INSIDER: All Wet

When Damon Cline was forced to take all that bombast out of the District 2 Commission race in Columbia County because it turned out he didn’t actually live in the district, it seemed as if the embattled Trey Allen, blamed for everything from the Augusta Prep lights to the Springlakes ditch to the Magnolia Trace portal to hell, was going to get a free pass in his bid for reelection to the commission.   Then up popped Lee Benedict.   Benedict, who wants to win an election so bad it seems he’ll throw himself into just about anything, was nevertheless a surprise candidate, and if he hasn’t made the campaign trail interesting, he’s at least made it entertaining.   Entertaining, because you can’t help but smile at the way his wild allegations ripple throughout the community, even after all the false alarms.   It’s like deep down we really want to believe Chicken Little.   Recently, his claims that the county was moving ahead with a very expensive and highly hush-hush aquatic center was just outlandish enough to get people — people in the know — to start making calls to other people in the know.   Was he talking about the pool the Family Y is contemplating putting in someday out at the Gateway? Was he talking about the old aquatic center the county voted down nearly four years ago? Was the county planning an October Surprise that only he had heard of?   The accusatory finger would point, but there was no elaboration or explanation, which made it difficult for Allen to refute and those searching for the answer to confirm.   While it’s possible the county could someday think about partnering with a private citizen who’s bought some land out by the Appling off ramp and might want to build something wet, that’s so far in its infancy that it’s not even showing up on the pregnancy test.   Which leaves Benedict pretty much where he began.  You Might Also Like: