UPDATE: City Manager Isaiah Hugley subject of battling Facebook pages

Embattled Columbus City Manager Isaiah Hugley is the subject of dueling Facebook pages at the same time his predecessor has come out publicly in his support.

“For Isaiah Hugley” has been on Facebook for only a few days apparently and has been “liked” by about 80 people, whose identities can’t be accessed.

Trenna Trice, a Columbus native who has known Hugley for about 20 years, said she put the page up because she thought he was taking an unfair beating in the media.

“I saw an opportunity to help someone who is getting a lot of negative publicity in the media,” Trice, 48, said. “I just wanted to shine a light on some of the positive things that he has done in the 27 years he’s been with the city government.”

Most of the postings on the site are links to positive stories or web postings about Columbus or personal notes of support for Hugley, who has been criticized for not being aware of the problems that plagued the city’s parks and recreation department and other departments until recently.

Hugley said he was aware of the page, and that Trice had asked his permission before she launched it.

“Yes,” he said. “I’ve gotten a number of calls about it already.”

The anti-Hugley Facebook page is less succinct.

“Fire Isaiah Hugley As City Manager Of Columbus Ga.” has been up apparently since early July, but has been “liked” by only about six people.

Columbus resident Nathan Smith claims responsibility for the “Fire” page. The 35-year-old Columbus native said he has no “hate” for Hugley, he just doesn’t think he’s doing the job.

“I’m concerned about the way he’s managing the city, and his perceived inadequacies and failures,” Smith said, mentioning specifically lack of financial oversight at parks and rec and at the landfill. “I just think that Mr. Hugley needs to be held accountable, and the only way he’s going to be held accountable is for people to speak up and put pressure on Columbus Council to do something.”

On Tuesday’s Ledger-Enquirer editorial page, the lead letter to the editor was from former City Manager Carmen Cavezza, who was commanding general at Fort Benning before retiring and now runs the Cunningham Center at Columbus State University.

Cavezza defended Hugley’s lack of knowledge of what was happening at parks and rec.

“When one of your department directors goes awry, mismanages the department and exercises criminal activity, your problem solver just became your problem maker,” Cavezza wrote. “A problem director would have the power and know how to be elusive and devious. It appears that is what happened in Parks and Rec.”

Cavezza also urged Columbus councilors to get whatever answers they need to get the issue behind them and to move on.

“Let’s resolve this now and put it to bed,” he wrote. “Columbus is full of opportunities. Let’s put our energy into creating jobs and making Columbus a city where we can all work together to do the right thing.”

This story was originally published July 19, 2011 at 1:39 PM with the headline "UPDATE: City Manager Isaiah Hugley subject of battling Facebook pages."