County View

By Jeff Poor

Over the Thanksgiving holidays, I realized I had a lot to be thankful for – family, friends, good health, a column in Lagniappe, the Auburn University football team having five straight wins over the University of Alabama, etc. But, it wasn’t until the middle of last week that I realized I am thankful for people in politics, like Mobile County School Board Member Hazel Fournier.

It is people like Fournier who make my job so much easier and for that, I am grateful. How can I even begin to illustrate why I am so grateful?

The nonsensical behavior of the post-Mardi Gras throw era of our county school board hit its climax when Fournier proposed Soviet-style Politburo measures to restrict speech of ill-will toward others during school board meetings. However, her reasoning for choosing not to respond questions about this brilliant revision to the Roberts’ rules of parliamentary procedure from television reporter Richard Allyn on WPMI NBC 15 last Tuesday, “I have no comment, because I’m full-grown, I’m over 21 years of age and if I say I have no comments, I have no comments,” was the symbolic “icing on the cake” and rivals the absurdity of the Crichton Leprechaun news story shown on the same channel earlier this year. Then in addition to this public relations nightmare she has created, she is a no-show for her own proposal at the public hearing last week.

Although I was nearly a week late in my revelation, it is for Mobile County School Board member Hazel Fournier that I am truly thankful, but not quite to the point where I will be having sexual fantasies of Her Highness in a dominatrix costume.

Green space? What green space?

Last week, the editorial board of The Vanguard, the student newspaper of the University of South Alabama, which I am also on, spent an hour in the office of Mobile County Commissioner Stephen Nodine to discuss various concerns, but most notably what should be done with the old county courthouse property off of Royal Street – whether to build a Mardi Gras themed park with Bellagio-style water fountains or a high-rise condominium anchored by a high-end retailer in the form of Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue or perhaps Macy’s.

The desire for more green space in downtown Mobile is curious. In a relatively short walking distance of Mobile’s Government Plaza there is British Park, Spanish Plaza, Bienville Square, Cooper Riverside Park and Cathedral Square in addition to a scattered couple of what the city refers to as “pocket parks.” This begs the question – how many more parks do we need?

Whether or not Mobile can achieve something along the lines of a Saks Fifth Avenue could be mildly unrealistic, but the lack of “green space” in downtown Mobile doesn’t even come close to comparing to the lack of shopping in downtown Mobile. Unless you’re Barbara Bush or Lady Bird Johnson, you’re not going to find a fashionable clothing boutique on Dauphin Street in downtown Mobile.

If Mobile really wants to consider itself a big time player on the Gulf Coast’s metropolitan scene, then some sort of consideration should be given to improving commerce. Building these condos for people to live in could generate this much-needed commerce. People will need a place to shop when they move downtown.

According to Nodine, Jones will make a proposal about what he thinks should be done with the 2.7-acre courthouse property in the near future.

KC-30 Tanker Project

According to various sources, a decision about Mobile’s KC-30 Tanker Assembly Project will be made in March. Nothing will break up the doldrums of the post-Mardi Gras lull like this sort of announcement for the city of Mobile.

The Air Force’s refueling aircraft fleet is on its last leg and a decision will have to be made sooner than later, however a the political brouhaha is still raging between Boeing and Airbus over the World Trade Organization violations over public subsidies given to Airbus by European governments.

With all the political and economical skirmishes transpiring all over the globe over Airbus and Boeing, local politicos remain optimistic, constantly reassuring us the KC-30 tanker refueling project will become a reality in Mobile.

Chastang’s seat in jeopardy?

The U.S. Justice Department has given Gov. Bob Riley until the middle of next month to win their approval of Juan Chastang’s appointment to the county commission in October 2005. Riley appointed Chastang when Sam Jones had to vacate his seat on the commission after being elected mayor.

There is some question as to whether or not the appointment violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Reps. Yvonne Kennedy and James Buskey, both D-Mobile, and Bill Clark, D-Prichard, filed the lawsuit contending the appointment disenfranchised black voters by Riley having appointed a Republican in a county commission district that traditionally elects a Democrat. Riley maintains that since no election was held, no election practices were altered, although a Federal three-judge disagreed with Riley back in August.

Riley’s popularity with the Republican power structure in Washington should make the Justice Department approval of the appointment a technicality according to some, however if the Justice Department should find fault with the appointment, the citizens of northern Mobile County could have a special election on their hands sometime in 2007.

Contact Jeff Poor at jeffreypoor@yahoo.com.

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