Columbus Council rarely sees quick turnover like the school board

Walker Garrett, Columbus Council’s newest member, joins an elected panel where the faces don’t change very often.

In fact, Councilor Red McDaniel’s death in 2014 may be the only reason the lineup has not remained the same as it has for six years.

It was in 2010 when the last two new faces, Judy Thomas and Bruce Huff, joined council. Thomas replaced Wayne Anthony, who stepped down for an unsuccessful run for mayor. Huff defeated two-term Councilor Julius Hunter.

Otherwise, all councilors have at least 10 years of experience and almost half of them have 20 or more years.

Contrast that with the Muscogee County School Board, where few members can boast a long tenure.

Naomi Buckner is the longest-serving member with 14 years, followed by Pat Hugley Green with 12 years. About half of Columbus Council has that many or more years.

And Green is facing a June 26 runoff race against challenger JoAnn Thomas-Brown.

Rob Varner is next, with eight years. But he is retiring at the end of this year, so his post may not have any experience next year.

Otherwise, their tenures are: Mark Cantrell, six; Athavia “A.J.” Senior; and Shannon Smallman and Kia Chambers, four each. But Smallman is retiring and Senior was defeated, so their seats will have zero experience next year. Frank Myers and John Thomas have two years apiece.

Should Green win her runoff and return, next year’s school board would have 44 years combined experience. Should she be defeated, the new board would have 32 years combined experience. For context, council has 138 years of combined service.

At the end of this year, Evelyn Turner Pugh will have 28 years; Gary Allen will have 24; Mimi Woodson will have 22; Skip Henderson will have 20; Glenn Davis will have 12; Pops Barnes and Mike Baker will have 10 each; and Thomas and Huff will have six each.

Even with newcomer Garrett in the equation, councilors have an average of almost 14 years of experience. With Green, the new board would have an average of about five years and without her, about 3.5 years experience.

So why does the same electorate treat the two more prominent elected bodies in the county so differently?

Frederick Gordon, chairman of the Columbus State University political science department, thinks it’s less about the electorate than about the positions themselves.

“It’s probably a combination of both,” he said. “There may be an elitist aspect. You go on the city council, you’re working with the mayor, you’re working on a broader perspective. The school district is more narrowly focused in terms of issues. I think the electorate plays a role, but the type and culture of the positions may play a role, too.

“With the city council, it may be more of a planning process. Once they’re there, they want to continue to work in that respect. I personally think it’s more about the position. With the school board, people want to contribute for a few years and rotate off. Not that one entity is any less important than the other.”

This story was originally published May 28, 2016 at 9:17 PM with the headline "Columbus Council rarely sees quick turnover like the school board."