Mayor's SUV now marked as government vehicle

Mayor Hardie Davis's SUV is now street legal, maybe.

His new city-government bought Chevrolet Tahoe, parked at Augusta Municipal Building, showed white oval "Augusta, Georgia" logos on each of the car's black front doors.

Davis didn't want the car marked as a city vehicle, citing safety concerns. Then several commissioners  took issue with General Counsel Andrew MacKenzie's reading of state law regarding whether government vehicles must be marked.

MacKenzie did not dispute a recent commission vote to let Davis drive an unmarked vehicle without holding a public hearing as the law requires, with exceptions for law enforcement and prosecutors. It remained a major point of contention when MacKenzie resigned Tuesday, in exchange for a year's salary and benefits.

Prior to the attorney's resignation, the commission voted 7-1 to require Davis to use a "decal" until a public hearing can be advertised and held. The hearing will be held at 1 p.m. April 30 in the Augusta Commission chambers in the Municipal Building, 535 Telfair St.. Davis, who was out of town Tuesday, has declined requests for comment about the decal or MacKenzie. The vehicle was not marked until Thursday.

Even without a decal, the luxury-model Tahoe does sport a "county" marking on its license plate and a "GV" plate number as well as a "govt" sticker indicating it is a local government vehicle.

Commissioner Marion Williams, who has been most critical of Davis using the car without a decal or hearing, remained dissatisfied Thursday, despite the logos being affixed.

Why? "It's a magnet," Williams said, bristling. "It's supposed to be permanent."

Williams said he'd once turned a former airport director's magnetic city logo upside down to make a point.

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