Answer:
Answer:
The Mayor sets the Leadership tone for the city. She runs the City Council meetings, not by Robert’s Rules of Order, but by the Rules of Council. She works closely with the City Manager, attorney, and Council members, and City partners in county, state and federal government. She addresses the universal and the particular. She is the face of representation for our community. She makes sure all voices are heard. She assures the city ordinances are faithfully executed. Her top priority is keeping the citizens and tourists safe. She represents the City in times of crisis when necessary.
2033: My Vision for Tybee is of a well-balanced Community, measured by sustainability of resources and implementation. Plastic bags are a thing of the past. Citizens are aware about maintenance of infrastructure. We would have our own deep well to supply water. City elected officials would approve ordinances that respect our carrying capacity. Our City decisions around growth would be water- and green-space-based. City green space is rewarded and encouraged. Housing is available for families with children for and city workers, as mentioned in the Master Plan. A community center that is multi-generational, and a school that reflects all the demographic of people who use the beach is in place. The city would provide public transportation and a public swimming pool. The city has rebranded Orange Crush into a profitable cultural event, a model to be copied by small town communities across the country. We would be a city with a cultural affairs department, a city bold and brave that faces, recognizes, and honors the true history of Tybee Island. We would pay homage to the Guale and Yuchee Native tribes whose land was stolen and their habitations forcibly removed. We would embrace Heritage Tourism as mentioned in the City Master Plan. There would be an historical monument on display acknowledging our true history: a marker at Tybee Lazaretto port would acknowledge the Transatlantic Slave trade. We would have forged international relationships with Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, acknowledging African Diaspora, and Africa’s and Africans’ historic role in building Tybee, Georgia, and the Nation.
The job is too important for a single accomplishment: the fact that Tybee is 134 years old and has never had a non-white candidate for Mayor is an important pejorative accomplishment.
That balance horse left the proverbial barn many moons ago. Today we must encourage and help residents to organize and let their voices be collectively heard. The people with money and business interests on Tybee get the attention, and their candidate for Mayor was about to walk into the Mayor’s office unopposed. He may still walk in, but it will not be without opposition. Meanwhile, citizens had to fight and sign petitions to replace beach benches and swings that should not have been removed in the first place while he was on Council. We have a representative form of government; we are supposed to vote in individuals who represent our interests. Common citizens without monetary motives or powerful friends should run for local office and be elected.
We live in a time where complicated and controversial issues have become the norm. I am thankful to the community organization Forever Tybee started by former Tybee resident Freda Rutherford. Tybee’s governmental committee meetings are numerous, making it nearly impossible to attend them all. However, as a member of Forever Tybee, I read the minutes written by community volunteers to stay informed. The key to complicated and controversial issues is information and conversation seeking common ground. Freda Rutherford ran for Tybee City Council 2004. Although she lost by a few votes, her loss was a community gain for government transparency. Anyone wishing to be informed has a solid opportunity.
I considered not responding to this question, because it is about power issues. I would work with everyone from a place of mutual respect, because as Mayor I would be a Public Servant. The Mayor suggests and listens to City Council, the Mayor with Council and City Attorney form a consensus, which directs the City Manager, and the City Manager gives directives and manages the professional staff.
Those people can called intelligent.
I am a 26 year continuous resident of Tybee Island, a wife, mother, and grandmother – the skill set needed to manage a successful home and raise productive, functioning children to adulthood involves critical thinking, budget understanding, resource accountability, leadership, communication, problem solving, safety guidelines, and implementation of visionary strategic goals. These qualities are sufficient to be Mayor. However, in addition, I have an education from Spelman College class of 1984, with a major in Economics and minor in Philosophy. Spelman College is a women’s college in Atlanta, Georgia with a long history of producing women leaders since 1888. I have a nursing degree from Georgia Perimeter College 1994, and am a Registered Nurse at MICU Grady Memorial Hospital, 1994-1997.
Psychiatric Mental Health ANCC Board certified Registered Nurse 2000-2013
Executive Program Director, Tidelands Adolescent Behavioral Residential Treatment Facility, Bloomingdale, Georgia.
Founding Clinical Director of Gateway CSB Transitional Crisis Center, Thunderbolt, GA.;
Program Manager, Gateway 14 day Rehabilitation Drug and Alcohol Program, Fahm St., Savannah.
Assessment Admission Nurse, Hospice Savannah Charge Nurse and Staff Nurse, Curtis V. Copper Primary Health, Savannah, GA.