Longtime Athens Observer government reporter the late Phil Sanderlin used to say as he left the office in the evening, “If you need me, Chiefo, you can find me between City Hall and the courthouse.” That, of course, meant that he would be at Friends bar in the Georgian.
I thought of Phil Thursday as the Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County celebrated the 25th anniversary of the joining of the two governments in a ceremony held in front of the Georgian.
Unification at least simplified Phil’s job, though it greatly extended his hours. The first few years of the new government were an incredible exercise in cobbling the two governments together ordinance by ordinance, and meetings frequently ran past midnight.
It had taken the previous 25 years and three failed elections for the citizens of Athens and Clarke County finally to approve what was then called consolidation. And it took a tremendous amount of perseverance and patience among the citizens who finally hammered out an acceptable consolidation formula. City leaders were for it all along, but the county folks were rightly suspicious that they would lose their identity when they got sucked into the new super government. And minorities felt the same way. So, the new government was carefully constructed to respect the different constituencies it would include, and the citizens of Athens and Clarke County approved the progressive streamlining of our local government. Unification was a citizen-driven effort, and it had an immediate, unforeseen effect that increased citizen involvement.
The Athens business and government leaders who worked so hard for unification had no hand-picked candidate ready for election to head the new government. So, Athens City Council member Gwen O’Looney jumped into the race, and after a hard-fought election and runoff—in which the establishment threw everything they had at her—Gwen was the surprise choice for mayor, at first called chief elected officer.
Unified mayors: (l-r) Heidi Davison, Doc Eldridge, Cardee Kilpatrick, Gwen O’Looney and Nancy Denson. Gwen’s sensible flats she wore for her first inauguration have been replaced by green cowboy boots.
Many of the people who made this happen 25 years ago were here for the celebration last week, including master of ceremonies Pat Allen, who headed the unification commission and hung around to attend practically every meeting of the new government as UGA’s liaison.we would have been if we still had separate city and county governments? That seems obvious, even without analyzing the cost comparisons. Even though the old governments had already combined some services like police, they still bickered a lot, and the two jurisdictions could be confusing for citizens. Unification definitely streamlined the government and undoubtedly made it more efficient.
Those citizens who gave us a new government acted in the spirit of the Athenian Oath, carved into the statue of Athena in front of the Classic Center and read by Heidi Davison Thursday. The oath concludes: “Thus in all these ways we will transmit this City, not only not less, but greater and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us.”
In spite of his inherent doubts about government, Phil Sanderlin would surely raise a glass to that.
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