The Gatton Report: an introduction

Anthropologist Margaret Meade once said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Perhaps in no place has that been more evident the past several years than in my hometown of Mooresville, N.C. – a small but burgeoning suburb just north of Charlotte.

Seven years ago, most people who lived in Mooresville considered the town a quaint place to live with an effective government and employees who truly cared for the community and its taxpayers.

Then one day, a citizen who had become passionately involved in our public library started asking questions – namely, why our library was not profitable. Following many attempts by our then-public officials and town employees to silence her – and our local media’s diligent reporting of the issue – the town librarian was indicted on embezzlement charges.

And the number of citizens asking questions grew.

I became one of those people in 2003, when I started covering town government for a local community newspaper, the Mooresville Tribune. In my first three years on that beat, our local government handed the Tribune enough information to earn three consecutive Community Service Awards, the highest honor that the N.C. Press Association awards to a community newspaper.

The scandals unfortunately kept rolling, from the 2004 firing – and, thanks to public pressure, eventual reinstatement – of the current library director (who had replaced the former embezzling librarian), to the town government's October 2004 railroading of the expert opinions of our town staff in their recommendation to hire an engineering firm for our multi-million-dollar wastewater treatment plant expansion. In that case, our then-engineering director Richard McMillan and then-utilities-director Wilce Martin -- along with two other town engineers -- recommended one firm, Black & Veatch, but Mooresville’s then-town board chose to hire a different firm, CH2M Hill, admittedly because one of the firm’s officials is a Mooresville resident and had worked at one time at the town’s wastewater treatment plant.

Two of the town commissioners failed to mention, however, that they attend church and are personal friends with that firm official.

In 2005, Mooresville commissioners hired a new town manager, Jamie Justice. After one year at the town’s helm, Justice fired McMillan and Martin. And shortly thereafter, the FBI launched an investigation into the process by which the Town of Mooresville hired CH2M Hill. Even as recently as last week, that case is apparently not closed.

McMillan and Martin have since sued the town for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy – a case that is scheduled for trial next month.

And in the meantime, our town board – which has experienced an almost complete overturn in commissioners since 2001 – recently asked for Justice’s resignation.

Justice’s last day as Mooresville's town manager was Feb. 3, 2008 – two years, to the day, after he fired McMillan and Martin.

The town has certainly experienced its fair share of natural growing pains and progress in the past decade. But many of the more behind-the-scenes, positive changes that we have witnessed during the past seven years have occurred because of an active, awake citizenry that believes in open, honest government -- and in holding public officials accountable for their actions and decisions.

And it all started with one person asking one question.

So, why a blog? I resigned from the Tribune in November 2006 to stay home with my son. But the "tips" didn't quit when I did. People in the Mooresville community are still hungry for information, and those with the information are looking for a way to put it into the hands of the press and the people.

While I am a firm believer in the power of the press, I know – due to deadlines, pressure from advertisers, etc. – that it’s tempting to “fall asleep at the wheel.” Just as frequently, perhaps mainly due to competition, I've noticed that the press can seemingly compromise its own code of ethics -- or at least carelessly push the envelope -- in an attempt to "get the scoop."

The people in the Mooresville community who appreciated my work at the Tribune will likely also appreciate the introduction and eventual content of this blog. Likewise, the folks who tried to put a lid on me and/or the newspaper during my time there will not be so happy.

Whichever you are, your voice matters to me. And it is my intent through this blog to provide information relevant to our everyday lives in Mooresville – and to foster open dialogue among and between our community’s residents.

I not only welcome but encourage your comments and feedback -- even, and perhaps especially, if they contrast with mine. As this is a forum for open expression and dialogue, I do not intend to edit comments. It goes without saying, then, that the opinions expressed by people in the blog do not necessarily reflect my opinions. Additionally, I ask that those of you who wish to post comments here “fight fair” and be respectful of one another. In the event that we have a difference of opinion, we can all simply and respectfully agree to disagree.

Do I expect to change the world with this blog? Absolutely not. But I do believe that it can and will help us keep our little corner of it clean.