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Mayor Kasim Reed’s staff just want him to be safe.
So after his election in 2009, the City of Atlanta decided there was an “immediate” need to overhaul the city’s existing vehicles.
Peter Aman, chief operating officer for the city, believes the decision to be practical:
“What we are doing is switching from sedans to SUVs,” Aman said. “They are safer and more secure for the mayor of a big city to travel in.”
Due to this overhaul, Mayor Reed will soon be driven around town by his Executive Protection Unit in one of two new GMC Yukon Denalis.
Let the political games begin.
“I don’t understand how we can go from the State of the City speech that points out how much money the city has saved and then turn around and spend $120,000 on two top-of-line SUVs,” said Barbara Payne, executive director of the Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation. “To me, it absolutely sends the wrong message to taxpayers.”
According to Aman, more than half of the fleet was past its usable life, and the city plans to utilize more than $10 million in tax dollars to upgrade the vehicles. These include new fire trucks and garbage trucks, as well as around 150 new vehicles that would go to the Atlanta Police Department, including 90 new patrol cars, 30 detective cars, two crime-scene vans and 11 sport utility vehicles.
“Of those 11 SUVs, two are to be used for the mayor, executive staff or visiting dignitaries,” Aman said.
“We do try to be as careful as we can with taxpayer funds and we are committed to that,” Aman said, “but we also want to keep the employees and the mayor safe and secure.” Reed was previously driven around in a Ford Taurus, and Payne argues that was a more appropriate choice.
“Why was it a Denali versus a lower-end vehicle? To me, the visual sends the wrong message,” Payne said.
“Mayors from Dallas to Detroit to Baltimore are driven around in SUVs for business,” says Dwayne Bishop, a 20-year veteran with the Dallas Police Department in dignitary protection. “It would be a disaster if an assassin tried to ram a Taurus, adding that SUVs give drivers better sight lines and more power to maneuver out of dangerous situations.”
“I wonder what took Atlanta so long,” said Bishop. “The threat level is always there. Those guys get all kind of threats on them and are always exposed,” Bishop said. “I see Atlanta as being very proactive in this, instead of being reactive.”
It would be easy to turn this into a race issue, especially in light of the fact that outrage over President Barack Obama’s use of Air Force One, even on diplomatic business is legendary. However, this issue is color-blind.
Liberals have also screeched in outrage over the misuse of taxpayer funds, while neither major party has taken exception to spending it when it suits their agendas. When it comes to economics and pandering to voters, the best place to start is the wallet. If voters think you’re using their money frivolously, chances are, you will lose their support.
Cue the manufactured outrage.
I understand the thirst for reduced spending, I really do. It is extremely important to stifle the flow of cash to politicians for their personal pursuits. However, safety is not negotiable. Not for our city officials, not for our fire department, and not most definitely not for our police department.
They are public servants, not slaves. In the midst of the escalated political climate that has occurred since the election of President Obama, their safety should always be a top priority.
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