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 My Take On Campaign 2005
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| By : Roy_Pope on 22 Aug 2005 at 02:31:55 am
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In less than 48 hours, Mobilians will be flocking to the polls to cast their votes for the next mayor of Mobile, as well as for three new councilpersons. Now, I don't normally get involved in politics, but I'm going to make an exception for this election and let you know how I feel about things regarding the candidates for mayor - Ann Bedsole, Sam Jones, John Peavy and Bess Rich.
Ann Bedsole gets my vote
To vote for anyone other than Ann Bedsole for mayor would, in my opinion, be foolhardy indeed. Ann has presented herself, her goals and objectives in a very straightforward and professional manner. She has more political experience than any of the other three candidates and has demonstrated her abilities to lead and to accomplish her objectives time and time again.
Being a downtown landowner and businesswoman, Ann Bedsole has a sincere vested interest in the revitalization and growth of our city, the need for a prominent position for our city amongst tourists destinations throughout the nation, and the rehabilitation of the homeless and unemployed. She has, through her many years, demonstrated herself to be concerned for the welfare of her fellow Mobilians by her involvement with various charities and organizations bent on helping the homeless.
Sam Jones may be worthy
Having served as Commissioner in Mobile for so many years, Sam Jones knows the ins-and-outs of our local government. He has demonstrated that he is a strong leader, and that he can get the job done - but for whom?
The one thing that gives Sam Jones an edge in this campaign against the other three candidates is that he is the only black candidate on the ballot. Certainly, the majority of the black population is expected to vote along racial lines and cast their votes for Sam Jones for no other reason than that he and they are of the same race. This is especially expected of the underpriviledged blacks within the city who may feel having a black mayor would champion their needs over the needs of the population as a whole.
Hey, if being black can help Sam Jones win even a single vote, then I say "more power to him".
My decision against Sam Jones isn't about race. Its about the approach that Sam has supposedly taken to discredit another candidate, John Peavy. Honestly, I don't care what Stephen Nodine may or may not have said in a Waffle House, nor do I understand why that topic needed to be brought up in an attempt to harm Peavy's campaign efforts - Peavy and Nodine are two completely different people.
Another thing that I found distateful was when Jones supposedly attempted to discredit Peavy's reputation by slinging political mud. If John Peavy's construction company made repairs on Azalea Road without profit to either Peavy or his company, I think that's actually quite commendable. And as far as Peavy having a tax lien placed on his home, so what - I attend tax auctions every year at the Mobile County Court House and can say from first-hand knowledge that at least fifty percent of the people in this city have had a tax lien on their homes at one time or another.
I'm Peeved at Peavy
Last night - on a Sunday - I was in my bed at 7:00 pm. The telephone rings, so my wife gets up to answer. It's an automated message pleading for us to vote for John Peavy for mayor. She hung up and returned to bed a little pissed off.
Ten minutes later, the phone rings again. This time, I get up to answer. It's a recorded message from a man claiming to be a police officer and asking me to vote on behalf of the entire police department for John Peavy for mayor.
Now, I'm really pissed at Peavy. You see, Friday night I received a call at my office from a live person asking me to vote for Peavy. A couple days earlier, I got a recorded message asking me to vote for Peavy.
Enough is enough! My telephones are strictly for my use and the incoming use of my customers and business clients. John Peavy is neither.
Another good reason for not voting for Peavy - I've heard some very distateful advertisements produced by his campaign. These include a recording of a woman who sounds like she's got a corn cob shoved up her back-side talking a bunch of trash about Sam Jones. On John Peavy's behalf, and with his campaign dollars, she goes on and on trying to verbally discredit Sam Jones because of his involvement in opposition to Stephen Nodine for the use fo the "N" word at a local Waffle House.
I just hate political mud-slingers. They waste so much time slinging mud that they never really let the people know what they plan to do with the office of mayor if they are elected.
Bess Rich and Joe Poor
Now, as far as Bess Rich goes - I honestly feel that a vote for Bess Rich will be a giant step into the door of the poorhouse for many average Joes living in Mobile. She keeps talking about floating risky bonds to assist her in her plan to annex West Mobile, and her web site makes mention that she intends to levy a garbage fee on Mobilians for us to get our garbage picked up. This is her grand idea for reducing sales taxes in the city.
Now, there's something to ponder. Let's say that Bess Rich is elected mayor, and we are sent a garbage bill in the mail. What happens if we decide not to pay the bill? Will the city stand by and let garbage pile high on the curbs of our city because the underpaid workers in Mobile cannot afford to pay a garbage bill due to the fact that gas prices are rising higher than they've ever been before, as is the price of may other things including meats and certain vegetables? What if two-or-more neighbors were to decide to share a common garbage pickup point, thereby reducing the number persons billed for the garbage and the amount of revenue taken in by the City of Mobile.
What other "basic services" of the city does Bess Rich plan to bill us for instead of letting them be paid through taxation? Are we going to wake up one morning to a bill for a phone call we make to the city complaining that our "basic city services" - the garbage truck - didn't arrive when scheduled?
Personally, I believe that the really best thing that Bess could do for Mobile, if she really cares about this city, is back out of the race. All she's doing right now, by staying in the race for mayor, is splintering the vote of the people. |
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Category : News and Opinion
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Coming Soon - Downtown Business Directory
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| By : Roy_Pope on 19 Aug 2005 at 04:54:40 pm
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I've been working around the clock, so to speak, to reformat and enhance a copy of the phpYellow script that I purchased for this site. Within only a matter of days, the Mobile, AL Online site will have a fully working and reliable merchant directory similar to a Yellow Pages directory.
