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PERFECT STORM
The tornado-driven downpour that hit Athens just when
working people should have been going to the polls on runoff
day proved to be the tail end of a perfect storm that washed
progressives out of the mayor's office. The storm clouds gath
ered almost two years ago, when our popular, longtime tax
commissioner began talking about running for mayor. At the
same time, all.the logical choices for the next progressive
mayor began talking about not running. By the time Nancy
Denson announced her candidacy, the wind was already blow
ing her way, though local weathermen never really knew it
until that final deluge.
Hers was a textbook campaign: a candidate who has been in
politics for 30 years without ever doing anything to cause con
troversy. She showed up for work and to weddings and funerals
and every meet-and-greet that could be worked into her sched
ule, routinely re-elected without opposition to an office out
side the workings of local government. Her candidacy was the
last step in the fulfillment of her dream: Mayor of Athens, the
ultimate honor in a long career of smiling and showing up: her
picture framed up there forever on the wall in City Hall with
the big boys: Julius and Upshaw
and Lauren and them.
Actually, Julius and Upshaw
and Lauren and them had been
just as clueless as present pro
gressives when Gwen O'Looney
came out of the City Hall wood
work. She ran for the head of their newly unified government
20 years ago and caught them flatfooted, without a ready can
didate. This time around, the best we local progressives could
do was reach back to Gwen and hope that lightning would
strike again.
What hit us, instead, was an old-fashioned, issueless,
personality-driven political campaign. Nancy flew under the
radar, cloaked in the cover of non-partisanship. Local conserva
tives embraced her as the candidate closest to their dreams of
Athens the way it used to be. How sweet it is that by helping
Nancy they could at last floorboard it and run O'Looney and
R.E.M. and Cobbham and all our ilk off the road.
It did indeed take a perfect storm to blow Nancy onto the
City Hall wall. What luck: two progressives to split the general
election vote. One of them, Spencer Frye, was endorsed by the
present mayor. Then, in the runoff, Spencer suddenly found
that his own political future was of more importance to him
than progressivism.
At the same time. Mayor Heidi Davison decided that her
personal dislike for Gwen O'Looney and that of some of her
constituents was more important than all the other progres- •
sives who had twice worked to put her into office. To wrap it
all up, the editorial board of our daily newspaper took a walk,
declining to take a stand, tacitly endorsing either candidate,
regardless of who might be better qualified.
We will-soon have a mayor whose main knowledge of the
workings of local government is the cheat sheets prepared for
her use in the campaign. No problem. She is accustomed to
relying on professional staff to run things, and Athens has a
good staff, though accustomed to running things their own
way. Watch how quickly our new mayor defers to them.
Where does that leave the Athens-Clarke County
Commission? Odds are they will flap around like a headless
chicken in a hail storm and fail to agree on any structure of
leadership that can provide direction and get things done. We
have a weak mayor system, but the commission is just as weak
when it comes to any kind of leadership structure. The only
possibility for avoiding four years of caretaker government
totally run by the professional staff is for our commissioners
to figure out some ad-hoc strategy for getting things done in
spite of the mayor and the manager.
Given the fact that any number of commissioners will be
thinking of running for mayor next time, nobody is likely to
want anybody else to emerge into commission leadership. But
we do have a progressive commission, hard-won, election by
election. Athens progressives have earned the right to expect
the commissioners we elected, unlike the mayor-elect we didn't
elect to put the needs of the city above personal ambition.
If the commission can find a way to work effectively together,
this ill wind may yet blow some good.
Pets McCommons editor@flagpole.com
Odds are they will
flap around like a
headless chicken...
THIS WEEK’S ISSUE:
SMEWS St FEATURES
Athens Rising 8
What’s Up in New Development
Why don’t we build and plan for the indefinite future?
Lee Harvey Oswald’s Last Lover? 10
The Warren Commission Missed Another Significant Connection
What did Lee Harvey Oswald realty do in New Orleans during those five months?
ARTS &'' EVENTS
Grub Notes 12
Life After Bissett’s
NONA is a worthy successor to Bissett’s. and A Tavola! is worth a visit.
Art Notes 13
Collages, Prizes and Shoppin’
Look at the art while you eat at The Grit, and soothe your shopping blues in the Railroad Arts District.
imusio
Kyshona Armstrong 18
Exploring Music as Therapy
Intimate and inspiring, this local songwriter s music is food for the soul.
Introducing Roach Pedals. . . .
Custom Guitar Effects by Jason Roach
The Maximum Busy Muscle guitarist debuts his line of guitar pedals.
LETTERS 4
CITY DOPE 5
CITY PAGES 6
CAPITOL IMPACT 7
ATHENS RISING : 8
COMMENT 9
JFK ASSASSINATION 10
GRUB NOTES 12
ART NOTES.... 13
MOVIE DOPE...'. 14
MOVIE PICK........ 15
THREATS & PROMISES 16
QUIET HOOVES 17
KYSHONA ARMSTRONG 18
JASON ROACH 20
RECORD REVIEWS 21
THE CALENDAR! 22
BULLETIN BOARD 28
ART AROUND TOWN 29
COMICS 30
REALITY CHECK 31
CLASSIFIEDS 32
HOLIDAY FOOD DANGER 34
mmwmm
M (FILMS
► Ort takes a getaway-wish ramble as the weather
colder and his mind turns to other climes..
rhymes... limes.
■Eyour group into the Flagpole Calendar with.t
handy-dandy submission form. You will submit
is Flagpole's online music update
g; whatever.
the fuller version of Prof. Donald E.
tat JFK Story.
your own classified advertising dii
i V -
EDITOR l PUBLISHER Pete McCommons
ADVERTBINR DIRECTOR IPUBLISHER Alien NickJes
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Larry Tenner
MAXRSMG EDITOR Christina Cotter
ADVERTISING SALES AnitaAubrey, Melinda Edwards, Jessica Pritchard
MUSIC EDITOR Uktwfle Gteerwat
CITY EDITOR Dave Marr
CtASSFtEOS. OttTWWmOR I OmCEHAHASER Hot Casbin
AB DESIGNER KeOy Ruberto
CARTOONISTS James Allen, Cameron Bofue, Ryan Kail, Missy Kulik. Jeremy Long, David Mack, Clint McElroy,
Sarah Trigoeros, Matthew Zietner
AOOPT ME Special Agent Cindy Jorrell
CONTRIBUTORS Hillary Brown, Tom Crawford. Carrie Dagenhird, John Granofsky, Anna Ferguson HaH,
Brian Httsefberger, John Huie, Jyl Inov, Gordon Lamb, Alexander McKeivey, John Nettles, Mark Sanders, Sarah Savage.
’ Jennifer Turpin, Drew Wheeler, Donald E. Wilkes Jr.. Kevan Williams. Marshall Yarbrough
CIRCULATION Charles Groenleaf, Nash Hogan, Jesse Mangum, Matt Shirley
WE1BESKNER Kelly Ruberto
ADVERTISING S EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Jenny Peck
ADVERTISING INTERNS Jessica Hipp, Emily FeamMy
MUSIC INTERNS Sydney Siotkin, Marshall Yarbrough .
NEWS INTERN Lauren Pruitt
VOLUME 24 •
.ISSUE NUMBER.49
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DECEMBER 8,2010 • FLAGPOLE.COM i 3