanteringbetween the
city council and the county
commissioners. For 50 years,
wein Augustalived under two
kings. :
It wasn’t untillintroduceda
bill into the Senate — and got
thatbill passed — that wewere
abletoachievethestability ofa
single governing body for the
citizens of Richmond County.
In order to get that bill passed,
we had toachievereal compro
miseand we had torequirereal
compromise. This meant we
neededblacksand whites, men
and women, Democrats and
Republicans to c-llaborate in
order to achieve our goal of a
consolidated governing body.
To make sure our commis
sionersacted asoneand served
the best interests of the citi
zens of this county, we set up
10 districts — eight residency
districts and two at-large dis
tricts — and we put the real
power of this governing body
in the hands of the county
commissioners themselves. It
would takesix votes, truelead
ership, and a collaborative ef
fort of all county commission
ers to bring about change.
Wedid this for areason, and
that reason was to force the
mayor to demonstrate strong,
bipartisan leadership. We did
this so that the mayor would
lead us, not with a vote or a
veto, but with a vision, a dedi
cationandanimagination. The
formofgovernmenttheleaders
of the consolidation effort
agreed upon was astrongcom
mission and a weak mayor.
Like it or not that was the
agreement. Whathashappened
thus far, is that no strong
leader has emerged. Charles
DeVaney was a good example.
Hehad verylittleactual power,
but lots of personal power.
An example of the way this
formof government workscan
Kudos to Hankerson
After onlytwomonthsonthe
Job, he’s already coined a new
word and pulled off something
heretoforethoughtimpossible:
gotten the Augusta-Richmond
County Commission together
on a controversial issue.
Way to go, Bobby.
The Reverend Bobby
Hankerson, whoinJanuary took
the District 5 seat on the county
commission, seemedincredulous
during a Feb. 11 discussion...no
an argument...between County
Administrator George Kolb and
District 2Commissioner Marion
Williams over whose fault it was
that we don’t have a fire chief.
(Who didn’t see that one com
ing?) '
Hankerson said thelocal gov
ernment was suffering from a
bad case of “stubbornicity.” It
was cute. The commissioners
AuguSta Charles W. Walker
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be found right in our own
backyard in the form of the
Richmond County Board of
Education. Like the county
commission, the Board of Edu
cation has 10 representatives
andaleader, Superintendent
Charles G. Larke, with no
vote. Dr. Larke does not need
avotetoaccomplish thegoals
on his agenda. Dr. Larke’s
leadership skills, his ability’
to work with all 10 board
members, his expertise, and
his willingness to work to
ward compromise for thegood
of the school system, show he
doesnot needa votetoaccom
plish his goals or better the
lives of his constituents, the
studentsof Richmond County
schools. Dr. Larke leads with
a vision, a dedication and an
imagination. ;
It all comes back to leader
ship skills. You don’t change
thestructureof government to
suit personalities. Whatever
wedo, itshouldbeincremental.
Perhaps we should look at
several different models in
order to reshape our current
situation. Allow the mayor to
hire and fire the administra
tor. This would permit conti
nuity in approach. Allow a
quorum of eight to conduct
business. Allow the mayor
thepower todraft and present
thebudget. Clearly establish
‘the mayor as the chief execu
tive officer and allow council
avote of no confidence by 2/3
vote, which would trigger a
new election for the mayor.
Could it be that those who
want to change our current
system do not realize the fail
ingofour county government
isdue not to the lack of a veto
for the mayor or a votefor the
mayor? Could it be that the
failing of our county govern
mentliesin thelack ofleader
ship skills?
Ibelievethetimeisuponus
tobegin thedebate. Iwill keep
an open mind. All proposals
are on the table. Let the
debatebegin.
—SenatorCharles W. Walker
liketobecutein their descrip
tions of things. But, shortly
after his diagnosis, he actu
ally set out to cure the pa
tient, making phone calls to
his nine colleagues until, ac
cording to Wednesday morn
ing reports, he got eight to
agreetohireAl Gillespie. Then
hegot onthehorn toGillespie,
a man who had been so dis
gusted backin December with
the argument that had en
sued over whether he would
be hired, he had washed his
hands of Augusta. Hankerson
got him to agree to come back
for another look.
