Members of the Columbus City Council retaliated Tuesday night against recent remarks made by a county supervisor. During the general comments section of the meeting, Ward 6 Councilman Kabir Karriem called for Lowndes County Board of Supervisors President Harry Sanders to publicly apologize for comments made during a speech at a local civic club.
“Mr. Mayor and council members, I would like to take this time to talk about some comments made in the (Commercial Dispatch) recently by Harry Sanders, the president of the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors,” Karriem said. “There were some remarks made about the mayor and council, the citizens and our board appointees. I’m asking the council if they would pass some sort of resolution asking Harry Sanders for a public apology.”
Sanders criticized the city of Columbus and its crime problem during a speech at the Columbus Rotary Club, where Sanders was a guest speaker. But it was the comment, “We’ve got boards in the city with people who don’t know how to tie their shoes” Karriem found offensive.
“The board has gone beyond the call of duty trying to be admirable in its board appointments, and I think that the comments made were not warranted. We have some good folks on these boards. I feel that we are owed a public apology.”
But Sanders said this morning that he stands 100 percent behind his statement.
“I’m not going to apologize,” Sanders said. “I think the City Council has more things on their plate than to worry about what Harry Sanders says … If they don’t have a thick enough skin that they can take constructive criticism, they need to find something else to do.”
He said he believes “the 900-pound gorilla in the room” is the municipal election in 2013.
Ward 3 Councilman Charlie Box did not comment on Karriem’s suggestion, but he did recommend the council implement a more intensive set of guidelines for future appointees.
“I think we should have the board attorney develop a policy for appointees,” Box said. “There should be an orientation process and some training sessions. I think we are guilty of not informing our board members. I would definitely like for us to explore a board orientation policy for all future board members.”
Columbus Mayor Robert Smith rejected Box’s idea for appointee training.
“It is difficult enough as it is to get people to serve on boards,” Smith said. “Orientation may prevent some of them from serving on the boards.”
Bill Gavin, Ward 6 Councilman, concurred with Box’s idea but told the council he felt Sanders’ comments may have been made out of context.
“I don’t necessarily agree with what Supervisor Sanders said, and that’s my personal opinion,” he said. “I don’t know if he was speaking for all the supervisors or if he was speaking off the record. I haven’t contacted him about it.”
The board voted 4-2 to write a letter on behalf of the council asking for Sanders to offer a public apology. Box and Gavin voted against the measure. A motion made by Box to implement orientation for future appointees was split down the middle. Smith broke the tie by opposing the motion along with Ward 1 Councilman Gene Taylor, Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens and Ward 5 Councilman Fred Stewart.
“If they’re going to send me a letter asking me to apologize, it seems to me they could spend that 45-cents to fix a pothole rather than something like this,” Sanders said. “What are they going to do put me in jail? … I’m ignoring it. I have no intention of sending them an apology. It’s a waste of taxpayers’ money to even consider doing that.”
The board also voted unanimously to appoint retired police officer Keith E. Woshaim to the Municipal Election Commission on the recommendation of Chief Operations Officer David Armstrong. Darren Leach was reappointed to the Zoning Board of Adjustments and Appeals.
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