22nd District's hopefuls have little time to get warmed up

So two attorneys and a telecommuting businessman walk into the secretary of state's office ...

And they qualify.

That's right, folks, the race is on for the Georgia District 22 Senate seat.

For those of you who have just tuned in to our story, that seat was the real estate of Democrat Charles Walker Sr. until his June 3 conviction on 127 counts in his federal trial. Before the jury had been dismissed, Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue had removed Mr. Walker from his duties.

We know, Sonny, you hated to do it.

Now the election is only 37 days away, and the three gentlemen, attorneys Ed Tarver and Ben Allen and businessman George Brown, are going to have to do some quick campaigning.

So it's a good thing they come in with some experience in the political process.

Mr. Allen, 51, has the lengthiest political rsum.

He served in the state House from 1995 until 2002, when he decided to make a run for the 12th Congressional District in the Democratic primary.

He and Charles "Champ" Walker Jr. struggled to the head of a pack of seven and made it to a runoff with young Mr. Walker emerging victorious, but only briefly.

He lost his bid to a political newcomer, Republican Max Burns.

Mr. Tarver, who is well known in the community for his philanthropic work, also gained a bit of political experience at the hands of a Walker.

He ran against Charles Sr. in the 2004 Democratic primary for District 22.

The 46-year-old, who is a partner in the Hull Towill Norman Barrett & Salley law firm, came up with about 40 percent of the votes, winning heavily in the Hill area. Not a bad showing for a first political foray, considering the muscle he was up against.

The last candidate to qualify, Mr. Brown, 56, has been out of the political game for more than a decade.

He served in the House from 1983 until 1995, when he stepped down to take a job with a quasi-state agency for economic development that he helped create when he was a legislator.

Hm ...

We'll let that one pass.

NO PARTISAN POLITICS: Because the District 22 special election is nonpartisan, at least we won't have to worry about all that silly Democratic and Republican mud-slinging.

All three candidates are Democrats, and to emerge victorious Sept. 20, a candidate must get one vote more than 50 percent of the total. If no one does, we'll have a runoff Oct. 11.

BUDDING POLITICIAN: A bright-eyed whippersnapper entered a Columbia County Commission committee meeting Monday and was asked what issue he was there for. The youngster quickly replied that he was simply there to get a head start in politics with his first taste of county government.

"I'm going to be president one day," he exclaimed just minutes before the start of the meeting, which included talks ranging from sewer to vehicle surplus issues. Before things began, though, Commissioner Lee Anderson gave the budding politician a sage heads-up. He told the chap that sometimes in government, one of the most important skills can be summed up in two words: staying awake.

City Ink columnist Sylvia Cooper is on vacation. Staff writers Amy Allyn Swann and Preston Sparks contributed to this week's report.