Now, that’s proactive gov
ernment. Way to go, Commis
sioner.
Perhaps a leader is emerg
ing after all.
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CHILDWATCH By Marian Wright Edelman
Fighting child hunger
ungry child,
I didn’t make this
world for you.
You didn’t buy any
stuck in my railroad.
You didn’t invest in my cor
poration.
Whereareyoursharesin stan
dardoil?
I'made the world for the rich
And the will-be-rich
And the have-always-been-’
rich
Not for you,
Hungry child.
Langston Hughes, “God to
Hungry Child”
Langston Hughes wrote this
poem back in 1925 but many
Americans might be shocked
to learn that in our wealthy
nation, where thereissomuch
food available in wastefully
large portions that millions of
children still go hungry every
day. Although the popular ste
reotype of a person using a
soup kitchen is usually an
adult man, America’s Second
Harvest reports one in five
people in soup kitchen lines is
THIS WAY FOR BLACK EMPOWERMENT By Dr. Lenora Fulani
Black folks invited N.Y. mayor, not Al
attended the Brooklyn and
Harlem ceremonies Hon
oring Dr. King on Mon
day, January 21, where
Mayor Mike Bloomberg made
his political debut in black
New York. Thecrowd cheered
him with passion and pride. I
cheeredright along with them.
The bond between the new
mayor and the black commu
nity is a real one. Insiders at
City Hall now believe that up
wardsof 30 percent oftheblack
vote went for Bloomberg —an
astonishing repudiation of the
black Democratic establish
ment which stood by Mark
Green, however quietly — in
cluding former Mayor David
Dinkins, Congressman Charles
Rangel, Comptroller Carl
McCall and the Rev. Al
Sharpton — who are basking
in the Bloomberg glow.
That’stobe expected. Butno
one should be confused about
who did what to whom here.
Sharpton, Dinkins; Rangeland
Co. aren’t the ones whoinvited
Mike Bloomberginto the black
community. Ordinary black
folksdid. They'retheoneswho
voted for Mike. They’re the
ones who trampled on the
Democrats’ liberal coalition.
They're the ones who wanted
a child. The Department of
Agriculture estimates that
about 12 million children live
in families not getting enough
to eat and that over 3 million
children are regularly hungry.
Millions more children live in
familiesregularly forced toskip
meals or cut back on food.
Who are these children? We
all see them every day. They
are Black, Brown, and White,
and live in urban, suburban,
and rural communities. Ama
joritylivein working families.
A 1998 study found that more
than one in three children in
immigrant families were going
hungry, forced to skip meals,
cut the size of meals, or go
without food a whole day.
Many immigrant children are
U.S. citizens, but don’t receive
food stamps or other benefits
because their parents are im
migrants. Black citizens are
three times more likely to suf
fer food insecurity than other
groups. Hunger affects every
area of a child’s life. A hungry
childcan’t concentrateorlearn
in school or have energy to
play. All children need nutri
“a leader, not a politician.”
If the black establishment
now plans to substitute itself
for the black community in our
dealings with the new mayor,
they should think twice. Black
New Yorkers came of age on
November 6, 2001. Tens of
thousands of black voters de
clared that we are no longer
relying on the Democrats for
our political voice. The com
munity recognized that our
voiceislouder, clearerand more
effectiveifwearen’t Democrats,
butare politicallyindependent.
Theblack Democrats—from
DinkinstoSharpton—aretry
ing to submerge that declara
tion of independence. They’re
gettingtheir picturestaken with
theman they werecondemning
asa “whitebillionaire Republi
can who is trying to buy the
election,” just a few months
ago. It’s up to the black com
munity to let Mike know that
we were his base of supporters,
and we don’t intend to let the
black Democrats speak for us.
