Vote June 19

originally published May 23, 2007

On June 19 we’ll elect a new Congressman or Congresswoman for Georgia’s 10th Congressional District. Probably, on that date we’ll select two people who will run a month later in a runoff election to decide the seat.

Athens, you may recall, is in the 10th District. Actually, you may not recall, because Athens used to be in the 12th District, and before that we were in the 10th District. The Democrats created a Democratic district but came up with a lousy candidate, and the Republicans won it. Then Athens’ own Democrat John Barrow beat that Republican in the 12th District, so the Republicans redrew the district lines and cut John out of his own district. John moved to Savannah and narrowly won re-election in the 12th by out Republicaning the Republicans. That left Athens in the 10th District, with ultra-conservative Republican Charlie Norwood our Congressman. Norwood died shortly after being re-elected, so we’ve got a special election to fill his seat. Now you’re up to speed.

This time the Republicans have come up with a lousy candidate. That’s an unfair statement. Jim Whitehead, the handpicked heir-apparent of the Charlie Norwood camp, is a great guy. He’s a big, old tire dealer from Evans. (I know you’ve never heard of Evans: just think Augusta.) He used to be a county commission chairman, then they sent him to the State Senate. When Norwood died, Whitehead had been quietly lining up money and support, apparently with Norwood’s blessing. So, the Republican leadership really had no choice but to get behind Whitehead.

Since the district is so heavily Republican, whoever they supported would win, but Whitehead is proving a heavy load to push. I do not know Mr. Whitehead personally, though I have talked with him on the telephone. He sounds like the kind of guy you’d enjoy sitting around with swapping stories in the tire store office after hours. He comes from the heavily Republican suburbs of Augusta and from the heavily Republican Georgia legislature, and he’s running in a heavily Republican Congressional district. Therefore, he “jokes” that the University of Georgia is run by a bunch of liberals and complains that liberals are registering Al Qaeda operatives to vote. He says the Iraq war is not an issue in this district, and he’s got that right-wing Republican tic of referring to the “Democrat Party,” implying that there couldn’t be anything democratic about those people.

Now, it is my sincere belief that Mr. Whitehead, of the Republic Party, will be a severe affront and embarrassment to Athens-Clarke County and the University of Georgia if he’s walking about in the U.S. Congress, which is presently controlled by the party whose name he dares not pronounce.

You can get by just fine in the present Republic Georgia Legislature by swatting Democrats like flies, but you’re going to get diddly-squat accomplished in Congress with that approach. Whitehead’s election would be a disaster for Athens and for the rest of the district, too.

There are six other Republicans to choose from, including Athens/Oconee physician Paul Broun, who is winning the yard-sign war but is even more to the right than Whitehead. There’s a Libertarian, and there are three Democrats—two African-American women and one white-guy high-tech salesman. Denise Freeman, an educator from Lincolnton, has run for Congress before, with negligible results. Evita Paschall is a lawyer from Augusta and sounds like a sharp-witted hard worker. James Marlow, originally from Lincolnton, but recently from Gwinnett County and Atlanta is probably the front runner among the three Democrats. The party leadership has lined up behind him, and he has put together the kind of organization you need to run a Congressional race. Marlow holds himself out to be a “common sense” Democrat, and he’s smart enough to hold his own in Washington.

You can meet these candidates at the Athens Press Club debate at The Melting Point on Wednesday, June 6 at 7 p.m. We handpicked the date to suit Whitehead’s schedule, but now his people are waffling because they don’t like the coverage Whitehead has been getting in the press here.

As much as I’d love to see Freeman or Paschall representing this district in Congress, I think Marlow is the only one with a chance in this election. And Marlow’s only chance lies in Athens-Clarke County turning out to vote in big numbers on June 19. If we do, we can probably put him into the runoff. If he makes it into the runoff, then the national Democrat(ic) Party will take notice and send him some help and some money. If we play our cards right, we just could pull it off and electrify the nation by sending another Georgia Congressman to sit on Nancy Pelosi’s lap.

Pete McCommons, Editor & Publisher

editor@flagpole.com