State and federal elections are a year away, but some races are already heating up.
The 23rd District state Senate race between incumbent Republican Sen. Don Cheeks and Democratic challenger Ed Tarver is already emitting steam.
Mr. Cheeks is steamed that the host committee of Mr. Tarver's upcoming fund-raiser at The Capital Grille in Atlanta is composed of Leadership Georgia alumni. Mr. Tarver got a little hot himself when Mr. Cheeks found out about the event and proceeded to call Earl Rogers, a lobbyist for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors Leadership Georgia.
Next thing you know, Eric Tanenblatt, the chief of staff for Gov. Sonny Perdue, was e-mailing host members, expressing concern that the invitation "strongly suggests Leadership Georgia is supporting Ed's campaign."
Mr. Tarver, a 1994 alumnus of Leadership Georgia and board chairman in 2000, insists that the host committee is a nonpartisan group of friends, who all happen to be alumni of the program.
Mr. Cheeks said Mr. Tarver improperly used the names and addresses for his guest list from the Leadership Georgia booklet.
Could it be that the newly Republican senator is already sweating the competition?
Mr. Cheeks swears he's not worried about Mr. Tarver's raising money.
"Everybody and his brother is out there raising money," he said.
Besides, the senator points out, Mr. Perdue himself is having a fund-raiser for him.
AND WHILE WE'RE AT IT, what was up with Mr. Cheeks' recent revelation that the Georgia Attorney General's Office had determined that the Richmond County Board of Education is exceeding its tax cap?
Mr. Cheeks "leaked" the attorney general's opinion letter to him and said it proved that the school board was violating the law.
But in fact, a deputy attorney general said his analysis of the school board's taxing policy - at Mr. Cheeks' request - showed it to be legal. School board attorney Pete Fletcher said Mr. Cheeks raised the exact issue more than a decade ago in Richmond County Superior Court and lost.
"I was taken aback," Mr. Fletcher said after Mr. Cheeks brought it up again.
IN ANNOUNCING this week's reception for Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker, Richmond County Democratic Committee Chairman Lowell Greenbaum exhorted committee members to attend and make the $50 donation.
"Fifty dollars may seem like a lot of money, but we think it's worth $4 a month getting rid of Don Cheeks, Sue Burmeister and Randy Hall," he said.
AND JUST GUESS who's running for Mr. Hall's seat? First two don't count.
Did anyone believe former state Sen. Charles Walker when he said he was out of politics for good after his defeat last year?
He's been running ever since. Behind the scenes until recently.
After the Democratic committee meeting, his son Charles Walker Jr. said he and his father would definitely be involved in Augusta politics.
Mr. Walker Jr. also made a "guarantee" that 12th Republican District U.S. Rep. Max Burns, who defeated him last year, will not be re-elected next year.
As for his slander lawsuit against Mr. Burns over ads in last year's race, it's still pending.
"Our lawyers are still working on the wording of the retraction," Mr. Walker Jr. said.
DISTRICT 4 Commissioner Richard Colclough might be running unopposed in this year's commission elections, but it's not for lack of interest in seeing him unseated.
At least two viable candidates were reportedly primed and ready to campaign against the social worker. To their dismay, both were lopped out of the district when lines were redrawn two years ago.
Neighborhood activist Chico Pineda and Human Relations Commissioner Kent Spruill both would have made educated and vocal alternatives to Mr. Colclough, who, although he holds the mayor pro tem seat, is considered to have brought little change and even less attention to his district's woes.
COMMISSIONER Marion Williams is raising a lot of money in his District 2 campaign this year, but he has also managed to raise a few eyebrows, attending two ribbon-cutting ceremonies in the same week for neighborhood parks in his district this month.
Coincidence one month before the election? Perhaps.
But we doubt it.
AUGUSTA FIRE CHIEF Al Gillespie might have made his worst faux pas since signing off on a history of the fire department that omitted the department's first black firefighter and first black chief, Ronnie Few, when he arranged a meeting between battalion chiefs and District 10 candidate Don Grantham two weeks ago.
Mr. Grantham said he's a private citizen and can meet with whomever he pleases. But political campaigning on city time is not acceptable.
Some city commissioners were calling for Chief Gillespie's head after the history came out in 2002 without mentioning the contributions of minority members. What will be the upshot of this latest episode?
