10 DEC 06: WRECK, THE VOTE?

The Columbus Council runoff election is now officially final - and the outcome hasn't changed. In fact, WRBL reported the military and provisional ballots were 1-0 in favor of District 1 challenger Jerry Barnes. When Nathan Suber can't even win a 1-0 vote, it IS time to concede....

But if you think the election news is over for 2006 - maybe not. There's still one vote that's unsettled, almost a month after the ballots were cast. It's the Columbus NAACP election - where some may be surprised to learn you DO have to prove you're a member to vote.

I didn't realize the NAACP election was in limbo until I read this week's edition of "The Courier." Its big story says the results of the November 11 vote still are not certified. You'd think there would be a sense of urgency, since the Martin Luther King Day weekend banquet is extra-early in January.

The big item on the ballot is the NAACP President's job. Incumbent Bill Madison is challenged by Nate Sanderson, who used to host a Sunday night talk show on TV-16. Sanderson tends to lean Republican - so he's about as likely to get the top job as Usama bin-Laden can become Republican National Chair.

But the Columbus NAACP election still has not been certified, because several curious things reportedly happened November 11 at the South Columbus Library:

+ Some people had registered as members online, but were not on the official list. No wonder Bill Madison talked awhile back about upgrading the office - it needs working printers.

+ Other people say they were denied an opportunity to vote, even though they were in line at closing time. I can relate to this, because some fast-food places are locking doors an hour earlier than the posted time -- encouraging me to waste gas in a drive-through lane.

+ Then the voting deadline actually was extended -- but people who were turned away didn't know about that in time to return to the library. This is why Foxie-105 FM needs a real news department....

On top of all this, the administrator over the Columbus NAACP election is NOT from Columbus -- he lives in Detroit. Maybe it's part of a strategy to get laid-off auto workers to that new Kia plant.

In a way, I can understand why the current Columbus NAACP administrator is from Detroit. Georgia NAACP executive Edward DuBose has very close ties to Columbus -- and who knows how many clothing stores on Broadway he's helped keep in business.

But when an election isn't certified almost a month after the vote, it raises some eyebrows. At least it would in Atlanta or Montgomery -- and the Columbus NAACP certainly didn't have that many voters. It leaves you wondering if the administrator over all this isn't really from someplace around Palm Beach, Florida.

Whatever the outcome of this local election, there should be a lesson for the Columbus NAACP leaders. The next time they complain about Georgia's voting rules or allege problems at the polls, they might want to look in the mirror before they speak out. Or then again, should they ask the Justice Department to oversee THEIR voting, too?

Let's see what else is worth discussing on a winter-like weekend:

+ The annual Bi-City Christmas Parade was held in downtown Phenix City and Columbus. When they hold a Bi-City Hanukkah Parade with a Menorah Run on a Sunday morning without downtown churches complaining, we will truly achieve One Columbus.

+ The Phenix City School Board voted to ban cell phones in schools. Uh-oh, they asked for it - because sales of text message devices are about to jump.

+ WRBL reported the new official Georgia state map does NOT include Cataula and Box Springs. Residents of Box Springs probably don't mind. The better to keep those disabled veterans out....

+ A Columbus Cottonmouths winning streak ended, with a 4-1 loss at Huntsville. A second-period brawl extended into the crowd, as Columbus's Jeff Moore clashed with a fan. The fan reportedly was NOT ejected, but moved to the upper deck -- so cheap shots may get you cheaper seats.

(Cottonmouths broadcaster Mike Vee told some foul-mouthed girls in the crowd they were on television and "your moms might find out" - when in reality, the game was only on radio. It's no wonder Rachel Baribeau co-hosts his WEAM-AM/WIOL sports talk show. He needs someone to explain facts from fiction.)

+ Rich Rodriguez decided NOT to become Alabama's head football coach -- only hours after the Birmingham News reported Rodriguez had accepted the job "in principle." The newspaper should learn an important lesson from this. It only counts if someone accepts the job in Tuscaloosa.

+ GPB's high school football coverage spotted Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue on the sidelines, wearing the colors of Warner Robins. That's how you can spot a state official, who can't run for his job again....

+ Instant Message to the GPB football announcer who claimed it's "progress" to see more and more high school linemen weighing 300 pounds: Some of us have another name for it - obesity.

BURKARD'S BEST BETS: Gas for $2.11 a gallon at Pyramid Food Mart, Buena Vista and Steam Mill.... a new two-hour Sunday salsa show at 11:00 a.m. on "Viva 1460" AM.... and the way this season's going, I fear Tampa Bay will beat the Falcons....

SCHEDULED MONDAY: How cold WAS it?....

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