The most telling glimpse into Deke's plans to use public funds for a new stadium

This video clip of the commission meeting on June 21, 2010 is worth studying.
We saw how Mayor Deke tried to prevent Commissioner Alvin Mason from moving to fire Administrator Fred Russell earlier this week
. Here is an example of how chatty and helpful he can be when it's a motion he likes (or maybe even wished into existence).
Watch Commissioner Joe Jackson make his prepared motion to task Administrator Russell to come up with a financial plan with Ripken Baseball for the building of a new stadium. It's kinda cute how he ends with "and I put that into the form of a motion." Reminds me of grade school book report endings, "and that's my book report."
Commissioner Johnson comes in with his idea to make it not site specific. He says his constituents don't want it downtown and how about making it not site specific and how about making it not a financial plan? Sounds costly. This is interesting to me for these reasons:
1. Johnson's district is partly downtown and poor so why would they prefer a stadium on Riverwatch which isn't even on the bus route?
2. Making the plan not site-specific seems to me to take away the possibility of this report from the administrator leading into a bond referendum which would be a popular vote by taxpayers on whether or not to fund this venture.
3. Johnson also voted this week not to fire Administrator Russell, which allowed Commissioner Aitken, a Dream Team member, friend of Deke's, and white commissioner of another poor black district who is up for reelection, to vote to fire Russell and escape the wrath of his constituents while keeping Russell safe. (Aitken when asked before the administrator vote how he would vote said was unable to decide until he had some discussions.)
4. It doesn't seem genuine for him to think it wouldn't be a financial talk. What else would it be? I predict it will have financial bits to it.
Now Deke steps in with an ad for Ripken baseball. Then he goes to Commissioner Bill Lockett.
Lockett mentions the suggested possibility that the stadium would be in his district at Regency Mall, but that he knows that would never happen. He also mentions that inner city kids, one of Ripken Baseball's concerns, wouldn't be able to get to a game on Riverwatch. Also, that "there's no way that this is someting that is not going to be a cost to the taxpayer. If it wasn't going to be a cost to the taxpayer, the Ripken people could go out and buy the property and build without consultation from us. All they'd need to do is go to zoning and make sure it's zoned properly."
Now Jackson says he wants to amend the wording (he mentions not being sold on bonding which would be the popular vote). He doesn't manage to get the wording out, but Deke jumps right in to help and writes the motion before our very eyes. Jackson says, "correct." But Jackson didn't realize that he wasn't quite there yet, I guess. Deke continues to write the motion. Jackson says, "correct," again.
Now Deke says they have a motion and a second. Not sure if that was a statement or a question. Lockett asks to hear the motion again since it was never really heard in its entirety yet.
The clerk reads it back. Deke goes for the vote. Mason asks to speak. He talks about needs versus wants and the fact that the city is nine million dollars in the hole. Also he throws in a pretty sweet mixed metaphor about a horse and a throat. He mentions that Ripken could come to the commission rather than us going to them offering land or money while we're slicing services such as fire and police protection along with teacher furloughs. He ends with the very popular stance that Ripken is more than welcome to build a new stadium with his own money, which wouldn't require special talks with our busy, or should be busy, administrator. (After all, he's managing the city single-handedly according to those who voted to keep him although he's messing up because no one, including his two highly-paid deputy administrators, can manage it.)
Commissioner Grady Smith also throws in the idea that Ripken should come to the commission to talk rather than us send our man out to him.
Deke breaks in somewhat agitated that no one complained about using tax money on Costco. (Another tell. Hello, Augusta journalists. This is going to cost us.) Mason counters with, "I did." Deke chuckles.
Now Commissioner Guilfoyle pipes in that his constituents do not want to pay for a new stadium. He agrees with Mason that it should go on a ballot for the people to vote on.
Guilfoyle says, "it's the people's choice. We're just representing the people." Sounds reasonable, right? Not to Deke. Deke very intriguingly doesn't seem to see that concept as a principle, but as an obstacle to be overcome. He answers that statement with, "well, and as you look at different financing options, public finance, if you did a bond issue, the people would have to vote on it. Tax Allocation District financing which we did with Costco was a different animal in and of itself," and on about how the Laney-Walker money wasn't approved by voters and could have built the stadium. "We did creative financing," and "there's not only one avenue to public financing." That may be true, Deke, but Guilfoyle was saying the people SHOULD vote, not how can we get around letting them vote. (Any time the people are asked about it, we get about 70-80% saying we don't want to pay for it.)
Lockett mentions that Costcos generally make money and stadiums don't, and that he's "not willing to gamble with the taxpayers' money."
Hatney said it was "unfortunate" that the mayor mentioned Laney-Walker because "that was a sell-off for the TEE Center." Deke said, "ok, if there's no further discussion, commissioners will now vote."
Again a repeat is asked for. The motion up on the screen has not even been adjusted as the motion has been. Grady Smith seems confused about it. Deke paraphrases in the sweetest way. Mason says, "that's not what's up there." The clerk says, "that's not what it says." Mason: "well, let's hear what is up there because it sounded a little different from what the mayor said."
Grady Smith still can't see the point and still thinks Ripken should come to the commission. Deke keeps selling along with Commissioner Joe Bowles. Deke says we're tasking Fred to talk. Smith says, "to talk. I'd vote for that."
The motion carries 6-3-1 with Aitken, Bowles, Jackson, Brigham, Guilfoyle, and Smith voting yes and Johnson, Mason, Lockett voting no, and Hatney abstaining.
Mason in closing wants to clarify that the motion he made weeks ago to get the vote on a stadium onto the general election ballot in 2012 was not illegal. And the wording left up to the attorney hasn't been arranged yet. It's not a dead issue. (In a presentation I made to the commission, I seconded Mason's desire to let these talks bring back the information needed to put this question on the ballot
, as a bond referendum if that's how it needs to be.)
Meeting adjourned.

