Sen. Charles Walker, a savvy political observer as well as an elected official, has said the mayors race in Augusta is " ... too close to tell."FILE/STAFF

Young has real shot, Walker says

Political pundits offer their insights into the mayors race in Augusta

Web posted November 1, 1998

By Sylvia Cooper
Staff Writer

Mayor Larry Sconyers has squandered his incumbency advantage, leaving the door open for Bob Young, said state Sen. Charles Walker.

Mr. Walker, who has said for the past three years that Mr. Sconyers would be re-elected, was hedging his bets Friday.

``I think basically the race has not been as competitive as I thought it would be in terms of Larry Sconyers really getting involved and spending the kind of money on professional development and television ads,'' said Mr. Walker, D-Augusta.

``As a result, Bob Young could very well overtake him.''

Mr. Sconyers said he hired local professionals to run his campaign.

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``You can bring people from out of town to work on your campaign, but that doesn't guarantee you you'll win,'' Mr. Sconyers said.

``I think we've done everything we could. The proof will happen Tuesday. We'll see then whether we've done the right thing.''

But even he said it will be difficult for any candidate to get the required 45 percent vote margin.

Mr. Walker said the race comes down to former city of Augusta Mayor Ed McIntyre, Mr. Sconyers and Mr. Young.

``The question is, which one will it be?'' he said. ``It's too close to tell right now.''

But Mr. McIntyre almost surely will be in a runoff with one of the two, and the final election ``will be very, very close,'' Mr. Walker said.

Other local pundits offer similar opinions.

Augusta Commissioner Lee Beard agrees with Sen. Walker that Mr. Sconyers, Mr. McIntyre and Mr. Young are the top three candidates and that there will be a runoff. Who the winner will be is anybody's guess.

``The majority of the people I talk to feel those are the three candidates,'' Mr. Beard said.

``In the beginning, people were kind of determined as to who would be there. Now in these last weeks, it's hard to tell which two of those three will be there. I don't think anybody can call that because it's going to be awfully close.''

Among the other candidates -- Kenneth Winters, Elmer Singley and Moses Todd -- Mr. Walker expects former Commissioner Todd to make the best showing Tuesday.

``I think he'll break 10 percent, which shocks me that that many people would vote for him,'' Mr. Walker said.

Mr. Todd said he'll do much better than that.

``With Ed McIntyre in the race, I may still win the election without a runoff,'' Mr. Todd said Friday. ``That's what our unofficial polls is showing.

``Using conservative numbers, it's Larry Sconyers and Moses Todd in a runoff, with Bob Young coming in third and Ed McIntyre coming in fourth.''

Mr. Todd said his predictions come from unofficial polls and from going out into the streets and talking to people.

``I was out there today (Friday) at the Josey (High School) rally,'' he said. ``Fifteen years ago, it would have been all McIntyre. It was Moses Todd.

``Out in south Richmond County in the majority community, three years ago, it would have been all Larry Sconyers. A good 20 percent is Moses Todd.''

However, Augusta State University political scientist Ralph Walker doesn't see Mr. Todd making the runoff, let alone being elected outright. He predicts a runoff between Mr. Sconyers and Mr. Young.

Mr. Sconyers made a mistake by not showing up at some of the mayoral forums, he said. And Mr. Young has been accused of negative campaigning, but it targeted Mr. Sconyers' performance, not him personally, Dr. Walker said.

``There are no issues. At least I don't see any,'' Dr. Walker said. ``Really, it's a personality race.''

The negative tone of the campaign has bothered Mr. Winters, who said he would vote for Mr. Sconyers if he knew he wasn't going to win himself.

``I believe the man doesn't deserve this kind of criticism, especially from Moses Todd being that he has worked with the man for a few years as a commissioner,'' said Mr. Winters, who qualified as a pauper's candidate. ``I think there's jealously.''

As for Mr. Young, Mr. Winters said he has ``not let the mayor alone from day one.

``I definitely believe that between the three of them, I have more respect for Larry Sconyers,'' Mr. Winters said. ``Since we've been running, Larry Sconyers has not said anything derogatory about either one of those two candidates at any one of those elections forums.''

Mr. Todd said Mr. Sconyers wasn't the only one he criticized.

``I criticized Bob and Ed, too,'' he said. ``The only individuals I haven't criticized is Ken and Elmer (Singley). And the reason I haven't criticized them is that, you know, I just pray for them.''

Mr. Sconyers said as the incumbent he expects criticism.

``Let's face it, when they don't have a platform, they have to criticize the incumbent.

``I don't let it bother me. I can't. If I did ... people say, `How can you stand all that pressure?' I work better under pressure than at anytime.''

Sylvia Cooper covers Richmond County government for The Augusta Chronicle. She can be reached at (706) 823-3228 or newsroom@augustachronicle.com.