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PEOPLE CAN CHANGE
THE VISION THING
Former Governor Lester Maddox once said we'll never have better
prisons until we get a better class of prisoners. The same can be
said for our County Commission.
This past weekend Athens-Clarke County citizens turned out in
large numbers for the well managed Tour de Sprawl to hear experts
talk about stopping sprawl, protecting our water, enhancing our
sense of community, managing traffic, providing affordable housing,
developing the University and diversifying our transportation
options.
All over town people were asking each other, what will it take to
wake up Athens before all the beauty and livability are paved over?
The answer is really very simple, though difficult: a better class
of Commissioners. It's a very simple political equation: at the pre
sent time, our Mayor and Commission are dominated by a majority
that favors development over preservation, roads and cars over any
other forms of transportation, and sprawl over neighborhoods.
The Mayor and five Commissioners will be up for election next
summer and fall. Citizens concerned about the direction of their
government rarely get such a clear-cut opportunity to do something
about it at the ballot box. A President, a Senator, a Congressmen
are so far removed that writing them or voting for them seems of
little consequence. A Commissioner, on the other hand, is elected
from a relatively small district, where individual effort can make a
difference.
Last year political observers gave Carl Jordan little chance of
winning a Commission seat, but people who believed in what he
stood for got out and worked hard for him and got him elected. He
is a major voice on the Commission for the Athens that people saw
last weekend.
Carl Jordan's election was not easy, and elections won't be easy
next year. The people who control things now—the banks, the big
law firms and the developers they support—are already laying their
plans to prese.ve their own vision of Athens that is profitable to
them. You can be sure that they understand the importance of
having friends on the Commission.
So often we see grand
schemes of what our commu
nity can be, but the means of
getting there are vague. The
vision we saw last weekend
can be reached by knocking
on doors, licking envelopes,
putting up yard signs and
contributing money, time and
effort tc the election of good
Candida es.
Next year a citizen effort,
with good candidates, can
make a difference that will
forever shape the future of our city. Electing a progressive
Commissioner in even one district can change dramatically the
stranglehold that hobbles our community.
THE SENATE THING
You can also be sure that the bankers and big lawyers and devel
opers are already working to defeat our new State Senator Doug
Haines, a Democrat who sits on the best committees in the Georgia
Senate, but does not sit in the hip pockets of the banks and the
lawyers and the developers. That he is bright, hardworking and
effective means nothing to them, because they don't own him.
They say he should be defeated because he voted for a
Congressional district that is not centered on Athens but puts
Athens in a long district that includes Augusta and Savannah.
That is a big, fat red herring. An Athens-centered district would
be surrounded by conservative, rural. Republican counties. Those
areas, not Athens, would make up the preponderant majority of
votes. An Athens-centered district would mean that the vision of a
progressive Athens would be totally submerged beneath the conser
vative Republican agenda that would dominate the voting in such a
district. An Athens-centered district would be a Republican strong
hold that would delight our bankers and big lawyers and developers
but would be anathema to the vision of Athens that we saw last
weekend.
On the national level, progressive Athens interests will be much
better represented in a Democratic district sensitive to urban con
cerns. That’s why the developers don't want Doug Haines. That's why
we need him.
AND THE BOMBS...
Meanwhile, as we rode around on our bicycles and bus envi
sioning a better Athens, we entered the second week of urban
renewal in Afghanistan.
Pete McCommons (pub@flagpole.com)
THE ATHENS AREA HUMANE SOCIETY
399 Beaverdam RJ. • 3 5 3-1187 • www.athenshumanesociety.com
AM ARMFUL OF KITTENSI
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NEWS + CULTURE
LETTERS
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CITY DOPE
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ENRON
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CARTOONIST Patrick Dean WRITERS Mike Andrews, Melissa
KUDZU FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS 13
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Michael Ziegler CIRCULATION Charles Greenleaf, John Walker
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DESIGN & PHOTO ILLUSTRATION "Iggy Pyro” by Cindy Jerrell
LISTINGS
MOVIE DOPE 12
OUT THERE! 14
ABC 18
CONNECTIONS 31
CLASSIFIEDS 32
MUSIC
IGGY POP 23
BLACK CROWES 25
JUMP, LITTLE CHILDREN 26
MIKE WATT 27
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT 27
RECORD REVIEWS 28
THEM APPIES 29
CLUB & WIRE 30
VOLUME 15
ISSUE NUMBER 42
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