I have a few ideas about the city polls that are coming up.
First, everyone who is eligible must do their civic job and go vote, no matter where they live in Montgomery, how “warm” it is, or what people say about the current government.
Everyone “promises” to do something, but nobody knows what needs to be done or what goes on behind the scenes. In the last 20 years, Montgomery has grown by leaps and bounds. My mother used to say that if people keep going east, they’ll end up in Tuskegee.
In the 69 years I’ve lived here, I’ve seen mayors, councilmen, and councilwomen come and go. Many of the people who helped rebuild the city were good, but they did it in a tough way.
When Emory Folmar was mayor, I was in my 20s and 30s and worked as a Chamber of Commerce hostess/chamberette. I could tell you some stories about how they run their government, but that would be rude. Let’s just say that he did his job, even though he did a lot of things wrong or right. Bobby Bright’s short time as president opened the door for him to make a big jump to Congress. After that, he returned to the “Gump” with a big government salary. He was liked, and he could have been re-elected. Lastly, the last mayor, Todd Strange, worked hard with those of us who used MATS. He changed a lot about how the city was laid out and how it was run, but he got the job done despite some resistance. If you want to run something well, you need to know how it works, especially if it affects the people you represent.
Three men have “stepped up” to run in the next election: the current mayor, Steven Reed, and two others, one black and one white, who, from what I can tell from their Facebook pages and videos, has never run for public office or worked in this kind of setting before.
People say that the crime rate here is too high and getting out of hand. From al.com, here are a few facts about the State. These are the places in Alabama with the most crimes per person:
Fairfield
Anniston
Lanett
Birmingham
Tarrant
Al.com says that Huntsville, Mobile, and Montgomery are the cities in Alabama where police know of the most violent crimes.
So, Montgomery has the third-most serious crimes, but according to the 2020 Census, it is the second-largest city in the state, after Huntsville, with more than 200,000 people. We’ll never be “free of crime.” Too many people are trying to get a piece of the same pie. Prices for flats and houses are through the roof and don’t seem likely to go down soon. To make Montgomery a better and more productive place to live, we need schools, churches, parents, and companies to all do their part to stop the rise in youth and adult violence and work for jobs and more educational opportunities. Saying, “You will do more to fight crime” doesn’t solve the problem. It’s a way to get votes based on a “single issue.”
I can’t find any information about the second person’s initiatives or programs that he wants to start or about his past of public service. I will now rest my case.
People have talked a lot about what the present champion hasn’t done. What he may or may not have said has been talked about a lot. I never pay attention to rumours or the “street committee.” Even though they are wrong 95% of the time, people like them a lot. Mayor Steven Reed has done a good job of running this city. There have been no scandals, and he has not shown favouritism to one race or another. He has been fair in everything he has done.
In short, he has expanded and improved the city’s bus system with new buses, added more maintenance staff to cut the grass, pick up trash, and keep the signs and lights working, which is a huge job in and of itself, and gotten many businesses on the West side of town to work on beautifying their properties. The city has a total area of 156.2 square miles (405 km2), of which 155.4 square miles (402 km2) are land and 0.8 square miles (2.1 km2) (0.52%) are water, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. He oversaw the building of Montgomery’s newest major draw, which brought 10,000 people to splash and play near Maxwell over the weekend. He also oversaw the installation of the Rosa Parks statue in downtown Montgomery and has given several tours to businesses that want to move here.
I know I’ve said a lot and could say more, but you can’t print everything, so I’ll just say this: I always go with what I know, not what I don’t.
The Rev. Rose H. McCall of Kingdom Woman Ministries grew up in Montgomery, and she has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Huntingdon College. In May of 2012, ordination to the ministry.
Fresh headlines from Montgomery –
- Police in Alabama arrest an 8-year-old boy who stole a car at gunpoint
- A man is in critical condition during a shooting on Friday
