State Rep. questions Mayor Langford about dome contracts
Published: January 28, 2009
Updated: March 24, 2009
Minority contracts and the construction of Birmingham’s new domed stadium: its a steamy situation that now has one elected official publicly questioning Mayor Larry Langford’s allegiance to the African American community.
“I think I’m just as black as you,“ Langford said during Wednesday’s contentious meeting.
“I don’t know,“ retorted State Representative Mary Moore, (D)- Birmingham.
The original issue at hand during Wednesday’s BJCC meeting: how much of the work on Birmingham’s new domed stadium should go to local, minority businesses. The BJCC board has set a goal of 30%
“I’m insulted with the 30% myself. We’re the citizens of this city and county. At some point, we’ve got to step up,“ said Moore.
Some elected officials like Moore say at least 50% of the work should go to minority businesses.
That discussion led to exchanges like this:
“I don’t know you’re degree,“ said Moore.
“Oh, so there are degrees of black?“ questioned Langford.
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As Birmingham and Jefferson County go forward with the design and construction of a $500 million, 57,500-seat arena, Moore and others also want to make sure minority businesses are hired on as partners with the lead architect—-not sub contractors.
“That means a lot. It means we don’t have to worry about when we’re going to get paid. We get paid when the city pays. We don’t have to wait for the architect or the contractor to pay us,“ explains Clay Dorsey of Dorsey Architects.
Moore also wants to pass a law that would put two Birmingham City Council members on the BJCC board to make sure contracts go to minority businesses and that they’re hired as partners.
Langford is against that idea.
He warns it opens the door for corruption if you have the same people approving contracts, then later deciding who gets them.
Reader Reactions
i am assuming when the say minority they are talking about whitey… after all we are the true minority in this county
‘A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.
‘From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.‘
‘The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years’
‘During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:
1. from bondage to spiritual faith;
2. from spiritual faith to great courage;
3. from courage to liberty;
4. from liberty to abundance;
5. from abundance to complacency;
6. from complacency to apathy;
7. from apathy to dependence;
8. from dependence back into bondage”
I do not agree with Mayor Langford on everything he does, but I am in agreement with him on this issue. There are no degrees of blackness, you are or you are not. I also agree with the thirty percent. That leaves seventy percent for other races to be included. If we, African Americans, are not watchful, we will go from being the oppressed to being the oppressors.
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