24 OCT 06: POLL DANCING
And here we were starting to think we could reach Election Day without something juicy in the Columbus Mayor's race. That thinking changed Monday. Who could have guessed something bizarre about Jim Wetherington's campaign would be lurking in the office of the police chief's wife?
WRCG's "TalkLine" was first to check campaign expense reports, and find Jim Wetherington received a donation from the owner of the Foxy Lady Lounge. You'd think he'd be more likely to get a contribution from Foxie-105 FM....
A "Mrs. Adams" who owns the Foxy Lady gave $400 to the Jim Wetherington campaign. Admittedly, that doesn't sound like a lot of money in 2006. Some dancers at the lounge could make that much money from Fort Benning soldiers on a good weekend.
But there's an image problem here - and here's where "the spin" begins. The Foxy Lady is one of those Victory Drive clubs which have given Victory Drive a sordid reputation. Which reminds me: when does Bishop Ann Hardman plan to drive down the street, and start preaching to some of the customers?
The Jim Wetherington campaign could have handled this $400 discovery in several ways. For instance, it could have claimed Mrs. Adams and the Foxy Lady Lounge are obviously concerned about crime on Victory Drive. Maybe not necessarily vice, but crime....
Or Jim Wetherington could have announced plans to toughen the Columbus Police "vice squad," if he's elected mayor. That way, he could show he cannot be bought - so people standing on Victory Drive corners late at night shouldn't presume THEY can be, either.
Jim Wetherington even could have decided to return the $400 donation, or give a matching amount to a charity. That's what Republicans such as Alabama Governor Bob Riley have done, with campaign donations from Mark Foley. It's one time when it's seemingly OK for lawmakers to pass the bucks.
But in response to this discovery, Jim Wetherington made NO personal comment to the evening news. Instead, the campaign released a written statement noting the $400 donation from the Foxy Lady Lounge's owner was "legally made." Of course it was. So is buying prime real estate in another state, when you're the Georgia Governor....
The Jim Wetherington campaign statement also declared Columbus voters are more concerned about one million dollars in missing city landfill fees, than a $400 campaign donation from a steamy nightclub. In other words: my money problem is smaller than your money problem, so I win.
(If Jim Wetherington supporters follow this monetary logic, sales of Mega Millions tickets should soar today - and the Cash 3 drawing might as well be shut down.)
Supporters of Bob Poydasheff could spin all this the other way, of course. For one thing, Jim Wetherington has made public safety a big campaign issue -- although it's not as if the "exotic dancers" at the Foxy Lady are dancing outside, and distracting drivers.
Then there's another argument, which I didn't hear anyone bring up Monday. Wasn't Jim Wetherington once the headmaster of Calvary CHRISTIAN School? And then he takes campaign money from a nightclub owner?! Not even the Foxy Lady's dancers could make a turn like this -- even on a pole.
But when asked about the $400 donation from the Foxy Lady's owner, Mayor Bob Poydasheff chose NOT to comment at all to the evening news. You'll recall he promised to run for reelection on his own record. And besides, Fort Benning never put that club on its "off-limits" list for soldiers.
But if Bob Poydasheff isn't making a fuss out of the donation from the Foxy Lady's owner to his opponent, should anyone else? Keep in mind two summers ago, we came upon a "Bobby Peters for Judge" campaign poster stuck on the outside of the old Boom Boom Room - and look where he is today.
The timing of this disclosure was dreadful for Jim Wetherington, because he rolled out a new series of campaign commercials Monday. In one of them, he suggests the University of Georgia pay study and the thousands of dollars spent for a city slogan show a lack of "common sense." It's nice to know accepting money from a steamy Victory Drive dance club is sensible.
The Monday mumbling was not all good about Bob Poydasheff, either. Your blog heard a complaint that the mayor attended a funeral visitation recently - and while there, he spent some time on his cell phone campaigning. But it could have been worse. The incumbent could have asked if he was mentioned in the will of the deceased.
Then there are the Bob Poydasheff backers who may be too enthusiastic. I found a sticker for the incumbent on South Lumpkin Road - stuck on top of a sign backing Rickey Jones for the Muscogee County School Board. Then again, it's Jim Wetherington who talks about improving city-school relations....
