POLITICAL CORRUPTION IS A NATIONWIDE ISSUE AFFECTING ALL OF US. ALABAMA RANKS #5 AS THE MOST CORRUPT STATE. *DOJ 2007 stats
Something is very wrong in the Land of Cotton


PERTINENT ENVIRONMENTAL AND CORRUPTION ISSUES IN OTHER STATES ARE ALSO DISCUSSED


NO OTHER COMMUNITY, RICH OR POOR, URBAN OR SUBURBAN,BLACK, BROWN,RED, YELLOW OR WHITE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO BECOME AN "ENVIRONMENTAL SACRIFICE ZONE."

Dr. Robert Bullard
Environmental Justice Movement Founder

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Finally! Recall Proceedings Have Begun Against Vincent Mayor and 4 City Council Members


You don't push some people without one day expecting them to push back.

*Updated Tuesday afternoon see below
It's been a long time coming, but finally, Vincent, Alabama residents opposed to the massive rock quarry that was been railroaded through approval by a non-responsive and corrupt city government, have challenged the Mayor and four council member's jobs with a recall petition.

Vincent Mayor Ray McAllister, City Council members Bridgette Jordan-Smith, Johnny Edwards, Mary Lee Reynolds and Larry King are all targets of the petitioners. The one lone dissenter, Ralph Kimble, did not sign the petition.

It could not happen to a more deserving group of turncoats in our opinion.

Expect BARD bullies Stephen Bradley and Rob Fowler to run to the protection of the city leadership, in addition to a hurry up by ADEM to issue a permit. Wonder if they'll try to pull a trick and skirt the public meeting requirement before permit issuance?

While we're on this subject, let's have a look at the idiot in charge of Vincent and his outlandish claims of what an almost 1000 acre quarry will and won't do. 
(video link, takes time, abt. 3 minutes, to load after commercial, be patient, it's worth it) 

Here's a translation transcript sent to us by a reader that is spot on, and written in southern colloquialism befitting the geniuses that run Vincent who fancy themselves so educated:

"Fact:  Vincent has the largest live decorated Christmas Tree in the state of Alabama."   "Now - back in July - after a year of investigating...we voted to re-district some property   and they have made a lot of commitments to the town of Vincent - they are putting in the most modern equipment....... they say ZERO dust....folks don't like dust."  
 
"I went to see a little quarry... and I say --- how purty the water was going over a little water fall.... the man say --'I work here at this here quarry and git you a jar and git you some water and it's gonna be bettah than what you got in your city water....... the good news is we gonna git 125 jobs....not that 125 jobs is a lot of jobs."  

"That paper place is closing....we be right across the riber from dat. People gonna spend their money locally."  
(How many Vincent residents worked for dat Bowater place? We tol’ the folks these heah jobs was going to be Vincent jobs for Vincent folks…maybe we lie a lil’ here and there.)

"400K from ADECA - to pave the #1 worst road in the state of Alabama..."   

Ol’ Spencer Boy Bachus got them a grant for a fire truck and let dem quarry folks off da hook for the $350,000 they promised to give Vincent for da' truck- thank God for Homeland Security and FEMA.  (You know they get so little done right).   

The Mayor claims "Vincent is beautiful, we got us some parks…" 
(he really did mention Gorman Park - who ever wrote this speech might should have warned him about the discarded condoms lying around.)   

Maybe some of dem folks at da Chamber meetin' will go on down to Gorman Park and see for demselves, after all the Mayor put an invite right out there didn‘t he?   

Good for you citizens of Vincent!

*Update-- The never-friendly-to-citizens Alabama League of Municipalities (ALOM) is claiming that the residents cannot use recall based on this section of Alabama Code. Note the section applies to Commissioners only, and according to the LOM, only in one city in Alabama is there a provision (thanks to the Aladumba legislature) that provides the right to recall-- Dothan. 
(So the rest of you are out of luck. How stupid is this?)

The Vincent residents used this section of Alabama Code

Which clearly covers recall of at least the Mayor (and any Commissioner according to this section.) 

So which is it? 

Is the ALOM citing the code section that serves their purposes and is on the side of denying the people of Vincent, or any other municipality for that matter, the right to recall their elected officials everywhere but the City of Dothan, Alabama? 

Just whom do you really serve ALOM? Never mind. We know the answer.


