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Editor’s note: Ahead of May 21 nonpartisan local elections and partisan primaries. flagpole We plan to publish special features about each race held in Athens.
When Commissioner Jesse Hall decided not to run for re-election, he left a vacant seat on the ACC Commission for District 6, which covers neighborhoods along Atlanta Highway and the Jackson County line outside the Loop. Two candidates, Rush Malcolm and Stephanie Johnson, are now coming forward to fill that gap in this year’s most competitive committee contest.
Malcolm and Johnson are both prominent Black women in their communities who vote Democratic, but from other different backgrounds. Johnson has worked primarily in the public sector, including in the ACC Finance Department and as her ACC Internal Auditor. Malcolm is an entrepreneur best known for his Jamaican restaurant, Rashe’s Cuisine. She is also a founding director of two non-profit organizations in the Athens area. One is Farm to Neighborhood, which aims to expand access to nutritious and affordable food, and the other is Culinary Kitchen, which provides local food trucks with shared kitchen space at a low cost. This is Athens.
As chairman of the ACC Industrial Development Authority and a member of the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors, it’s no surprise that economic growth is a top priority for Mr. Malcolm.she said flagpole She wants to help make the Atlanta Highway Corridor a strong economic driver again by making it more walkable.
“When Atlanta Highway was booming and growing, people worked on Atlanta Highway, we fought for housing nearby, and we played a lot. We shopped there. I We did everything on the spot within the district, so we didn’t have to go far. We could walk out the front door, catch a bus, or walk if we felt like it. It’s something I want back,” Malcolm said.
Malcolm may have a chance to realize her vision for Atlanta Highway this decade. A major redevelopment of Georgia Square Mall is underway and will include green space, walking trails, bike lanes, and an Athens Transit transfer station. The redevelopment could be transformative for the corridor, improving walkability as well as providing affordable apartments to the area.
Mr. Malcolm emphasized that the promotion and development of Athens’ small and medium-sized enterprises should be a top priority during this period of transition. “Let’s not forget that the strength and backbone that we’ve been able to maintain in this area is that we continue to be small and medium-sized businesses. They’re the ones who have stayed with us and remained loyal.” she said. “When you go into the mall, the big businesses are gone, but the small businesses are still there.”
Mr Johnson also wants to prioritize economic growth, but is primarily operating on a platform of increasing government transparency and community involvement in decision-making. She has voiced her concerns about some government spending that she considers wasteful, and is frustrated by tax increases that she feels are being foisted on communities with little notice.
“Many local residents are uncomfortable with getting involved,” Johnson said at a March 4 campaign kickoff event. Many last-minute decisions are made that impact people at work every day.I have to think about how to make room for it. [increased taxes] Voting has already been done so now after the price increase. ”
Local governments have significantly lowered tax rates in recent years, and voters approved an expanded exemption for homeowners in 2022 that the ACC Commission and the state Legislature put on the ballot. Nevertheless, the taxes paid by many homeowners are rising rapidly due to rising property values determined by market forces. As required by Georgia law, local governments hold three public Taxpayer Bill of Rights hearings each year before setting tax rates.
At the kickoff event, Johnson echoed a common sentiment among residents living outside the Loop that they don’t receive a fair share of government resources compared to residents in the city center. “The 6th District has been ignored for far too long,” Johnson said. She said she supports increased infrastructure investment in the district, including street lighting, sidewalks and road paving.
Mr. Johnson has extensive experience in local government. Known as Stephanie Maddox before her marriage, she worked for the ACC Office of Finance for more than four years before being appointed internal auditor by then-Mayor Nancy Denson in 2015, a position she held until 2021. flagpole She says she wants to draw on her “rich experience and knowledge of how local government operates and how we can better serve our residents.”
But Johnson’s experience may not be what voters are looking for. Mr. Johnson’s tenure as auditor was erratic and he often clashed with Commissioner Alison Wright, the audit committee chair at the time. Mr. Wright, along with the late Commissioner Jerry Nessmith, voted against Mr. Johnson’s reappointment as auditor in 2017. It is unusual for committee members to vote against the reappointment of certified executives such as internal auditors.
Johnson was criticized for poor management skills and low productivity, especially in his first few years in office. A paid independent investigation found that Johnson’s employees in the ACC Office of Business Analysis regularly complained about her management style, saying that she was highly disorganized and that she spent too much time in the office. He said he was very brief and frequently disrespected his employees and denied their legitimate requests for time off. By ACC Govt.
ACC Human Resources could not take disciplinary action against Johnson because of his position as a charter officer. After Johnson’s employees continued to complain about poor working conditions, Mayor Kelly Gertz stepped in and imposed a performance improvement plan on Johnson in 2019.
Johnson said Gertz’s disciplinary action was not an internal matter within his office, but was in retaliation for an open records request Gertz filed in 2018. Johnson is now suing the local government over this alleged retaliation, and claims that Gertz and ACC manager Blaine have been “subjected to disciplinary action.” Williams discriminated against her. Her internal investigation found no evidence to support her claims, and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission dismissed her complaint. A federal judge last fall dismissed parts of Johnson’s lawsuit but allowed some to proceed.
Mr. Johnson continued as auditor for several more years, but productivity plummeted as all three employees retired or transferred and no replacements were hired. She received new disciplinary action in 2021 after her audit committee pushed her to complete a long-delayed project, including planning monthly check-in meetings with the audit committee. It was Ms. Johnson did not attend these meetings, leading to her unanimous dismissal in September 2021.
If Johnson is elected, he would be empowered to vote against Williams’ reappointment as ACC director, as local Republicans have recently advocated.
Johnson is backed by a diverse coalition, including anti-government Republicans like former mayoral candidate Mara Zuniga and some leftists who similarly distrust local government. Meanwhile, Mr Malcolm is hopeful that the centrist party will survive and gain support from voters of both parties.
“We need to get back to listening to each other,” Malcolm said. flagpole. “We have more in common than we have differences. I was told not to take a picture with a Republican. And if I took a picture with a certain Democrat, it would take me out. That’s not how I feel about things. We need to get back to thinking about what’s best for our community and how we work through our differences.”
Malcolm said he is willing to work with people of all ideologies and political affiliations to make Athens a better place. For example, she worked with Republican state Rep. Houston Gaines on a food truck reciprocity bill that would allow food trucks to operate in any county in Georgia with just one license. The bill was finally passed in 2022 after years of advocacy.
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