Jackson County Alabama Political Forum - Meet the Candidates

On February 28, 2012 the Student Government Association at Northeast Alabama Community College sponsored the 2012 Jackson & Dekalb County Political Forum. It was a packed auditorium, most of the candidates and voters were from Jackson County. Many said it is the largest political candidate participation in memory. Enjoy the photography and music. Good luck to the candidates, thank you for running for public office.

Also may be viewed on You Tube at: http://youtu.be/kFWFBZ4zFFo

Windows Media Audio-Video Production by Garry L. Morgan, Photography by Garry L. Morgan, audio by the Posies-audio rights aquired via Microsoft Inc. licensing aggrement. Usage is not for profit community educational awareness.

Scottsboro City Council

Scottsboro City Hall, Scottsboro, Alabama.

Incumbent, Councilman Keith Smith, Place 4, Scottsboro City Council. 30 year employee of Scottsboro, ending as Police Chief and now City Councilman. ( I previously had stated 2 term Council member, that was incorrect, he had served as Council President for 2 years, prior to the current council President.) http://www.cityofscottsboro.org/index.php?option=com_contact&task=view&contact_id=8&Itemid=148

Garry Morgan, Candidate Place 4 Scottsboro City Council, offering "sensible leadership for Scottsboro's future, " standing beside the bear, representing my alma mater Baylor University, Baylor Bears. Qualifying begins Tuesday Jul 6, 2010. I have picked up my packet from the City Clerk. If elected I will not serve more than 2 terms as I believe in term limits, not life long political bureaucrats holding political office.

The next meeting, a work session, will be rescheduled prior to the regular council meeting on 12 Jul, 2010.

The Daily Sentinel Report: http://thedailysentinel.com/story.lasso?ewcd=fcc70fb60fa1fb8b

Related blog post of Scottsboro's last work session: http://arklite.blogspot.com/2010/06/scottsboro-city-council-work-session.html Item not discussed or voted on in this council meeting discussed in the work session was the issue concerning Southern Grant Solutions and renewing the grant. The big issue was the Stop sign which was approved for the intersection of Laurel Street and S. Broad St. on the northwest corner of the Square.

The current city election approaches and as indicated in today's Daily Sentinel, http://thedailysentinel.com/story.lasso?ewcd=5ec42dd16a2d1a37 I will be running for office against Councilman Keith Smith. Mr. Smith has served Scottsboro for many years as Police Chief and is in his second term as city council member his term draws to an end. Mr. Smith has stated to me, "I beat Boatner and I will beat you." Maybe, maybe not, it will be for the good citizens of Scottsboro to determine that issue.

When times were tough for Keith and the City Council attempted to fire him I spoke in his behalf before the council, what the city council attempted, I believe, was fundamentally wrong. The City still has issues which have not been resolved relating to personnel management problems. Earlier than that situation, Chief Smith, performed a great service for our community and our family due to a loved one being assaulted, he made a crucial arrest. I will forever be grateful and have great respect for Keith's service to our city. If I had it to do over, I would stand up for Keith again in that situation before an errant City Council.

Keith and I have differences in the way and fashion we see local and broader political issues. I will highlight those differences and my plans to improve our city. 1) I think that there must be local change which must occur with the city's personnel system. I have a definitive plan for that improvement. Very experienced personnel management specialists have recommended the same change in prior investigations which I will bring to the table. 2) We must bring jobs to our city and we must market the city on a broader scale. a)I have a plan which will market Scottsboro across our nation. b)I also have an innovative plan to build our tourism industry which will assist us in marketing our beautiful part of God's Land as well as bring jobs.

TVA. 3) The TVA will most likely complete a radioactive nuclear power plant at Bellefonte. I have a fundamental disagreement with the TVA's actions and I find it very disturbing that members of our City Council and our Mayor have stated their support without verifying risks and the veracity of statements made by the TVA.

