Letter to the Editor – Kent Davis Should be Considered for Anniston City Manager

Kent Davis should be given an interview and seriously considered for Anniston City Manager

Just under a decade ago, he was our city manager. One of the few, in the opinion of many, who was great for the city of Anniston. He was wildly successful in accomplishing a lot for us in a short amount of time. Someone who left to achieve additional years of military service for his retirement. With that goal met, Kent Davis is ready to return to Anniston! Return to the helm to help steer us in a new direction as the face of the city council changes in 2025. Timing couldn’t be better! A retired Navy Rear Admiral, Davis has a decorated resume chocked full of successes – stars and bars, war service, global experience, and immeasurable knowledge, know how, and a skillset rivaled by few. Admiral Davis has served in one capacity or another in several of our branches of the Armed Forces not just the Navy. He has served our country, been deployed to war zones, and is an advocate for our veterans. His educational background includes a law degree. He’s a dynamic leader with vision who is not afraid to stand up for what is right, speaks the truth, holds people accountable, is transparent, and willing to fight for you, this city, and its future. Look at what he accomplished recently in Montgomery as Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs. He made the news as he stood up for what was right and was blamed for things he did not do. In the end, he was exonerated by many people who respect him for doing the right thing. As the adage goes, ‘no good deed goes unpunished, and Admiral Davis knows this all too well, yet he continues to stick his neck out for progress and transparency. We could use someone with that measure of honesty, grit, and guts here in Anniston, couldn’t we? Yes, we could! You know how sometimes the right pieces of the puzzle come together when you need them to the most. The puzzle is on the table, and piece by piece, it’s coming together. With Montgomery in his rear-view mirror, Admiral Kent Davis is currently a free agent, there’s his old spot at city hall openand there’s a new city council forming in the Fall.  So, why would someone of Admiral Davis’ pedigree want to come back to Anniston? Davis says, “it’s where my wife and I raised our children – Anniston holds a special place in my heart. The timing is right.” He’s not kidding either, with the city manager’s position opening, shuffling happening on the city council with what will be a facelift come August, the dissolution of the MDA, announcements of Starbucks and the film industry coming to McClellan – the timing is right for all of us – great things are on the horizon.  Who better to navigate us toward greatness than someone with Davis’ credentials who has proven he can get the job done no matter what it is.

With the promise of capturing the caliber and likes of Admiral Davis, and the hopes of seeing him behind the wheel once again steering the ship, we should consider ourselves blessed in this moment of opportunity, right? Most definitely we should be feeling a positive change is afoot, but this is Anniston, a city where city leadership hasn’t always made the best decisions or decisions are made that lack vision and dynamic thought the likes of which you find in progressive cities.  To learn this skillset, one must leave the city of Anniston, live in other towns, get out of the country, witness new cultures, see how it’s done in other places where people have already found solutions to common problems. Do away with the status quo and try something bold and empowering.  Kent Davis brings with him a world of possibilities, just look at what he helped accomplish in Anniston in two short years back in 2016. A list of some of his and his team’s accomplishments are listed for you below.

Do I feel like Kent Davis would be an asset to the city? Absolutely! His track record speaks for itself.  More importantly, I am not alone.  There are many, and I say many Kent Davis supporters in this city.  Many who reached out to him encouraging him to apply for the city manager’s position. Others who have said he’s a shoe in, several excited to have him even consider coming back.  Keep in mind, he’s been our city manager before, he could walk right in on day one and pick up where he left off.  No training, no bringing him up to speed, just jump in and get busy.  His work here in Anniston has gained him the respect of a lot of people.  Not only did he leave on good terms and for good reason, but when he left, many of us were sad to see him go.  We felt hopeless at losing yet another good leader. Now, we have renewed hope and excitement in the form of an application and a dossier that says here I am, I am available, and I am willing to come back.  An application submitted by none other than Kent Davis.

In this city where the shoe has dropped numerous times, let me drop the other shoe. Kent Davis was not even given the honor, the opportunity, the right, the privilege, the ability, the pleasure, nor the respect of an interview. You read that right, he wasn’t even in the top two to be able to go before the council and the public to give you his ideas, hopes, plans, dreams, reasons, and vision for Anniston! I don’t even know where to put the exclamation mark as it would be appropriate after every word in this last paragraph just so you understand the travesty and loss this is!  Your city leaders looked right over and right past Admiral Davis’ application and tossed it out with yesterday’s news. The same leaders who hated to see him go a few years ago didn’t even give him a second chance at a job he once held. In my opinion, and I know it will be the opinion of many Anniston citizens, that once Davis’ application came across the desk, it was a no-brainer, it should have been a swift and easy decision to put Kent Davis back in the seat he once occupied. The city should have snatched him up quickly before he either changed his mind, or someone made him a better offer.  But that’s not what our leadership did. They tossed this remarkable candidate aside. Maybe they’re just looking for another ‘yes man?  Has the already made up its mind before the interviews begin?  Maybe they need a puppet, especially when control and power shifts next year to others. It’s old guard mentality and Anniston won’t change until we change our leaders. We must hire and elect dynamic, proven, and visionary leaders for our city or we will remain stagnant. You have the power to make that change as a citizen in this city.

