Local races set
Thanks to the hard work of an elections board investigative committee, Deborah Walker-Lucas was disqualified from a District Three race for Athens-Clarke County Commissioner, thus finalizing our contested races for the fall.
One quick word on Walker-Lucas - it's pretty pathetic and disappointing that someone who is, or at least claims to be, a member of the clergy feels the need to repeatedly lie and cheat in order to simply run for office. She gave two completely different addresses as her place of residence, and then proceeded to concoct elaborate stories about why she didn't actually live there ... and why that should permit her to challenge George Maxwell for a seat on the commission.
No matter. Our contested races look pretty good.
In District One, Republican James Garland is taking on Democrat Doug Lowry, who lacks a web site. This should be a closer-than-expected race. Lowry has been involved with local politics for quite some time, but Garland has been able to tap into some of the resentment many citizens have toward some of the local government's recent actions regarding development, quality-of-life and regulating, er, banning, smoking in public places. They're both sharp individuals, and this one should be good.
In District Nine, it's a four-way free-for-all that is probably headed for a runoff. Ed Vaughan, Kelly Girtz, Chuck Jones and Alvin Sheets (no web site found) are all seeking the superdistrict seat currently held by Tom Chasteen. Vaughan's got good name recognition, as does Sheets. Girtz seems young and energetic, while Jones wishes he was seeking office in Cobbham.
For Athens-Clarke County Mayor, Mayor Heidi Davison is back, seeking a second term. Her top challenger appears to be Chasteen, who is working hard to round up what is considered the 'Old Athens' vote. Charlie Maddox - whose nightmare of a web site only continues to grow worse - is slowly building some momentum in the business community, while Andy Rusk continues to take an unconventional approach to seeking the top office in the community. And lest we not forget about Richard DeRose, who unsuccessfully sought the job in 2002.
If I had to pick right now ... I'd say Lowry by a hair in District One (though it's honestly 50-50 right now), Sheets and Girtz in a runoff in District Nine with Girtz coming through and Davison and Chasteen in a runoff for mayor, with Heidi squeaking out in the end.
Of course, we're several months out ... and I could be way off.
One quick word on Walker-Lucas - it's pretty pathetic and disappointing that someone who is, or at least claims to be, a member of the clergy feels the need to repeatedly lie and cheat in order to simply run for office. She gave two completely different addresses as her place of residence, and then proceeded to concoct elaborate stories about why she didn't actually live there ... and why that should permit her to challenge George Maxwell for a seat on the commission.
No matter. Our contested races look pretty good.
In District One, Republican James Garland is taking on Democrat Doug Lowry, who lacks a web site. This should be a closer-than-expected race. Lowry has been involved with local politics for quite some time, but Garland has been able to tap into some of the resentment many citizens have toward some of the local government's recent actions regarding development, quality-of-life and regulating, er, banning, smoking in public places. They're both sharp individuals, and this one should be good.
In District Nine, it's a four-way free-for-all that is probably headed for a runoff. Ed Vaughan, Kelly Girtz, Chuck Jones and Alvin Sheets (no web site found) are all seeking the superdistrict seat currently held by Tom Chasteen. Vaughan's got good name recognition, as does Sheets. Girtz seems young and energetic, while Jones wishes he was seeking office in Cobbham.
For Athens-Clarke County Mayor, Mayor Heidi Davison is back, seeking a second term. Her top challenger appears to be Chasteen, who is working hard to round up what is considered the 'Old Athens' vote. Charlie Maddox - whose nightmare of a web site only continues to grow worse - is slowly building some momentum in the business community, while Andy Rusk continues to take an unconventional approach to seeking the top office in the community. And lest we not forget about Richard DeRose, who unsuccessfully sought the job in 2002.
If I had to pick right now ... I'd say Lowry by a hair in District One (though it's honestly 50-50 right now), Sheets and Girtz in a runoff in District Nine with Girtz coming through and Davison and Chasteen in a runoff for mayor, with Heidi squeaking out in the end.
Of course, we're several months out ... and I could be way off.
posted by Jmac at 7:11 AM
4 Comments:
You forgot Jim Ponsoldt in District 1. I don't know what he is doing, if anything, but he did qualify.
Kelly Girtz is the guy who should be elected. Alvin Sheats is a disaster! If he gets elected, we will have a new champion of Most Useless Commissioner. Ed Vaughn is a nice enough guy but he lacks any understanding of the most basic issues although that doesn't seem to stop him from pontificating on them.
Hey, I linked to you with some comments. Here's mine on Alvin Sheats:
Sheats doesn't deserve to be dogcatcher in this town. He's one of the biggest do-nothing commissioners of all time, which is why he lost to George Maxwell so readily. Maxwell is a good candidate, but his campaign was low key. Know why? 'Cause he didn't need to turn it on in order to knock out a candidate who can't spell or proofread on his campaign materials, doesn't bother to return constituents' phone calls, and routinely hid from constituents at Commission meetings when he wasn't rubber stamping whatever Hugh Logan desired.
I did forget Jim ... so forgive me all of the Ponsoldtites. I'll make sure to make amends tomorrow.
I like the commentary, it would be great if we could have the same on the State level, ie. (Jane v. Bill, Mac v. Ralph, Becky v. Bob, Doug v. Regina).
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