18 OCT 06: MAD MAX

Well, maybe that title is a bit unfair. To look at Max Wilkes, it's hard to believe he could get mad at anybody. Or if he did, he might spike your prescription behind the counter at the pharmacy to get even.

But former city manager Max Wilkes apparently is unhappy with his release from Phenix City government - so on Tuesday, his attorney announced plans to sue the city. The complaint ranges from city officials playing politics to civil rights violations. The first claim seems more likely, since in the South the latter claim from a white man isn't likely to go far.

Attorney Raymond Jackson says Wilkes was dismissed as Phenix City Municipal Court Clerk because of rumors he might run for mayor. So what's the harm in that? Now Wilkes can run as "the outsider" candidate....

The attorney for Max Wilkes says Phenix City has hired 13 new employees this fiscal year, yet city officials claim they didn't have money in the budget to keep Wilkes. Either this is an injustice against a 29-year city employee - or Wilkes had a bigger salary than anyone ever dreamed.

When Max Wilkes talked with WRBL about his dismissal last month [26 Sep], he apparently didn't mention anything about a possible run for Phenix City Mayor. It was presented as simply a budgetary decision. If it took Wilkes three weeks to figure out this was a matter of politics, it's no wonder he's spreading rumors about a campaign two years in advance.

So what did Phenix City Mayor Jeff Hardin have to say about Max Wilkes's complaint? He reportedly didn't have time to talk about it Tuesday. He was too busy holding a city council meeting, and talking about why a nightclub on the 280 Bypass should close....

The Phenix City Council called a special hearing for next week, on whether Club Roc should be closed. Police Chief Brian McGarr says just as he warned, crime has increased there in the last month. You knew it was bad when GCW Wrestling decided to use a different building on Wednesday nights.

Phenix City's Police Chief also says former executives of The Fire House club have been spotted behind the bar at Club Roc, serving drinks. Talk about guilt by association! Next thing you know, we'll learn they were offering discount prices on shooters.

It's obvious that Phenix City officials are concerned about Club Roc, where they didn't seem as concerned when the club was known as Cadillac Jack's. What sort of message does this send? Are hip-hop and rap performers and fans more likely to carry guns -- while country music fans settle things with beer bottles and fists?

E-MAIL UPDATE: Now to the Columbus Mayor's race - and a message from Tuesday that we're admittedly moving to the top of the stack:

Richard,

You say tuh-may-toe, I say tuh-mah-toe---but how do you spell the candidate running as a write-in for Columbus mayor?

In today's blog you spelled his first name with a "u", but previous posts have it with an "e". While it seems trivial, it may be very important if you want to write-in this person's name on the ballot. I'm told poll workers will check to guarantee the candidate's name is spelled correctly before the write-in vote is accepted.

Will the police chief's wife let a minor spelling infraction slide on election night? Maybe someone should check. In the meantime, you might want to update your spell check and add "Bert"!

Justin

I actually wrote down Mr. Coker's name on my notepad, when he called WRCG TalkLine on the day I was there [14 Aug]. I wrote his first name down with a U, but the Ledger-Enquirer and the TV stations are spelling it with an E. And if the telephone book spells it that way, that should settle it -- unless the Bob Poydasheff campaign planted that name a year ago, to throw off the voters.

All three men in the mayor's race appeared Tuesday night at a Columbus Public Library forum. It was organized by the group "Women Wanting Justice" - but for some reason, no candidate for the Georgia Supreme Court attended.

B-E-rt Coker said he's running for mayor to take on a "tax and spend" approach in Columbus city government. Based on this statement, it's no wonder the police groups are supporting someone else -- because they might wind up working three or four other jobs, instead of one.

B-O-b Poydasheff quoted from a June "Georgia Trend" magazine article, which said Columbus is poised for "explosive growth" in coming years. Some police officers are concerned that's already happening - as in explosive weapons downtown.

J-I-m Wetherington said Columbus clearly has a problem with finances. He was apparently referring to the talk about bringing back a city auditor. But give the current city government a little credit - they didn't outsource the financial reviews to India.

We go back to the "vacation leftover" e-mails, for another one about the upcoming election:

when you vote this year, do you know what you are doing.

Do you need help when you look at the Ballot.

Are you one that feels you need to be influenced at the voting booth.

Are you one that votes the other way jus to make things worse.

Well, well, well - you probably said yes to more than one of the above and you will help keep the system in trouble, Good job

We need more of ones like you to vote, well, at least you do vote unlike the ones that talk and no walk...

I'm not sure exactly what sort of tone this writer is taking. But really now -- do we want vision-impaired voters to stay home in three weeks?

There are election rules, of course, against being "influenced at the voting booth." Candidates and their signs have to stay a certain away from the polls. Sometimes I wish they had the same sort of rule for contestants on "The Price is Right."

Our last e-mail is about something completely different:

I went to the Linwood Foundation tour of the cemetery tonight..It was wonderful...I can't believe this was my first time and I let all those other years go by....

Isn't it interesting that cemetery tours are staged before Halloween - but you never hear about tours of turkey processing plants before Thanksgiving?

Now a quick check of other notes, from a perfect Tuesday for sleeping -- and for several hours, I actually did:

+ Wayne Newton performed at the Columbus RiverCenter. He was promoted as "Mr. Las Vegas" - which I think means it was OK to play poker and blackjack in your seat during the show.

+ The Eufaula City Council began reviewing plans for a possible Wal-Mart SuperCenter. I know they want to promote economic growth on the south side of Phenix City, but I'm not sure this is the way to do it....

+ Instant Message to whomever put giant pink bows on poles along 13^th Street downtown: Was all that for a wedding? Does it have something to do with women's cancer? Or did the big banks refuse to allow children to draw on the sidewalk?

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