E-MAIL UPDATE: Tonight's political forum at the Liberty Theater is still on - but the person who submitted that to us for Monday's entry wants to make a correction:
I'm sorry, my fingers got the best of me and man is my face red. The correct spelling is Mayoral. This is why we must proof read BEFORE we send e-mail out.
Yes, I agree with you - so maybe I shouldn't mention that your message misspelled "conjunction" as well.
Here at the blog, most of the time we post 'em the way we get 'em. So if you have a beef about local schools and you can't spell correctly in your complaint, you're adding to our daily joke count whether you realize it or not.
But to be fair - do you notice how many people mispronounce the word "mayoral?" They often add an extra "ee," to make it a four-syllable word. Maybe they're trying to avoid sounding like they're endorsing B. Merrill's restaurant.
Now what sort of news would others like to spread? Let's see....
Word in the gossip world has it that the radio air waves will be changing after the Nov. elections.
Could that be right? is there a revolt waiting in the wind...
Are we headed for 2 radio talk shows for the morning people?
Do we have that many people around the community that has that much time on their hands...(Uhmm hold on a minute - I'm on hold to speak on this station, you will have to wait until i get back on the other radio program).......
if this happens - callers need to be handed something like a credit card with a Time limit on it..when you call in - you have give your card number- when you reach you limit on either station - off the air you go until next months allotment..
I can see it now,,,an argument starts on one station, callers call the other station and give an update from the first one, then commnets air on the second station and then callers call back the first one and add fuel to it and then back to the second one -the emails are going so fast back and forth that the servers slowwaaay down ,,,wait,,wait,,wait,,
life in paradise goes on
I guess I'm not living in the "gossip world," because I hadn't heard this rumor. I'm still trying to figure out if Jennifer Aniston is available for a date.
First off to all of you in the gossip world -- are you aware there already ARE two morning radio talk shows in Columbus? Or did WSHE-AM kick "Duke and the Doctor" off the air?
Then there's the WDAK talk show "Viewpoint," which Mike Gaymon from the Columbus Chamber of Commerce hosts. But he only does that on Tuesdays. Imagine how many "Eye-Opener Breakfasts" he'd have to miss, serving as host five days a week.
So where might another Columbus radio talk show pop up? I'll join the guessing game -- how about former TalkLine co-host Antonio Carter going to WOKS? People who tune to that station to hear the blues could express some personally.
But if you're waiting for a two-channel debate between Columbus radio stations -- well, dream on. The Fox News Channel talkers only point fingers at CNN. They don't really borrow that channel's topics.
By the way, I like the idea about putting talk show callers on a time limit. Some radio hosts in other places did that years ago - before they started acting like Neal Boortz, and cutting off callers who made too much sense.
Now let's see if we can make sense of other Monday news:
+ Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama visited the new Summit Hospital in Phenix City. In an amazing election year development, a wing was NOT named in his honor.
+ Chemistry students at Glenwood School marked "National Mole Day." My brother is the family chemistry major, so I'm not sure exactly what this means -- but it's sure hard to beat the one on Cindy Crawford.
+ Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville spoke at the Columbus Quarterback Club. The weekly meeting was moved to 12:00 noon to accommodate him - which makes this club look a lot like the University of Buffalo.
+ Auburn University began a two-day conference on alternative energy sources. You may recall Auburn is a leading researcher of "switchgrass" - which sounds like it should describe the music career of Alison Krauss.
+ Outgoing Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox was named a spring semester lecturer, at the University of Georgia Law School. So if Mark Taylor becomes Governor, she'll still be a 90-minute drive away from him.
+ Two men pleaded guilty in Atlanta federal court to stealing trade secrets from Coca-Cola headquarters. It's too bad the secrets never came out - because we still don't know the difference between Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero.
+ Instant Message to the Ledger-Enquirer: Did you REALLY mean to do that? Did you mean to mark "Red Ribbon Week" by putting a half-page large picture on page one, of a woman standing in front of bottles of alcohol? I thought for a second you were bought out by The Edge Magazine.
BURKARD'S BEST BETS: Gas for $1.99 a gallon at Petro, Brown Avenue and Cusseta Road.... milk for $2.50 a gallon at Walgreens.... and on this "White Cane Day," I recommend a stylish one from Disco Fashions downtown....
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