By Shalin Jyotishi
As I knocked on the door of her Athens, Ga. home, I was greeted by a warm, friendly smile. While sitting down at her dining room table, she struck me as an ordinary grandmotherly figure. With her southern accent and calm demeanor, Nancy Denson has served as mayor of the Classic City for the past three years. Denson was the first women to be elected to public office in Athens, a town that’s been around since the 1700s. Denson, a Democrat, has been supported by those on the left, the right and the in between. Her supporters include former Georgia Governor Roy Barnes, two senators, a congressman, several commissioners, her formal mayoral opponent, and even a former UGA president.
Nancy Denson is running for re-election as Athens-Clarke County Mayor against her fierce critic and opponent: Tim Denson (no relation). For months, the two Densons have sparred on issues relating to poverty, education, crime, the environment, and public transit. The race has also involved conversations regarding marijuana and even shopping bags.
Although her record is formidable, not all is perfect for Mayor Denson. She’s been vehemently criticized by the popular Prince-Avenue based publication Flagpole Magazine, and other Tim Denson supporters. She has also faced a number of media scuffles regarding plastic bag restrictions and sexual assault.
My GPR colleague Eli Watkins previously interviewed Tim Denson in a February article. To make things fair, I sat down to talk with Mayor Nancy Denson.
GPR: Why are you qualified to be mayor of Athens?
I’m qualified primarily because of how much I care about Athens and my prior experience. I became the first women elected to office in Athens on Jan. 1, 1980 when I was a city council member. I became very active in the state with the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA). I served as president of 10th district of GMA. Later, I resigned city council to become tax commissioner. I served in that office for 26 years. During those 26 years, I lobbied for and against tax legislation. Then, of course, I have served as mayor of Athens for five years.
Above all, my record as mayor makes me qualified to be re-elected. Economic development has been my major push. I came in at the depth of a recession and to accomplish what I did during that time frame I think is phenomenal. Over the past two years 2,600 jobs have come to Athens. Caterpillar brought a manufacturing operation to Athens back from Japan. President Obama referenced [Caterpillar’s move] in his State of the Union speech. For 2013, our building permits were double what they were in 2011. We’re ahead of the curve of most of the country as far as recovering from the recession. All the while the environment is safe. Athens has acquired several hundred new acres to keep as green space. We are also doing environmentally creative things including implementing the methane to electricity system at the landfill.
GPR: What will you do for small businesses in Athens?
I may expand roles for an existing position to help small businesses, but a lot is already going on. FourAthens is functioning like an incubator for small tech businesses. They’re funded through tax dollars via the Downtown Development Authority. We are subsidizing rent for small start-ups in Athens. Also, one of the best stimuli for small business is big business. Caterpillar’s 57 million dollar payroll goes into the local economy. Hair cuts, shoes, entertainment, [and] computer programs are all purchased with payrolls of big companies. That goes into the economy several times over. We also have another company who moved here called Ethicon, which is a biotech company and a division of Johnson & Johnson. They make surgical sutures for the whole world. That big business is doing the same as Caterpillar.
GPR: Student housing downtown construction has been a very prominent issue this year. What are you thoughts on student housing in downtown Athens?
We’ve had the issue of slum housing in the past, but that trend may end soon. The student housing complexes that are being built are going to be so close to downtown and campus, students will never leave to allow those places to become slum housing. A lot of the properties students have lived in the past weren’t luxury apartments. As students move into these bright new shiny toys, they abandon the old ones, but that allows families to move into those housing complexes that are looking for better housing. All this means more money for our downtown.
I don’t think it’s very likely for the [new developments] to turn into slums like people are saying because the investment is too great. The property downtown values at something like half a million dollars an acre. When you’re putting that kind of money into the dirt and building to the high quality building standards we have in Athens, you won’t see issues. It makes good business sense to build sustainable housing.
GPR: In Athens, real median income is one of the lowest in the SEC, compared with similar college towns, and one of the lowest in Georgia. What will you do about the poverty rate in Athens?
Thanks to smart job creation, the unemployment rate has dropped since I’ve been in office. I think it’s that people [facing] financial difficulties are drawn to central cities to look for work. I’ve been really criticized for saying it, but I think history shows it to be true. There was an article written in January this year that used census data to show that poverty nationwide has grown in cities. I’ve also seen articles that say once adjusted for the students, our poverty rate comes to around 27 percent. Which is average for the country.
Since I’ve been in office, we’ve also had several economic opportunity zones. They are based on poverty and census data. In the past, any kind of tax benefit had to be for a large company. In these opportunity zones, any employers with two employees can get a $3,500 state tax credit which is a huge incentive.
