In 2004, I was elected to serve Athens as a superdistrict Commissioner. My district covers half of the county and is made up of regular Districts 5, 6, 7, and 8. I ran on a campaign of open and inclusionary government, grassroots empowerment, intelligent growth, and environmental stewardship.

When I sought this position I promised myself I would serve with frankness and honesty or not at all. As a result, you always know where I stand, and, with the help of this blog, why. I love my community and am proud to serve it. You will find no finer community or people anywhere in the country.

Now, in 2008, I seek to continue to serve and look forward to an invigorating reelection campaign. I believe now, more than ever, that we must strive for openness and unity to ensure our bright future.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Criminal Justice Task Force Update

Solutions to complex issues demand complex data.  We have been hard at work for several months in the Criminal Justice Task Force addressing the myriad problems facing this community in regards to incarceration and our system of justice.  As I have stated before, the team we have is fantastic and I feel great about our progress.  We have taken a small hiatus for the past few weeks as we await the final report from the Unified Government's consultant on this issue.  

Our Assistant Manager, Richard White, along with Amy Gellins (who we are extremely lucky to have assigned to us from the Attorney's office) have been working diligently to make sure the report is accurate and on point.  Early in the CJTF process, we set-out the work plan for the report itself.  I will summarize the report here once it is finalized.  Expect numbers on the diversion/work release number and stats on our jail population among many other things.

At the end of the day, the central issue is the county lock-up.  When does it need to be constructed (yesterday) and how big does it need to be?  That last question is a factor of so many complex things, like "how long does an accused stay in jail awaiting some procedural issue before they are bonded out?"  Or, how effective can a diversion/work release center be in rehabilitation efforts so that our jail population gets smaller? Or, how can we work with local organizations (like the Athens Justice Project) more effectively to combat recidivism?  

Our proposals are scheduled to be unveiled to the Mayor and Commission at our September work session.
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