PLACE Forum

Jan. 19, 2007 column by Lisa Brouillette: Mayor’s hands involved in too much?

(first published in the Opelika-Auburn News)

Mayor’s hands involved in too much?

Asking questions in this town, particularly questions which focus on the actions of Auburn city officials and their connections with local developers, seems to bring on a fury of self-righteous indignation.  Few answers, mind you, but lots of indignation.

A recent recipient of such indignation is Dr. Clara Clothiaux, who publicly expressed her concerns and questions about the role of the mayor in our council/manager form of government.

Clearly she struck a nerve. Her questions and comments were immediately and erroneously termed ‘allegations’ and ‘accusations.’ The strength and tenor of the mayor’s and others’ responses to her queries was way out of proportion to the questions she politely posed.

This is hardly the first time questions have been asked about the mayor’s duties in  our council/manager form of government, which differs greatly from the ’strong mayor’ form found in other cities, including Opelika.

This difference isn’t simply an academic one – it defines who has the administrative power and responsibilities, who is in charge. It’s the reason Auburn pays the big bucks to our city managers, including the $145,000 plus perks we pay our current city manager.

But let’s put aside for a moment the question of clarifying the mayor’s legal powers. There’s an equally important point that many seem to miss.  It’s the tangled web of business and personal relationships connecting the mayor and local developers, especially developers who do business with the city.

The Alabama Secretary of State’s website provides these (and other) details of corporations formed by Mayor Ham and various local developers.

• Mayor Ham and Billy Cleveland, Jimmy Cleveland, Phil Clowdus, Ben Nevins (Forrest Pointe Developers LLC)
• Mayor Ham and  Phil Clowdus, Ben Nevins (Blue Creek Development Inc)
• Mayor Ham and Phil Clowdus (F A & W Inc)
• Mayor Ham and E.L. Spencer, Jr. (Ham is a Director of AuburnBank and its parent corporation, both chaired by E.L. Spencer, Jr. of Spencer Lumber Company)

Why does this matter? Consider the Samford Ave extension project, for which the city will pay $1 million for road & utility installation on land owned by Lipscomb Land Company and East Glenn Investment Property LLC. The East Glenn LLC’s recorded owners are Billy Cleveland, Jimmy Cleveland, William Dyas, Tommy Dyas Jr, Joe Waid, Phil Clowdus, and [Crawford] Ben Nevins.

Do those names sound familiar? Yes, at least four of them have been in companies with Ham.

Certainly it’s reasonable for the public to ask about the mayor’s actions related to that project and how they may benefit him or his business partners.

Simply not voting on such projects and contracts isn’t sufficient. In such situations the mayor should relinquish the gavel and totally withdraw from both private negotiations and Council deliberations.

This issue could have been avoided if Mayor Ham had stayed out of the conversation and deliberation. That would have removed the perception of any conflict of interest.

It’s not the first time these questions have been raised. But maybe, if the public persists, it’ll be the first time they’re fully answered.

#   #   #

Comments Off