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21 JUL 04: AFTER THE STORM

Premiering at the Columbus Civic Center tonight: the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey circus. After the Superior Court Judge race of the last few weeks, it's like replacing one circus with another.

When all the votes were counted from several counties, Bobby Peters had shoved Judge Roxann Daniel off the Superior Court bench. It turned out the margin of victory really WAS a reflection of all those yard and wall signs.

(And here I called him "Boom-Boom Bobby" a couple of weeks ago. I suppose I should change that to "Bam-Bam Bobby" -- as in gavel pounding.)

Judge Roxann Daniel broke up her election-night party near Cross-Country Plaza at 9:30 p.m., but refused to concede the lopsided election. She explained she didn't expect her supporters to stay up late for the final results. Early to bed, early to rise - fewer reporters to watch the cries.

Judge Roxann Daniel admitted she faced an uphill fight in the election, because Bobby Peters had better name recognition. Now she'll be out of office -- and Fort Benning soldiers may buy HER dinner for a change.

What about her future? Judge Roxann Daniel told WXTX "News at Ten" she plans to show up for work today. Beyond that, she'll have plenty of time to work on her resume - and hopefully this time, it'll be accurate.

Bobby Peters was all smiles and humor as he gave late-night interviews outside his First Avenue home. Given his nature, a trip to his court might have more punch lines than an episode of "Judge Mathis."

(Instant Message to WRBL's Katie Weitzner: What do you mean, you had "the first live interview with Bobby Peters" at 11:00 p.m.? Hasn't someone told you there's a 10:00 newscast in Columbus now?)

Your blog made the rounds of several election-night locations in Columbus, looking for drama and excitement. All in all, I probably should have stayed home and watched "Navy N.C.I.S...."

8:15 p.m.: I arrive at the Government Center, more than an hour after the polls close. Remembering the last two "touch-screen" votes and how they didn't finish until after 11:00, there's no reason to hurry in this hurry-up age.

I pass through the Government Center security checkpoint, and find something which wasn't there on my last visit. "MAYOR BOB POYDASHEFF WELCOMES YOU" says an electronic sign above the elevator doors. Oh yeah - he's up for re-election in two years, isn't he?

"Election returns? West Wing," says the security guard at the checkpoint. I follow the directions, and arrive at the tables where ballots are arriving. All these people with soft briefcases must look alike on election night....

It turns out the West Wing is for election workers - but the East Wing is the place to watch the numbers come in. So I trudge around the Government Center parking garage, past the jail inmates helping handle election materials. There's
something for Patriot Act supporters to think about, come November.

The East Wing "waiting room" is familiar, from the 2002 general election. Back then, the big local race was Danae Roberts vs. Debbie Buckner for State House. This year, Rep. Buckner is unopposed - and Roberts probably is stuck somewhere in Atlanta traffic.

About 20 people are in the waiting room, many with cell phones reporting the latest numbers they see on a projection screen. Sadly, there's no TV set this year to provide more frequently updated numbers - such as from the Atlanta baseball
game.

An election worker walks in every few members with a diskette, and refreshes a laptop computer where the numbers originate. While I'm there, the totals jump from six precincts reporting to ten -- out of 48 in Muscogee County. It's not quite watching the web-cam of the library construction work, but it's close.

The election return program displayed on the screen shows not only numbers for each candidate, but pie graphs reflecting the percentages. The leaders appear on the graphs in red - which I think means a Democrat wrote the code for this.

A few of the races displayed in the waiting room surprise me. Do you mean Howard Mead actually had opposition for the Georgia Court of Appeals - from FIVE other people? He was the only one I seemed to see on television....

Mac Collins is carrying Muscogee County, among Republican candidates for U.S. Senate. But someone has to say it - Collins ran the most low-key, uninspired campaign for Senate I've ever seen from a sitting member of Congress. Maybe he
thought Johnny Isakson and Herman Cain would sling so much mud at each other, he'd look cleanest.

