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I’ve written a lot of stuff regarding Bob Langstaff’s actions in response to the Gucci Mane concert. Yesterday, Langstaff responded on his blog. His side of the story should be noted. Go on a read it here and I’ll wait for you to get back. Now that you’ve done that, I want to quote Commissioner Langstaff’s email to City Manager Al Lott and Civic Center Director John Mazzola. Continue reading Langstaff fires back Tomorrow (Fri, Aug 28) at 7p at Harvest Moon. No agenda, and ALL are welcome – no matter your position or choice of beverage. Look for the guy with the LP-Georgia logo on his back. That will be me! Oh, and a cool thing about this particular post? I now have the ability to easily post from my Blackberry! Yay! The following was a comment Lee County Commissioner Rick Muggridge put up on the “Lee County Board of Commissioners Votes to Increase Government” comments section, but since it is really more of a post in its own right, we decided to move it from there and actually make it a post. Hey Jeff, Along with being a Lee County taxpayer like you I am also a Georgia tax payer and a United States taxpayer. And like you I am often frustrated (even angered) when I hear about Federal Programs that build walking tracks in Anytown, USA paid for in a Federal Health Appropriation. I think they are wrong and absolutely not what the Constitution says the Federal government should do. But those Federal dollars are spent. When I put my coat and tie on, on Tuesday afternoons and drive to Leesburg, I am there not to act on my own personal interest but instead to act behalf of the citizens of Lee County. As such, shouldn’t I work to get as many Federal (and State) dollars as I can for the people of Lee County? (That was a real question, I would love to hear the people’s opinion on) Do I stand on principle and as a result , Lee County misses out on money and projects that will be spent and build, that Federal and State coffers might have paid for? We’re hearing multiple reports of possible gang activity in and around several Albany schools today. Be careful and be aware of your surroundings out there people. Albany City Commissioner Bob Langstaff hasn’t given up on trying to keep certain acts out of the Albany Civic Center, regardless of their potential appeal. Unfortunately for him, it appears that city attorney Nathan Davis agrees with me in saying that the First Amendment protects acts like Gucci Mane and anyone else who wants to rent the Civic Center. Continue reading Commissioner Langstaff still trying to block acts Last night’s Lee County Commissioners meeting was interesting, to say the least. First up, we had a man that Carlton Fletcher identified as Southwest District Superior Court Chief Judge Rucker Smith proposing to expand government on the backs of Lee County taxpayers using an Obama stimulus grant as seed money. Basically, he wants the grant to allow government to take over handling misdemeanor probation – even though he repeatedly said he is perfectly satisfied with the private organizations currently handling that program. He claims that by the time the grant is over, the program will be self supporting and possibly even a revenue generator – and that if it isn’t, it will be shut down. Gee, I wonder where we’ve heard THAT before when it comes to government? No, as Smith noted several times himself, he sees this program in existence for anywhere from 5 – 20 years (numbers he used himself) – even though the grant expires in less than a year and a half. Also note that the program the grant funds won’t even be operational until 6 months into the grant, per Smith himself! Further note that Smith is just now coming to Lee County with this proposal, which would make Lee County taxpayers solely responsible for funding these positions that would then serve the entire six county Southwestern Circuit – without any funds from any of the other counties assisted. When Chairman Duffy called for the vote, Commissioners Roland and Williams did the right thing and voted against this government takeover of matters currently being outstandingly handled by private organizations. Commissioners Muggridge and Johnson voted for this expansion of government, and Chairman Duffy himself voted for it to break the tie. A protest against the proposed healthcare reform is being planned for Sanford Bishop’s Albany office on Friday, August 28, 2009. The event will be from 12 noon until 1pm. Protestors have meet Bishop at most of his announced stops during his August break. Bishop described the break as being more accurately called “district workdays” instead of a break during the town hall on healthcare held at ASU. This may be your last best chance to get your voice heard about the healthcare debate before the Congressman returns to Washington. Following the protest, the assembled group will gather at the Sunset Grill located in the Albany Mall. The plan is to discuss the next step in the ongoing debate. The two Republican candidates for Congress, Lee Ferrell and Mike Keown, plan to be in attendance too. If you have not met either of them, this could be your chance. The meeting at the Sunset Grill following the protest is being sponsored by FreedomWorks. The event is BYOL (buy your own lunch.) If you are interested in attending, you need to send your indication to freedom.works@mchsi.com so that they can be assured everyone will have a seat. The Dougherty County Commission sat down yesterday with the Albany City Commission to discuss consolidation with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government of the University of Georgia. Through the discussion, two primary obstacles reared their ugly head. Voting and money. Continue reading Consolidation discussed Lee County Commissioner Dennis Roland is a farmer who apparently still thinks Cotton is King in these parts. He says in this article from Sunday’s Albany Herald that “Farming always has and always will be the No. 1 industry, the No. 1 employer and the No. 1 tax producer in this county”. I’ll admit, I’m a recent transplant to South Georgia. I first moved to the area in July 2006 and first moved to Lee County in September 2007. And it is only recently – within the last couple of months – that I’ve really started paying attention to Lee County politics. I even went to my first Lee County Board of Commissioners meeting two weeks ago, and I’ll be going back tonight. (6pm in the building to the left of the courthouse when looking at the courthouse from the railroad tracks, for those that don’t know). But believe it or not, I DO have some experience with this kind of thinking. You see, growing up in Bartow County, there were many who felt that way about our small town. In my childhood, Bartow County was about the same size – both in area and population – as Lee County is right now, with similar demographics in terms of people and land use. The following originally appeared in the Albany Journal and is written by Lon McNeil. As we follow local politics, and there’s been a lot of mention of Ward 5 Commissioner Bob Langstaff, I asked Lon if we could reprint the article here. He consented and Kevin Hogencamp gratiously emailed the piece to me to run. There is a section in bold type that may be particularly interesting to long-time readers of this blog. This November, about half of Albany’s voters will be asked to make their voices heard on a host of critical issues. The Ward 5 City Commission race is shaping up to be an important measure of the political landscape. Continue reading Albany’s Ward 5: The 2009 battleground? |
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