Dougherty County officials plan to cut ties with Cornerstone lobbying group

ALBANY — The Dougherty County Commission plans to cut ties with its long-time lobbying firm the CGA (Cornerstone Government Affairs) Group and former Albany resident Jerry Usry, the county’s interim administrator has acknowledged.

The decision, according to Administrator Barry Brooks, was recommended by the county’s Government Affairs Committee and has been put in motion without a discussion by the full board.

“It’s in the process,” Brooks said of the decision to cut ties with Cornerstone. “We’ve been using them on a month-to-month basis since their contract ran out, and I had planned to suggest we put together another one-year contract and then put out an RFP (request for proposal) to determine if we wanted to go in another direction. But our attorney, Alex Shalishali, told me that an RFP was not necessary because Cornerstone provides a professional service.”

Usry, who graduated from the University of Georgia and Albany State University and is a former Albany resident, has represented the county since 2017. During that time, his firm has helped the county attain more than $113 million in funding, much of it coming after presidentially declared natural disasters, including damage from straight-line winds, tornadoes and Hurricane Michael in 2018.

Usry also has worked with officials at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce, Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany and the locally-based Peanut Growers Association. Cornerstone, he said, now serves more than 70 clients in Georgia alone.

“Politics change; people come and go,” Usry said of the expected break with the county government. “We (Usry and fellow Cornerstone principal Louie Perry) came and talked with the county leadership last year, and I thought we had a good talk. And, no matter what their ultimate decision, I can truly say I have no complaints at all. I love Albany; I care about that community.”

One local official who worked with Usry and Cornerstone during its tenure with the county is state Rep. Gerald Greene, R-Cuthbert. He said the county would be making a mistake to cut ties with the agency.

“It would be a sad day for Dougherty County if they do away with Cornerstone,” Greene said. “Without them — and without Jerry Usry — I can guarantee you the county would not have gotten the millions and millions of dollars they got during the tornadoes and during Michael. I can say for certain that he worked extensively with Senator (Freddie Powell) Sims and myself to secure state funding for the county.

“The business that Cornerstone is in is all about connections. Jerry has those connections. And he does his homework. I can say that no matter who the county decides to go with, they’re going to have some difficulty getting funds now.”

A person in the county government, who asked that their name not be used for fear of retaliation, said Usry had been vital to the survival of the county in the wake of the rash of natural disasters that struck the community. He had one problem, though, the individual said.

“The only thing Jerry Usry did ‘wrong’ during his work with the county is be white,” the person said. “We have a racist group running the county government that makes decisions based solely on skin color. They think they’re ‘striking a blow’ for the African American community, but what they’re doing is racist, it’s illegal and it’s wrong. The people of Dougherty County deserve better.”

Rumors are swirling around the county’s plan to replace Cornerstone, and one of the most prominent is that Commissioner Gloria Gaines, who heads the commission’s Government Affairs Committee that recommended severing ties with the lobbying group, plans to use the opportunity to place one of her friends in the position. Gaines is out of the country and unavailable for comment.