Acting as the spokesman for
the black community is what
Rev. Sharpton does for aliving.
Heknowshow toinsert himself
into the picture, literally and
figuratively. He knows how to
undermine the Democrats and
tious meals to grow and de
velop physically, intellectually,
and emotionally. It isunneces
sary and shameful that mil
lions of children in therichest
nation on earth aredenied the
basic right to enough food.
Hungry families arefamilies
like the Taylors in Washing
ton, D.C. Angela Taylor, a
mother of three, has worked
for the last 15 years and has
never been on welfare. Her
incomeasachild care provider
puts her one dollar above the
incomerequirement that would
make her family eligible for
food stamps. Asaresult, when
dinnertime comes every
evening, Mrs. Taylor struggles
tochoose from the small selec
tionin her cabinets and refrig
erator — mainly beans, veg
etables, and canned potato
soup. Meat bought on sale at
thesupermarket getsrationed
and stretched as far as pos
sible, but by the end of the
week it’s usually gone. Angela
always focusesjust on making
sure her three children get
something to eat every night,
evenifit’sonly soup.Shesome
their liberal coalition and then
place himself at the head of its
resurrection. That was Rev.
Sharpton’s message on Dr.
King’sbirthday. Hereemerged
post-election as the head of the
new incarnation of the liberal
coalition. For his part, Mayor
BloomberggetstouseSharpton
as a symbolic conduit to the
black community. The irony
here, though, is that Sharpton
—whohasbeen thoroughly co
opted by the white establish
ment — has no independent
base in the black community.
He simply has moved in on
what the liberal black Demo
crats — Dinkins, et al — used
to control.
Arguably, Bloomberg has
more of an independent con
nection than Sharpton does.
For all his militancy and ring
twisting, Sharpton makes no
demands on the political es
tablishment on behalfofblack
people. Yes, he demands an
end to police brutality. Who
doesn’t? But changes in the
structural power and policy
dynamics — supporting popu
lar but “hot button” issues
like school vouchers, term lim
its and non-partisan munici
pal elections, are not on Rev.
Sharpton’sagenda. Theycan’t
times has to skip dinner her
self — but that’s all right, “as
long as they get something,”
she says. b
Mrs. Taylor spends most of
her day working to care for
and nurture other people’s
children, but for her own chil
drenshestill hastostruggleto
accomplish the most basic goal
of parents everywhere: mak
ing sure they have enough to
eat. No parent should be in
this situation in our country,
and no child should have to
worry about going hungry.
Title VI of the Act to Leave No
Child Behind (S. 940/ H.R.
1990), the comprehensive
children’s bill introduced in
Congress on May 23, 2001 by
Senator Christopher Dodd (D-
Conn.) and Representative
George Miller (D-7th, Calif.)
and endorsed unanimously by
theentire Congressional Black
Caucus, will help families like
the Taylors find the “freedom
from want” President
Roosevelt eloquently said all
Americans deserve — in a
See HUNGRY CHILD, 9A
be because they challenge the
hegemony of the Democratic
Party.
Up in Harlem, Rev.
Sharptonintroduced metothe
crowd at the National Action
Network after the mayor and
most of the politicians had
left. Dr. Fulani with the Inde
pendence Party is hereT he
said, adding something tathe
effect that, you never kiow
what’s going to happen ¥ith
them!
That’s correct, Rev. Whit’s
more, we always know what
you’re going to do! But {'m
not the only unpredictablecne.
Lots of black New Yorkers
broke the mold when we
partnered with Mike
Bloombergand went indepen
dent. Therein lies our new
power and the new paradigm
in black politics. !
Dr. Lenora Fulani haalrwice'
run for President as aninde
pendent. She is chair o The
Committee for a Unifiedlnde
pendent Party, a think tank
dedicated to independent poli
tics based in New York City.
She can be reached at 1-800-
288-3201 or by mail at: 225
Broadway, Suite 201¢, New
York, N.Y. 10007. 1