(Which reminds me: why did Herman Cain run an anti-Johnny Isakson ad at 11:30 p.m. on Primary Night - 4 ½ hours after the polls closed? I've never seen anyone so confident about simply getting into a runoff.)

The two contested Columbus Council races are blowouts at this point. Red McDaniel and Skip Henderson go on to big wins - proving once again the grumblers on WRCG's "Talkline" truly are calling a radio station for minorities.

Several local officials are in the waiting room, watching the election numbers. The most surprising one to me is State Senator Seth Harp, who's in a fight with Sen. Dan Lee for a combined seat. If Harp is at the Government Center in person, does that mean he didn't bother to organize a victory party?

(Seth Harp's billboards said this State Senate election was "about our principles." Given the reports from Eddy Middle School lately, maybe it should be about the teachers instead....)

While Seth Harp is seated in a chair in a plaid shirt, Muscogee County Sheriff Ralph Johnson is watching the election numbers in a sportcoat and tie. He won't face Robert Taylor for re-election until November - and since he's running as an
independent, no doubt he only cares about the nonpartisan races.

I could sit in this waiting room the rest of the night and wait for slow updates on election totals - but I decide it's not worth the time and trouble. After all, I normally don't stare at computer screens at home and watch real-time baseball box scores, either.

8:35 p.m.: Just across Ninth Street from the Government Center sits the law office and home of Bobby Peters. If you walk down First Avenue the right way, you already can get an idea of how Judge Peters could speed up the judicial process.

Several tables are set up on the lawn in front of Bobby Peters's house, for an election night party. Red, white and blue bunting is all over the front porch and stairs. About the only thing Peters needs now is to move one of the gazebos off the Chattahoochee Promenade.

Bobby Peters actually invited your blog to his party during a Sunday night interview - but I decide not to stop for a visit. Some people might find out who I am, and beat me up for posting all those strange rumors from Peters's opponents.

8:45 p.m.: A one-block walk down Ninth Street from Bobby Peters's house takes me to the Wyndham Hotel. That's the spot for the election party of "Dylan Glenn, Columbus's rising star." So when does he plan to challenge Brad Cotter to a singing contest?

Dylan Glenn may be "Columbus's rising star," but the numbers show him losing the Republican primary for U.S. House to Lynn Westmoreland. Yet remember the billboards around town earlier this year? Now that Glenn's failed three times, he
might become President in 2008.

As I walk around outside the Dylan Glenn party, I overhear a curious conversation. "Mayor Poydasheff can come sit my dog...." a man says. Well, this IS a bit more polite than "eat my shorts."

A closer look shows this man is venting to Columbus Councilor Wayne Anthony, apparently about the proposed animal ordinance which failed to get enough votes to pass Tuesday. "There's a difference between a yard dog and a house dog," Anthony is told. So which one can last longer in a hot car?

Earlier in the day, a voter in Talbot County complained to me that he wanted to vote in the Republican primary AND choose between Democrats running for Sheriff. I explained Georgia doesn't allow "crossover voting" in the primary. But he will get to vote on "crossover marriages" in November.

Since no Republicans ran for Sheriff in Talbot County, it didn't seem right to this man that he couldn't have a say in the Democratic contest. He should contact state lawmakers and complain about this. If buffet dining is good enough for Chinese restaurants, it should be good enough for a polling place.

Now some other brief items about Primary Day:

+ Pastor Joseph Roberson beat Muscogee County School Board member Owen Ditchfield. NOW will the Pastor have time for an interview with me? Will he have time to counsel any of his church members anymore?

+ Sumter County Sheriff Bob Ingle lost a four-way Democratic Primary, only days after an activist group claimed a county jail inmate was attacked by guards. I never thought of the phrase "one good beating deserves another" quite this way
before....

+ Taylor County Sheriff Jim Wainwright was thrown out of office, gaining only 15 percent of the vote. Wow - was it HIS idea to have a unified high school prom?

COMING SOON: Our version of the Bobby Peters virtual victory tour....

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