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RUN CARL. RUN!
Carl Jordan is unique among Athens-Clarke County
Commissioners. If you don't believe it, just look at all the nine-
to-one votes where he's the one—the contrary one, unwilling
to go along to get along, a loner, the smart kid who keeps
asking the teacher questions when everybody else is ready for
lunch, the guy doggedly talking about lighting and nighttime
glare long after the Mayor and the other Commissioners are
glaring at him and ready to turn off the lights and depart for
home.
It's a role Carl is used to, one he inherited from John
Barrow, who used to be the one against the nine before he got
elected to Congress and had to turn himself into a Republican
facsimile in order to survive the gerrymander that threw him
into the south Georgia swamps.
The funny thing is that through the hard work and per
sistence of candidates and voters and R.E.M., we have over
the years elected a relatively liberal Mayor and Commission, a
group in which you would think Carl Jordan would be leading
the majority to unanimous votes in an era of overall good feel
ing. Instead, there he is for all to
see behind the rail and on TV: a
minority of one.
Then there's Idaho. Carl has a
vacation home in Idaho. Retired,
widowed, with his sons grown,
Carl spends time in Idaho. When
he's down, he talks about getting off the Commission, sell
ing his home in Kingswood and moving west. Carl's detractors
would be glad to help him move, and many willing hands
would make the job a snap.
You'd think the Commission and the community, not to
mention late-night television watchers, would be better off
shed of such a cantankerous curmudgeon, whose absence
should smooth the path of local government.
Maybe so; maybe not. Unless Carl decides on his own to
pull up stakes and ride into the sunset, the decision whether
he remains on the Commission will be made by the voters in
Commission District 6. They are the final arbiters whether they
think Cart represents them well enough to keep him around.
And their choice will no doubt come down to whether Carl
responds to their calls about drainage, potholes, water pres
sure, traffic calming, leaf-and-limb pickup and dead skunks
in the middle of the road: the important issues of local
government.
It may be that Carl is a great go-to guy for such problems.
It could be that his cantankerousness is a strong suit when it
comes to bringing a constituent's problem to the attention of
the proper department of local government. If I had a pothole
issue, I'd be glad to have Carl on it. If I were the Director of
Pothole Patching, I wouldn't want Carl on my case. And of
course even when he's in Idaho, he's still on his phone and his
email all day, as he is in Athens.
Carl's re-election is in the hands of the District 6 voters,
but their decision will have a direct impact on the rest of our
community. He has strong ideas about how government should
protect and extend the quality of life here, and he's as com
fortable debating philosophies of government as he is ques
tioning the manager on support for the police department. He's
not office-bound. If there's a sewer-line leak or a construction
site without adequate runoff protection or an endangered tree
canopy, Carl will be right out there in the woods taking a look
for himself.
Carl is not just grandstanding behind the rail at City Hall:
he hates compromise. He frequently feels that his fellow com
missioners don't want to do the right thing, the tough thing,
and even though he knows he's going down to another nine-
one defeat, he is trying to educate his colleagues and the pub
lic. Carl believes that if people just understand the facts that
they'll make the right decisions. When he sees people making
wrong decisions, he thinks they don't understand the facts,
so he tries all the harder to get his ideas across, even when
people are tired of listening.
So, although his re-election is up to the District 6.voters,
the whole community has a stake in whether Carl Jordan stays
on the Commission. He may quit; he may get beat; but as long
as he's on the Commission, he's not going to shut up, and
that's good for all of us, whether we like it or not.
Pete McCommons editor@ilagpole.com
If I had a pothole
issue, I’d be glad
to have Carl on it.
THIS WEEK’S ISSUE:
[MEWS AIMP FEATURES
City Dope 5
Athens News and Views
Looking ahead to an election season that ought to get into higher gear this month.
Athens Rising 8
What’s Up in New Development
What's with all the "Brick-and Tan" in this town?
Amr aim
EVE1MT
A Strong Case for Film Lovers 9
Cine’s Brigitta Hangartner Reports from Cannes
An exclusive report on the films, fanfare and festivities at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
Graphic Content 21
New Comics Reviews
The first installment of a new. regularly appearing Flagpole column reviewing comics and graphic novels.
The Carrots 22
That Girl-Group Sound
Music for all the Johnnys. Jimmys. Bobbys and Judys of the world.
We Versus the Shark 23
Where Have All the Loud, Weird Bands Gone?
Celebrating noise, time changes and a new record titled Dirty Versions.
LETTERS : 4
CITY DOPE 5
CITY PAGES 6
CAPITOL IMPACT A 7
ATHENS RISING. 8
CANNES REPORT 9
THE CALENDAR! 10
ART AROUND TOWN 14
BULLETIN BOARD , 16
MOVIE DOPE 18
MOVIE PICK 19
GRUB NOTES 20
NEW! GRAPHIC CONTENT 21
THE CARROTS 22
WE VS. THE SHARK 23
RECORD REVIEWS 24
THREATS & PROMISES 25
COMICS 26
REALITY CHECK 27
CLASSIFIEDS 28
COVER DESIGN by Kelly Ruberto
featuring artwork by Crisha Yantis on
display at the Gallery at Good Dirt
EDITOR & PUBLISHER Pete McCommons
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR & PUBLISHER Alicia Nickles
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Larry Tenner
MANAGING EDITOR Christina Cotter
ADVERTISING SALES Anita Aubrey, Melinda Edwards. Jessica Pritchard
MUSIC EDITOR Michelle Gilzenrat
CITY EDITOR Ben Emanuel
CLASSIFIEDS. DISTRIBUTION & OFFICE MANAGER Paul Karpan
AD DESIGNERS Ian Rickert. Kelly Ruberto
CARTOONISTS James Allen. Josh Bass. Cameron Bogue. Jacob Hunt. Missy Kulik. Jeremy Long, David Mack,
Clint McElroy
ADOPT ME Special Agent Cindy Jerrell
CONTRIBUTORS Hillary Brown, jason Bugg, Tom Crawford, Brigitta Hangartner. Chris Hassiotis, John Huie,
Bao Le-Huu, Gordon Lamb, Charley Lee, Garrett Martin. Ryan Monahan, Drew Wheeler, Kevan Williams.
Noel Wurst
CIRCULATION Charles Greenleaf, Jimmy Courson, Justin Courson, Alex Moore, Lena Trotochaud, Alex White
WEB DESIGNER Ian Rickert
ADVERTISING ASSISTANT Nicole Haysler
ADVERTISING INTERNS Ken Fleming. Rachel Bailey
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING INTERN Kat Morrell
CONTACT US:
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EDITORIAL: (706) 549-9523
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LETTERS: letters@flagpole.com
MUSIC: music@flagpole.com
WEB SITE: web@flagpole.com
VOLUME 22
ISSUE NUMBER 22
Flagpole, Inc. publishes Flagpole Magazine weekly and distributes 17,000 copies
free at over 275 locations around Athens, Georgia. Subscriptions cost $55 a year,
$35 for six months. © 2008 Flagpole, Inc. All rights reserved.
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NEWS & FEATURES I CALENDAR I MOVIES I A&E I MUSIC I COMICS & ADVICE I CLASSIFIEDS
JUNE 4,2008-FLAGPOLE.COM
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