Thursday, August 10, 2006

for 11 AUG 06: B.P. FUEL



"I ask for your vote on November the 19th." That's exactly what Columbus Mayor Bob Poydasheff said Thursday evening, as he concluded his campaign headquarters kickoff speech So in one week the incumbent has moved from an online campaign four years in the past, to an election 12 days past what the calendar shows.



The Bob Poydasheff campaign office in The Villages on 13th was quite full, as the mayor addressed supporters. He said twice all city employees should be treated with respect - but I wondered what sort of reaction the fire marshal might receive if he walked in.



Your blog took up the Poydasheff campaign's invitation to attend the kickoff event - and we found it so busy that a police officer stood in the middle of 13th Street, directing people from their cars across the road to the rally. So perhaps not every police officer in Columbus is backing Jim Wetherington....



But I digress: Mayor Bob Poydasheff became choked up at the very start of his speech, as he noted people of all backgrounds were attending his rally. "Black, white, Hispanic, Latino...." he told one reporter. Hopefully the last two groups know the difference between them.



Mayor Poydasheff brought back memories for me when he said during the last four years, "I've said what I meant, and I meant what I said." They were admittedly memories of Dr. Seuss and Horton the elephant....



(And what should the next line of the rhyme be? He's said what he meant, and he meant what he said - and he's kept the city budget from going in the red.)



Mayor Poydasheff told supporters he's helped bring 7,000 new jobs to Columbus in the last four years. Yet he noted the local unemployment rate remains around six percent. Wow, I didn't realize THAT many sports teams had gone out of business....



Mayor Poydasheff touted the improvements he's promoted in all parts of Columbus. "Bishop Hardman's church is moving to Columbus South," he noted to applause. So where's the south campus of Cascade Hills Baptist -- or the SOUTH Highland Assembly of God?



Mayor Poydasheff said he's been able to keep the Columbus city budget in balance, without borrowing money as Macon has. Of course, critics would argue the borrowing simply has shifted - and some police officers probably would love to show you their credit card bills.



The theme of Bob Poydasheff's reelection campaign is "leadership through partnership." As he explained in his speech: "I don't care who gets the credit, as long as the job gets done and the community benefits." But here's the funny thing - Poydasheff is the only person with a name on the campaign posters....



Mayor Poydasheff says the biggest challenge Columbus faces in the next four years is the base realignment at Fort Benning, and the thousands of newcomers that could bring. "I am the only candidate that has the knowledge and the contacts," he declared. So if Jim Wetherington wins the election, he'd better not expect to find a Rolodex in the office.



Bob Poydasheff never named Jim Wetherington in his kickoff speech. Instead, he described his opponent as "a voice from the past, apparently intent on running a negative campaign...." At least Wetherington can't accuse the incumbent of living most of the time in Atlanta.



In contrast, Bob Poydasheff says he's seeking reelection to represent ALL people in Columbus. I think that means he's looking for the votes of everyone except the police officers....



The rally in support of Bob Poydasheff might as well have been a mini-political convention. It had a jazz band playing peppy songs, and an invocation with a minister asking God to bless "George our President, Sonny our Governor and Bob our Mayor." This sounded strange - until I realized the Bible doesn't list any of the apostles' last names, either.



There was one big difference with this rally - as it began with a "business session." This is another way you can tell Bob Poydasheff is a Republican. A Democratic candidate might put it all on a piece of paper, and leave stacks on a table.



Bob Poydasheff supporters announced they've raised $100,000 for the campaign -- with $15,000 of that coming in the last week. I'll assume these contributors are the ones who didn't need to take advantage of the back-to-school sales tax holiday.



But for a campaign with $100,000 in the coffers, the Bob Poydasheff headquarters office is indeed narrow. In fact, the bare floor appeared to have pulled-up tiles and was covered with small rugs. Could there be an October surprise in the works, from "Extreme Makeover Home Edition?"



It truly was a diverse group of people gather for the Bob Poydasheff campaign kickoff. Among the familiar faces in the crowd, I spotted....


+ WLGA sports talk show host D.J. Jones -- still waiting for some indoor football team to come to town, and ask him to be head coach.



+ Former school board member Owen Ditchfield, who wore a button proclaiming: "No, I'm not retired." If Joseph Roberson is reading this, be afraid - be very afraid.



+ Car dealer Rob Doll. No, Cissy never stood up and said, "Hi, y'all" even once.



But if any current Columbus Council or Muscogee County School Board members were at the Bob Poydasheff campaign rally, I didn't see them. Does this mean they're all in Jim Wetherington's camp? Or were they all stuck at an airport, holding bottles of water?



Mayor Bob Poydasheff told a reporter he waited until Thursday to open his reelection headquarters because he didn't want voters to be confused, during the primary season. Good for him - there will be plenty of campaign commercials in the coming weeks to do that for us.



This rally was at last my opportunity to shake hands with Mayor Bob Poydasheff and introduce myself. "Oh yes," he said, "my grandson loves you!" Hmmmm - please notice the mayor did not say HE loves me....



LOOK OUT BELOW FOR MORE....



We'll be on WRCG-AM 1420's "TalkLine" Friday morning -- talking among other things about the Power Frisbee "Free Frisbee Sunday" at Grainger Park in LaGrange and Rigdon Park in Columbus! Learn all about this new game right now at the official Power Frisbee of Georgia web site; then offer your comments at the P.F.G. blog.



BLOG CORRECTION: Oops - a couple of you caught a mistake we made in Thursday's post:



Richard,



Carson McCullers was a SHE, not a he. I wonder how many other faithful readers will e-mail you saying the same thing :0)



Thanks for a great blog!



Jennifer M.



Sorry about that, Jennifer. I admit I haven't had time of late to read Carson McCullers' literature or background. Now I guess I'll have to double-check Carson Daly, too.



But before we go do that, let's review other headlines from Thursday:


+ Mayor Poydasheff denied an admitted "rumor" aired on WRCG's "TalkLine" that Columbus Council is about to vote on a payment to the family of Kenneth Walker. He told me the report was "nonsense.... utterly premature." This may explain why Walker's widow and mother were missing from the rally, too.



+ Yet another Russell County teacher was arrested, as middle school coach Sebastian Moore was charged with sexual abuse. The way this is going, students may have to take field trips to get an education -- going to jail to meet their teachers.



+ Auburn University announced the chairs of the sociology and adult education department are being replaced, in the wake of the "Directed Reading" controversy. Isn't this amazing? There was still a part of campus that Interim President Ed Richardson hadn't shaken up yet.



+ Instant Message to WRBL: Am I hearing this right - you've been doing newscasts in the front lobby of the station for a couple of weeks? Why don't you move the set outside, and see if an audience shows up like "The Early Show" has?



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