Meet and greet brings out candidates and sharks
On Monday, June 18, 23 candidates for public office staked out spots in the Building A Auditorium of the Columbia County Government Complex for a community meet and greet sponsored by the CSRA Republican Womens Club.
While the event lacked the direct conflict of a debate or the oblique aggression of a forum, there was a palpable tension that wasn’t so much desperation as it was a clear understanding of the importance of making a good impression with the voters.
“Every day is another Twitter follower,” is how Columbia County District 3 candidate Butch Holley described it. “Every day is another Facebook friend.”
Holley is going up against incumbent Charles Allen, who is one of three Allens running for local office — brother Rick is running a heated campaign for the 12th District Congressional seat, while wife Kay is running unopposed for Columbia County tax commissioner.
Like many of the candidates, Holley was in a talkative mood, which seemed to fall in line with his message.
“With me, it’s all communication,” Holley said. “It’s unfair to say it’s between this person or that person. It’s government as a whole.”
Many candidates seemed to be walking an impossible tightrope, trying to be skilled enough in politics to make a difference, but not indoctrinated enough to be painted as part of the problem.
Nowhere are the insider versus outsider battle lines more defined than in the fight for the District 121 seat, which puts the consummate insider, former majority whip Barry Fleming, against an avowed outsider, business owner Mike Popplewell.
Fleming is so inside that he even has possession of a friend’s life-sized elephant. The elephant, which was once used by the first president Bush, was sitting prominently in the parking lot, dwarfing all the other painted-up vehicles.
“My buddy keeps it in a barn,” Fleming said. “We just keep it in our cul du sac. The neighbor kids have to check on it every day just to make sure he’s doing okay.”
While not technically an incumbent, Fleming is nevertheless an insider’s insider, and he certainly wasn’t pretending to be anything else.
“I penned some bills through the legislature when I served previously that people said I’d never pass,” he said. “I said, ‘Well, we’ll give it a try’ — and we did.”
He touted the Voter ID bill he pushed through and the fact it made him Enemy No. 1 with the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
This go around, he’s making eliminating the income tax an issue, and he thinks he’s got the muscle to move it through.
“I know how it works,” he said of the statehouse. “I rose to majority whip. There’s no guarantee that I’ll step back into that job by any means again, but I’ve shown the propensity to be able to lead.”
That leadership, he said, is currently lacking.
“Right now in the CSRA, for the first time in almost forever, we don’t have anybody in the leadership of the legislature from our area,” he said.
Popplewell made it clear he didn’t see the merit in being so attached to the system.
“I’ve worked for the State of Georgia and seen the waste,” he started. “Having been in private business and seeing the obstacles that private business had — there was an open seat and I felt like I could make a difference.”
He said he felt the time was right for his kind of candidate.
“I kind of feel like the climate of America right now is, hey — career politicians have made a mess of things. Let’s start all over.”
By career politicians, he was obviously talking about Fleming.
“Basically, he’s saying elect me because I’ve been there before and I’m experienced,” he said. “I’m saying don’t elect him because he’s been there before and he’s experienced. This is his fifth race in 12 years and he’s applied for two judicial appointments. Let’s give a businessman an opportunity.”
For most of the rest of the candidates, the differences aren’t quite so clear cut, which is why so many of the people circling around the room were campaign operatives, sniffing for the slightest scent of blood.
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While the event lacked the direct conflict of a debate or the oblique aggression of a forum, there was a palpable tension that wasn’t so much desperation as it was a clear understanding of the importance of making a good impression with the voters.
“Every day is another Twitter follower,” is how Columbia County District 3 candidate Butch Holley described it. “Every day is another Facebook friend.”
Holley is going up against incumbent Charles Allen, who is one of three Allens running for local office — brother Rick is running a heated campaign for the 12th District Congressional seat, while wife Kay is running unopposed for Columbia County tax commissioner.
Like many of the candidates, Holley was in a talkative mood, which seemed to fall in line with his message.
“With me, it’s all communication,” Holley said. “It’s unfair to say it’s between this person or that person. It’s government as a whole.”
Many candidates seemed to be walking an impossible tightrope, trying to be skilled enough in politics to make a difference, but not indoctrinated enough to be painted as part of the problem.
Nowhere are the insider versus outsider battle lines more defined than in the fight for the District 121 seat, which puts the consummate insider, former majority whip Barry Fleming, against an avowed outsider, business owner Mike Popplewell.
Fleming is so inside that he even has possession of a friend’s life-sized elephant. The elephant, which was once used by the first president Bush, was sitting prominently in the parking lot, dwarfing all the other painted-up vehicles.
“My buddy keeps it in a barn,” Fleming said. “We just keep it in our cul du sac. The neighbor kids have to check on it every day just to make sure he’s doing okay.”
While not technically an incumbent, Fleming is nevertheless an insider’s insider, and he certainly wasn’t pretending to be anything else.
“I penned some bills through the legislature when I served previously that people said I’d never pass,” he said. “I said, ‘Well, we’ll give it a try’ — and we did.”
He touted the Voter ID bill he pushed through and the fact it made him Enemy No. 1 with the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
This go around, he’s making eliminating the income tax an issue, and he thinks he’s got the muscle to move it through.
“I know how it works,” he said of the statehouse. “I rose to majority whip. There’s no guarantee that I’ll step back into that job by any means again, but I’ve shown the propensity to be able to lead.”
That leadership, he said, is currently lacking.
“Right now in the CSRA, for the first time in almost forever, we don’t have anybody in the leadership of the legislature from our area,” he said.
Popplewell made it clear he didn’t see the merit in being so attached to the system.
“I’ve worked for the State of Georgia and seen the waste,” he started. “Having been in private business and seeing the obstacles that private business had — there was an open seat and I felt like I could make a difference.”
He said he felt the time was right for his kind of candidate.
“I kind of feel like the climate of America right now is, hey — career politicians have made a mess of things. Let’s start all over.”
By career politicians, he was obviously talking about Fleming.
“Basically, he’s saying elect me because I’ve been there before and I’m experienced,” he said. “I’m saying don’t elect him because he’s been there before and he’s experienced. This is his fifth race in 12 years and he’s applied for two judicial appointments. Let’s give a businessman an opportunity.”
For most of the rest of the candidates, the differences aren’t quite so clear cut, which is why so many of the people circling around the room were campaign operatives, sniffing for the slightest scent of blood.You Might Also Like:
