"Our ultimate goal is to make the Model City a destination for tourists, business, retirees and young professionals." - former Anniston Mayor Vaughn Stewart, "One City, One Vision”
So I hope you've enjoyed visiting, even with limited digital access, the book "The Model City of the New South: Anniston, Alabama, 1872-1900" along with some of the editorials, articles from The Anniston Star and more. Perhaps you may have even learned something. This is Part 4, or perhaps the Epilogue, of an unintended series of stories regarding the past, present and future of Anniston, "The Model City"...
This time I want to take us to an "Op-Ed", from then Anniston Mayor Vaughn Stewart, that was printed in The Anniston Star dated January 4, 2015, "Anniston, 2015 -- the state of the city". It starts out reading, "Two years ago, Annistonians delivered a resounding message at voting booths across the city and ushered in a new era of city government. That message was as simple as it was urgent: Enough." It was then when I started to have hopes that what I had seen as a "dysfunctional" city council was to be improved. Several of the "key players" from the previous administration had been replaced, including Councilman Ben Little.
This "Op-Ed" continues reading, "Our city was still reeling from a series of 1990s misfortunes when the recession hit. Unfortunately, our leaders too often chose insults over solutions. By 2012, Anniston, a proud city with a growing list of challenges, had declined further. Over the last two years, Anniston’s journey has been characterized by the phrase, “One City, One Vision.” That principle encapsulated our biggest challenge: After years — even decades — of divisions and infighting, our first mission was to unite the city around a common vision for the future." A little further it reads, "Our vision for Anniston rejects both starry-eyed optimists who claim the status quo is sufficient as well as the naysayers who contend that improvement is a fool’s errand."
It continues reading, "Our ultimate goal is to make the Model City a destination for tourists, business, retirees and young professionals. If Anniston’s crime rate remains high, it will prove difficult to recruit businesses, new residents and tourists. I commend the hard work, dedication and bravery shown daily by the Anniston Police Department. Since 2013, APD has joined forces with federal agencies, the district attorney’s office and area law enforcement agencies to tackle crime vigorously and effectively. In 2013, the crime rate fell 16.5 percent. In the years ahead, we will continue to explore innovative crime-fighting strategies that have proven successful in other cities. We are determined to take back every unsafe street and are committed to working with neighborhoods to achieve that goal." It concludes with, "Of course, Anniston’s transformation would already be complete if we had an infinite funding stream. We don’t. We scratch and claw for every dollar in grant money so we can make smart investments for our future. In short, the state of the city is in motion. For the first time in a long time, and in no small part due to the efforts of thousands of Annistonians, we’re finally moving forward. Onward."
Just as the words "model city" were said to have become worn out and overused in my previous article, "Anniston, From A Private Town To A Public Town: The "Model City" Has Been Broken (Part 3)", the sentence I have repeated over and over, "Somewhere along the way someone has broken "The Model City", but maybe one day someone somewhere will ensure that the city of Anniston will still have a viable future!" has, to this writer, become worn out and overused as well. Today I do have to wonder though what ever happened to that "One City, One Vision”. That new city administration of then had replaced the previous one, the one which I had seen as "dysfunctional". It has since been replaced and for whatever reasons those in Ward 3 ended up electing Ben Little to once again represent them. With the likes of him Anniston may never move forward and onward. Perhaps the phrase, "One City, One Vision", has already become broken too. From the above we read, "After years — even decades — of divisions and infighting...", and here in 2018 that division and infighting continues with none other than Councilman Ben Little leading the way. If the citizens of Anniston do not choose wisely their leaders in the future, then perhaps "A Fool's Errand" will become the newest term that will be worn out and overused to describe this city.