GPR: UGA has a new President, Provost, and an entire fleet of new senior administrators and deans. Where do you see the relationship with the university and Athens going?
I’m a Dawg. [laughs] I didn’t get my degree until I was nearly 50, but I’m still a dawg. I’ve been in elected office for over 25 years. I see it as only getting better. The relationship overall is totally different than it was 25 years ago. 25 years ago, there was very much an “us” and “them” mentality. I remember going to a football game with my husband and there had been a controversy in the city. We walked through campus, and I said, “You know, I used to think this was a part of Athens.” I don’t have those kinds of feelings anymore. My relationship with Dr. Adams was very good. My relationship with Jere Morehead is excellent. I think there’s huge mutual respect. I don’t have any doubt that we will both be working together for the benefit of the university and the community.
GPR: Tim Denson has named a progressive tax rate as one of his ways to play for his programs. What are your thoughts on that?
Well I think what Tim Denson is proposing is scary. He’s proposing to change the property tax system from value based to ability to pay. Thank goodness it can’t be done under the laws and constitutions of the state of Georgia. It would take several amendments to the constitution and state law to make that possible. The mayor and commission cannot even call a referendum on their own. That has to be done through the state legislature. That’s the difference in 26 years of experience and knowledge of the way government works. I don’t have to backtrack and learn all this. If [a progressive tax rate] did happen, people may move out of Athens-Clarke County. It would be a killer on incentives to do anything. I’m also worried [about] how you determine ability to pay. It’s fraught with so many problems. It’s wrong for our community morally.
GPR: In a previous debate the issue of sexual assault was raised. What can and will you do about sexual assault in Athens?
I’ve been working to help victims of sexual assault practically my whole life here. This year, we have 18 positions in our budget for violence against women – positions which are spaced out throughout our criminal justice system to deal with aftermath of violence and sexual assault against women. Those positions were being funded through federal grants that have run out now. Now we’re supporting [these positions] throughout budget. I’ve also been a supporter of Project Safe since it’s conception. I participated in Dancing with the Athens Stars last year to raise money for Project Safe. Our police officers are specifically trained to deal with sexual assault victims. One thing I want to make absolutely clear is the victim is absolutely never at fault. The only time sexual contact is not sexual assault is when there is an absolute “yes.” There’s never an excuse.
GPR: Public transit in Athens has been a big issue in this race. What can and will you do about public transit in Athens?
It’s going to stay the same for this year’s budget. In the upcoming budget, I have proposed a transit study, which the university has agreed to participate in with us, to look at ways we can make the system more efficient. My opponent talks about combining the UGA bus system with ours. There have been no overtures made from the university about combining the systems. The university’s mission is very different from the county’s mission. The university’s transit mission is to get their students to and from class. That’s not Athens-Clarke County’s transit mission. They’re also dealing with a very compact area. The university buses are driven by students. They don’t have the same overhead that we have. We probably pay our drivers a bit more and there’s a career ladder for workers to move up. We also provide full benefits. The dynamics of the two systems are very different. I’m sure there are some areas where our [two systems] overlap where we can improve efficiency. I think our transit study will reveal that. If we can make our pie bigger by bringing in jobs and industry, maybe we can improve our transit system, but for a community our size, [the transit system] is one of the top systems in the country.
GPR: What can and will you do about K-12 education in Athens?
There’s actually nothing officially that the mayor can do for education. They have their own board and jurisdiction. From a public relations standpoint, I want to trumpet the quality we have in Athens. A big reason why I ran for mayor was to change the conversation in Athens. In fact, this came up when I was talking with people from Caterpillar. We were talking about where to relocate. I know there are some realtors that will say you need to go to Oconee County because their schools are better. I know which ones say it. The schools are not better in Oconee County. We have two very good school systems, but the populations are completely different. We have far more [low-income minority] students in comparison to Oconee County. The students there come from more [affluent] backgrounds in comparison to ours. That’s changing. The middle class is starting to come back to Athens. The Chase Street school area was a very poor area, but that area’s coming back now. When you get more parental involvement, which you get from the middle class, you get a better educational environment.
With early voting underway and May 20th drawing ever closer, Athenians will ultimately decide which Denson will serve as their next mayor. Those registered to vote should make America’s Founding Fathers proud and head to the Board of Elections Office during normal business hours (Monday through Friday between 8 am – 5 pm). You can read more about Mayor Nancy Denson and her platform at www.nancydensonformayor.com/. To learn more about her challenger Tim Denson and his platform visit www.timforathens.com/.