Money Shot from August 16 Commission Meeting

Here's a clip from this week's commission meeting. Notice the mayor seems to lose his parliamentary bearings in what seems to be his attempt to deny Commissioner Mason's motion to fire Administrator Fred Russell. If you're reading this, you probably know that people are rather upset with the secret pay raises that went out to four department heads and 40 other special city workers while the other two thousand or so suffer pay cuts, loss of benefits or even their jobs entirely. Many are especially bothered by fire, police, and teacher furlough days.
Watch the mayor's spaz level. When Mayor Deke gets excited, I've only known it to mean one thing, and that thing is baseball. My own personal guess is that Mayor Deke wants Fred to stay on until he's got a nice report to bring back from his talks with Ripken Baseball about the stadium the mayor seriously cannot stop talking about.

Talk Dirty To Me

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You Probably Live in ACAVE if...

You probably belong in ACAVE if you live in Augusta... because anyone who doesn't want to spend our tax dollars on scootching the GreenJackets' stadium over a few miles is a CAVE person. That's according to Mayor Deke Copenhaver in one of his [adjective redacted] guest columns for the Chronicle. Since about three quarters of Augusta folk seem to be against buying Cal Ripken a new stadium, Mayor Deke may have to abandon his charm offensive and just go for winning ugly. He's a determined Ironman and has announced that's he's looking into creative financing of some other kind of tax dollars which won't require a popular vote . I'm sure the creative financing will be painless, like plucking pennies out of a fountain .
Speaking of the Chronicle, one keyboard-punching cave dweller believes he may have stumbled onto the scent of a very vocal member of the upright citizens brigade. If you read the Chronicle online, you'll remember Countyman; he's the guy who talks like Rainman trying to sell a used car.
It's true, cave people read the paper. Partly because they get written about in the paper. (That may seem primitive, but, honestly, what's keeps you coming back to the mirror?) This week, Brad Owens' possible political aspirations are poo pooed by publisher Joe White, I mean the mysterious Insider, in this week's Metro Spirit. Hey, didn't Austin Rhodes used to be the Insider, back before he became a staunch critic of anonymity? Speaking of Austin, his current column is about a ride through Harrisburg with cave ladies, Sylvia Cooper (well, she was a member of the Facebook group until a pervert hacked her account persuading her to leave Facebook entirely) and Lori Davis, president of the Harrisburg association. Cave Lori was also mentioned in today's intriguingly-titled editorial about the pitchforking of City Administrator Fred Russell over his pay raises to department heads while city workers try to cope with layoffs, pay cuts, and loss of benefits and retirements. But he didn't step outside the lines drawn for him in the recent reorganization of government, he says somewhat eerily about himself in third person- "Fred Russell is not going to resign because Fred Russell has done what he was told to do." Will this opportunely-timed development lend weight to the reconstruction obstructionists' complaint that this was a change government that should have required eight votes instead of just the (gang of white) six that it got?

Welcome to ACAVE

 This website is the new venture of the Facebook Group A.C.A.V.E ~ Augusta Citizens Against Virtually Everything. But don't let the name fool you... one of the group founders, Brad Owens, explains:  

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This group is one based on comments from Mayor Deke "Ironman" Copenhaver of Augusta, GA who called folks who oppose his new stadium proposal for downtown as "cave" people (Citizens Against Virtually Everything). Jill Peterson and I thought that is was funny that supporting the existing stadium was somehow a "negative" thing.

So the name is 'tongue-in-cheek' and in reality we want this group to be a 'support network' for those of us who want to see progress in Augusta. We want to support changes needed to help improve the entire community.

We are opposed to fraud, waste, abuse, ignorance, hate, crime, blight, and corruption in our local government.

We are opposed to weak and ineffective leadership on issues that require strength and direct action.

We are opposed to rewarding incompetence

We are opposed to doing nothing about the real problems in Augusta while the people are suffering.

We are opposed to the wants of the few taking precedence over the needs of the many.

We want to build an organization that will provide information for those who want to know, and action on issues we feel that we must be heard on.

We want to shine the light on the dark areas of local politics, open a window into the smoky back room, and step on the cockroaches when we find them. And trust me, when the lights come on, the roaches scurry.

Our mottos shall be,

"Need before Wants"

"Truth before Spin"

"Action not Talk"

"Unite and Fight against the C.A.B.A.L."

Corrupt Abusers Bilking All Loot (C.A.B.A.L) see? We can have fun with the mayors little game he started.

I hope this group will become something that will make a difference, with everyone putting aside the petty differences and seeing that we have much more in common that the C.A.B.A.L. wants you to think.

~Brad Owens