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Harmon Harmony
Hey, who says Mayor Victor Ashe holds a grudge? Certainly not former City Councilman Ivan Harmon. In the same week that the Ashe administration was rebuked for its political punishment of a firefighter who supported Harmon's 1995 bid for mayor against Ashe (see Citybeat), word came that Harmon himself has just been given a job with the city. Deputy to the mayor Craig Griffith confirmed that Harmon—who recently left the Food City chain after years in the grocery business—is going to work for the city's Engineering Department. Griffith referred questions about Harmon's duties, salary and qualifications to engineering director Sam Parnell, who couldn't be reached for comment (neither could Harmon). Harmon served on City Council for 12 years before being forced out by term limits in December.
What's Up, Bud?
Former state Senator Bud Gilbert strolled down to the election commission the other day to pick up some literature about running for office. Not, mind you, to pick up a petition to run for mayor. Nevertheless, it caused quite a stir.
"I started getting calls that day," says Gilbert, who was not quite acknowledging the rumors that he is about to announce that he will run for mayor next year.
"It was just a little late-night reading material," Gilbert says.
Ravine Running
The newest City Council members appear to have hit the ground running, and 4th District guy Rob Frost has gotten off the blocks on a dead sprint. Of course, he has a certain very interested constituent holding the stop watch.
Take, for example, a city-owned property on Colonial Circle in Fountain City that is being sold as surplus. Colonial Circle is a narrow, winding road that loops around from North Broadway to Fountain City Elementary School and is bounded on one side by a deep, kudzu-choked ravine that serves as a drainage basin for the area. The city-owned ravine is next door to Park View, an assisted-living facility that stands behind the trolley turnaround section at the north end of Fountain City Park. Park View's stated purpose for buying the ravine? To install a walking trail.
Enter Council member Frost: "A sign went up and I got a phone call."
From whom? "From constituent Malone."
Former 4th District Council member Carlene Malone, newly a woman of leisure, is concerned that the ravine is going to be filled in to allow Park View a secondary access to its parking area, screwing up the area's fragile drainage situation, a recurring problem in flood-prone Fountain City. Frost checked the situation out and decided that Malone's concerns had merit.
"I want to find out more," he said, questioning the notion that the ravine is a good spot for a walking trail. Frost is only half joking when he says, "If bin Laden were hiding in there, he'd never be found. An elderly person could get lost and never be heard from again."
So far, so good, says Malone of her successor's efforts. "I'm keeping his business card right next to my telephone and giving out his [phone] numbers."
January 17, 2002 * Vol. 12, No. 3
© 2002 Metro Pulse
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