It started with assurances from Mayor Keith Gaskin that new officers and more cameras would soon help stem violent crime in the city. From there Gaskin admitted, without prompting, that his wife had to hide his phone from him to keep him off Facebook over the weekend.
Gaskin ended his press conference Wednesday at City Hall with roughly a half-hour’s worth of thoughts on the Columbus Redevelopment Authority — partly an attempt to assure citizens he isn’t fighting with the city-appointed board but largely a series of criticisms of its actions.
“I have no hard feelings against the CRA except that I think they’ve made poor decisions over time,” he said.
He openly mused that the CRA — which is working to redevelop Burns Bottom near downtown — is refusing to meet with a group of Birmingham-based investors who would like to package support for Burns Bottom and the unfinished Terry Brown Amphitheater on The Island.
The investor group, which he did not name, is young, innovative and “focuses on river towns.”
“They can’t get in front of the redevelopment authority,” Gaskin said. “I don’t know why. There may be a reason for it, but it is holding things up. … They’re frustrated because they can’t get any traction with CRA. I’m hoping that will change.”
The CRA was formed in 2014 and has since purchased 70 lots, mostly dilapidated or vacant, in a five-block area between Third and Fourth Street and Second and Seventh Avenue North, with hopes of marketing the property for higher-value redevelopment.
Jeff Turnage, attorney for both the city and CRA, said Wednesday the board could approve a request for proposals as soon as this month for “anybody who wants to acquire some or all of the urban renewal area in Burns Bottom.”
During the press conference, Turnage said the CRA board had met in executive sessions with potential developers, but he is not aware of any being denied audience upon request.
CRA board president Marthalie Porter did not return a call and message from The Dispatch by press time.
Gaskin on Wednesday also rehashed his dissatisfaction with CRA’s efforts to hire Cornerstone Government Consultants as its federal lobbyist.
CRA approved the hire in December for $120,000 annually, but the firm pulled out of the arrangement last month, citing a “lack of community cohesion.”
CRA board members who have spoken with The Dispatch for stories in October and January pointed to an ongoing rift between the mayor and board that led to Cornerstone’s decision.
During the press conference, Gaskin adamantly rejected there is a rift between him and CRA but admitted to contacting multiple members of Cornerstone leadership to “share his concerns” over the cost of their services.
The Cornerstone issue came on the heels of Gaskin’s pleas to consolidate city lobbying efforts after the state legislature provided $3 million to CRA for Burns Bottom in 2023, while giving nothing for the amphitheater — the mayor’s stated “top priority.”
On Wednesday, Gaskin pointed out the CRA had not even accepted the $3 million because it “isn’t ready.”
“Has it crossed my mind if it had come to the amphitheater last year that we’d be a long way (forward) with that and could potentially be lobbying for (the CRA) again this year?,” Gaskin said. “Yeah. That has crossed my mind.”
Speaking with The Dispatch, Turnage said the CRA is waiting to accept the $3 million from the legislature because there is a time limit it has to be spent once it’s received. Instead, the board is asking developers in the RFP how they would use that $3 million to improve public right-of-way.
The CRA has until June to accept the money, Turnage said, and he believes the board will by then, regardless of whether a developer is under contract.
‘Lies, half-truths and bullies’
While Gaskin justified his social media activity from the past two weeks, much of it arguments with citizens, he did acknowledge a need to tone it down.
The mayor got hot under the collar over the weekend after citizens took to social media to vent about several reports of shots-fired.
“My wife hid my phone from me for five hours on Saturday because I was on a tear,” he said.
Last week, Gaskin’s Facebook comments zeroed in on claims he had promised the Columbus Cultural Heritage Foundation match money for a grant for the Tennessee Williams Welcome Center. The claims originated on the Tombigbee Tales Podcast, and Gaskin denies doing anything more than writing a letter of support for the grant.
However, he also took to podcaster Shannon Evans’ Facebook page and engaged in dozens of heated exchanges with commenters to the point Evans emailed Gaskin and the city council to ask that Gaskin leave her alone. Over the course of a weekday morning last week, he and one citizen exchanged approximately 80 barbs between them.
On Wednesday, Gaskin said the city’s chief operations officer and his executive administrative assistant have both told him to stop engaging that way on Facebook.
“And I probably should because there’s so much discourse in politics right now,” he said. “… But the thing that cracks me up is the people who don’t know me who say, ‘You’re not dignifying your office, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,” if you see them drive down the street, they’ve probably got a Trump 2024 sticker on the back of their car.”
When he “pushes back” on social media, he said, it’s because he dislikes “lies, half-truths and bullies,” and he also took umbrage at recent media coverage of his administration.
“I am going to try to do better,” he said. “I want to set a better example for our youth and people who want to go into politics, but also I want to remind people about this too. The media has the same responsibility, as the Fourth Estate, as we do in getting it right. The kinds of things we’re seeing, especially now in politics, deters good people from wanting to run.”
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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