The business directory on this site will be for the exclusive listing of merchants and businesses within the downtown area of Mobile. If you are such a merchant or business owner, I encourage you to stop in once the directory is live and list your business. It's 100% free, so what've you got to lose. |
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Category : Site Info
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Wing Bowl Takes Flight In Mobile
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| By : Roy_Pope on 13 Aug 2005 at 08:10:01 pm
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Did you get downtown today? If not, then you missed the take-off of The Wing Bowl!
Area businesses and civic groups gathered in Bienville Square this afternoon to celebrate "Wing Bowl I". Destined to become an annual event in Bienville Square, the Wing Bowl gives weekend chefs the opportunity to compete against each other for the favor of the public in preparing The South's spiciest chicken wings.
UOP (I'm not sure if that stands for "United Old People" or "Universal Oil Products") set up a stand under the banner "Lord of The Wings - The Fellowship of the Wing". Employees of Mitchel Homes, a local home development and realty company, got into the spirit of the event by wearing chickens on their heads as they grilled away what must have been half-a-farm of wings.
At the north end of Bienville Square, I located the mighty fine taste of The Good Ol' South being cooked up by members of the Mobile Patriots Wheelchair Basketball Team. I don't know what surprised me more - the excellent wings that these athletes were turning out on their grill, or to find out that The City of Mobile actually has a wheelchair basketball team. The Mobile Patriot Wheelchair Basketball Team is a self-supporting non-profit community based organization that competes regularly in basketball competition against other wheelchair basketball teams across the nation. When not on the road headed towards a night of competition, they can be found two nights a week practicing at the Texas Street Gym. All I've got to say about them is that if they can play the way they grill their chicken, they've gotta be good.
Amongst the crowd of hundreds that had gathered in Bienville Square, I stumbled upon my good friend Ann Bedsole. A candidate for the Mayor in the upcoming election, Ann Bedsole has always shown her presence at and support for charitable events being held in our community. At the Shrimp Cookoff held only a couple of months ago, Ann set up her own grill in Bienville Square. It almost makes you wonder about her - could our very own Ann Bedsole be a conniseur of grilled foods as well as a patron of charitable needs and a great politician?
Though the chicken wings were free to the public, donations were collected and T-shirts were sold to commemorate the event. All proceeds generated from the Wing Bowl go towards the YMCA of South Alabama Strong Kids Campaign. The Strong Kids Campaign is designed to help provide for membership at the YMCA for underpriviledged children whose families would otherwise not be able to afford memberships for them. The program also provides for underpriviledged children summer day care, aquatics, and after-school programs. |
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Category : News and Opinion
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Godfather shows at Saenger Theatre
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| By : Roy_Pope on 07 Aug 2005 at 07:33:31 pm
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This late afternoon, I took my wife Busaba to see the all-time classic and cult movie "The Godfather" being shown at the Saenger Theatre at 6 South Joachim Street in Downtown Mobile. I've seen The Godfather at least three-to-four times a year, every year of my life that I can remember, and it still captivates me even more than any movie newly released onto the big screen these days.
For those who have never seen The Godfather, featuring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert DuVall, Talia Shire, Diane Keaton, Sterling Hayden, and John Cazale, it's a shadow epic following the fortunes of the ficticious Coleones, a powerful Mafia family with its own separate code of honor, justice, law, and loyalty that transcends all other codes. The movie is based on a novel by Mario Puzo, and performed with a realistic quality that has never been matched in any other movie that I have ever seen.
Today was the last showing of The Godfather at the Saenger Theatre for this Summer Film Festival. I count myself as being extremely fortunate to have seen it on the big screen, this year. I'd seen it hundreds of times before, but always on a television screen. A theatre screen in a room with a professional, high-grade sound system somehow seems to add a whole new element of believability to the show.
If you weren't as lucky as I was, to catch The Godfather on the big screen this season, I'm sure that it will come back to the screen sometime soon (probably during the Winter Film Festival at the Saenger Theatre). Until then, there is still "A Streetcar Named Desire" coming next weekend, followed by "Rebel Without A Cause" the weekend after. |
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Category : News and Opinion
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Jazz Festival Hits Downtown Mobile
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| By : Roy_Pope on 06 Aug 2005 at 09:24:27 pm
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Mother Nature got her business out of the way early this afternoon, creating just enough rain to wet the ground, but not quite enough to slow down the preparations for the 2005 Jazz Festival in Bienville Square. The stage was assembled, sound equipment placed and tested, and booths established on the back-side of the park to provide informational pamphlets and a few art-crafts.
I stepped outside my office around 5:30 and was immediately overtaken by the wailing of Sonny's sax. Hundreds of people, young and old, were clustered in the park in a semi-circle about the stage. Many more were still making their way along Dauphin Street towards the park, eager not to miss too much of the performances that lay ahead.
I spent a short time in the park, myself. After all, who can resist the subtle calls of jazz?
Well, the night is winding down and the rythmic sounds of jazz are still ringing through the air. For those who missed this festival, fret not for there is always next year. Until then, take the time to visit such downtown clubs as 'Liquid', where you can still satisfy your jazzy taste-buds every Wednesday night after 9:30 pm. |
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Category : News and Opinion
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