The crystal ball of wonder
Over at Flagpole, John Huie did what all of us folks like to do, and that's speculate about the upcoming elections. He has the first confirmation of Charlie Maddox, who lost in a run-off to Heidi Davison in 2006, saying he would seek the mayor's seat in 2010. A lot of folks had been saying Maddox would give it another go, so it's not terribly surprising news.
Huie notes that Jack Lumpkin is interested, and I've heard that too. I've also heard Nancy Denson, the current tax commissioner, might be interested in running in 2010, though I've heard her name more frequently associating with Keith Heard's seat in the Georgia House of Representatives. A few years back, Alice Kinman was rumored as a candidate, but that talk has quieted somewhat, though I've heard from a few sources that Elton Dodson was interested in running for mayor. And, of course, the wild card would be if Doc Eldridge decided to jump in the race, though I figure that's a long-shot since I honestly believe he's settled on righting the ship of the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce.
Lumpkin and Denson would really make this an interesting race, particularly with Maddox in the mix. The African-American community rallied behind Maddox in 2006, but if Lumpkin opted to jump in the mix that would potentially split the vote. Also, Denson has the ability to bring the progressive wing that backed Davison twice and also reach out to some of the 'Old Athens' crowd that liked Eldridge and Maddox.
In District Six, which is my backyard, Carl Jordan has indicated that he plans on seeking a third term, which is somewhat surprising since I've heard from a lot of folks, including Jordan, that he'd be interested in passing the torch. However, as this article in Flagpole shows, the good commissioner seems somewhat invigorated by the infusion of young progressives on the commission, so it's not too stunning to see him want to stay on.
Red Petrovs, he of the co-chairing OneAthens fame, told Huie was considering a challenge to Jordan, which would make this an interesting race since Petrovs has good name recognition in the community. I'd be very torn about a Petrovs candidacy since he's arguably done good work with OneAthens, but I've had some disagreements with his characterizations of non-profits throughout the process as well as some of his personal prescriptions for remedying poverty. Outside of that, I don't know much else about his views.
Now, I've been mentioned as a candidate for this seat in the past, and a couple of folks have alluded to such a run in comments for the past year, but, as of now, I'm very much in the camp of not running for a variety of reasons including my new business venture and the very real possibility that we'll have to move since our house is already busting at the seams and, quite literally, the kid can't even move yet. Once she's mobile, we're going to need some space, and if I was to run and be fortunate enough to win, it wouldn't be fair to my family or the voters should we opt to move.
This isn't to say that I don't have an interest in serving the public in the appropriate capacity, and that perhaps seeking public office (even this seat) is a way to do just that, but, as of this very moment, I lean toward sitting out.
Huie notes that Jack Lumpkin is interested, and I've heard that too. I've also heard Nancy Denson, the current tax commissioner, might be interested in running in 2010, though I've heard her name more frequently associating with Keith Heard's seat in the Georgia House of Representatives. A few years back, Alice Kinman was rumored as a candidate, but that talk has quieted somewhat, though I've heard from a few sources that Elton Dodson was interested in running for mayor. And, of course, the wild card would be if Doc Eldridge decided to jump in the race, though I figure that's a long-shot since I honestly believe he's settled on righting the ship of the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce.
Lumpkin and Denson would really make this an interesting race, particularly with Maddox in the mix. The African-American community rallied behind Maddox in 2006, but if Lumpkin opted to jump in the mix that would potentially split the vote. Also, Denson has the ability to bring the progressive wing that backed Davison twice and also reach out to some of the 'Old Athens' crowd that liked Eldridge and Maddox.
In District Six, which is my backyard, Carl Jordan has indicated that he plans on seeking a third term, which is somewhat surprising since I've heard from a lot of folks, including Jordan, that he'd be interested in passing the torch. However, as this article in Flagpole shows, the good commissioner seems somewhat invigorated by the infusion of young progressives on the commission, so it's not too stunning to see him want to stay on.
Red Petrovs, he of the co-chairing OneAthens fame, told Huie was considering a challenge to Jordan, which would make this an interesting race since Petrovs has good name recognition in the community. I'd be very torn about a Petrovs candidacy since he's arguably done good work with OneAthens, but I've had some disagreements with his characterizations of non-profits throughout the process as well as some of his personal prescriptions for remedying poverty. Outside of that, I don't know much else about his views.
Now, I've been mentioned as a candidate for this seat in the past, and a couple of folks have alluded to such a run in comments for the past year, but, as of now, I'm very much in the camp of not running for a variety of reasons including my new business venture and the very real possibility that we'll have to move since our house is already busting at the seams and, quite literally, the kid can't even move yet. Once she's mobile, we're going to need some space, and if I was to run and be fortunate enough to win, it wouldn't be fair to my family or the voters should we opt to move.
This isn't to say that I don't have an interest in serving the public in the appropriate capacity, and that perhaps seeking public office (even this seat) is a way to do just that, but, as of this very moment, I lean toward sitting out.
posted by Jmac at 9:24 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home