Dorothy Hubbard: Albany at the door of economic recovery

Second in a six-part series about the city of Albany’s Nov. 3 municipal election.

ALBANY — Dorothy Hubbard ponders the question only a moment: Why would you, the antithesis of the career politician, want to serve as mayor for four more years?

“First of all, I love this city, and I want to do anything I can to help it succeed,” the retired educator who has served on the city of Albany’s governing body for 10 years said. “And we’re right at the door of making it happen. The door is open and we’re about to step in.”

Hubbard served six years on the Albany City Commission as the representative of that board’s Ward II before stepping down to seek the mayor’s office. She defeated current Ward III Commissioner B.J. Fletcher in a runoff election and has focused during her tenure as the city’s top elected executive on reversing an economic slide that left the state’s 10th-largest city with some of Georgia’s highest unemployment figures.

“When I came into this office, we were in the middle of one of the worst recessions in the history of this country,” Hubbard said. “We struggled for a while to get on track, but what that did is make us work harder, work smarter. We finally figured out that the way to improve economic development in our community is to work together.

“I believe I had to grow into my role as mayor because, quite frankly, I never dreamed in a million years that this is something I would do. But I saw this office as a way to help others. The mayor is a facilitator, not someone who goes off on an ego trip and makes it about himself or herself. We’re still fighting a lot of that kind of thing from years before. But there are people in Southwest Georgia who are watching us, communities that look up to us. That’s something we can’t forget.”

Hubbard’s opponents in the Nov. 3 municipal election, businessmen Lane Rosen and Tracy Taylor, have made the city’s Utility Board and its utilities rates an issue in the campaign for the mayor’s office. But the incumbent says they — and others in the community — are distorting facts.

“What my opponents are doing is ignoring the fact that we have the lowest utility rates among providers in our region,” Hubbard said. “A lot of local customers have a tendency to compare their entire bill — which might include gas, water, solid waste, sanitary sewer as well as electricity — to (other providers’) bills that include only electricity.

“I know, for instance that I’m going to have a humongous bill around Christmas time and around the 4th of July — my Christmas in July. I have visitors during that time and use more electricity. I budget for it, but I also do everything I can to cut back. My opponents are trying to convince people the Utility Board is raising rates, but that isn’t true. Studies have shown that usage is what drives utilities bills up.”

Hubbard said working with the Utility Board (as de facto chairwoman) has been one of her biggest challenges as mayor. But she noted that a merger of that entity into the city of Albany — a merger of two bodies with $120 million-plus budgets — has paved the way for efficiencies and economic development opportunities.

“This has worked because our employees bought into it,” the mayor said. “We were able to eliminate some unnecessary positions and cut our expenditures. And we’ve put ourselves into a position where we can use our assets to serve communities outside ours and increase revenues.”

Hubbard touts a list of accomplishments in the city during her tenure: from tearing down the eyesore Heritage House Hotel to implementing a citywide cleanup program to holding the line on spending. That latter has also entered the mayoral election dialog.

Rosen, Taylor and Ward IV commission candidate Chad Warbington, who served on the Utility Board before stepping down to run for office, have advocated using a utilities surplus to either cut rates or offer a rebate to utilities customers.

“The reason we have that surplus is that we held back from meeting all of our needs during the year,” Hubbard said. “Before we promise a small rebate or rate cut, we have to take care of those needs we delayed and look at the infrastructure improvement projects that are on our to-do list.”

Hubbard said the city has a laundry list of items that will be vital to its economic well-being in the next four years, including downtown redevelopment, increase in business and job opportunities, cleaning up blighted properties, working with school officials to ensure future businesses have a well-trained work force from which to hire.

“Do we have issues that we must address? Sure we do,” Hubbard said. “But our city is looking toward a brighter future. I’ve been criticized by some for saying I’m a ‘cheerleader’ for our community, but I don’t mind. I will remain a cheerleader because I believe a lot of the things we’ve been working for are about to come to fruition.

“I truly believe serving in this office is my destiny. I think it’s one of the purposes God put me here for. I’ll have time to think about things like being the first female mayor when I finally stop doing this. But right now, I believe I’m serving God’s will in my life.”

Tomorrow: Mayoral challenger Lane Rosen.