If ALOM is correct, then it is one of the most poorly written laws imaginable, and no community in Alabama is afforded the right to recall their elected officials.
Even our state constitution speaks to the right of the people and their government:
"People are the source of power"

This should be the test case for every Alabama community to be afforded clear and concise remedy to bad government in the form of recall when the citizens demand it. 
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33 comments:

  1. HOORAY!!!!
    Send those no good crooks out of town on a rail!!!
    Shady Ray Ray has got a nerve saying "people are getting excited in the town..." NO, THEY'RE NOT!!
    WE DON'T WANT THIS QUARRY, NEVER HAVE!
    We're going to get excited now that YOU may be OUT OF A JOB Ray Ray.
    The city government has lied through their teeth and refused any one on one meetings with every citizen opposed. You've acted more like dictators than representative government and it's time for a change!!
    Vincent will be lost 4 ever if this quarry comes and we all know it.
    How about we recall the crooks in Columbiana who have made this deal behind our backs too?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good news for us!
    Bad news for you Ray, Mary Lee and the rest of your dirty dogs!

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  3. City Council meeting tonight @ 7:00 Vincent Town Hall.
    Should be a good one, please come!!!!

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  4. Recall is tough, I hope all the i's have been dotted and t's crossed.
    Good luck guys!

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  5. No Quarry in VincentMarch 1, 2011 at 10:45 AM

    This should send a loud and clear message to all "elected" officials: When you betray those who elected you, watch out.

    Vincent's mayor and 4 out of 5 council members were nothing more than puppets for White Rock's dishonest corporate officials and their slimy local representatives who collaborated in perpetuating such reprehensible dishonesty. It's way past time to cut the strings off the puppets.

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  6. From what I hear, Gorman Park is where certain married people, who are being paid with tax dollars, do things they shouldn't be doing while on the clock.
    That rumor is more than just whispers in Vincent, it's been happening for a long time as locals know. All small towns have their secrets, some are worse than others.
    People are afraid to tell, because the ones to tell...

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  7. Remember the video of the last public vote in the Bham News?
    Even Al.com commenters saw how "out of it" Bridgette J. Smith was that day and how non-serious she was about the most important decision ever made in Vincent.
    Guess that payola didn't go as planned, Mercedes cam and repossessed the car.
    hahahahaha!!!!heehee!!!

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  8. Vincent is a pit of corruption looking to become the next money pit for corrupt Shelby County!!!!!
    Get them out! Get them out! GET THEM OUT!!!!

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  9. How about get them investigated and put in jail! There is no way there weren't some pay offs going on the way this whole thing has been handled! NO WAY!

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  10. Power to the people!
    There's one small town in Alabama that has some gumption today. Good for you Vincent!

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  11. Max, you're on top of page one in GOOGLE out of 265,000 results for "Vincent Alabama Recall."
    Good for you too!
    You've done some good service to the people over the last year!
    I hope you guys prevail in this fight that will probably turn ugly fast from the officials and quarry reps.
    I'm pulling for you all!

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  12. Low down good for nothing devils. All of them. OUT!

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  13. Vincent is a town built on secrets and these clowns that are in office now are just more of the same sorry gov't we've had for years.
    Maybe if we could get some decent people in charge we might stand a chance.
    Hard to know with Shelby County putting a bulls-eye on the town though.
    Something has got to change and this is a great place to start!

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  14. We didn't take this step lightly and we're in it to win it. This local government has betrayed the majority of it's citizens and it's time for a reckoning!
    Please come to council meeting tonight and support this effort.

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  15. Let's just turn on the big bright kitchen light and watch how many roaches scatter!
    Not one of the officials has behaved in any other manner than a group of people who have been sold a bill of goods by slimeball reps and White Rock!
    I defy you to find a person who would deem this process fair when presented with all the facts, not just the lies and spin from the Mayor, council and the quarry.
    This stupid Mayor has the nerve to stand in front of a room full of people and claim quarries produce clean water and this one will have zero dust???
    What's he drinking? Water from the quarry he visited?
    What a LIAR!! And a really bad one considering there were Mayors from other towns in the room who know what it's like to live with one of these pits!
    He's a fool's fool and a puppet with no balls!

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  16. Oh Happy Day!!! Congratulations to the People of the Town of Vincent!!!

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  17. Hello Pissed Off For Real, The Mayor is indeed a fool's fool and a puppet (not a brave man and not likely to be coming out of this mess in any good way). Either the promises made by White Rock, the SHelby County Commissioners or others, was 'A Price Is Right Deal' or I will eat my hat.

    It is well past time for all elected officials to get their heads on straight and listen up. The people will be represented!!!! Otherwise, all of those elected best be finding some other form of work.

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  18. HAHAHA! Max - you crack me up! This is the best news I have heard in quite a while. It sure is refreshing. Kudos to all of the folks who worked so hard on this recall. Y'all all rock! (And I'm talking about the good rocks).

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  19. A very interesting fact: Ralph Kimble was the only member who did the right thing. One out of four. That would be 25% voting in the best interest of the town.

