Was District 8 Commission candidate Robert Buchwitz a marked man last weekend when two teens shot a paintball gun in his vicinity?
Fellow candidate Jimmy Smith and his supporters would have us believe that Mr. Buchwitz purposely pumped the whole thing up as a campaign stunt.
When the candidates were asked at a political forum Tuesday whether they thought the shooting was a random event, Mr. Buchwitz said, "No, I do not think it was random."
Mr. Smith accused him of "playing up to the media."
District 8 candidate Dusty Rhodes called it "a mighty good political stunt."
Regina-Renae Bryant was just offended that nobody bothered to tell her about the whole thing.
Conspiracy theorists from Mr. Buchwitz's side say the taking of a prominent campaign sign earlier proves that foul play was involved. He and his supporters say the man who removed a 4-by-8-foot sign from the intersection of U.S. Highway 25 and Barfield Drive also coached baseball for some of the teens involved in the paintball shooting.
That's to say nothing of a weekend party, reportedly held at a Barfield-area home and attended largely by Smith supporters. Who knows what schemes could have been triggered from that get-together, Buchwitz backers proclaim.
We say all this speculation proves only one thing: Hephzibah is entirely too small.
ONE THING'S FOR SURE: If Mr. Rhodes, a south Augusta flea market magnate, wins the District 8 seat, he'll raise the entertainment level on the Augusta Commission several notches.
Asked at a political forum why he thought government money should be used to prop up Regency Mall, he said, "I don't. Regency Mall is a private entity. What are we going to do about Corky Bell's across the street? I think we should keep it on the tax books. If it needs to be cleaned up, we'll clean it up, add it to the tax books. If he don't pay it, I'll buy it on the courthouse steps. I'll have the biggest flea market in the country."
GET IN LINE, Mr. Z.
Former Augusta Commissioner Rob Zetterberg hopes District 2 commission candidate Freddie Handy wins his election Tuesday to improve his chances of collecting more than $400 Mr. Handy owes him from their days together on the commission.
Mr. Zetterberg, who owned a shipping company, helped Mr. Handy get a transmitter shipped to his radio station in a day, at cost - $800, which Mr. Zetterberg paid, expecting to be reimbursed.
"I got him to pay $400, and then I just gave up," Mr. Zetterberg said. "When I saw he was running for the commission again, I thought I could squeeze a dollar out of him."
On Friday, Mr. Handy said he fell and broke his foot soon after the transmitter went down but will pay Mr. Zetterberg.
"He can collect today if he wanted to," he said.
VETERAN RICHMOND COUNTY Coroner Leroy Sims' criticism of state crime lab investigators brought an angry response from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
John Bankhead, the GBI's director of public affairs, called Mr. Sims' assertion that the crime lab had botched the autopsies of Ramona Givens and her infant son "completely irresponsible."
"I don't give a damn about what he thinks," Mr. Sims said. "I was policing since before he was born."
THE GOVERNOR'S RACE may be three years away, but Secretary of State Cathy Cox is already running.
At a West Lake meet-and-greet last week, Ms. Cox came as close to announcing as can be done at a nonpolitical function. She reportedly told about 50 people in attendance that she hopes to get their support when she announces her intentions to run for governor.
Consider it announced.
CITY INK SALUTES Lt. Col. Jan Zimmerman and the Youth Challenge Academy at Fort Gordon for the work they do in turning around young people headed in the wrong direction. Three young cadets attended the Pride and Progress political forum Tuesday night and stood at attention during almost two hours of political blather. If they can do that, they can do anything.
