After losing her Ward 3 council seat to Fred Lowe in last Tuesday’s municipal election, Janie Reid will remain in office until the end of 2025, with Lowe assuming the position in the new year.
Regardless, Reid says she may have lost an election, but she’s not going to be stepping out of public life.
“I have not closed the door on politics,” Reid emphatically stated Monday afternoon at Sips 31024, the downtown Eatonton coffee shop and restaurant she opened earlier this year with her husband, Eatonton Mayor John Reid. “I’m still very passionate about this community. I was born and raised here, and I intend to stay involved.”
Reid expressed concern about Lowe's election and his lack of visibility during the campaign.
“Nobody knows anything about him,” she said. “He never put out a plan, never came to meetings, and I never got any kind of reach-out from him.”
She added that Lowe “came to maybe two city meetings” that she was aware of, arriving late and leaving early.
“He’s been elected, duly elected,” she acknowledged, “but I take issue with him saying no change has been made here in 10 years. I also take issue with the fact that he’s never even attempted to talk with me.”
Reid attributed Lowe’s recent political rise to the influence of Putnam County Commissioner Richard Garrett, calling Garrett “the driving force” behind recent changes in Eatonton politics.
“He wants his hand in the Eatonton government as well,” she claimed. “He’s already a county commissioner; [he should] respect the fact that Eatonton has its own elected officials.”
The outgoing council member also discussed her decision and announcement at last week’s county council meeting to dissolve the Jimmy Davis Park committee, which she chaired. She said the group had accomplished its mission of writing a three-year plan for the park’s operation and sustainability.
“We wrote the plan and submitted it,” she said. “At that point, our work was done.”
Dissolving the committee, she added, ensured that others could not overstep their authority or claim it for the project.
“I think anything more would be total disrespect to the recreation director,” she added, referring to Putnam County’s Scott Haley.
Despite preparing to step away from her city office, Reid stressed that she will remain active in local initiatives. She currently continues to chair the city’s housing committee and coordinates its youth leadership program.
“I retained those positions,” she said. “I’m still deeply involved in Eatonton. They can’t take that away.”
Reid also reflected on her own history of breaking local barriers.
“I was the first Black person to work at several places in Putnam County, the tax office, the schools, even as a cashier in a local grocery store,” she said. “I’ve seen what we didn’t have, and I know what progress looks like. I’m very proud of how far we’ve come.”
Still, she worries about the current political direction and about younger generations losing touch with civic discipline.
“I’m very concerned about people not following the rules,” she said. “As soon as you call their hand on something, they get upset. That’s not good for the community.”
While acknowledging the new administration will have to find its footing, Reid said she intends to stay nearby, watching closely.
“I won’t be at every meeting,” she said, “but they’ll know I’m around. Somebody’s got to have some common sense here.”
For now, Reid insists her commitment to Eatonton hasn’t wavered.
“I’m not abandoning the City of Eatonton,” she said. “I just want to make sure things continue to move forward — and I’ll be right in the middle of making sure they do — and you can count on that.”