Those hoping to be elected to a seat on the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors disagreed on the state of the board’s relationship with city of Columbus officials during a political forum at the Columbus Municipal Complex Monday night.
Incumbents said they feel the county and city have a great partnership, but some of their challengers said they want to see better cooperation.
The issue arose when District 1 Supervisor Harry Sanders, the board’s president, responded to a comment his opponent, independent Steve Pyle, made at a different forum Sunday night that the county could have done more to aid with clean-up after a Feb. 23 tornado touched down in north Columbus, damaging or destroying hundreds of homes and businesses.
“The county worked three full days, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, cleaned up all the rights-of-way, cleaned up all the streets and riverbanks because we had equipment the city didn’t,” Sanders said. “We cleaned up Sim Scott Park. (Lowndes County) Emergency Management, which is a county unit, did everything that you need to do in the coordination of everything. We did our part. Also, we had to clean up the county part. … We had a flood at the same time. (There was) talk about the tornado, it didn’t say anything about the flood. We had to clean up all the roads and do all the debris and everything.”
But Pyle did not back down from his position.
“I lived in East Columbus, growing up my whole life,” he said. “I go through that area, and to see that debris everywhere — and I know that there’s certain requirements of (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and everything else, but I think there’s more that could have been done in the city.”
The discussion was part of the larger topic of city-county relations, which was raised when moderator Carrie Stephenson asked each of the five supervisor candidates present to rate the relationship on a 1-10 scale. Stephenson is vice chair of the Columbus-Lowndes League of Voters, which hosted the forum.
The candidates who actually responded with a number were Pyle and District 3 hopeful Democrat Tim Heard, who gave the relationship a “2 or 3” and a 3, respectively.
“It seems like they can’t really, from what I’ve seen on the outside, … work together on much of anything,” Heard said. “… My thought here is that Columbus is Lowndes County. When someone says Columbus, they’re looking at the entire city of Columbus and Lowndes County. It’s inevitable that you have to grow from inside out, and there’s going to have to be some kind of (way for) the city and the county to work together.”
Sanders and District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks both defended county officials’ interaction with the city. Sanders pointed out the city and county have agreements in place that make them partners for the Columbus-Lowndes Airport, Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, E-911, a jointly funded shooting range off Yorkville Road and the joint narcotics task force between Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office and Columbus Police Department.
While the agreements regarding those entities are in place, at different points the library, shooting range and E-911 have all been highly contentious issues between city and county officials within the last few years. Also, the city and county split in 2017 over their joint parks agreement, and each entity now runs its own parks and recreation department.
“I think that the relationship we have with the city is a good relationship,” Brooks said. “I think from time to time there are personalities that get involved and sometimes maybe even personal agendas, but I think it’s an erroneous misconception by the community about how the city and county get along. We don’t all go out and drink cocktails and eat together, but when it’s time to come to take care of business, we do that. And sometimes it gets contentious, but that is the nature of the beast.”
Brooks also agreed with Sanders that the county aided the city after the tornado.
District 2 Republican candidate Trip Hairston came down more in the middle, saying he felt the county hadn’t gotten “the press” it deserved for aiding with storm cleanup. He agreed with Sanders that the county has a good partnership in certain areas, adding they also have a joint agreement with the Tax Assessor’s Office to collect taxes in both entities. He suggested the county and city can do more like that.
“Let’s start there and pick out those things (that) work well and build on those,” he said. “One of the first vehicles I saw (after the tornado) near Sim Scott Park was (Lowndes County Road Manager) Ronnie Burns’ truck, so the county was Johnny on the spot. They were one of the first vehicles I saw, and I was proud to know that.”
Other candidates
Other candidates present included county prosecutor candidates Republican Steve Wallace and Democrat William Starks, who each had three minutes to introduce themselves and their platforms. Also present were candidates for constable, including District 1 opponents Democrat Jake Humbers and Republican Chris Griffin, as well as District 2 Republican candidate Spence Wallingford.
District 17 Senator Chuck Younger (R-Columbus) was the only candidate for state office to attend the forum. Like prosecutor and constable candidates, he introduced himself but did not answer questions from moderators.
Cindy Egger Goode, who is running for chancery clerk as a Republican, answered questions from moderators with Republican sheriff candidate Eddie Hawkins. Hawkins’ opponent, independent Anthony Nelson, arrived late and did not answer questions, but he still was given three minutes to introduce himself and his platform.
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