County View

By Jeff Poor

Just as the dust has begun to clear from last week’s primaries, several new controversies have blown into the forefront ensuring that Lagniappe readers will not be lulled into the doldrums of a deep summer slumber. Well perhaps at least guaranteeing you’ll read the first few sentences of this before flipping to Tamara Ducote’s column.

County Commission hullabaloo

Commissioner Juan Chastang’s efforts to make his permanent mark in the annals of Mobile County Commission history by taking a tough no-tolerance stand on the county’s employment of Roberto Concepcion, an illegal immigrant from the Philippines, has ruffled the feathers of his cohorts Stephen Nodine and Mike Dean.

Chastang was sworn in as the commissioner of District 1 back in November. Being the newcomer of this great triumvirate, some are questioning the merits of his calls for the resignation of John Pafenbach, the county administrator, over Pafenbach’s knowledge of the Concepcion situation.

Chastang alleges that Pafenbach knew about Concepcion’s illegal status and allowed him to stay employed. Pafenbach has remained conspicuously quiet while the whole ordeal is being played out.

Interestingly, Chastang’s outspokenness about this one issue prompted Commissioner Nodine to send an “open letter” to Mobile County Republican Executive Committee members Wednesday with a long laundry list of the commission’s prior accomplishments over the past few years, listing everything from hurricane efforts to new playgrounds. One would assume this was an effort to instill confidence in the Republican base with an all-Republican county commission.

Whether or not Chastang’s lambasting of Pafenbach is warranted or even legitimate based on how Chastang got the District 1 seat, I’m pretty certain the position of accountant isn’t defined as one of the jobs Americans won’t take under President Bush’s recently introduced temporary guest worker program initiative.

Who needs partisan politics on the local level with the infighting between these three Republicans just a mere six months into Chastang’s appointment? One has to imagine tensions are pretty high on the top floor of the county side of Government Plaza.

Sheriff race shenanigans

Sam Cochran’s impressive victory in the Republican primary two weeks ago, taking 55 percent of the vote, didn’t come without a little mudslinging. Candidate Kyle Callaghan came out with two radio spots attacking Cochran personally on his efforts as the Mobile City Police Chief and his past willingness to reside in Mobile as opposed to Baldwin County. Callaghan told Lagniappe he felt duty-bound to inform the voters about the Cochran’s misdeeds, however this tactic all but backfired, causing Callaghan to finish a distant third behind Cochran and Deputy Mark Barlow. Looks like some people will never learn.

On the Democrat side, the turmoil held off until after the primary. Cochran will face, at least as of June 12, DaVon Grey. Grey’s candidacy came into question when he failed to file a campaign finance report. Democratic runner-up, Clint Ulmer, who tries his darnedest to emulate Wyatt Earp by consistently adorning himself in a black suit and black cowboy boots in his public appearances, is crying foul.

Bob Beckerle, chairman of the county Democrat Party, certified the election that will pit Grey against Cochran. Ulmer claims Beckerle acted to gain support for his wife’s no-shot candidacy against Rep. Jo Bonner for the First Congressional District Seat of Alabama.

As the tedious details have unfolded on the Democrat side, Cochran was sworn in Friday and will likely ride this wave of momentum by soundly defeating whoever his competition is in November.

Can the Mobile County School Board make a comeback?

The Mobile County School Board suffered another crushing blow last week when Saraland voters overwhelmingly decided to declare their independence from the county’s largest bureaucracy. This comes in the wake of the infamous David Thomas impeachment and the questionable selection of the Rev. Fleet Belle as his replacement.

If there was ever a case for a public relations overhaul, the Mobile County School Board is a shining example. Clearly there are going to have to be some changes in the way the school board does business or the other mid-sized municipalities in Mobile County will follow suit and declare their independence.

If the school board can refrain from engaging in power struggles with Superintendent Harold Dodge and learn to manage its finances a little better (that in itself is a long-shot), the school board could begin to regain the trust of the people of Mobile County.

As the City of Saraland begins to form its own school board, Saraland residents have to take some comfort in knowing that since Saraland doesn’t have a Mardi Gras parade, there will be no need to include the provision of “throws” in its education budget.

Contact Jeff Poor at jeffreypoor@yahoo.com.

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