Montgomery county adds property tax increase to November ballot
The average homeowner would see about a $12 monthly increase in property taxes.
Ronda Walker: Happy Birthday Montgomery County
U.S. Army officer Lemuel P. Montgomery founded Montgomery County, Alabama in 1816 in what was then the Mississippi Territory. Montgomery County is older than the state of Alabama and has seen many changes over the past 200 years. The Montgomery County Commission spent all of 2016 celebrating the county’s bicentennial. The Commission has recognized the individuals that served and sacrificed to explore, develop and grow our county over the past two centuries. Among the activities done to honor the county this year: our school children made giant birthday cards and presented them to the Commission, local students designed and built a lovely metal statue, there was a celebration at our local fair, and county employees walked two hundred miles during the spring, and ESPN invited the Commissioners onto the field for recognition during the Camellia Bowl. As current residents of this beautiful land, it is our privilege and responsibility to build on what we have been given and to lay the foundation for the growth that will occur over the next 200 years. I was raised in Montgomery in the 1970s and 1980s and spent my youth playing softball, going on church trips, cheerleading for my public school, and participating in YMCA programs like Youth Legislature. My middle class family was loving and supportive and I was blessed with a simple but idyllic childhood. Since then I’ve lived in several U.S. states and in the metropolitan areas of Washington, D.C. and Honolulu, Hawaii and enjoyed my time in each place. But I’m glad I’ve come full circle and am raising my children in Montgomery. I desire for them to have all of the things I did… and much more. Montgomery has a small town feel with some wonderful big city amenities. If my husband and I want to dine at a nice restaurant we have multiple options. We can enjoy live theater at the nationally acclaimed Alabama Shakespeare Festival. The symphony and ballet offer spectacular entertainment. Or we can enjoy local theater at the Cloverdale Playhouse. Experiencing a night with the Montgomery Biscuits – our Double A baseball team – is a favorite pastime of thousands locally. The Shoppes at Eastchase offer anything your retail heart desires. For my children there is little league, the zoo, movie theaters, and museums. Our economic engines like Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Coca-Cola United, and the many farms that dot the rural landscape blend nicely with our perennial powerhouses like Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, state government agencies, and the many colleges and universities in our area. But I believe Montgomery’s best resource is her people. Smart, genuine, hard-working individuals who have a deep faith and desire to serve. When your family welcomes a new baby, or you have an unexpected surgery, or when you experience a personal loss you can know someone will be on your front porch with a casserole within the day. Going out of town? Just ask a neighbor to check your mail and keep an eye on your home. Neighborhood associations throughout the county are strong and create small communities that watch out for each other. Walk downtown and you’ll get plenty of “hey y’alls” and doors held open. It’s a friendly, easy place to live. But it would be disingenuous of me not to mention that the people of Montgomery have unique challenges, many related to our past. When we insisted on separating black people and white people in public spaces and we justified denying an entire race of citizens their rights, we set the stage for future divisiveness and strife. When white Montgomerians nailed signs onto the walls of shops indicating what your skin color had to be to drink from a certain water fountain we set ourselves up for brokenness. Although my hands never held a hammer or drove a nail, my white-skinned family pays the price for the sins of our forefathers. Older black residents remember well the days of hatred, lost opportunity, and at times despicable brutality. For some, that brokenness manifests itself now in anger and distrust. However, many blacks of the 1960s generation see a new hope and vision for Montgomery. Although borne of a divide, we are a new Montgomery, a stronger Montgomery. Montgomery County is now majority black and our leadership has transitioned from predominantly white male to a strong blend of black, white, male, female, young and old. While some see the shifting demographics as a negative most, like myself, see it as a tremendous opportunity. As a new generation of Montgomery comes of age and rises to new leadership roles, we have an opportunity to show the nation how we can live together and succeed together as brothers and sisters so that we do not perish as fools. We will build the strongest community not just in the South, but the entire nation and we will do it as a blended microcosm of all that is great in our country, not as a segregated enclave reflecting an aged and unnecessary monolith. We will show our neighbors how people from different backgrounds, different generations, different races, genders, and social circles can come together and infuse our community with the best that every individual has to offer. Education, economic growth and crime are the issues of greatest concern for individuals across our nation and Montgomery is no different. Montgomerians will not bow to the negative rhetoric and disdain from those who prefer to sit comfortably shouting about problems rather than digging deep for solutions. We will focus on individuals and building relationships and from those relationships we will problem solve together. We will rise above our past and create a future many cannot imagine. Yes we have our mountains to climb, but if we will lay aside our individual agendas and consider the needs of future generations we will succeed. We cannot get stuck dwelling on our problems, rather we must work on solutions to critical issues such as expanding broadband access in the county and marketing our new Montgomery
