Editor, I am writing in response to the letter, “Mrs. Goode slams new mayor,” in the Jan. 24 edition of the Ludowici News. I also attended the first meeting of the new city council Jan. 17 and would like to give my viewpoint from the audience.
I will start with Mayor James Fuller, who ran the meeting the way a mayor should run a council meeting. This was a meeting run by the mayor and council and not the audience. I was impressed to finally sit in a council meeting and see professional adults conducting themselves accordingly.
My concern with Councilman Chesser is that he seems not to be able to stand his ground and do what is right. It was stated that Mr. Manning and Mr. Chesser were not included in the decisions of who would be hired or fired. From my seat, both councilmen had a vote. The statement that the decision was made during the election seems to be nothing more than rumors and hearsay.
I wish the best for those seven people who lost their jobs and health insurance. We all have to go to our jobs and perform every day. We all have rules that we have to follow, and we all have bosses who we have to answer to. These seven are not the exceptions to the rule. Mrs. Goode stated that it will cost the city $120,000 in unemployment benefits for the next year. I’m not sure where she got her numbers, but it would be worth the price knowing that the city employs people who are qualified, courteous and professional.
As a Ludowici resident, I hope all the council members and the mayor do the job that they said they would do and look out for the citizens’ best interests. I am sitting back and enjoying a positive change in Ludowici!

— Susan Mitchell
Ludowici