I've avoided blogging about a recent contentious Montgomery School Board's decision to hire a superintendent, but one comment I read today cries out for comment. There was a messy board meeting this week in which the board voted 4-3 in favor of hiring the last candidate left in the superintendent search process. This being Alabama, the vote was, of course, along racial lines. During the meeting there was some yelling and a lot of heated talk. Now Mayor Todd Strange tells WSFA-TV the disorder has hurt the city in attracting business:
"Mayor Strange said the entire event has cost the city at least one
economic development project. He wouldn't name the project that
pulled out, however"
How convenient is that? If you're going to make a charge like that, you'd better be prepared to name names. Otherwise how are we supposed to know if you're telling the truth? Anyone can make a claim like that. Was the business actually going to locate in Montgomery? Or were they perhaps looking for an excuse to choose another location? And would the hot temperatures been just as good a reason as the heated board meeting? We have no way of knowing, since the Mayor is keeping the name of the firm to himself.
The mayor needs to keep such information confidential. If other prospective businesses learn that he's naming names before any official announcement is given, we can kiss any further economic development goodbye.
ReplyDeleteSorry--that was me writing the above post.
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