Griffin Speaks
MY ADVICE TO COUNCILMAN TERRANCE DAWSON
When it came time for me to sit at my computer and write this week's column I was not sure what I would write about. I asked my wife Debra for a suggestion. She suggested that I write about the need for people to consume more fruits and vegetables. I looked at her and quickly said, "I want people to read my column not wipe their tails with it." She pouted and then laughed.
I decided that I would give in to public requests and speak about Montgomery City Councilman Terrance Dawson. It seems like every day someone asks me what I think about the councilman's brushes with the law. I have known Councilman Dawson for over fifteen years and I like him. I did not vote for him when he ran against Councilman Sidney Williams. My reasons for supporting Councilman Williams were many. Councilman Williams in my opinion was an excellent councilman. He represented District 5 well. Councilman Dawson defeated him because his supporters did not believe that Terrance Dawson was a formidable opponent. We were dead wrong!
Councilman Dawson is a very strong campaigner. He knows his constituents well. He may very well be re elected if he follow a few examples of past politicians that were in trouble. A number of people have expressed an interest in running against Terrance. They feel that he can be defeated. This may be true, but it is not certain.
When I call Councilman Dawson he returns my call very quickly. I like that! When I need his help on a matter, he is quick to help! Will I vote for him in the up coming election it depends! Several of my friends are throwing their hats in the ring. Clarence Hampton has decided to run. Clarence Hampton is one of the smartest men I know. He was an active supporter of mine when I ran for public office. Can he defeat Terrance it depends?
I once saw Terrance Dawson on stage at a block party that he sponsored for District 5. He was doing the Hollywood Hustle! The audience was mesmerized and loved him. Terrance has had his problems with the law, but the people in District Five may forgive him; however, I have yet to hear Terrance ask the people to forgive him for his Bad Boy behavior.
My advice to Councilman Dawson is that he does the following if he wants to be re elected to his seat on the council. He must call a press conference and read an apology similar to this one.
Good afternoon. As anyone close to me knows, for months I have been grappling with how best to reconcile myself to the people in District Five, to acknowledge my own wrongdoing and still maintain my focus on the work of the council.
My attorney is presenting my defense on the facts, the law and the Constitution. Nothing I can say now can add to that. What I want the people in District Five to know, what I want the Council to know is that I am profoundly sorry for all I have done wrong in words and deeds. I should have never embarrassed the city, the Council, my friends or my family. Quite simply, I am ashamed of my behavior.
I have been condemned by my accusers with harsh words, and while it's hard to hear yourself called deceitful and manipulative, I remember Ben Franklin's admonition that our critics are our friends, for they do show us our faults.
Mere words cannot fully express the profound remorse I feel for what our city is going through and for what my fellow constituents are now forced to deal with. These past months have been a torturous process of coming to terms with some of the things that I have been accused of having done.
An old and dear friend of mine recently sent me the wisdom of a poet, who wrote, "The moving finger writes and, having writ, moves on. Nor all your piety nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line, nor all your tears wash out a word of it."
So nothing-not piety, nor tears, nor wit, nor torment-can alter what I have done. I must make peace with that. I must also be at peace with the fact that the public consequences of my actions are in the hands of the people in District Five. Should they determine that my errors of word and deed require their rebuke and loss of their votes, I am ready to accept that.
Meanwhile, I will continue to do all I can to reclaim the trust of the people in District Five and to serve them well. We must all return to work, the vital work of strengthening our city. Our city has wonderful opportunities and daunting challenges ahead. I intend to seize those opportunities and meet those challenges with all the energy and ability and strength God has given me. That is simply all I can do, the work of the People in my district.
Thank you very much.
If this apology sounds familiar its because it is the apology almost verbatim that President Bill Clinton gave to the American people on Friday, December 11, 1998. If it was good enough for President Clinton and the American people, perhaps it will be good enough for Councilman Dawson and the people in district five. We can't forgive you Councilman Dawson if you don't ask us to!
Greg Griffin is a free lance writer. You can read his previous articles by logging on to his web page at www.greggriffin.com