If you agree that Kent Davis should at least have an interview, that the citizens deserve to hear from him, if you feel that our city leadership should be held accountable as they make what will be this city’s most important decision in decades. If you feel that our city leadership should hire Kent Davis as the next city manager, now is the time to speak up. There will be no second chance to save this city. Please act now and act fast. Contact the members of the city council. Email each, and every one of our leaders letting them know how you wish them to proceed with this critical and important decision. They are your elected officials, they are here for you – not their self-interests. Keep in mind, there are likely some who want to see Kent Davis in this job, they’re just being out voted. Since we don’t know who and how they are voting, we must assume all of them need to hear from us. Don’t let them make a bad decision in hiring a ‘yes man’ that we will all have to live with as they retire next year and puppeteer our city in the background. Email addresses for the city manager and council members can be found on the city’s website at www.annistonal.gov.

If you have any questions regarding Davis’ recent departure as Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veteran’s Affairs, please contact Alabama Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth at ltgov@.alabama.gov or by calling (334) 261-9590. Lt. Governor Ainsworth can clear up any questions you may have of Davis’ recent departure from Montgomery, and can shed light on Davis’ qualifications.

You can also listen to this radio show from Montgomery, it will also help clear up a lot of questions: https://www.youtube.com/live/7MKnKk79BJ4?si=caiD2GLowY8tfPR7

If the city chose not to give Davis an interview based on events in Montgomery, we urge them to also research this issue further by contacting Lt. Gov. Ainsworth.

Here are some of Kent Davis’ accomplishments working together with a team at city hall under his leadership as city manager, and with ‘thinking outside the box’ success:

• Guided and completed the very complex legal right-of-way acquisition for the remaining portion of the Chief Ladiga trail project from Michael Tucker Memorial Park to the multi-modal transportation station in downtown Anniston.
• Spearheaded final deal with the Federal Government for the swap of the old City Hall for the former Federal Courthouse (which allowed for construction of the new Federal Courthouse).  As part of the deal, overcame the difficult issue of the old City Hall located in a floodplain (by agreeing to build up the soil level of that property).
• Guided and oversaw the national designation of the Freedom Riders National Monument by working closely with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior and her staff for the formal designation by President Obama.  Was awarded a personal “2017 Most Powerful and Influential Attorney Award” in Atlanta for his work in establishing the National Monument.
• Completed several major economic development projects via tax abatements and other economic incentives, including Dad’s BBQ on McClellan Boulevard, major expansion of the bus manufacturer on south side of Anniston, and several new small businesses in downtown.
• Reinvigorated the Main Street project and re-established a frankly damaged city relationship with the independent “Spirit of Anniston” organization.
• Began a series of townhall meetings at community centers, e.g., to hold seminars on support to small businesses.
• Served as a board member at the local Chamber of Commerce, working closely with that organization to foster further business development.
• Re-established a good relationship with Chief of Police that had suffered in recent years (ask Shane Denham).  With that improved partnership, he jointly increased the Anniston Police Force by about 10% in response to increasing crime rates.  After these additional “boots on the ground,” crime statistics began dropping steadily.  He also worked to foster relations with joint law enforcement projects (both federal and regional) to address gang violence and drug trafficking in the area.
• Placed a renewed emphasis on the Coldwater Mountain Biking Trail and hired the first full-time trail manager (Marcus Tillman).
• Pushed for and finalized the transformation of a city community center at Lagarde Park into the new Longleaf Botanical Gardens.  Further supported Alan Robison, David Ford, and others in the full operation of the entire Anniston Museum complex.  Served on the board of directors of the Berman Museum of World History and used his personal Navy contacts to obtain a VERY rare piece of the USS ARIZONA shipwreck from Pearl Harbor for display at the Berman (just ask Alan and David).
• Increased support for the operation of the Anniston Downtown Market (and employed/supported Jean Ann Oglesby in that role)
• Worked closely with McClellan Development Authority.  In that role, he attended all MDA meetings and he initiated the new horse trail project at McClellan, as well as expansion of the mountain biking trail system at McClellan.
• Worked with the Anniston Fire Department to fund and build a new training facility on McClellan Boulevard that has now become a regionally renowned learning institution. (ask Chief Waldrep)
• Worked closely with the Alabama Department of Transportation to implement important safety improvements on Anniston roads (e.g., more uniform speed limits on entire length of Quintard and Anniston Eastern Bypass; warning signs and improvements to runaway truck ramp on the Bypass).
• In his previous work with FEMA, revamped the City’s emergency response plan, which was used effectively in response to a major snowstorm shortly thereafter.
• Used a contract grant writer in Atlanta to successfully pursue several major grants for the City.
• Hired a new lobbyist for the City (Jeff Miller), which resulted in better relationships with State and Federal officials and established close working relationships with surrounding municipalities to work on projects of common interest.

*All Letters to the Editors are Opinion Pieces Submitted by readers. 

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