What the "TimesDaily" Thinks of Andy Betterton

 

The TimesDaily recently asked the Shoals' three new mayors to rate their first 100 days in office. After publishing the neophyte's opinions of themselves, the TD then rated each administrator on accomplishments or lack thereof.

Sheffield's Steve Stanley came out on top, but not unscathed. Mike Lockhart of Muscle Shoals also received some pointed jabs due to superficial leadership.

Yet the mayor most roasted by the editorial board of our local news outlet was Andy Betterton of Florence. Many don't have access to the TD, so we're publishing an excerpt from the column; this is a slightly longer quote than we would normally use, but we urge everyone to become involved and subscribe to this longstanding publication.

Handy Dandy Andy's First 100 Days:

Betterton’s platform while running for mayor of Florence included an emphasis on building a “multi-agency response team” to address homelessness in the city.

Where’s the team? To date, we’ve heard no mention of the creation of such a team, and as far as we can tell, there has been no organized push from city hall to tackle the homelessness problem.

Betterton also talked during the campaign about building the River Heritage Trail, and focusing on the redevelopment of Veterans Drive. We were glad to see the River Heritage Trail listed among his long-term goals with a target of letting bids this year.

As for development along Veterans Drive, it didn’t make his Top 5 mentions for his first 3 months in office, and wasn’t among his long-term goals.

Prior to his election and in his first week in office, Betterton affirmed his commitment to see the Confederate monument moved from the downtown area to the Soldier’s Rest area of the Florence City Cemetery.

That remains on his Top 5 list for his first 100 days, although nothing has been accomplished. The monument still stands exactly where it was when Betterton took office, and the city’s hands are tied because county officials will not give them permission to move it from county property.

That seems like a stalemate, not an accomplishment.

Perhaps the most perplexing top priority Betterton listed for his first months in office was “enhanced communication.” He lauded his effort to restructure a personal weekly newsletter that he plans to use to let citizens know about community events, business news and updates on city projects.

However, he failed to mention his support for new rules passed in November limiting the public’s access to council meetings, and muzzling their freedom to speak for or against council proposals or actions.

In effect, council meetings are now closed to the public because of COVID-19 concerns; members of the public who want to sign up to attend a meeting must sign up in advance; those approved to speak will be led to council chambers one at a time and be allowed just 1 minute to speak, and they can only talk about items that are on the agenda.

This stifling of public input can hardly be viewed as “enhanced communications,” and yet Betterton supported the changes.