The recent local elections were the first I’ve covered in this state, and some of the results give glimmers of hope. There is much that is wonderful about Alabama, but there is also corruption and poor governance that needs to be addressed at all levels. Some of the races I watched clearly showed “we the people” exercising our power to enact change rather than maintain the status quo, and it was lovely to behold.
The City of Florence is one example of this. They made a mayoral change, while also replacing the incumbent in a majority of their city council seats with someone who could bring different insight into how the city should run. I have personal knowledge of some of the new seat holders, and I believe they will work in the citizens’ favor, rather than further their own personal interests. This is what people want and what taxpaying citizens deserve.
The City of Muscle Shoals did the opposite, however. While they replaced an incumbent mayor, they re-elected all sitting city councilmembers, despite some quality opposition candidates who were interested in addressing the town’s looming corruption. For example, the incumbent mayor entered into an agreement to lease property for a solar farm, a decision which received unanimous backing from the city council. The leasing company, Sixth Street Solar, LLC, has only existed for little over a year and is owned by someone who is also referred to as a part-time engineer with the City of Muscle Shoals by individuals lodging a lawsuit against the company. Conflict of interest, much?
However, that’s not the worst of it. Because solar panels prevent water from soaking into the ground (but allow other terrible stuff to leach into the soil), it is projected that at least nine additional feet of water will empty into the 6th Street water basin on an annual basis. An anonymous complaint has already been filed concerning this, but was promptly closed when part-time engineer Williams (also the company’s owner) quelled the Alabama Department of Environmental Management’s (ADEM) concerns, pretty much alleging, there’s nothing to see here.
The solar farm is owned by Sixth Street Solar and SRAP Solar LLC.
Williams said silt dams that were in place during construction were filled due to heavy rainfall in March.
The erosion issues were discovered during an inspection in April.
An anonymous claim filed online was received May 19. The complaint was investigated on June 6 by Woody Nichols.
In a description included in the record of complaint, the complainant cited ‘muddy water leaving the site and going under Sixth Street where a pond is being dug.
According to the complaint:
· Dirty water is leaving the job site through a concrete storm drain.
· Grass was cleared away to bare ground on sloping land without any way of preventing erosion.
· The issues impact both land and water.
‘They're still working on getting the final vegetation established,’ Williams said.
The flooding problems in Muscle Shoals are about as bad as the plumbing issues on Strain Road in Athens, Ala., and haven’t been fully addressed by city officials. With torrential storms last spring, certain subdivisions were adversely impacted.
Muscle Shoals Mayor-elect Billy Hudson addressed the flooding as part of his candidate platform. We will see if Hudson is able to adequately investigate and address this growing problem with a city council that gives the appearance of wanting to keep things just as they are.
Finally, the mayor’s race in Mobile gave me great joy, particularly because one candidate depended upon outside influences to weigh the scales in her favor. It didn’t work. Rep. Barbara Drummond (D-Mobile) was so focused on her mayoral race that she could not have cared less about the small businesses she put in jeopardy with her anti-vaping bill (now law) HB8, which is now embroiled in a lawsuit.
Drummond pushed this terrible bill for years, while courting big money donors like the Alabama Education Association, who sank $100,000 into her campaign, and other donors outside of Mobile who could pad her campaign coffers.
Earlier in the month, Drummond received the endorsement of U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), and earlier this week, former Vice President – and failed presidential candidate – Kamala Harris gave her a leg up, calling Drummond a “star in our party.”
It was a classic example of trying to make “Fetch” happen. Drummond is not and never has been a star. She does happen to be a sorority sister of Harris’ (The Divine 9) so, Harris gave her a boost. Call it the “good-ole’-girls” network.
Happily, Drummond lost the Sept. 23 runoff to Republican Spiro Cheriogotis. Not because he outspent her or because of racism or sexism, but because Drummond is a political hack with zero interest in enacting change in Mobile. She had 11 years to do this as a state representative and not much has happened. Why continue to reward failure?
In her concession speech, Drummond said:
We came in almost in a dead heat. We gave this a very, very good fight, and to say we had very little money, but we had more people, so that is very gratifying[…]. “I am still a legislator, so I will go back to Montgomery.
The most hilarious thing? Drummond thought she could feather her nest, pad her political resume with a bogus law, then float into the Mobile mayoral chair with ease.
How's that crow taste, Barbara?
Jennifer Oliver O'Connell, As the Girl Turns, is an investigative journalist, author, opinion analyst, and contributor to 1819 News, Redstate, and other publications. Jennifer writes on Politics and Pop Culture, with occasional detours into Reinvention, Yoga, and Food. You can read more about Jennifer's world at her As the Girl Turns website. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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