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STIRRING UP THE WATERS
News of 10th District Congressman Charlie Norwood's health
setbacks has stirred political speculation all over the district.
Norwood, who in 2004 underwent a lung transplant, has lung can
cer and a tumor near his liver. He has been out during most of this
new term and received President Bush's good wishes for a speedy
recovery during the recent State of the Union address. Norwood is
undergoing chemotherapy and is impatient to get back to work.
There is always the chance that his health problems will pre
vent a return to work, and so, prudent political observers must
at least acknowledge the possibilities. At the same time, no one
would wish (or want to be perceived as wishing) anything but a
speedy recovery for the popular Norwood, formerly a dentist who
used his skills on the front lines in Vietnam as an Army captain
before setting up his practice in Augusta.
If Norwood should be forced to resign from Congress, Gov.
Perdue would call a special, non-partisan election to fill the empty
seat until the next general election. Since Norwood, a conservative
Republican, was just re-elected to his seventh term in November,
the next general election would be in 2008.
For political junkies, discussing an open seat in the U.S. House
of Representatives is the equivalent of throwing corn meal cakes
into a catfish pond. At this point, though, the frenzy is purely
speculative and of course tempered by the realization that it is far
too early for anyone to appear (publicly) interested.
That being said, a potential candidate, should the seat become
open, would have to be our own Republican State Senator Ralph
Hudgens, who ran against Norwood when Charlie was first elected.
The good news is that Ralph would have to resign from the state
Senate in order to run for Congress. Another potential candidate is
surely former State Senator Brian Kemp, who ran a (losing) race for
the Republican nomination for Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture.
And of course, former
For political junkies,
discussing an open seat
in the U.S. House of
Representatives is the
equivalent of throwing
corn meal cakes into a
catfish pond.
Athens-Clarke County Mayor
Doc Eldridge might run, should
the seat come available. Doc
has wide contacts around the
district and even while he was
mayor, pushed for a more com
pact, Athens-centric district
than the previous one which
had Athens at one extreme of
a district that reached all the
way to Savannah. Now, Athens
is safely within the fold of a
heavily Republican district
that stretches from the Augusta suburbs all the way to the North
Carolina line, comprising primarily rural and small-town counties.
The prospect of a non-partisan election means that Democrats
are not automatically out of the running. Columbia County jeweler
Terry Holley ran against Norwood in the last election, garner
ing 32 percent of the vote. State Representative Alan Powell,
from Hartwell, is a conservative Democrat who beat back a
strong Republican challenge in the last election. Former Athens
Mayor Gwen O'Looney has name recognition. Newly elected State
Democratic Party Chair Jane Kidd grew up in Lavonia, in the heart
of the district, and now lives in Athens. Rep. Jeanette Jamieson,
of Toccoa, is a popular Democrat. Athens' Robert Finch ran for
Congress in 2002. For that matter. Commissioner of Labor Mike
Thurmond has deep roots in Athens and the district.
A candidate who could draw well in Athens would start with
a strong base, but so would an Augusta-area candidate such as
Republican State Rep. Barry Fleming, from Columbia County, who
is said to have the support of the powerful Rep. Ben Harbin,
Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
An open Congressional seat to be filled by a non-partisan,
special election simply opens a Pandora's Box of possibilities. For
instance, if Brian Kemp doesn't run for Congress but Ralph Hudgens
does, Kemp could run for Hudgens' State Senate post (they're in the
same district now) to return to the Senate and take his seat along
side his brother-in-law, Bill Cowsert, elected to fill Kemp's seat.
But it's a big district, with some well-known political play
ers, like Jackson County's Gary Black, who beat Brian Kemp in the
Republican Primary for Agriculture Commissioner but lost to long
time Democratic incumbent Tommy Irvin.
Should the occasion arise, whoever runs will have to be com
mitted to a fast, hard campaign in a crowded field that will surely
spill over into a runoff. And whoever is elected will have to start
running immediately for re-election, shuttling back and forth from
Washington every week to travel the gigantic district, constantly •
politicking and begging for money, foregoing family life.
Charlie Norwood is still the Congressman from the 10th District.
That's a fact. The rest, at this point, is just a tempest in a catfish
pond.
Pete McCommons Editor & Publisher editor@flagpole.com
THIS WEEK’S ISSUE:
N3EWS <§2 FEATURES
Back To Life 10
Freed from Death Row, Shareef Cousin Has Reason to Be an Optimist
Flagpole talks with a young man who spent 11 years wrongfully imprisoned in Louisiana.
He’s visiting Athens this week to discuss his experiences with the capital punishment system
ARTS <§2 EVENTS
Art Notes 18
Footprint in the Sand
ATHICAs "Transience: The Paradox of Being." printmaking and Nina Bovasso at the Lamar
Dodd School of Art. Also, check out the annual Mental Health Benefit art auction
Theatre Notes 19
Pick You Up at Eight
Town and Gown does Lady Windermere's Fan The Forest Theater of Pure Form pushes
the envelope. Canopy, Rose of Athens. The Vagina Monologues and so much more!
Telling Tall Tales 31
Jimmy Hughes Is The Heart Of Folklore,
But The Band’s Debut Album Features Many Voices
The Ghost of H W Beavetman is a trip through invented and actual folklore from upstate New York.
No Backlash Necessary 32
The Woggles Bring Back An Incendiary Love Of Garage Rock & Roll
Rock And Roll Backlash is the ninth album from the SOs-inspired
revivalists with the powerhouse shows.
LETTERS
4
A MILLION MONKEYS
23
CITY PAGES
6
ABC
24
COMMENT
8
FOLKLORE
31
BOOK REVIEW
9
THE WOGGLES
32
SHAREEF COUSIN
10
PHILVASSAR
34
HIP MAMMA
13
RECORD REVIEWS
35
OUT THERE!
14
SPOTLIGHT
36
ART NOTES
18
THREATS & PROMISES
37
THEATRE NOTES
19
COMICS
38
MOVIE DOPE
.’..20
REALITY CHECK
39
MOVIE PICK
22
CLASSIFIEDS
40
COVER DESIGN by Kelly Ruberto
featuring artwork by Peter Loose at the
Georgia Museum of Art gift shop
EDITOR l PUBLISHER Pete McCommons
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR l PUBLISHER Alicia Nickles
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Larry Tenner
MANAGING EDITOR Margaret Moore
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CITY EDITOR Ben Emanuel
CLASSIFIEDS, DISTRIBUTION l OFFICE MANAGER Emily Waldron
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ADOPT ME Special Agent Cindy Jerrell
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WRITERS Jace Bartet, Phillip Buchan, Tom Crawford, Elizabeth Deroshia, John Huie, Jyl Inov, Gordon Lamb.
Charley Lee, Ryan Martin, John G. Nettles, Beth Sale, Alan Sculley, Jeff Tobias, Brandon Waddell.
Michael Wehunt, Drew Wheeler, Donald E. Wilkes, Jr., Gretchen Wood
CIRCULATION Charles Greenleaf, Roy Coughlin, Clayton Aucoin, Zack Haas. Lee Sarrell
WEB DESIGNER Ian Rickert
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VOLUME 21
ISSUE NUMBER 5
Flagpole, Inc. publishes Flagpole Magazine weekly and distributes 17,000 copies
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NEWS & FEATURES I ARTS & EVENTS I MOVIES i MUSIC I COMICS & ADVICE I CLASSIFIEDS
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