When the council was discussing an $800,000 facelift to Veterans Park Monday, Councilman Eddie Tucker raised the issue of a park in his district. While his points of the park falling into disrepair may have been valid, his comment that “everything is always going to one side of town” drew an insightful response from Grissett: “There’s only one side of town, and that’s Talladega,” he said.
He couldn’t be more on target. It is one city, and its leaders ought to treat it as such – not pulling for one district or the other, but setting priorities and ensuring that improvements are made in all areas for the betterment of the city.
By dividing into districts and championing only causes in a particular district, it hurts the overall strategy for moving the entire city forward.
We are not saying Tucker is wrong for pointing out needs in his own district, we are simply concluding that the council needs to work together to develop a priority list. If more than one project occurs in a single district, it should be because those were the top priorities, not that the district was getting special treatment.
To infer otherwise is not helping the city progress. The council should follow Grissett’s lead on this one.
There is only one side of town, and it truly should be Talladega.
Faye Kemp