1965-2005: Research reveals under-utilizing power of African-American votes, politics
The African-American Community Forum
Part II. 45 year old City Charter controversy; what changed, not changed, by whom, why, when

(continued from May 4, 2006)

Prelude: A Citizen's Management Audit of the City Charter and Its Application; Washington, Georgia:

1)What is the Government of the People of Washington, Georgia? 2) The City of Washington government is a representative municipal government that derives its authority from a charter approved by special legislation in the Georgia General Assembly. 3) The City of Washington, Georgia, is established by law to have a mayor-council form of government; a representative democracy where the people elect representatives to make governmental decisions on their behalf and the people hold the political power through the electoral vote. 4) The mayor-council form of government consists of three branches of local government. 5) The executive branch that is headed by an at-large democratically elected mayor (who is legally denied by the existing City Charter from casting the people's authorized vote on legislative matters before the Council that affect public safety, quality city services, city poverty, educational services, socio-economics quality of life and political interests of the city-wide people of Washington). 6) The legislative branch that consists of democratically elected council representatives from the district system. The district system includes two special districts. There are 3 council member representatives per district within this two district system (which coincides with the City's racial ethnic neighborhoods) and they are democratically elected by a plurality vote of each district's registered voters to represent only their respective neighborhoods/district residents. The respective district council members are democratically elected representatives of their neighborhoods and do not represent the interests of the city-wide electors, except collectively, as members of the City Council with their respective 3 standing votes per district. The specific duties and responsibilities of City Council are to create and adopt legislation that includes ordinances, regulations and rules; and to monitor the operational affairs of the various City departments. 7) The judicial branch of the city consists of a 'selected' municipal judge, appointed yearly by majority vote of the mayor and council, with jurisdiction to hear and determine cases involving violation of ordinances of the city. 8) The City Charter is a Georgia General Assembly approved legally binding document "incorporating the inhabitants of, and the territory embraced within, the corporate limits of the City of Washington, Georgia," 9) The City of Washington, Georgia is not a council-manager form of local government wherein the city council members are democratically elected representatives of the people and the council members then 'select' a mayor from among its number who then presides at council meetings and is recognized as the head of the city for ceremonial purpose. 10) The City of Washington governing body, the mayor and City council, is an elected representative body of the people of Washington charged with making governmental decisions on behalf of the people who hold the political power through their exercise of the vote.

What is the Charter of the City of Washington and what was it created to do? According to The Municipal Home Rule Act of 1965, the City of Washington is a representative municipal government established to be governed by its Charter, the governing authority document that is approved by the Georgia General Assembly. The City Charter is not a document of the and for the City Council, instead, the City Charter is a document of the people and for the people of Washington, Georgia, that provides their democratically elected representatives with authority to administer the affair of the city by local legislative act (such as enacting clearly reasonable ordinances, resolutions, or regulations) relating to its property and local government for which no provision has otherwise been made by general state or federal law and which are not inconsistent with the Constitution or any state or federal provision. Simply put, the people of Washington, Georgia, through their democratically elected representatives can include any and all kinds of provisions into its City Charter as long as those changes or additions are not inconsistent with the Constitution or any state or federal provision.

(continued next week)

Don't fuss, let's discuss; debate/rebuttal anyone! Are there truthful facts you have knowledge to the contrary? Please! no he/she said, no what I think, no Gospel sermon; just the factual evidence. "Just the facts Ma'am," was the famous saying of Joe Friday on the Dragnet TV Show 1957 to 1970. Docdanner @nu-z.net 1-706-359-7388.