MOBILE, Alabama – The two Mobile City Council members who sided with Councilman Fred Richardson and supported former Mayor Sam Jones to the water board both expressed disappointment Thursday with the results.
Councilman C.J. Small called Tuesday's vote a "grievous process to watch," while Councilman Levon Manzie said he felt the process caused "an unnecessary rift and unnecessary division among those on the council."
The Jones nomination, introduced on April 29 by Richardson, was defeated with a 4-3 vote Tuesday. Richardson vowed Wednesday to appoint himself to the MAWSS board, but later changed his mind and told AL.com Thursday that he will eventually reintroduce Jones for the appointment.
The appointment is not expected to take place during next week's meeting.
"I believe at the end of the day that Councilman Richardson should be able to appoint who he feels is the best representative on the MAWSS board," Manzie said.
Small agreed.
C.J. Small
"Councilman Richardson has a right to appoint who he wants to appoint, if it's him or anyone else, to represent him and District 1," Small said in an email to AL.com.
Manzie said his biggest concern was not about the personality involved – Jones, the city's former mayor from 2005-2013, who was involved in a heated campaign against current Mayor Sandy Stimpson less than eight months ago – but with the precedent the council established.
"The city has much bigger issues for us to differ on than a routine appointment that for the last 29 years would have gotten a 7-0 vote," Manzie said. "I don't think we need to start putting a litmus test on each other's nominations. When we do that, it's a double-edged sword."
Small said he felt the voted divided the city and council. Manzie said he hoped that nominations he makes are afforded similar respect as those introduced by other council members.
Small also noted that Jones, during the Aug. 27 mayoral election, polled stronger than Stimpson in Richardson's first district, which is majority black.
Levon Manzie
"In that vein, Richardson was giving the folks he serves a voice," Small said. "To say a man who has managed millions and oversaw major construction projects should not serve on the board to protect our water supply is absolutely wrong and sends a negative message. Where is the inclusiveness and the fairness, not only to Jones, but to the voters in Richardson's district?"
Small defended the mayor's eight-year tenure as the top political official in city government. His MAWSS board appointment of Barbara Drummond, a top official within the Jones administration, in February also drew some opposition and a "No" vote by Councilwoman Bess Rich.
"It appears the naysayers are trying to divide the city and erase the good legacy of Jones left as a blueprint for the future," he said. "It was Jones who worked feverishly to land aerospace giant Airbus to Mobile, creating a future of opportunities that many thought had escaped Mobile. It was Jones who led the city through one of the nation's worst economic crisis, without laying off one worker while maintaining a positive bond rating."
The city's bond rating could drop soon. The Stimpson administration announced last month that a representative with Moody's Investors Services will review the city's General Fund to determine if Mobile's credit rating should be dropped.
Stimpson's administration said the review is a result of deterioration to the city's General Fund during Jones' administration.
"The bottom line is we went from a $29 million surplus in 2011 to an $11 million surplus to a $4 million deficit," Stimpson recently said. "Anytime you underperform, you will raise red flags."
Moody's is reassessing how it determines credit ratings in cities around the U.S., leading to downgrades throughout the country. For instance, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, had its Moody's rating dropped for the first time in 40 years.