BACKGROUND

Three times over the past year, City Council has been called to task for major development projects being drawn behind closed doors and without public input — specifically, Project Pascalis, the SRNL office building, and the Williamsburg project. Citizen calls for public hearings are falling on deaf ears. It is widely believed that these projects wouldn’t have proceeded as far as they did, with large expenditures of public funds, had the public been allowed to provide input on the property purchases, the destruction of parkway trees, the demolition of historic buildings in the core city block, and the uprooting and displacement of small businesses.

Also, before recent times, the City’s website contained the names of the members serving on committees, boards, and commissions. The site also contained the names of department directors and key department staff members, along with contact information. All of that information has been eliminated from the site. The common thread in all of this is city and senior city officials taking an unhealthy, insular posture that has served to erect and maintain barriers to public participation and input in government processes.

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Are you in favor of a process that would better enable citizens to request and receive public hearings?  

TEDDY MILNER: Yes, I enthusiastically support, increasing and improving citizen engagement with the city of Aiken government. The city already livestreams council and various commission meetings on YouTube; this is a fine way of reaching people who are Internet savvy, but more could be done to communicate with those who are less digitally connected.

KATHRYN WADE: Yes.  Our citizens must be heard before big decisions are made and not after.  I think that citizens should be involved in special work sessions when the city is contemplating developments, large expenditures, and needs of the city.  Deliberative dialogues could be a key to talking and listening between the Mayor’s office and our citizens.  

Do you favor public hearings involving independent committees, in addition to regular Council meetings, to gain public insight and opinion before, not after, large development projects are initiated?

TEDDY MILNER: Yes, I believe the city should convene issue-specific public meetings — separate from city Council meetings — as often as necessary to understand and respond to the issues facing our community. To truly involve citizens in the future of Aiken, such meetings should happen early enough in the conception of major projects to understand public sentiment, (support or opposition).

KATHRYN WADE: Yes.  As citizens, we must all see that it is our responsibility to be informed and be engaged in the process.  If we are not, those who have less than altruistic motives will fill the vacuum.  

I believe each council member should hold a town hall meeting for their individual districts at least once a quarter.  And the Mayor should participate in these.  The concerns or ideas from these meetings could be brought to the whole council.  This would keep us better informed holistically rather than catering to the few who have the council’s ear.  The Mayor and Council work for the citizens.  Official decisions have to be made but should be done so with public assistance and consent.  

Will you open the lines of information and communication to ensure that the voices of citizens and experts will be given as much if not more, weight than the voices of the developers and real estate speculators? 

TEDDY MILNER: I believe that a robust conversation is one in which all voices are heard. My goal will be to establish and maintain healthy, two-way communication with individual citizens, with subject matter experts, and with various interest groups, for example, conservation organizations, the preservation community, and the development sector. I also believe that, within reason, public participation at City Council meetings should not be constrained by unreasonably short time limits. Three minutes is often not long enough to hear and understand the concerns of citizens. 

KATHRYN WADE: Yes, absolutely.  People need to be listened to with the knowledge that they have been heard, understood and have the assurance that some action will be taken.  Too often we have seen the preferring of people because of their power, prestige or wealth.  When we do this, “regular” citizens and their interests are left out.  As Mayor, I will weigh all people equally.  

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Mayoral Forum Intro
The candidates respond on the issues:
Public Participation in Government
Responsible Development
Infrastructure
Financial Responsibility
Housing and Homelessness