Athens residents came together to give a unified message to the ACC Commission at their meeting this week, calling on the body to take meaningful steps towards racial equity and economic justice. Under significant pressure, commissioners publicly pledged their support for a resolution drafted by the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement and promised continued action on these issues in the future.
This resolution acknowledges the persistent racial wealth gap in Athens and reaffirms the local government’s commitment to achieving housing security, economic empowerment and safety for Black residents and other marginalized communities.
In February, commissioners chose to delay passing the resolution. Some Black residents asked for the delay so that commissioners would have time to draft an ordinance that would take tangible action with the force of law, something a resolution does not do. When an ordinance was not ready in time for this week’s meeting, commissioners seemed prepared to delay for another 60 to 90 days.
But the idea of continued delay was not well-received by those who gave public comment at the commission meeting this week.
“Don’t leave us in limbo. Don’t string the people along with empty promises. No more delays,” demanded Mokah Jasmine Johnson, the executive director of the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement. “This resolution was never meant to…replace ordinances. It was intended to spark them, specifically in housing, youth safety and economic equity for Black business owners. But if you truly believe this resolution is not enough to hold this government accountable, don’t just table it…If you don’t support it, just say no.”
“We have no disagreement among ourselves as to the body of it, the disagreement was whether or not it should be an ordinance or a resolution,” Willie Green clarified. “Vote down the resolution and come up with three ordinances [in housing, youth safety and economic equity]…We’re going to come up with the ordinance and the language. We’re going to make your job a whole lot easier. We ask, Mr. Mayor, that you work with us.”
Of the roughly 20 people who spoke during public comment about the resolution, some encouraged the commission to vote it down, but unlike in February, no one asked for a delay. Commissioners took notice.
Commissioner Patrick Davenport was the first to make a motion; he called for passing the resolution as is. Since resolutions like this have been controversial on the commission lately, Davenport also suggested that Mayor Kelly Girtz assign the process for handling resolutions to the Legislative Review Committee for further discussion.
Commissioner Stephanie Johnson made a substitute motion, calling on her colleagues to reject the resolution like some in the audience were calling for.
Commissioner Melissa Link sided with Davenport, calling the resolution “a blueprint moving forward.” She even urged the mayor to appoint a citizen task force to help draft the three ordinances that were requested by the audience.
Commissioner Carol Myers also urged audience members to stay active and involved on this issue, especially in May as the commission drafts their yearly budget.
“We heard interest from the beginning of turning this [resolution] into an ordinance. As it is right now, it can’t be an ordinance, but it can be, like some of you have pointed out, specific ordinances down the line,” Myers said. “And in addition to that, it’s not just the ordinance, it’s having the budget allocations as well…I beseech you all to come back in May when we are discussing the budget and give us the same kind of pressure to find the money.”
When it came time to vote, Johnson’s attempt to shoot down the resolution failed 5-6, with Girtz breaking the tie in favor of the resolution. Other commissioners who voted against the resolution were Commissioners Tiffany Taylor, Dexter Fisher, John Culpepper and Ovita Thornton.
Attention then shifted to Davenport’s motion to pass the resolution. Strangely, Taylor, Fisher and Culpepper switched sides and allowed the resolution to pass easily in an 8-2 vote. Only Johnson and Thornton stayed firm in their opposition.
Girtz agreed to instruct the Legislative Review Committee to come up with a process for accepting commission and resident-driven resolutions going forward.
However, Girtz did not announce the creation of a task force on this issue. It remains to be seen when the three ordinances requested by the community will be ready for commission consideration.
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