Thoughts on Last Night's Montezuma Debate

I attended last night's debate over in Montezuma held by the Macon County NAACP for the Mayoral & City Council seats & I came away impressed by the individuals on stage last night.

It was a smooth debate among the candidates for 3 seats currently held by Incumbents Charles Ivey, Norman Carter & a open seat left vacant by Jim Trask who decided against re-election on the Montezuma City Council & the two up for the mayoral seat currently held by Willie Larry

Newcomers Judy Gilmore, who moved back to Montezuma in 1999 after a long stint in Savannah (30 yrs), Judy Hasselkus, who moved here from Clearwater Florida in 2002 & is currently a member of the Macon County Chamber of Commerce, Beau Palmer, a opera singer who also moved back to Montezuma a coupe of years ago did fairly well in last night's debate

Incumbents Charles Ivey & Norman Carter didn't miss a beat as they both showed a great knack of the issues facing the city of Montezuma. Both gave very impressive performances & didn't hurt themselves among those in the audience & listening on Radio WMNZ 1050 AM which carried the debate live.

Tarshea Fudge-Riley showed why she is considered the favorite for one of the council seats at one time going head to head with Incumbent Mayor Willie Larry. She was sharp, crisp & quick on the answers & it would surprise me if she didn't win it this time around.

Although she didn't say much during the debate, but Judy Hasselkus was solid in her performance. Her problem could be that she is low key, but she has signs signs all around montezuma.

Incumbent Mayor Willie Larry & challenger LeVonda Journey- Bush are both fighting for the chance to be Montezuma's next Mayor in next month's municipal elections. I must say I was surprised how effective Journey-Bush was in the debate, especially for a first time candidate. She felt very comfortable in her own skin, she was precise & direct with her answers & clearly was the better debater over Mayor Larry who didn't perform all than well, at times reading his answers from a sheet of paper he had at his disposal.

The winners: LeVonda-Journey Bush, Tarshea Riley, Charles Ivey, Norman Carter, Dee Gilmore

The Losers were: Mayor Willie Larry, Frank Lester III

My prediction on who might win:

City Council:

Tarshea Fudge-Riley, Charles Ivey, Norman Carter.....BUT (It wouldn't surprise me if Dee Gilmore or Judy Hasselkus wins one of those three council seats)

Mayor:

If the disdain of City Hall is legit, LeVonda Journey Bush will defeat Willie J. Larry on 11/8/2011. Larry is the favorite because of name recognition, but based on what I saw in last night's debate, it wouldn't surprise me if Journey-Bush unseat the long-time mayor of Montezuma. From my view, Mayor Larry is running on the status quo & for a city that has lost so much over the last 6 years, that may not be enough this time....but I could be wrong!

Looking ahead to 2012, if Mayor Larry wins re-election one have to believe that Councilman Charles Ivey will get a serious push to run for Mayor. He has all the tools to become a great mayor, question is would he make that jump?

Will Black Voters in Montezuma Vote for a White Candidate for Mayor?

I have a friend who thinks he’s figured out Black folks voting behavior in Montezuma (Macon County) predilection for voting for black candidates. He believes that black folks will vote for incumbent Willie J Larry regardless if a white candidate rises t challenge him in the democratic primary this summer because he is black black. That’s it! No mystery, or political theory behind it. Sure he cites several polls detailing the overwhelming support President Obama received from black voters during the 2008 election. That's 2008!

Black voters makeup close to 70% of the population in Montezuma, so many out there will say Hell No! But I think they could.

My friend's theory is false, based upon an old-time, monolithic group thinking mentality. All he’s done is herd black people in Montezuma into stringent race camps which reinforces the idea that blacks are preoccupied with race and skin color–thereby perpetuating the victimization stigma. (For the record– I don’t know for a fact that this is his exact thinking, but I know it can’t be far off.) Let’s take a look at a recent example of how this line of thinking is myth more than fact.

