Experience matters, especially if you’re running for Mayor. It is becoming increasingly evident that Cindy Thomas just isn’t prepared at this level of politics. Maybe she should have run for the city council and gained the necessary experience to be an effective executive.

I remember the 2016 election campaign of Donald Trump when asked who he would bring into his administration since he wanted to drain the swamp. He attempted to define the swamp as the deep state or career people already working in the government. His reply was he was going to bring in the best business minds, the best talent ever assembled.

I was reminded of that time listening to Jacinda “Cindy” Thomas’s audio of last night’s candidate forum in Lithonia. I was not in attendance; however, I have listened to the audio from last night’s forum. The most striking resemblance was her lack of experience as to how government works. Being Mayor is not like being a President, however, they are both executive positions that have high visibility and sets the vision and tone for what they would want to achieve during their term. The questions by the moderators were basic questions of any politicians running for office. Unfortunately, we are used to politicians not answering questions, but never not answering a basic question like what is your greatest achievement both professionally and personally. That’s a softball question intended to give us some insight into what you’ve done in your past that will give us a clue as to what you bring to the table. It’s even more dumbfounding when you’ve just been asked to share with us the 20 million dollars you secured for businesses that you allegedly consulted with in the past. That would be a major professional accomplishment! Instead, we got what she would do in the future. A talking point designed to supplement when you don’t have an answer. Back to the 20 million dollars raised for her business clients. Unless you’ve raised hundreds of million dollars deals you would remember with specificities. Instead, we got ramblings about examples of funding. Even if I give her the benefit of the doubt that she didn’t want to give away trade secrets, surely, she could have given us how that experience transfer to government funding. Instead, we got something like, “I’ve been in sales,” or “my connections.” What connections do you have? Who are they? Not even a name drop. Can we at least get that? This leads me to believe that she is being evasive and not given anyone the ability to fact-check. It’s all talk with no substance, it’s what is called in the sales industry an air deal. Better yet, can we get some verifiable testimonies from the companies you secured 20 million dollars in funding?

Now for some of the governing questions, Ms. Thomas was asked and I’m paraphrasing, “Name one zoning requirement in the city you would change?” Before I continue, what are Zoning Laws?

“Zoning is the process of dividing the land in a municipality into zones in which certain land uses are permitted or prohibited. In addition, the sizes, bulk, and placement of buildings may regulate. The type of zones determines whether planning permission for a given development is granted.

Source: Wikipedia”

For example, if a property is zoned residential, there is no need to change the zoning on it unless you plan on tearing it down and building a commercial property on it like a store or office building. Or changing the structure of the building on that property from a single-family home to an apartment building. That would require a zoning change.

Here is a zoning ordinance in Lithonia that should address. Our downtown area zoned commercial is only so big, two whole blocks maybe. To obtain a liquor license downtown you can’t be within 75 yards of a church. At the time that Life & Times Cigar Bar was trying to get the liquor license, downtown Lithonia had two churches, one on Main Street and the other in Lithonia Plaza. If you look at small and large towns across this country, the downtown area flourishes with great retail shops, restaurants, and places of entertainment for the community to enjoy. It’s vital to the growth and sustainability of the community. Churches are vital to the community as well, however, most churches are not found in storefront locations. Churches aren’t typically open six to seven days a week during business hours. If the zoning laws were to change requiring retail, entertainment, and arts in downtown Lithonia, building owners could only lease their spaces out for those purposes. Therefore, allowing more economic growth within the city, which also provides jobs for its residents. Ms. Thomas did give an example of what zoning laws she would like to see changed, she answered investors buying properties and looking at what worked in the past and what didn’t work. For someone who prides herself on bringing new developments and attracting new businesses to Lithonia, I would think she would have a well-thought-out answer to that question not to mention her lofty goal of 100% employment for the residents of Lithonia. To achieve a better Lithonia, you must first understand the mechanisms of government and have a well-thought-out strategy to reach your goals. She had neither.

The governing body is in the case of a city the City Council. I was struck by the many times Cindy stated that she would bring in outside consultants or experts. On the surface that sounds solid, but if you know how governments work, it just not that simple. Ms. Thomas was asked, “What would you do if the city was awarded a million-dollar grant?” She talked about splitting the fund up and putting it in different areas for improvement. Again, that sounds rational, however, an informed candidate would work closely with the city council to map out a plan to maximize the city’s needs. The City Council has the power of the purse; they decide how money is going to be spent. The Mayor can give direction but doesn’t have a vote unless a tiebreaker is necessary. She was asked about the process of hiring police officers and using Police Officer Standards and Training (Post). Anytime in the State of Georgia, a police officer violates their oath it goes on the POST report. These reports are a great tool in deciding whether to hire an officer or not. You would prefer to hire officers that have a clean POST report or at worst have minor infractions. Ms. Thomas missed the mark altogether, instead talked about her own skillset and bringing outside consultants into the hiring process. If she knew, there is already a process in place to weed out unwanted police officers; the process just needs to be adhered to. A Mayor can certainly recommend or advocate for certain candidates, but the city council has the final say. Not once did she mention the city council in implementing her vision for the city. The moderator did ask Ms. Thomas how she would work with the city council in a separate question in which she stated that was ever good for the citizens of Lithonia would be a priority. That answer is good by itself but lacked the complete understanding that implementing any of her programs that require funding would have to go through the city council. It may appear that I am splitting hairs here, but someone with the experience to run for mayor would not have missed this very important point. One that possesses the necessary experience would always prefer their response with “I will work with the city council to ensure passage of this ordinance or law.

I don’t know much about a lot of things, but I do know when a politician is perpetrating a fraud against the very people they wish to serve. This is what I do, study politics.

Kazemde Ajamu