CaMia Hopson says she’s ready to make immediate impact

ALBANY — When CaMia Hopson returned to Albany seven years ago after working for years in metro Atlanta, the familiarity of the place where she’d grown up was reassuring.

But as she looked around the Southwest Georgia city, Hopson felt a level of distress.

“When I came downtown, saw all of those abandoned buildings and that wonderful river just sitting there, I was alarmed,” Hopson, a business analyst at Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany, said. “It was such a disappointment. There was that great natural resource, the Flint River, and the adjacent property along the riverfront going to waste.”

Hopson’s not the kind of person who just sits back and observes, so she sent in an application to be a part of Albany’s Downtown Development Authority. Named to that board by the Albany City Commission, Hopson has gained a firsthand knowledge about the redevelopment goings-on within Albany’s inner city.

That knowledge, she says, is one of the assets she’s using in her campaign for a seat on the commission.

“There is a growing buzz about the downtown district,” Hopson, who is one of five candidates seeking the Ward II seat in the Nov. 7 municipal election, said. “There are already some great businesses being established there, and the interest is growing. I think the more you see going on there, the more prospects you’ll see expressing interest.

“My major concern with that district right now is working to alleviate the misperception that downtown is a high-crime area. It’s not, and I cringe every time I hear someone say that.”

Hopson notes that addressing the city’s primary areas of concern — crime, economic status, blight — is priority No. 1 for the commission, but she adds that the element of equity must enter into that equation.

“Obviously, every decision that’s made is not going to please everyone,” she said. “But I believe all issues must be weighed against the overall collective of the city. What seems to be forgotten at times is that the money that funds the city government is taxpayer money. All people in the city deserve to know how their resources are being divvied up.”

Hopson said she’s heard talk of the learning curve that is something of a hindrance to new members of a governmental board like the City Commission. She insists that she doesn’t expect to be slowed by any such curve.

“Look, I’ve worked with Fortune 500 companies; I’m not going to be intimidated by a large budget,” she said. “And I’m not going to be intimidated by the enormity of this position. I believe that, with my background, I’m going to be able to jump in there immediately and have an impact. I think the position requires that.

“I have the ability to think fast and act fast. In government work, there are windows of opportunity that open up quickly and close just as fast. I think you have to be prepared to act on them. The work I’ve done in my career has prepared me. I think I’m in a unique position to have an immediate impact.”

Hopson said she’s been “overwhelmed” by the willingness of the people in Ward II to “share their stories, issues and complaints.” Some, she said, have already reached out to her for help.

“A couple of stories,” she said. “I don’t mean this as a negative to reflect on the current commissioner (Bobby Coleman), but I got a call from a lady who said she’d had a stroke and found it difficult when she came home at night from work to get into her home because the light near her home was out. I simply made a call on her behalf, and the light was repaired. She said she’d been trying for two years to get someone to do something about the light.

“Another lady told me she’d been trying for more than two years to get work done on a fire hydrant near her home. I told her I’d make a call on her behalf, but I didn’t promise anything. When I was out canvassing a neighborhood recently, I saw (evidence of work being done) on a fire hydrant. It turns out it was the one that the lady had called me about. She later called to thank me for working on her behalf. People want someone who’ll listen to their problems. That’s what I vow to do.”