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PHOTO BY PETE McCOMMONS
LONG
No
LOCAL ELECTION WINDS TO AN END
Recounts: Just Two School Board Runoffs
Following a nationwide trend of tireless cam
paigning, 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 opportu
nity to Republicans hungry for
Senate seats. Campaign contri
butions poured in for both can
didates, 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 ubiqui
tous 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 prop
erty unless we've got permission," Ivey said. 'Tm
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 sup
porters. It contrasts nicely with petty larceny
and childishness," Haines said in a November J
press release.
"Everybody loses signs during these elec
tions, 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 aiound 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 horn the ACC Planning Department
outlines campaign yard sign regulations. Planner
Jane Shedd told Flagpole sign permits are han
dled 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 mes
sage 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.
Tm the only one right now enforcing that
type of thing," Pope said. "There's a lot of viola
tions 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
horn 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-elec
tion 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 avail
able horn 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' dis
closure 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. Tm
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 rea
sons I decided to run for
Senate," he said, "was because I
was so disgruntled with the dif
ficulty encountered by average citizens trying to
be involved in the legislative process. It's virtu
ally 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 polit
ical circles as a "gotcha" question, asking him
why he had not been a "gentleman" during the
Campaign. Jordan was nearly (uncharacteristi
cally) 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-onented 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.
Brad Aaron
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