Ronda M. Walker: Ethics in leadership
“Neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt.” -Samuel Adams If it isn’t illegal, then it isn’t unethical. That is the mentality many elected officials have adopted in our state and nation. Politicians wheel and deal in the gray area between right and wrong, craftily balancing on the line of legitimacy, careful not to slip a foot into the land of illegality. They carelessly push the limits of right and wrong with virtually no regard for what is actually right and wrong. When it becomes our goal as public officials to simply avoid activity classified as a criminal offense against public law, and we ignore our moral obligation to hold ourselves to a different, more stringent standard, we erode the public trust and become a significant threat to the stability of our democracy. Unfortunately, recent comments by our Governor demonstrate this skewed mindset that many have used as justification for their actions. I literally sat with my mouth agape as I read a quote from Alabama Governor Robert Bentley’s recent press conference. We have all heard the audio recordings of intimate conversations between the Governor and another woman who is not his wife. We have heard the allusions from the Governor himself to a physical relationship between he and a woman that is not his wife. Yet, he stood at a microphone recently at a crowded press conference and actually said the words, “I’ve done nothing – absolutely nothing – that is illegal or unethical.” Every fiber of my moral being was offended at the words he spoke. While the illegal portion of his statement is still being investigated, unless the audio recordings are one day proven false, the unethical portion of his actions has been splayed across the Internet and national news enough for everyone to know he has most certainly acted unethically, immorally, and without regard for the sanctity of the office he holds. The fact that he can say with a straight face that he has not acted unethically reveals the semantic game public officials often play to justify their questionable actions. When leaders decide to parse the meaning of criminal and ethical behavior when deciding on a particular action we lose our virtue, our freedom, and our greatness. Character matters, a great society cannot remain so without a common sense of decency, especially amongst leadership. We need leadership that holds truth inviolable. We need leaders that value honesty, integrity, loyalty, and respect for others above all else. That is ethical behavior. Ethical behavior is not about obeying man’s law, ethical behavior is about being a better person. About having a moral standard that governs everything you do. Doing the right thing even when no one is watching, doing the right thing even when you think no one is listening. If I know my neighbor is elderly, ailing, and struggling to care for his wife who has progressing Alzheimer’s and I do nothing to help meet their basic needs I have not violated state or federal law. If I fail to show my children physical love and affection I have not violated state or federal law. If I lie to my husband and engage in an extramarital affair I have not violated state or federal law. But in each case I have most certainly violated the basic moral and ethical standards of conduct that distinguish right and wrong in human action. I have revealed my character as self-serving and weak. And I have failed in my moral obligation as a neighbor, mother, and wife. Unfortunately, many elected officials do a quick-footed dance through questionable areas of personal activity with their biggest concern being the avoidance of prosecution. When public officials become more concerned about violating the law than violating the public trust they no longer serve the public, but themselves. We are too great a people to accept such disingenuous leadership. But unfortunately we have accepted it for generations. There are numerous examples of both local and national leaders, from all political parties, who have acted in ways unbecoming and who, instead of being chastised by the electorate have been given a pass. Seriously, some have even gone to jail for criminal offenses and enjoyed a baffling political comeback so perhaps I should not be so surprised that we turn a blind eye to infidelity. I was sworn in to the Montgomery County Commission in February 2014. Immediately after being sworn in I was told I must participate in a mandatory training program coordinated by the Association of County Commissions of Alabama (ACCA) intended to educate new Commissioners on their role and responsibility. The first class I took was entitled “Ethics for Public Officials.” This class was facilitated by staff from the ACCA, the Alabama Ethics Commission, and a local attorney. One of the topics of discussion was the differentiation between an act being unethical and an act being in violation of the law. Unfortunately, this is a distinction elected officials insist upon using as their standard for decision-making. Is what I am about to do illegal, or simply unsavory? A portion of the Ethics training was led by Sonny Brasfield, Executive Director of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama. As someone who has worked in and around Alabama politics for years, and has conducted numerous ethics training courses, I consider Mr. Brasfield an expert in this area. And because he summed up the truth so clearly and succinctly, I am going to quote Mr. Brasfield’s introduction to the discussion on ethics: “The Alabama Ethics Law is a criminal statute, which outlines behaviors that are legally permissible as well as those behaviors that are illegal. The illegal behaviors, if prosecuted, will result in fines, imprisonment or both. Following the Alabama Ethics Law does not mean that a public official or employee is acting in an ethical manner. In fact, there is no question that an individual can participate in unethical
