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Mayor Kelly Girtz, Members of the Athens-Clarke County Commission, and Blaine Williams, City Manager:
One of the most important public servants in any community is the Chief of Police. He or she has to often walk a fine line of enforcing the law, and at times being compassionate as well as professional with people experiencing times of crisis or clear symptoms of mental illness and/or addiction.
Knowing the community well is an integral component of this position, and while Athens/Clarke County has had some fine Chiefs, as well as elected Clarke County Sheriffs, we have also experienced a significant amount of turnover in this position in recent years.
We all believe that the best fit for our community will be an experienced command officer, who already has the trust and support of the police force, as well as deep relationships, respect, and bonds built across our community.
We collectively believe that the best candidates already exist WITHIN the Athens/Clarke County Police Department. The Interim Chief, as well as the two Deputy Chiefs, have decades of experience within the department as well as within the community they serve. Each of these men has the respect of their command structure and fellow officers, the confidence and support of the immediate prior chief, and an irreplaceable institutional memory of this community as well as the existing strengths and weaknesses of the department.
We found Cleveland Spruill to be an outstanding Chief of Police, and we wish him well in retirement as well as his return to his native mid-Atlantic/Tidewater region, but we think that we would all find a better result, skipping the time and expense of a 'national' search, when we have three serious, known and well-regarded options already within the department.
The undersigned, as well as many others strongly recommend that you look no further than the Police Department HQ on Lexington Road, to make a final selection of our new permanent Chief of Police.
Respectfully,
Reverend Abraham Mosley
Mike Young
Reverend B.A. Hart
Stuart Cofer
Reverend Luis Ortiz
Bryan Austin
Charlie Upchurch
Carol Williams
Joe Block
Lewis Scruggs
Michael Blaesing
Gerry Whitworth
Steve Middlebrooks
Grant Tribble
Christopher Belk
Brad Akins
Sandy Metts
Sid & Jim Waters
Steve Everett
Jamie Scott
Gordon & Joan Rhoden
Doug Patterson
David Long
Charlie Maddox
Mitch Jordan
Lee & Becky Brinson
James Whitley
Apryl Hughes
Brad and Vanessa Akins
Richard Warner
Ricky Chastain
Bill Crane
Athens Classic, Inc. Meeting and Communication Preferences?
Since the fall of 2020, we have seemingly been in a never-ending series of elections, runoffs, special elections and primaries. Athens Classic, Inc., your local, nonpartisan, community nonprofit will continue to remain engaged in three main areas of public policy debate and formation - public safety, public education and public health.
We will continue to solicit your support and membership as well as donations, as we are entirely privately funded. We have heard from some of our members and leadership that they would like a 'pause' in our meetings, to decompress, knowing that the fall Election Season ahead of us may be brutal and demanding.
We will continue our work to keep our Classic City classic, clean and safe...but we wanted your thoughts on whether or not to continue to hold our bi-monthly meetings, or to pause until the fall, and resume again in September or October, prior to the November General Elections. If you would not mind, please give us your thinking by placing a simple X in the boxes of your choosing, or sending a brief reply back to us at -athensclassicinc@gmail.com -
____ Pause Athens Classic Membership and Coffee with Cops meetings until Fall of 2022
____ Continue Coffee with Cops
_____ Continue General Membership Meetings (every other month)
I find the following information sources about Athens Classic, Inc. to be helpful and informative: (Please check all that apply)
____ Complimentary subscription to Classic City News (paid for by Athens Classic, Inc.)
____ Athens Classic, Inc. Website (http://www.athensclassicinc.com and http://www.athensclassinc.org)
____ Athens Classic, Inc. Public Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/KeepClassicCityClassic
____ Athens Classic, Inc. Private Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/315010669706656
____ Athens Classic, Inc. Email Blasts and Newsletters (like this weekly Election Bulletin)
Our last weekly Election Bulletin for the summer will be next week, with the results of the General Primary Runoff Election, and your feedback from this survey. We want to again thank you for your participation and support as well as urge you to invite and involve your friends and neighbors.
The bulk of the work of Athens Classic, Inc. and almost all of the fundraising, has been handled by a small handful of key volunteer leaders. Now that we are established, and some proof is in the pudding, it is also time for others to step up, step in and lend a hand. We are also looking for community leaders to join our Board of Directors as well.
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