AUGUSTA, GA – So, Matt Aitken won the District 1 race.

A large segment of local residents are celebrating, calling Aitken’s win, “A new day in Augusta.”

This city has heard that before.

In fact, former Mayor Bob Young was known for using the phrase, “It’s a new day in Augusta.”

We all know how that turned out.

Young, the former Channel 6 evening news anchor, had worked as a local journalist for over 25 years.

He thought he knew Augusta backwards and forwards. He was wrong.

Young went into office saying he was going to become a full-time mayor and take advantage of the powers of the mayoral office.

During his campaign in 1998, Young said it was ridiculous for then-Mayor Larry Sconyers to request the local legislative delegation to allow the mayor to gain either veto power or have a vote in the commission.

“I think there is plenty of power in the mayor’s office right now,” a very naive Young told the Metro Spirit in 1998. “We just need someone in there that will use it.”

Young pointed out that the consolidation bill states the mayor is the chief executive officer of Augusta-Richmond County. He compared those executive powers to those of the governor of Georgia and the president of the United States.

“Many of the things that I want to get done can be accomplished without a vote,” Young added. “Anybody who says the mayor is powerless is fooling himself.”

He blamed the city’s failures on the lack of leadership from Sconyers.

“The mayor has no ideas. The mayor has no plans,” he said. “The mayor has no programs for economic development.”

Young’s campaign for mayor even turned a little ugly when his ads portrayed Sconyers literally asleep at the wheel.

“I’m ready to take the initiative,” Young announced in 1998. “I don’t think I will find one boring day in a four-year term as the mayor of Augusta. Certainly, not boring enough that I would fall asleep.”

Voters believed Young and pounced on his enthusiasm. They thought he could control a divided commission, not by changing the city charter and giving the mayor more authority, but by using his powers of leadership.

But, less than two years later, Young was singing an entirely different tune.

“What a veto does is to give you a bargaining tool to leverage,” Young told local reporters. “Each one of the commissioners has one vote. He has something he can horse trade. The mayor has nothing to horse trade with.”

Young realized his “new day” wasn’t that much different than the days of a snoring Sconyers. And at least Sconyers got some much-needed rest.

What does this all have to do with Aitken?

The point is, the job of a city leader looks much easier when you are running for office. And a lot of folks will have their eyes on Aitken.

They want him to help steer the future of the TEE Center, the revitalization of the Laney-Walker and Bethlehem neighborhoods, the implementation of a proposed nuisance ordinance in the Harrisburg neighborhood and a possible change in the city’s existing charter.

People, both in the white and black communities, are also watching to see how Aitken handles becoming one of six white members on the Augusta Commission.

Ever since the city and county consolidated in 1996, the commission has been equally divided with five white commissioners and five black commissioners holding district seats.

As most people know by now, the election of Aitken will result in the commission consisting of six white commissioners and four black commissioners at the beginning of next year.

It’s a lot of pressure on Aitken’s shoulders. Some folks in the white community want Aitken to stand with commissioners Don Grantham, Joe Bowles, Jerry Brigham, Joe Jackson and Jimmy Smith to form a more “conservative” commission.

But many in the black community are interested to see if Aitken will listen to the concerns of his constituents living in the Laney-Walker neighborhood and east Augusta who need many community services that are often targeted for cuts during budget meetings.

If nothing else, Augustans should just hope that Aitken can stand on his own. He should not depend on any little birdies (such as his campaign manager and former Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce President Ed Presnell) tweeting in his ear.

Over the next few weeks, Aitken should spend a lot of time getting to know the major issues that will soon be on his plate. Knowledge of those issues will be a key to his success.

Good luck, Aitken. All eyes are on you.