Qualifying Ends in Macon

When qualifying ended yesterday, Only eight of the fifteen candidates for Macon City Council faced opposition, and that is, perhaps, the best argument yet for downsizing council. I'm not throwing stones at the folks who are unopposed-some are among the best, most effective current council members, and the community got to know one of the brand new members, Lauren Benedict, very well during a hotly contested legislative race last year. Still, you have to ask what it says about Macon, or maybe what it says about the politics, when that many people slid into office without a fight.

A couple of musings:

• I find it interesting that during qualifying week, the Bibb Republican Party required candidates to make an appointment in order to qualify, while the Bibb Democratic Party staffed the table pretty much full time for a week. That decision on the part of the Bibb GOP may have had something to do with the number of Republicans who qualified: two in the Mayor's race and two for City Council posts. That's right- four people. On the Democratic side, five people qualified for Mayor and twenty-five signed up to run for a spot on City Council . Still, the whole "make an appointment" thing doesn't seem right. During qualifying, shouldn't a candidate be able to walk in and qualify whenever?

• No wonder the local GOP is pushing so hard for municipal elections to be non-partisan. The qualifying fees in partisan races go to the Party, so changing these races to non-partisan would literally take money out of the coffers of the Bibb Democratic Party. And, other than doing away with primaries, what difference would it make? Even in nonpartisan races (to fill a seat, for example) the candidate still must declare a party, and that affiliation appears on the ballot.

• Check here for a full list of those running for office in Macon.