I have a plan which, -1 supports energy efficiency and conservation measures as the first line of providing increased power production in our area as well as an immediate increase of jobs. -2 in the plan is to construct a new, advanced 200 megawatt solar plant at Bellefonte along with an 800 megawatt combined cycle natural gas (CCG) plant The solar cells could be built locally at one of our industrial sites. The gas line could be brought in from Marion County, Tn. on existing TVA Right of Ways. Cost of the CCG plant $900 million dollars, cost of the line from Marion County, $150 million, cost of the solar facility $200 million; cost of completing Bellefonte as a nuclear facility $3.5 billion to $4 billion, this does not include insurance for atomic facilities, waste disposal costs, decommissioning costs and costs to the community for preparedness planning due to a radioactive atomic power plant being at our back door.

Total cost for completion of Bellefonte as a radioactive atomic power plant, $8 billion, total cost of a solar and gas facility, less than $2 billion dollars. Energy efficiency and CCG with solar will bring jobs faster, employing more local citizens. Atomic power construction and operations personnel require high level security clearances. The "atomic folks" will be coming from out of town. Solar, gas and efficiency measures will employ far more local folks who live here now.

The TVA has tremendous debt. This factor is not being considered by local and county political bodies. If the TVA, because of its tremendous, increasing debt folds local and county governments would be devastated. We in local government must encourage the TVA , for it to remain a viable entity for the people to reverse it course of deceitful management and continuous increase of its debt load. Again, afailed TVA will have devastating consequences for local government. For this reason alone local government must express heightened concern to our state and federal legislators. TVA must get their debt under control. Further building of radioactive atomic power plants increases TVA as well as national debt. Not to mention the increase in our electric power bill due to further nuclear construction.

I would never be in favor of anything as high risk as a radioactive atomic power plant which will strap future generations of Scottsboro and Jackson County's citizens for over a thousand years with highly dangerous spent radioactive atomic reactor fuel. The risk, cost and danger is far to great and totally unnecessary. The TVA and our city council has not been truthful to the citizens of Scottsboro about the downside, dangerous risks of radioactive atomic power.

Keith and I entered into a gentleman's agreement that we would not conduct a negative campaign of attacks. Unfortunately the attacks have begun on al.com http://www.al.com/forums/scottsboro/index.ssf Mr. Smith and I have had words over this issue Monday night, him accusing me of breaking our agreement and me accusing him of having his friends make disparaging, deceitful comments against me. I do not know where this will end, however I do know I will not stand by while I am attacked with slanderous, untruthful words.

It is my belief that Mr. Smith did not make the attacks himself, however it is my belief his supporters made the attacks for him. In discussing and reviewing other political contests with which Mr. Smith was involved this same type of political agenda was carried forth by Mr. Smith's supporters. In the case of the current political attacks they appear to be scripted, intentional, slanderous and deceitful.

It is my hope this political contest will be based on issues not personal attacks, unfortunately the attacks have begun. I am a fighter and will not ignore spiteful, hateful, malicious, deceitful, slanderous attacks from anyone, I will not just "roll over," I will counter all attacks and gain an understanding of why and who is initiating the attacks.

garrymorgan.icopyright.com

City Election Forum Photos, Part 2

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Mr. Ronnie "Tank" Wright
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Ms. Sandy Walker
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Mr. Charles L. Von Ham
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Mr. Thurmond Bell


Candidates for Scottsboro City Council Place 1.

City Election Forum Photos, Part 1

> Ron Livengood of K98 FM Radio and Brad Shurett, Publisher of The Daily Sentinel Sponsors >>>>>>>>>Rick Roden, CEO Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, Moderator
Mayor: Mayor Dan Deason, Mr. Melton Potter; Place 2 Mr. Buddy Simmons, Mr. Jim Boatner
Place 1: (Left to Right) Mr. Thurmond Bell, Mr. Charles Von Ham, Ms. Sandy Walker, Mr. Ronnie "Tank" Wright
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Place 2 Candidate Mr. Gary Speers, standing

Pictures from tonights Political Forum held at Scottsboro High School Auditorium.

