Former club owner eyes Super District 9

Former mayoral candidate Charles Cummings believes he knows what every Augusta commission district in Super District 9 needs.

“In District 1, you’ve still got those infrastructure issues,” said Cummings, who’s making another run for elected office, this time for District 9. “In Laney Walker, Marion Homes, they still have issues ongoing down there.”

Despite cyber, medical and commercial growth downtown, District 1 also includes some of Augusta’s most problematic area, such as the flooding and blight that plague the Marion Homes subdivision, Cummings said.

Cummings will face retired state employee Francine Scott and any others who pursue the seat now held by Commissioner Marion Williams. After two consecutive terms, Williams is term-limited from seeking a third.

“In District 2, you have Regency Mall and Hyde Park,” Cummings said. “We spend a lot of time talking about the blighted homes, but we’re not talking about the transportation issues and infrastructure.”

Hyde is the target of a long-standing city drainage project and its numerous homes currently vacant and in disrepair. The blighted former Regency Mall actually sits in District 5, another part of the Super District, while the commission has seen little movement toward revitalizing the privately-owned mall.

Augusta Transit doesn’t go deep enough into Districts 2, 4 or 5, and crumbling infrastructure in each makes it hard for people with disabilities to get around, Cummings said.

District 4, spanning an area around Tobacco Road, lacks bus service despite its large population, he said.

“Transit doesn’t even go out on Tobacco Road and you’ve got 100,000 residents out there,” Cummings said.

While District 5 has a Walmart, it needs more transit and retail, particularly grocery stores, he said.

Cummings ran on a similar platform for mayor in 2014, placing fourth in the four-way race with 1.7 percent of votes to Mayor Hardie Davis’ 75 percent.

Cummings said his 25 to 30 years of business experience can help the city. He’s the former owner of a restaurant, Super C’s restaurant and bar and the semi-pro Augusta Super C Seminoles, Cummings said.

A dozen years ago the commission revoked Super C's alcohol and business licenses after 18-year-old Stedmund Fryer was shot dead on the dance floor of the 21-and-up club.