Back in 2007, Robert Reichert, a white democrat bested 6, 7 other candidates who happened to be African-American in the race for mayor of Macon despite the city being 65% African-American. Reichert won by running as a centrist & appealing to the black community & running against the establishment. He was basically running a general election campaign before the general election.

Yes Willie Larry is a incumbent who haven't had a challenger since being elected, but that doesn't mean since he is black, black people will automatically vote for him. There are serious problems with the city of Montezuma, which is deteriorating day after day, month after month, year after year. Yes a majority of black voters support progressives liberals, whichever, but they identify with issues and ideology that best reflects what they believe, not what they look like. Black people aren’t sheep, and they don’t practice identity group politics anymore than any other group does. Does that mean they are immune to race politics? Of course not. You’ll find that blacks are more driven by issues they care about, more than the skin color of the candidate speaking about them.

So what I'm saying here is the issues, not race will drive the 2011 City of Montezuma Elections. If you are a conservative, run as a moderate. If you are a left winger, you are a lock, but given the makeup of the city, a centrist approach is what's needed. Look at Macon Mayor Robert Reichert as a example

Reports are that State Senator Robert Brown is a 'GO" for a run for Mayor of Macon

Yesterday the Macon Telegraph reported that State Senator Robert Brown will most likely run for mayor of Macon in this years municipal elections. The source of this was City Councilwoman Elaine Lucas, who's husband State Rep. David Lucas (D-Macon) has said that he would run for Brown's open seat if that occurred.

A entry by Brown will make this one of the most interesting elections the city of Macon have ever seen. Incumbent Robert Reichert, ex-Mayor Jack Ellis, newcomer Paul Bronson, Macon-Bibb Co Firefighter have all announced their intentions for this race & possibly later on Council president Miriam Paris.

Reichert will be the early favorite to win, but he won't get the 60-65% he got during his first run for mayor. If I were Reichert, Id be worried about Brown, who has a strong political operation that has been credited in helping get out the vote for then congressman Jim Marshall in years in which looked like he was going down in defeat. He did lose last year in the GOP wave election to Austin Scott.

Brown's political acumen & savvy is not to be overlooked, despite his sometimes off the cuff remarks that has drawn the ire of his critics. The key will be can he (Brown) get a good percentage of the white vote, despite African-American voting bloc dominating the citywide elections? And can Reichert keep the support he garners from the black community during his first run when he bested 7,8 other black candidates to win the mayoral race in a rout?

And as to who may run for Brown's open seat, I mentioned State Rep David Lucas being a possible candidate, but can Lucas win outside of his heavily African-American district? Twiggs, Wilkinson & a portion of Houston Co are more swing areas that can go either way than his home base which is reliably democratic.

Expect more candidates to make a run for that senate seat once Brown makes his mayoral run official. One name I've heard is Paul Bronson who is also running for Macon Mayor. The 25 year Firefighter & member of Georgia Army National Guard would be a breath of fresh air for party that desperately needs new blood in its ranks.

Paul Bronson to run for Macon Mayor

25 Yr Old Paul Bronson, a firefighter for Macon-Bibb County will run for Mayor of Macon.

Bronson is a young entrepreneur that works for the Bibb County Fire Department.

He is a member of the Georgia Army National Guard, serving in the Georgia Army National Guard as a Second Lieutenant in the 48th Brigade in Macon, GA.

He is a graduate of Ft Valley State & Georgia Military College.

Describing his campaign as “New Leadership with a New Vision for a New City,” Bronson’s written announcement talks about coordinating government, business, churches, schools and law enforcement in a four-year plan to combat crime and improve local quality of life. He lists education, jobs and public safety as the city’s core challenges. Bronson is a democrat.

He'll face Incumbent Robert Reichert, Former Mayor Jack Ellis who announced on Saturday, & other possibilities such as State Senator Robert Brown & Council President Miriam Paris.