National Security Warning or How Local Politicians Must Not Placate the TVA

Global Warming declared of peek importance concerning our National Security. This announced on tonights NBC News. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25372743/ However it seems this news is actually 4 years old: http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0225-13.htm (I wonder if Arianna will say, "I toldz vou so, Herr Boosh.") More from Common Dreams on this subject: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0222-01.htm also http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0219-02.htm

Folks we need Alternative Energy and Energy Efficiency measures now. Fossil fuels and existing nuclear power (No new nuke plants. The mining of uranium and the processing contributes to global warming. There is also the radiation contamination risk.) is only a stop gap for a hydrogen/solar economy. We must immediately take action. The TVA must set a leadership role for Alternative Energy, not nuclear.

TVA, Improve the Dam Fleet Now! That includes the power generation systems. Some parts of the power generation system are over 75 years old. (They don't make e'm like that anymore.)
The TVA must utilize wind and solar energy solutions. Citizens, have been "all out" lied to concerning the viability of solar-voltaics and wind power applicability in this area. The TVA identifies peak wind production areas on the Cumberland Plateau. You do not have to have full sunshine to produce power. New technologies have surfaced and are ready for application. The more solar voltaic plastic sheeting produced the less expense involved. These new industries will grow in vast numbers.

Jackson County needs to concentrate in bringing these industries into this area. Hope you get this message Ron Bailey and Dus Rogers, members of the Chamber of Commerce and the citizens EDA, bring alternative energy producers into our vacant industrial parks. Work with the TVA to invest into Alternative Energy. Do it now before someone else makes the move and beats you to the draw.(This was a message that was attempted to be delivered in the BEST/BREDL meeting a couple of months ago at the Rec-Com where no local politicians showed up.) Besides, it will benefit all of us that you not sit on your collective posteriors and do the job you were hired to perform instead of placating the TVA concerning Nuclear Energy!

Goosepond Colony/TVA Conflict of Interests on 2 Fronts

On June 10 our Scottsboro newspaper, The Daily Sentinel, had the following article on its front page about the current manager of Goosepond and the former TVA Guntersville Reservoir Property Manager and a planned marina in Marshall County: http://thedailysentinel.com/story.lasso?ewcd=8120c4151bb62a99

A close friend had attempted to discuss this issue on Scottsboro's al.com local discussion board. There were several others that were discussing the issue, some were removed some remain. This is not the first time discussion of malfeasance and mismanagement has been removed from al.com's Scottsboro Discussion Board due to government's officials requests.

The following link lists prohibitions of ex-Federal Employees "switching sides." http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2007/janqtr/5cfr2637.201.htm The prohibition in a short paragraph: Basic prohibition of 18 U.S.C. 207 "(a). No former Government employee, after terminating Government employment, shall knowingly act as agent or attorney for, or otherwise represent any other person in any formal or informal appearance before, or with the intent to influence, make any oral or written communication on behalf of any other person (1) to the United States, (2) in connection with any particular Government matter involving a specific party, (3) in which matter such employee participated personally and substantially as a Government employee."

The Manager of Goosepond Colony, Mr. Sosebee has no business being involved with another marina in this area. This link from the Huntsville Times indicates he owns Great Southern Marine. http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/120419378415250.xml&coll=1 That is a substantial conflict of interest but yet the Goosepond Colony Board hired him. Mr. Wolfe has no business being involved in representing a private business on Guntersville Lake concerning land acquisitions and dealings of which he was involved as the land manager of the TVA's Guntersville Lake. These are conflicts of interest.

The continued management problems of Goosepond Colony is a thorn in the City of Scottsboro's side. It seems the organization can not be managed and operated by this city without corruption and blatant violations of sensible management and legal requirements. Maybe it is time to sell Goosepond Colony to private enterprise and rid Scottsboro of its inability to manage this organization in a legal, profitable and sensible fashion.

