Williams' best shot at becoming Augusta's mayor was to chip away at the incumbent mayor's support in white areas of the city and hope that state Sen. Charles Walker's clout could turn out enough black votes to get Williams elected, if not in the first round then in a runoff.

But Ed McIntyre's entry into the race changes that calculation. McIntyre, who 20 years ago became the only African-American ever elected the Garden City mayor, has a broad, loyal, solid base of support, especially in the black community, which all but guarantees him a place in the runoff. Not even Walker can alter that.

Four years ago McIntyre got about 32 percent of the multi-candidate first round vote and 45 percent of the mayoral runoff vote against Bob Young's 55 percent - and the chances of a rerun of that scenario this fall are pretty good.

If McIntyre weren't damaged goods - a felony conviction for taking bribes during his earlier stint as mayor - he would have a good chance of winning.

He's well-educated, articulate, with an excellent grasp of the community's racial, economic and social problems and good ideas on how to deal with them.

His announced purpose in running again at age 70 - to bring this divided community together - is the right message to send. The problem is he's the wrong person to deliver it.

It's highly unlikely McIntyre can attract enough votes beyond his support base to ever be elected mayor again. Whether or not they accept McIntyre's vague apologies for "wrongdoing" (not specifically admitting to taking bribes), most Augustans simply won't elect as mayor a man who was sent to prison for dishonoring the office the first time he held it.

Think of what it would do to the city's image if Augustans couldn't do any better than that.

If McIntyre is serious about advancing his healing agenda, we encourage him to do it by working to develop new, younger leaders with less baggage who'd have a realistic shot at generating enough good will between the races to actually accomplish some of the fine things McIntyre says he wants to accomplish.