Quick: Say a prayer for Harry. It could do this city a lot of good. Let me explain: Yesterday was the National Day of Prayer, an idea first presented by Rev. Billy Graham; but I’m urging all of Charlotte to extend it an extra day, in order to make something happen for Harry Jones. You see, County Manager/King Harry, the omnipotent ruler of Mecklenburg County, at least in his own mind, is in Birmingham, Ala., interviewing for the new job of county manager there. The choice is apparently between Jones and a guy from Ohio who was fired from his county manager job in January by the area’s new GOP majority.
Jones has been on thin ice in Mecklenburg for some time now, after a decade of bristly bluster, and a well-publicized series of blunders, denials, stonewalling, blame-shifting, attempted intimidation of critics, financial scandals, and, of course, nice fat bonuses. Since the County Commission refuses to show Harry the door despite pleas for his dismissal from everyone and his/her brother, maybe it’s gonna take some serious praying to show him the way out of town. Hey, we’re getting desperate here. So, if you pray and you have time today, remember King Harry, pray that Harry’s road in Birmingham is a smooth one and that he gets the job. Just think: If your prayers are answered and the king finally leaves Dodge, oh, what a blessed day that will be — a day when we can all rise up and shout “Hallelujah!” So don’t wait: get on your knees and get to work. Otherwise we could be stuck with the guy.
This article appears in May 3-9, 2011.
