Long Local Election Winds To An End
No Recounts: Just Two School Board Runoffs

Following a nationwide trend of tireless campaigning, a fair amount of mudslinging and razor-thin margins of victory; the local 2000 election season was one to remember.
The July primaries set the tone when three long-time area incumbents - Sheriff Jerry Massey, District Attorney Harry Gordon and State Senator Paul Broun - were unseated. Lack of Republican opposition automatically made Ira Edwards the sheriff-elect, but for D.A. hopeful Ken Mauldin and public-interest-attorney-turned-Senate-candidate Doug Haines, it was only the beginning.
Haines' match with Republican businessman Jim Ivey was especially contentious. Broun's loss looked like a golden opportunity to Republicans hungry for Senate seats. Campaign contributions poured in for both candidates, and the two sides traded barbs and accusations from September to Election Day.
On November 6, less than 24 hours before the polls opened, Flagpole talked to Haines and Ivey about a sore spot for both campaigns: yard signs. In Clarke County, Ivey signs were ubiquitous along rights-of-way - in violation of local ordinance - though Ivey said they didn't last long.
"We've got a lot of volunteers that are putting signs out, and we've instructed them where the right-of-ways are to keep them out of right-of-ways, [and] to keep them out of personal property unless we've got permission," Ivey said. "I'm surprised that I've got any left standing, I've had so many of them stolen."
The Haines camp told a similar story.
"For a while, we'd see just streets of signs that had been taken, and I kind attributed it to drunken frat boys," said Haines, "but it seems a little more concerted, doesn't it?"
In the end, the Haines campaign was down to asking volunteers to make their own signs. They even held a contest for the most creative design, with $500 going to the charity of the winner's choice.
"This contest will demonstrate the spirit of creativity and fun among my grassroots supporters. It contrasts nicely with petty larceny and childishness," Haines said in a November 3 press release.
"Everybody loses signs during these elections, so we're not unique in that," said Ivey. "I think you get gung ho volunteers on both sides, and I don't think they realize those signs cost a lot of money."
Ivey said 25 of his 3' by 4' signs were "cut down, pushed down, [and] stolen." Those signs, like several Bush-Cheney ones posted around the county, exceeded ordinance size limits, and required a permit to be legal.
According to the ACC Public Information Office, no permits for large signs were issued in Clarke County. But one can hardly blame the Republicans. Flagpole found the ACC government itself was confused over which agency issues sign permits.
A flier from the ACC Planning Department outlines campaign yard sign regulations. Planner Jane Shedd told Flagpole sign permits are handled by ACC Building Inspections. But Inspector Dale Pope said he only enforces the ordinance, and does not issue permits. Pope referred Flagpole back to Planning. Flagpole left a message on Planning Director Brad Griffin's voice mail, but he never returned the call. Finally, Flagpole contacted ACC Public Information Officer Sandi Turner, who confirmed that Planning does, in fact, handle such permits, but said that none had been issued.
Sign ordinances may have been loosely enforced due to the fact that only one man, Pope, was charged with keeping up with the entire county during the whole election season.
"I'm the only one right now enforcing that type of thing," Pope said. "There's a lot of violations out there, but I enforce on complaints only."
Pope said the county enforces by complaint so as not to be perceived as discriminating against a particular candidate.
The government had plenty of help, however. At one point, both the Haines banner and the Democratic Headquarters banner were stolen from their building.
Among all area races, the Haines-Ivey contest seemed to inspire the strangest behavior. On Monday, October 30, the day the last pre-election candidate financial disclosure reports were due, Flagpole received a call from a man who identified himself as a "private citizen" named Paul Thomas. The man asked for a copy of Doug Haines' disclosure report, which Flagpole had obtained for publication, along with that of Ivey and several other local candidates. When told that the report would be published in Flagpole in 24 hours, and that it would soon also be available from the Board of Elections and Secretary of State's office, the man became irate and wanted to know what Haines was trying to hide. On Thursday, November 2 - the day after disclosure reports ran in Flagpole - the man called again, this time identifying himself as being with the Ivey campaign. Again, the man asked for a copy of Haines' disclosure report. Again, Flagpole refused.
Two days after the election, having won by less than 500 votes after a relentless months-long campaign, Haines was about to leave on a much-needed vacation.
"This is not an original - I'm sure everybody else has said it - I'm just really thankful that it's done now," Haines said. "I'm anxious to start getting into the role of governing."
Even with the campaign over, Haines was outlining some of his broad aims as a legislator.
"Really one of the main reasons I decided to run for Senate," he said, "was because I was so disgruntled with the difficulty encountered by average citizens trying to be involved in the legislative process. It's virtually impossible. I know I'm just one of 56, but I'm going to try to make a big difference being one of 56. And Job One is to make government more accessible to people, more accountable to people."
Accessible, accountable government was also a theme of District 6 Commission candidate Carl Jordan's campaign. Jordan upset popular Republican incumbent Marilyn Farmer by just 181 votes in the tightest of the three contested Commission races.
True to form for this year, it wasn't always pretty. During one debate, Farmer slapped Jordan with what is commonly known in political circles as a "gotcha" question, asking him why he had not been a "gentleman" during the campaign. Jordan was nearly (uncharacteristically) speechless.
Jordan's supporters began referring to the query as the "When did you stop beating your wife?" question. Farmer's critics remarked that she is not used to having her record challenged, even during a campaign, and took Jordan's issue-oriented approach as a personal insult. Described as a policy wonk by nature, positively Naderesque in his tenacity and attention to detail, Jordan could not have campaigned any other way.
"I appreciate her [Farmer's] long community service and am honored to be her successor," Jordan said, still weary from election night. "I hope this will be the beginning of paying greater mind to protecting the qualities that attract us and keep us in Athens. I hope that I can contribute to that."
In keeping with the national theme, for some local candidates, the election isn't over. Two Clarke County school board incumbents face runoff elections. In District 6, Anne Cooper faces Lyndon Goodly, and in District 8, Sidney Anne Waters will run against Keith Hargrave. The runoff election is Tuesday, November 28.
Supporters of runoff candidates may legally keep their campaign signs up until the election.