Stephanie Johnson sworn-in as ACC Commissioner on historic night

Former ACC Auditor Stephanie Johnson took her oath of office as ACC Commissioner on Tuesday in front of a large crowd who celebrated the occasion as historic. Johnson’s inauguration marks the first time in Athens’ history when half of the city council or commission seats were held by people of color.

Alvin Sheats, a former ACC Commissioner and the president of the Athens NAACP, expressed his joy during public comment about finally achieving equal representation for the Black community. 

“This elected body reflects the possibility of fair and equitable representation. It kind of bothers me that we had to wait this long, but thank God we are here,” Sheats said. “Had this makeup of elected officials been here, some of our unified charter hopes and dreams would not have died. Beginning tonight, you have the power to resurrect dreams and hopes deferred!” 

Johnson ran on a platform of government transparency, fiscal conservatism and fighting crime. She did not promise specific action in her platform on improving equity, affordable housing, living wages or similar issues, but she promised the audience that she would remain focused on the needs of her constituents and that she would be available when they have questions.

“I am committed to putting people over politics every single day. Engagement and open dialog with the community will be the cornerstone of my approach,” she said.

Other members of the Black community in Athens also congratulated Johnson and the other commissioners who were re-elected, but asked for progress on pressing issues like affordable housing, living wages and closing the racial wealth gap.

“I know you serve more than just the Black community, but at the same time, there are things that can be done to foster more equity and inclusion, such as the disparity study,” said Broderick Flanigan, Executive Director of the Economic Justice Coalition. “But I haven’t seen any tangible things come out of that work yet.”

Flanigan continued, expressing disappointment that the commission denied a cost-of-living wage increase to those employed in the Neighborhood Leaders program.

“Those are mostly Black women in those positions,” Flanigan said. “You’re voting against raises for a population of people who are in a position y’all talking about you care about.”

Barbara Daniel, a longtime resident of Athens’ Lexington Heights neighborhood who turned into a housing activist after she was displaced by her landlord in 2022, did not mince words in her comments to commissioners.

“This year, by God’s will, we will have affordable homes put back in Athens so we can have a lot of people off the streets,” Daniel said. “It’s time and it’s time and it’s time and it’s time now to make that change! We have no more time playing around. We need these homes for these students that go to Cedar Shoals, Clarke Central, middle school, elementary school, that don’t have homes…The Lord said, ‘don’t forget about the poor!’’”

The commission’s record on affordable housing

The commission does not have the power to force landlords to offer affordable rents or to make them accept Section 8 housing vouchers. They also do not have the resources to construct many more affordable units than they are already providing funding for with the North Downtown Athens project (i.e, the redevelopment of Bethel Homes), which should be opening soon.

The commission also funded a new affordable housing investment strategy last year which should encourage the construction of more affordable homes going forward, if they continue to make the strategy a priority. Furthermore, they have approved the construction of hundreds of affordable apartment units and even some affordable single-family homes in recent years.

However, it’s true that the commission has not always done everything in their power to reduce rents or encourage affordable housing in Athens. For example, they often deny or scale back housing developments based on complaints from constituents living nearby. They have failed to take action on things like reforming the definition of family ordinance and also on less controversial policies like allowing new duplexes, quadplexes and accessory dwelling units.

Whether the commission will continue to make progress on affordable housing this year with a commission that’s significantly more conservative than last year remains to be seen.

In her end-of-meeting comments, Commissioner Ovita Thornton spoke to the newly elected officials including Johnson but also ACC Coroner Michael Eberhart and ACC Tax Commissioner JP Lemay who were present at this meeting.

“Welcome, new folk, you’re going to get beat up like the rest of us now,” Thornton said. 

Thornton also responded directly to Daniel about affordable housing in her closing remarks.

“I don’t know why we gotta go through all of these hoops, but I do want to continue to push forward because until we see housing that different incomes can afford, we are still not doing our job,” Thornton said. “It’s not right to just say ‘housing is a problem everywhere.’ That is just an excuse, in my opinion. We should be setting the pace and leading the way on housing.”

Thornton did not explain what hoops she had been jumping through or how she had been pushing for affordable housing in recent years.

The meeting’s agenda

As the first meeting of the year, the commission’s agenda was fairly light but did include some items of note.

Commissioner Dexter Fisher was elected mayor pro tem unanimously by his colleagues for a one-year term. The mayor pro tem fills in for the mayor when he or she is absent, sick or otherwise unable to fulfill the duties of the office. The mayor pro tem also works closely with the mayor to set the monthly agenda and takes over completely for the mayor during negotiations to finalize the ACC budget every year.

Former ACC Planning Department Director Brad Griffin came out of retirement to accept the commission’s nomination to serve as the new interim ACC Manager, replacing Niki Jones. Jones will be stepping down on January 17 for a position with the City of Raleigh, NC.

“Although I am enjoying retirement, I was honored to be considered for the Interim Manager position during this transition period,” said Griffin in a press release. “I am grateful to help serve the community, ACCGov and our employees again in this new capacity.”

The commission approved $162,583 for a new homeowner counseling program with the goal of supporting homeownership, financial literacy and long-term asset building for Athens residents. The programs will include housing counseling classes, workshops, one-on-one counseling and direct financial support for those threatened by housing instability free of charge for Athens-Clarke County residents.

The Athens Land Trust and the East Athens Development Corporation will run these programs which will last through the second quarter of 2026.

The commission also approved a settlement with Charles Hardy, former director of the First Step homeless encampment, to reimburse him for some personal items he claims to have left behind at the camp when he was removed as director in 2023. The only documentation Hardy provided for these items was a handwritten note.

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