No questions and no mention of Moody AFB at the Legislative Luncheon at the Legislative Luncheon at Wiregrass Technical College Wednesday by the Chamber of Commerce and the three Rotary Clubs. State Sen. Tim Golden R-08, and State Rep. Ellis Black R-174 plus incoming State Rep. Dexter Sharper D-177 spoke (Reps. Amy Carter R-175 and Jason Shaw R-176 were not present). But they didn’t answer any questions. The organizers didn’t even take questions on cards from the 75 or so people in the room. It’s nice they’re going around to all the organizations and talking to them, but it might be more helpful if they listened to the concerns of their constituents all at once. Lowndes County Commissioners Joyce Evans and Richard Raines were there, but they did not speak, and none of the state legislative delegation said anything about Moody Air Force Base encroachment, unlike Houston County where their state rep. helped organize “$7.5 million to help resolve the encroachment issue affecting Robins Air Force Base.”

Ron Borders on behalf of the Chamber’s Governmental Affairs Council (GAC) did invite people to a Members to the Heard session Monday 7 January 2012 at Valdosta City Hall Annex Multi-Purpose Room. Waiting a month to provide feedback to legislators through the Chamber does seem a tad indirect. Overall, it would be nice if the legislators would at least actually listen to (even if they don’t want to answer) questions and concerns from citizens without those citizens having go go through some filtering system (ie chamber legislative affairs or county commissioner). With a room full of 75 or more people, wouldn’t it be refreshing for elected officials to say “We can’t necessarily answer all your questions today, but we would like to know what they are. Please come to the microphone and ask your question or state your concern”. Citizens Wishing to be Heard in the County Commission meetings is not really the same as having a session dedicated to listening to citizens’ concerns.

The Chamber’s pre-announcment of this meeting said:

The Chamber’s Government Affairs Council will present its top business issues to elected officials.

Yet though the GAC the previous day in a contentious meeting voted to oppose encroachment on Moody Air Force Base, he said not a word about that at the Legislative Luncheon.

In his keynote, Sen. Tim Golden said Continue reading →