I Heart(ily) Endorse Shaundra Smith-McKeithen
This time last year Shaundra Smith-McKeithen was happily employed by Chatham County Building Permits. She wasn't on the job very long before she discovered that fees paid in cash were regularly disappearing without a trace. It didn't take much longer to discover where the money was going. Shaundra did what any decent, honest county employee would do: she alerted her boss and blew the proverbial whistle.
But a funny thing happened to Shaundra Smith-McKeithen: After proving the case against her manager, the manager was allowed to resign without being prosecuted or repaying the money, as much as $100,000.
Instead, the manager was protected by his boss, who was protected by a county commissioner and a city alderman.
The next person to be let go was Shaundra Smith-McKeithen. Of course, the reason for her dismissal had nothing whatsoever to do with whistle blowing; she had been on the job for less than six months and management thought that she simply wasn't working out.
Some people get mad, others get even. Shaundra has decided to run for office instead. She's thrown her beret in the same ring as Estella Shabazz and is determined to become alderman. Shaundra is not only running a campaign based on Accountability and Transparency, she is anxious to help the people of the impoverished 5th district whose voices have been "muted", as Shaundra likes to say.
No sooner than Shaundra launched her political page on Facebook she was trolled by someone who posted threatening messages. The troll turned out to be the daughter of Shaundra's esteemed opponent, posting under a different surname. This heinous tactic comes as no surprise to anyone who knows anything about the troll's parents.
If you like my general approach to Savannah city government and my take on Accountability and Transparency in particular, you're going to like Shaundra Smith-McKeithen. I heartily endorse her campaign and I strongly urge my supporters to reach out in support of her effort to lift up her community.
www.shaundrafor5thdistrict.com
