Randall, Reichert and Brown

Both Lance Randall and Robert Reichert were on hand today for "Politics and Lunch." Randall said that he will be announcing soon for the Macon Mayorial and asked those who were uncommitted to support him. That brings the field, on the Democratic side, to Randall, Reichert, Ponder and Dillard. The hot speculation is that Senator Robert Brown will also run. Everyone I trust tells me that Brown is running, but I won't believe it until he qualifies. That speculation gained steam when he blocked the local legislation to reduce the number on City Council.

Here's why I have trouble believing Brown will run. Brown worked on Randall's campaign for County Commission Chair. That makes it sort of hard for him to tell people not to vote for Lance. I had also heard that Brown had agreed to co-chair Lance's campaign this time. Maybe that was a premature declaration. But, could it be that Sen. Brown is allowing the rumor that he is running to percolate because he wants to keep other possible candidates (Godsey) out of the race? Maybe. The City Council thing? Well, Robert Brown would be concerned if he thought the power of African-Americans on Council would diminish, and he would have that concern whether or not he was running for Mayor.

If Brown does enter the race, he would be the odds on favorite to win. That's not because everyone loves Robert Brown. As is common in politics, some do and some do not. It's because he runs GOTV like no one else in Middle Georgia. This race will almost certainly go two rounds. He is likely to be one of two candidates in a runoff, and in a runoff, the race is all about turnout. Sure, the winner of the runoff would face Republican opposition in the fall, but a Democrat will take this seat.

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Mayor Ellis Becomes Muslim, May Run for Congress

Randall Savage with WMAZ is reporting that Macon Mayor C. Jack Ellis, a lifelong Christian, is converting to the Islamic faith and is contemplating running for Jim Marshall's congressional seat. From this point forward, the Mayor should be called Hakim Mansour Ellis.

I don't even know what to say about this. Steve Allen, chair of the Bibb County Democratic Party, commented that a person's faith is personal, but that he thought that Mayor Ellis might have a more difficult time winning in the 8th. You think?

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Macon Mayorial: Reichert's Pre-Announcement Announcement

If live in Middle Georgia and do not come to Politics and Lunch on the last Friday of each month, you not only miss great speakers (like Mattice Haynes-Amusa who spoke today) and lively bi-partisan discussion, you also miss the occasional political "scoop." Today, one the the widely rumored candidates for Mayor of Macon, Robert Reichert, came in and told the group that he will hold a press conference on Monday to announce his intent to run.

You can sign up for email notification of Politics and Lunch here. We meet the last Friday of each month at The Power Station (formerly Nashville Station), at noon. The only cost, $10.00, is for your lunch. Next month, Bibb superintendent of schools, Sharon Patterson, will be our speaker, and she will address what's working and what the challenges are in our local school system.

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