Politics in Scottsboro

Scottsboro has a terrible problem with management stagnation. A lack of positive, innovative leadership has resulted in no improvement of it's Personnel Management system. Constant bickering and a failure to realize how to manage and lead is at the heart of the problem. This lack of leadership is also a prime reason that our industrial parks set empty. However, you get what you elect and the results are that of the electorates choices. In many cases the same mistakes repeated as a result of deceit and propaganda from career politicians. Political cliques seem to be more of a driving force rather than good sense, locally it is called the Democratic Party. The Probate Judge stated to me recently, "...if you don't have a multi-party system you will have a dictatorship." We were discussing politics, I had stated that I do not believe in the 2 party system as the parties support the party rather than the Constitution. I guess Judge Hambrick failed to realize we do not have a 2 party system in Jackson County, I guess he failed to recognize he and the other Democrats are a product of a one party system, his "dictatorship." He also failed to realize that he characterized city elections as a dictatorship. The local political pundits lie, utilize dirty tricks and have in the past committed illegal acts, broke the law, in filling out absentee ballots. Getting witnesses to file complaints is entirely a different matter. After all, when I have spoken out about injustice I have been threatened, accused of criminal acts that were lies, and just plain slandered by members of our respectable political community. (update June 5, 2008: Management training is ongoing at the City of Scottsboro for upper level managers. Kudos to the Mayor and Ms. Borders, if only they would tell the public about this accomplisnment.)

Censorship by government officials. When I started posting on the "al.com" forums it became obvious there needed to be more than one person to tell the story of malfeasance and unethical conduct in local politics. I found 4 other citizens who were interested in maintaining a discussion group. We decided we would focus on politics of the local area. An information and sharing system of the local political scene. I never realized that there would be a genuine battle for the "hearts and minds" of the citizens. 3 in our group to include myself were eliminated from al.com forums due to political speech. ( Some topics that resulted in removal from the forum: Secret Meetings, Lowell Barron, ethics violations, misappropriation of services and government funds, violations of state law, support of local political opposition, discussing the Mike Well's Investigation by Mike O'dell, Dekalb County DA, Goosepond Colony Board mismanagement, President Bush and his policy of torture in violation of law, TVA mismanagement, censorship, just a few topics and all are provable allegations.) We realized that the forum is a tool for community communications in a real time format. A tool that many political leaders have not realized how to use. But they certainly realized how to eliminate dissenting political ideas. They seem to be threatened by actual communication about government personalities, communications which is beyond their control. Thru surreptitious means the political power structure could not allow that to occur, heaven forbid citizens expressing their concerns and others agreeing and disagreeing for all to see. It did not matter if the forum rules were not violated, or even if there were minor violations, it became obvious that "arklite" had to be eliminated from posting dissenting political ideas on the local forum, regardless if those ideas are the truth. Truth does not matter, only the political picture those in power wish to paint.

There is one left, "churia," in the forum. How long she will remain is certainly not up to me to determine. If she is eliminated that will be it, no more posts from the "arklite" discussion group on "al.com." That should be very disturbing for those who are concerned about the direction of our country, the local political scene and those that love our idea of liberty as a Republic. Whether you care or don't care is up to you, the reader, voter and citizen of our community. Apathy is a friend of the tyrant, I have found there are tyrants in our midst.

The next time you hear an elected leader, appointed official, or citizen poking fun of "Ala live" or al.com, you might remind that person the forum represents liberty and freedom of expression, a concept that some elitist, hardened conservative extreamist and tyrants among us have great difficulty in accepting. A concept that seems to be a fleeting reality if some have their way. The forum is a boom for the media enterprise that created it, a boom for the lover of liberty and a threat to the tyrant. Which direction the forum takes is up to you the reader, the customer and the owners, Advance Media.