Uvalde “mayor for everybody” works against HB 87

Sometimes somebody does the right thing not for fear or favor, just because it’s the right thing.

Catherine E. Shoichet wrote for CNN 28 June 2011 about Paul Bridges, mayor of Uvalde, Republican mayor in the South becomes unlikely advocate for immigrants:

Bridges is waging a deeply personal battle.

Enforcement of the Georgia law could put him in prison and tear apart the families of some of his closest friends.

He thinks Governor Nathan Deal got it wrong when he signed HB 87:
Bridges says Deal is “fanning anti-immigrant sentiment without facts.”

“The immigrant community is a big part of the economy of Georgia,” he says. “These people earn money and pay taxes just like the rest of us.”

He doesn’t limit his responsibilities to U.S. citizens.
But he sees his responsibility — to serve the town’s “citizens” — a little differently than most mayors. For him, that term has nothing to do with passports or residency papers.

“When I became mayor, I decided I was going to be the mayor for everybody, including people who have no voice otherwise.”

And not just for everybody in Uvalde:
“If we don’t stop it in Georgia, all the other states are going to follow suit,” he said.

We can do the right thing here in Lowndes County by rejecting a private prison that would only profit a private prison company at the expense of local farmers and we the taxpayers. Spend that tax money on rehabilitation and education instead.

-jsq

PS: Owed to Miles Cliatt.