Edward Allen wants to steer Albany to a brighter future

Editor’s Note: Seventh in a series of articles about the candidates seeking office in Albany’s Nov. 5 municipal election.

ALBANY — When Edward Allen came to Albany more than 20 years ago, it was for a love interest in Lee County. He’s stayed because he loves the city.

The U.S. Army veteran, a native of New York, counts Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives — who was his congresswoman — as a major political inspiration. He is one of seven candidates seeking the mayor’s seat in the nonpartisan Nov. 5 municipal election.

“I fell in love with a woman, then I fell in love with Albany, Georgia,” Allen said. “I thought running for office is something I could do to help my community. I see an opportunity to be involved with people that can lead to change.”

Allen has operated a downtown business, Fialka Emporium, for much of his time here. He said he sees the need for growth downtown, but said south Albany is most in need of development.

“I met (former Mayor) Tommy Coleman when I first arrived in Albany,” he said. “I asked Tommy to put some kind of economic development on the south side. I certainly believe if you put something on the south side, you will be re-elected.”

Allen said he believes that the opportunity brought with recovery money for the 1994 Great Flood was squandered and did not benefit the people who needed it most.

Residents of the area also should take the initiative and take advantage of educational opportunities offered by Albany Technical College and Albany State University, and work to develop the area, he said.

“Self-reliance to me is a much better answer,” said Allen, who in the past tutored disadvantaged children at his business. “That way you can master the future of yourself better than anyone else can do.”

Like all of his six opponents, Allen said he sees the city’s crime rate as a huge issue. The truly violent and dangerous should be off the streets, he said, and others should be encouraged to take advantage of training and educational opportunities that are available.

“If we don’t get a grip on criminality, we are not going to build economic growth,” he said. “Society cannot function and industry cannot operate under those kinds of conditions.”

The candidate said he thinks crime committed by people desperate for money can be addressed through creating jobs and education.

“Seventy-five to 80 percent of crimes (are committed) for financial reasons,” Allen said. “I want to work with the commissioners and the people in the wards and with these young people and show them how to make (money) in an ethical way.

“I think that the churches should become involved, and the community and schools. We must reduce the crime. The realistic approach is how do you eat an elephant? You eat it a bite at a time. The elephant is a big problem we have in our way, but you’ve got to chop at it.”

Employers also can play a role by committing to employees long-term, he said.

“On the southside, the trade-off (is) what employers want,” Allen said. “They want intelligent people to be employed, but they also must have a critical reduction of crime, violence.

“I think one of the key factors and concepts in mitigating crime and violence is employment. Before employers can hire you, you’ve got to have that foundational factor of education.”

Allen said he also wants to see more educational outreach to young people as well as increasing literacy programs for their parents.

“This is very important for Dougherty County,” he said of adult literacy. “If they will attend, we will help them overcome other obstacles. I truly think reading skills are very important. I believe in self-initiative and self-desire to improve one’s character and disposition.”

As a double leg-amputee who frequently makes bus rides that can take all day to get from Albany and back from a veterans hospital in Florida, Allen said he thinks bringing a veteran’s medical facility to Albany makes a lot of sense.

“We do need a veterans hospital here to serve our homeless and disabled vets,” he said. “These are distances I think a disabled person who is in critical condition should not have to make. They should hot have to travel so far for the service that they need. If you put up a VA hospital, can you imagine what that’s going to do for Albany, Georgia?”

Such a facility would create many good jobs, in addition to providing needed medical services to the many veterans in the area, he said.

“I would like to see our youth who graduate from ASU or Valdosta State able to remain or come here to Albany and advance their future aspirations and development,” he said. “We can’t afford for those who graduate to leave. That brain drain is why we are still having trouble convincing people to locate businesses and industry in Albany.

“We can predict today what the result will hold if we stay on the same course. If we keep losing our best and brightest, that will be the bane.”

Allen’s own medical situation makes him aware of the condition of sidewalks in the area of 100 South Jackson Street, where his business is located, and in other places in the city.

Much of some $500 million that came to the city for flood recovery was supposed to address such infrastructure issues, he said. That was not the case, and the work was never done. Projects for east and south Albany also fell by the wayside, he said.

Working together, Allen said, the commission and community can address the issues he identified.

“What I like to see are character, attitude and disposition,” he said. “If we put these in place, you would have a formidable formula there. I will work with (everyone) to make Albany a viable city and a city we can one day be proud of. I see a noble vision, and I want that for Albany.”

File Photo:

Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]