    I believe the reason the nation, the states, our state, and the county have the problems we see are due to the fact we have 25% or perhaps less of the so-called elected doing what is right for the people they have declared they want to represent.

    Good job to the People of Vincent.

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  20. The law is is a dog.
    As written it only has a provision for one city.
    That leaves out how many of hundreds of cities in this state?
    This is an issue that everyone in Alabama should be in a great uproar about, because in essence it strips every one of their right to good government with checks in place when their officials behave badly enough to be thrown out on their backsides.

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  21. OK - there has got to be a law somewhere to cover this. Maybe brainstorm and come up with something like terrorism or mental competence. I am sure I can think of something.

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  22. Nothing ever worth having came without a fight of some sorts. You can expect the citizens to stand tough and fight to have the right to recall their corrupt government.
    Nuff said.
    For now.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Citizens should be afforded remedies to replace their representatives when they feel they're living under a dictatorship, not representative government. Alabama's legislature has been resistant to referendum and recall for years. Why? They don't want to be held accountable.
    What's that tell every citizen in the state?
    We don't care, that's what!
    The usual answer of if you don't like them vote them out, is crap. Some communities don't have a lot of choices of candidates that can run against the same old same old. And even if they do, the crooked ones crush their opposition in the money game.
    Alabama has it so backwards and it's time for the people to demand better!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Comment via email Vincent Citizen--

    First of all, I have been very much against the quarry coming to our town for a long time. At first I tried to be open minded and give White Rock a chance, but that didn't last very long.

    Secondly, I signed the petition and was glad to do so. I hope this case ends up in the courts, and the people's will is made clear in our town. If the majority of voters vote to keep the current people in office that will be a referendum for the quarry, and I can live with that, as it will be evidence of Democracy in action. It was not getting our voice heard with no chance for everyone to vote for or against the quarry that angered and frustrated me personally.

    As a citizen of Vincent I do NOT, however, appreciate your use of the "Southern vernacular" in this post. You make us sound like a bunch of country hicks, and we're not!

    I'm counting down the 30 days to see what happens!!

    Take it easy Vincent Citizen, it was all in good fun and was directed at one person, the Mayor talking, not every citizen in Vincent.

    WINGER

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  25. City attorney thinks it's just "nothing."
    He would.
    Guess he doesn't get the point, which is the majority of Vincent has NO FAITH in their government.
    And why is this?
    Maybe starting all this out by sneaking off to another county and chowing down on Mexican food and lies with quarry folks you think?
    How about complete refusal to let the people vote on the serious issue?
    Refusing any and all requested meetings with citizens who were against the quarry?
    Treating the one CC member who was trying top look out for all of Vincent like a yard dog?
    Should I go on?

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  26. The fact this suthin' mayor was tellin' all the good folks at the Chambuh meetin' how wonderful he was and all the grand things he had done for the Town of Vincent and jest how great it was all gonna be for all the fine folks in Vincent is exactly the way these yahoos want you to hear them. Sounds just swell. Too bad, they use the southern charm and softness in the tone of the diction to fool those people who we believe would or should otherwise know better.

    The bearer of bad news, who sounded like (if we didn't know better) that good news was coming to town for sure!

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  27. You left out direct lying by the Mayor when questioned in a public meeting didn't you?

    May 5, 2009
    (1) Do you have any knowledge of a proposed quarry in our town?
    Answer: “No.”
    (2) Have you met with any representatives of the quarry company?
    Answer: “No.”
    (3) Are you going to have a town hall meeting with your people?
    Answer: “I don’t know."

    None of these questions or answers were included in the minutes of the council meeting.

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  28. KM- The City Attorney is on the side of the corporation. The corporate part of our government is one freaky deal. Most people believe we are represented by these officials - appointed and (the so-called) elected. We are not. They represent the corporation. Look again. This should help you and others to understand what is really going on across the nation and not just here.

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  29. Anonymous --- Lying.

    Indeed.

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  30. Oh geez Vincent Citizen, get over yourself, we're contry folks and so what if we talk a little funny? Out of all the comments yours is the only one that says anything about it.
    You're definately a little too uptight.

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  31. Recall is not a game and we are not playing.
    The officials and Mr. Moore can act nonchalant at their own peril.

    ReplyDelete
  32. In Vincent, the only ones excited are those who are not smart enough to realize what a quarry this big and deep will do, and those that are hoping to stay in in office long enough to pilfer funds. The latter is the happiest group which is why they need to GO!

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  33. The apathy of the Mayor is palpable and contemptible regarding recall:
    McAllister said, due to the misinterpretation of the statute, the council has no responsibility to respond.

    “Nothing happens now,” he said. “We’re proceeding on and moving ahead.”
    We'll see about that Ray.

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