Our Mayor & Our Tragedy: An Open Letter to the Citizens of Stonecrest GA
On the date of my birthday this year (November 10, 2021), the United States Attorney’s Office Northern District of Georgia issued a press release announcing that “Jason Lary, the Mayor of Stonecrest, Georgia, has been arraigned on federal charges of wire fraud, conspiracy, and federal program theft. The charges relate to a scheme to allegedly steal federal relief funds granted to Stonecrest to address the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lania Boone, a bookkeeper for the entity hired by Stonecrest to disburse the relief funds, has also been arraigned on a federal charge of conspiring with Lary to steal relief funds.”
Since this disclosure and the various news reports that were published in its wake, many of us active in Stonecrest civic affairs have been commenting on the situation within the Stonecrest, Georgia Issues and News Facebook Group and most likely other forums. The discussions have been a mix of anger, dismay, jokes, regret, and sadness as well as other emotions and thoughts. As the gravity of the situation settled on my consciousness, I was moved to draft this open letter to my fellow citizens to share my reflections. No matter whether folks are detractors or supporters of Mayor Lary or somewhere in between, we are all caught up in the tragedy of the circumstances as members of the Stonecrest community.
The outcomes that likely await Mayor Lary following the criminal charges are serious and somber. Whatever dreams, hopes, and plans he had for himself and his family going forward will probably be deeply affected in undesirable ways. If the consequences include the loss of his liberty for any period of time, this could be a dire result for a nearly 60 years old man with major health challenges. While Mayor Lary may very well “deserve” any punishment which might come his way, on a human level it should prompt us as a community to deeply reflect on what this moment in our short journey as city could mean for us collectively. The federal case against our Mayor is certainly an indictment of his behavior and character. However it could also be an opportunity to enshrine accountable, clean, and transparent government as a central civic value and public policy for Stonecrest for our better future.
The institution of chattel slavery which exploited the labor and lives of African people during the incubation of these United States of America is often referred to as the “original sin” of the country. This basic flaw in the nature of the nation has perpetually affected its possibilities and progress for each generation going forward to this day. Due the fundamental contradiction of slavery to the lofty ideals boasted by the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, periodic and ongoing battles (e.g. The Civil War) and reforms have been required in an attempt to achieve a “more perfect union” or more bluntly to hold the country together. This chain of change includes the Emancipation Proclamation; the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution; the Civil Rights Act of 1866; and Reconstruction to just speak of our 19th Century history. Of course, we are still struggling to fix it all.
I am not attempting to directly equate the “sins” of Mayor Lary to that of slavery and racial oppression in America. However what may be comparable is the existential threat that the precedence of extreme corruption so early in our municipal history presents to us all as citizens of the city. In the way that early attempts to appease in Congress the Southern defenders of slavery were inadequate and failed to prevent the Civil War, the courageous and critically important changes to our city charter which were enacted in response to the mayor’s egregious behavior may also be inadequate to protect us from future abuses and repair our reputation. I believe we need to pursue an even deeper soul search as a community about the fundamental nature of our civil society. We should seize the moment to make corruption the enemy to our best future that it is and craft city ordinances which mount a similar bulwark to defend the people as the Bill of Rights and other key reforms in U.S. macro society.
For example, I think we should explore the extent to which Stonecrest can enact local campaign finance legislation protections for clean and fair elections. Mayor Lary is just the figurehead of a larger regime which is attempting to unilaterally govern and run our city to the exclusion of the people’s will. To me, the actions of Mr. Lecester “Bill” Allen and his surrogate Matthew Hampton during the past election cycle were equally if not more cryptically corrosive to our city than the blatant theft by the mayor! Through all manner of underhanded dealings and misrepresentation of truth, Mr. Allen attempted to steal the election from the people of Stonecrest and bend the city council to his self-serving will. A beneficiary of public largess at the level of Mr. Allen’s status (see HERE) and dominant property owner at 500 acres within the center of our small city ought not be allowed to use his influence and wealth to disproportionately manipulate our politics. While he has a right to campaign contributions and freedom of speech as anyone else, I believe city council should examine the distortion created by shadow campaign literature and extreme campaign contributions in proportion to the political economics of a city the size of Stonecrest. A stakeholder of Mr. Allen’s stature perhaps should be required to donate equally to all candidates or none at all, lest we perpetually see him fighting the expressed electoral will of the majority each election cycle as he seeks only his personal gain in all situations. We deserve better and more enlightened behavior from our business leaders.
Either we are pursuing a truly democratic and free expression of city-hood in Stonecrest GA or we are simply a laboratory for a new form of laissez faire capitalism, New Black Wall Street style. I personally believe we can do much better than allowing ourselves to be manhandled and manipulated by the likes of Allen, Hampton, and Lary. Of course, this dastardly regime also includes incumbent District 1 City Councilperson Jimmy Clanton Jr. as well. Should we forget that he dutifully supported Mayor Lary with all his malfeasance and allowed himself to be plastered on the grotesque billboards and deceptive campaign literature of the duplicitous “Committee for Progress in Stonecrest”? As Clanton attempts to contort and transform himself into a standard bearer of accountable and reasonable governance for the run off election, we should have enough self-respect as a city to reject his charade. We should put down the last remaining vestige of the Allen-Lary regime by electing and supporting Tara Graves for City Council. Not just the voters of District 1, but all of us who want a Stonecrest we can be proud of.
Kwabena “Cubby” Nkromo was a 2021 candidate for the District 1 City Council seat in Stonecrest GA (campaign website HERE). He can be reached at 404.721.3992 or kwabena@Cubby4Stonecrest.org.