Judge dismisses Artur Davis’ suit against Alabama Democrats
It looks like former Democratic U.S. Rep. Artur Davis‘ dream of switching back to his old party after a flirtation with the GOP are dashed, at least for this cycle. A Mountgomery County judge dismissed Davis’ complaint against the Alabama Democratic Party, which denied his petition to re-join the party last week. A state party rule called the Radney Rule requires approval from the Executive Board of the Alabama Democratic Party for any candidate who wishes to switch back after going over to the Republican side of the aisle. Davis’ suit alleged discrimination, as several other Democrats-turned-Republicans have been welcomed back into the Democratic fold. The Harvard-educated former congressman and assistant United States Attorney is the first candidate in more than three decades to have been denied under the rule. Davis was seeking a Democratic bid for the Montgomery County Commission, but without the party’s approval, he will not have a “D” next to his name during Alabama’s March primaries. Judge Thomas Hobbs called Davis a “prodigal son” in his ruling, as said the board that denied his petition was well within its discretion to decide it was not in their best interest to allow Davis to run against more thoroughgoing Democrats. Aside from switching his party registration, Davis toyed with the idea of running as a Republican for Congress in Virginia, penned editorials for the conservative National Review, and even addressed the 2012 Republican National Convention. Davis said he would quickly file an appeal to the state’s high court. “We have always felt that the Alabama Supreme Court would have to be the court that resolved this issue,” said Davis in a statement. “Because the Democratic Party has applied a rule to me they have never applied to anyone else, there is obviously no case law that is directly applicable. It will fall on the Alabama Supreme Court to decide if a party can have one set of rules for one person and another set for everyone else.” Whether he would pursue an independent candidacy should that petition also be denied is not yet clear.
Ronda Walker: Fiscal conservatism, the true American dream
Do you realize that home ownership is an American dream not an American right? The same is true with vacations, cars, and designer clothing. Not everyone gets to enjoy all of the amenities America has to offer and the sooner we accept that the better off we will be. Moreover, the sooner we end our bondage to the debt-driven life the more prosperous we will become as individuals and as a society. We rail about wasteful government spending and unsustainable budget deficits but the truth is most of our personal financial practices are as bad as the financial practices of most governments. Thanks to financial institutions with overzealous lending practices, coupled with individuals with little to no fiscal responsibility, people buy homes they cannot afford. Add to that buying pattern a recession, and now we have foreclosed homes sitting in neighborhoods all across America. Shame on us. What does it mean to live within your means? Unfortunately it is a concept that most Americans care nothing about. Consider this: if you don’t have the money, don’t spend the money. If you have ever paid for a Disney vacation on a credit card then you are not living within your means. If you find yourself swimming in holiday debt come January, you are not living within your means. If you have a nice house and two cars, yet you cannot ever seem to make ends meet you are not living within your means. For some, being fiscally responsible is not a priority and I guess those individuals are clicking off of this article about now. But for those that care about being responsible with their money, for those that believe it is important to spend wisely, build savings, and give generously then please read on. There was a time when it was shameful to be indebted to another person and individuals would work tirelessly until they could pay their debt in full. But by the 1980s the American work ethic had been replaced by a new debt driven consumerism. We devolved from a personal savings oriented society to a debt accruing oriented society. Where families once endeavored to build their savings, they now had a credit card burning a hole in their wallet. There was no more reason to skimp and save, just put it on the plastic! Just as your family income is limited, government funds are also limited. As an elected official with responsibility over a one hundred million-dollar budget, I have to constantly make difficult spending decisions. Setting budgets for various departments that serve the residents of Montgomery County is a challenge. Deciding which extra-governmental organizations receive assistance and which do not is difficult. I take my fiscal role seriously. I am the overseer of tax dollars that were hard earned by the residents of my county and I will manage those dollars to the best of my ability. Each month the County Commission has a long line of departments, groups and individuals seeking government dollars to aid their project or service and sometimes we have to tell them no. It is imperative that I balance the basic infrastructure needs of the county with the need to ensure the health and general welfare of the citizenry. The budget must be balanced, spending decisions must be wise, and debt must be minimal. My approach to governing as a fiscal