Lies, Lies and Damn Lies

The Macon Telegraph has interesting standards for endorsements. In the race for Magistrate Court Judge, the editorial board said that one candidate, Rebecca Grist, was not qualified to hold any elected office because she and her husband filed for bankruptcy in December. Now, I'm supporting Judge Billy Randall in that race, but it's interesting that doing something that is perfectly legal disqualifies someone while a "lap dog" lying to the editorial board and refusing to come clean with voters does not. What am I talking about?

During his interview with the Macon Telegraph editorial board, Allen Freeman claimed to have the endorsement of all the mayors and all the county commission chairs in District 140. (You can listen to the interviews here.)

Freeman's claims are just not true, and the Telegraph board knew it before they endorsed Freeman today.

Both Mayor Sonja Mallory, of Jeffersonville, and Mayor Jack Ellis, of Macon, say that Allen lied when he claimed to have their endorsement. Mayor Mallory did an on-camera interview with Channel 41 confirming this.

Of course, this isn't the first time Allen had this same problem. He previously claimed to have the endorsement of Judge Vivian Cummings in Wilkinson County, and the Wilkinson News was forced to print a retraction at the request of the Judge. Bibb Commissioners Sam Hart and Bert Bivins and Jones Commissioner Bert Liston were listed in a press release from the campaign as 'endorsing' Freeman. All say that's not true, and Sam Hart has signed an affidavit to that effect.

Freeman's lies don't stop there. He is currently running a radio ad claiming that Lauren Benedict wants "treatment" instead of jail for sex offenders. That's a lie. Freeman also has a mailer out claiming to be a Real Estate broker. He's not. And he continues to hide the real story about what why he was asked to leave the Cherry Blossom Festival.

Despite these issues and the Editorial board's displeasure with Freeman acting like a "Lap Dog," they relied on the "R" beside his name as a reason to endorse him. What a shame that the Telegraph ignored issues of honesty and character in favor of rank partisanship, all in hopes that Allen "Lap Dog" Freeman gets thrown a bone by the Republican leadership which would finally accomplish something substantive for his district. They have more faith in him than I do.

If this sounds like sour grapes, it probably is because Lauren Benedict is going to be an excellent legislator. It is so disappointing that the Telegraph believes that a candidate's party matters more than his credentials and character.

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