conservative did not begin when I was sworn into office. It began many years before when my husband and I first got married and we committed to live within our means. The same standards I apply to my family budget I apply to the Montgomery County Commission budget. I will admit, in my personal life I am sometimes swayed by my children to splurge on an unnecessary item. I occasionally give in and buy them some candy from the check out aisle. The same is true with work, but I assure you that is the exception and not the rule. When my husband and I married neither of us was in a great place financially. He was divorced, paying steep child support payments, and living in his aunt’s basement in Lowndes County. I had just finished graduate school, had a few thousand dollars in student loan debt, and had cashed in my small 401k a few years earlier to buy a nice red Mustang. Although in our early 30s we were starting from financial scratch. As our wedding date approached our friends and family wanted to know where we were going to buy our new home. They were surprised and confused when we told them of our decision to rent a two-bedroom house not far from downtown Montgomery. It was a small house in what was quickly becoming a sketchy neighborhood, but the rent was low so we made it work. My husband and I both worked hard and made modest salaries so it confused everyone further when we told them of our decision to live on my husband’s income and put my entire paycheck directly into a savings account. We lived simply, but we did not go without basic necessities or even an occasional splurge. We had one emergency credit card with a five hundred dollar limit, which went unused, we had a small amount of student loan debt we chipped away at each month, but most importantly we had a growing savings account. At the end of that first year we had enough money to put a nice down payment on a home of our own. Again, friends and family chimed in assuming we would buy a newer home in a newer area of town. We didn’t. We bought a nice older home in a central Montgomery neighborhood. We got twice the square footage for half of the price of a newer home. Sure we qualified for a much nicer home, but we were not lured into that debt trap. After some paint and new light fixtures our new house was perfect for us. After the home purchase
Judge holds hearing in Artur Davis lawsuit against Democrats
A judge is holding a hearing in former congressman Artur Davis‘ fight to run as a Democrat again. A Montgomery judge heard testimony Monday in Davis’ lawsuit against the Alabama Democratic Party. Davis wants to run for Montgomery County commissioner as a Democrat. Party officials refused to qualify Davis, citing his past support of Republicans. Davis was elected to Congress four times as a Democrat and ran for governor as a Democrat in 2010. However, he then announced that he had aligned himself with the GOP and spoke at the 2012 Republican National Convention. Davis’ lawsuit argues that he is being singled out and the party has welcomed back all other party-switchers, including former congressman Parker Griffith, who was the Democratic candidate for governor last year. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Hearing scheduled in Artur Davis’ effort to run as Democrat
A judge has scheduled a hearing on former U.S. Rep. Artur Davis‘ effort to run as a Democrat again. The judge on Tuesday said he will hear arguments Nov. 9 in Davis’ lawsuit against the Alabama Democratic Party. Davis wants to run for Montgomery County Commission as a Democrat. Party officials refused to accept Davis, citing his past support of Republicans. Davis was a Democratic congressman and ran for governor in 2010. He later announced he was aligning himself with the GOP and spoke at the 2012 Republican presidential convention. Davis had sought to force the party to accept his candidate paperwork by Friday’s deadline. James Anderson, a lawyer representing the state party, said they agreed to work with Davis on the deadline so the issue can be settled next week. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Artur Davis asks judge for restraining order against Alabama Democratic Party
Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-back-again Artur Davis has asked a Montgomery judge for an emergency order against the Alabama Democratic Party as he seeks to use the Democratic label in a run for local office. Davis, once a Democratic congressman and gubernatorial candidate, seeks an order forcing the state party to accept his paperwork to run for the Montgomery County Commission with a “D” next to his name. The party’s local executive board rejected his application for reinstatement in October, but Davis says the party is settling scores by unfairly singling him out for rejection. Davis left the party before the 2012 presidential primary season, helping Republicans and even speaking to the GOP national convention in Tampa that year. The former lawmaker, who represented Alabama’s 7th Congressional District from 2003 until 2011, says other Democrats who have had dalliances with the other side of the aisle have been accepted back into the party’s ranks. Beyond his legal quarrel with the Democratic Party, he also added that his newly moderate stances would find him in good stead with Alabama Democratic voters. Davis must be reinstated by the party by Friday in order to qualify for the county commission ballot. Things haven’t been going swimmingly for Davis since his second partisan change of heart. He was compelled to tell AL.com in August that he had “never been a customer of the Ashley Madison site,” referring to the online hookup site designed for married people seeking affairs. Davis’ name was included as part of the infamous leak of Ashley Madison users by GotNews.com, which he called “a fifth-rate blog that regularly smears politicians.”
Ronda M. Walker: Honoring womanhood, politics with strength, compassion
When I was told I have stage 3 breast cancer this past December, I decided to make my diagnosis and treatment public. I am, after all, a public servant and I have spent most of the past 20 years working in the public sphere. It was my hope that discussing my cancer would encourage, educate, and help others. What I didn’t expect is that others would encourage, educate, and help me. As a member of the Montgomery County Commission, I am no stranger to speaking with the news media. However, it was a new experience telling them about my health issues. My first interviews came Dec. 29, after a commission meeting. Right after Christmas, the video frame even included a Christmas tree in the background. I talked about my diagnosis and treatment plan through a haze of fear and uncertainty from the shock of my diagnosis. I felt like none of the words I spoke could be real. At 42, I could not be talking about my cancer; it simply could not be happening. Only 12 days before my family and I were preparing for Christmas. My husband and I have four children – ages 6 to 16 – and we were busy with baking, wrapping, and decorating, unaware of the coming trial. We enjoyed the everyday pleasures of family and friends. We had no expectations of biopsies and body scans. Everything changed, though, when I discovered a lump in my right breast. I knew immediately something was very wrong and spent an agonizing weekend before I could see a doctor. The tests were positive, and suddenly I found myself in front of a camera saying, “I have cancer.” I consider myself a public servant, not a politician. Politics is a tough, oftentimes ugly business that can mire us in negativity. Politics can be filled with trickery, deception, and distrust while a public servant puts the needs of their constituents above their own and doesn’t seek personal advancement at the expense of the whole. Being a woman in politics adds another dimension to the challenge. I’m the first woman on the Montgomery County Commission in more than 14 years. Politics is a man’s game and has the tendency to be tough on women. Ironically, women in politics have a tendency to be tough on other women in politics and as women, we are typically our own toughest critics. We are piled on at every turn. The past few months, though, I found that in the toughest times, it’s the women in my life who rally around and offer support. Almost immediately after those first interviews aired friends and strangers alike contacted me. I received telephone calls, letters, and emails that overwhelmed me with their encouragement and hope. Suddenly none of us were Republicans or Democrats, liberals or conservatives, public school or private school, stay-at-home or working moms. We were defined not by the issues that divide us, but by our humanity. That humanity helped me through my darkest hours. An army of women at the ready gathered to help me any way necessary. They researched for me, sat with me at medical appointments, brought meals for my family, ran errands when I was too sick to leave the house. Those women drove my kids to school, took them out to eat, and let them play at their homes when I was too weak to take care of them. Those women prayed over me, spoke words of truth to me, and encouraged me. We should cling to that model of love and support, and move out of the valley onto the mountaintop. When we get to know someone in a personal way, when we stand with them in the tough times, then when the disagreements come in the public sphere we can disagree with respect and understanding. When my course of treatment is over, my health is restored, and I am not consumed with chemotherapy but with public service, I will not forget the support I received in the valley. When once again issues are being debated, frustrations are high, disagreements are public I will cling to the experience of sympathy, patience, and love I had in the valley. I will no longer sweat the small stuff. I will appreciate people — not processes, politics, or platitudes — but people. I will honor my womanhood by being tough, wise, and compassionate. Woman, how divine your mission, Here upon our natal sod; Keep on, keep the young heart open Always to the breath of God! All true trophies of the ages Are from mother-love impearled, For the hand that rocks the cradle Is the hand that rules the world.
