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28 OCT 04: STAR POWER
Before we get to our topic -- an Instant Message to the driver at Wynnton and Buena Vista Roads, who turned right from the LEFT lane Wednesday night: That was MY car you apparently never saw. And I wanted to go straight, in the lane next to yours. Be thankful your insurance company didn't buy me a new Honda -- fully-loaded.
A few drivers apparently don't realize at "the crossroads of central Columbus," as I call Wynnton and Buena Vista, only ONE lane in each direction is for turning left. I hereby declare NASCAR to blame for all these drivers wanting to go "two-wide into turn one."
I was THISCLOSE to going straight ahead in the right lane Wednesday night, and letting that left-lane turner whack me. Instead, I turned right with him, avoided a crash and changed my trip home by a couple of blocks. Besides, Ken Nugent seems more interested these days in representing Vioxx patients than drivers like me.
With thanks still to be alive - on to our topic: The candidates for Muscogee County Sheriff came together in a televised debate Wednesday evening. Ralph Johnson and Robert Taylor came across as so soft-spoken and polite, you'd think they were running for the lead role on a "CSI" series.
(BLOGGER'S NOTE: Perhaps both men were sobered by news that former Sheriff's Deputy Travis Schnoor was killed in Iraq Wednesday. Our sympathies to Schnoor's family, friends and colleagues.)
Challenger Robert Taylor says you should elect him Sheriff because he wants "one Columbus," with a united community. What do you think he means by this? Maybe a "north office" for the Sheriff's Department near the J.R. Allen Parkway?
Robert Taylor kept emphasizing a unity theme during the debate. He said you "can't take two halves and call it a whole, until we all come together." So "we" are sort of like steak and cheese, in a McDonald's bagel....
Asked why you should vote for him, Incumbent Sheriff Ralph Johnson began by saying he grew up in Columbus. If that's the top criterion, Mayor Poydasheff and Councilor Mimi Woodson should resign sometime today.
Ralph Johnson has been Sheriff five years, but noted his law enforcement career began as a jailer at the old county jail. That was a different time in Columbus - when a "lock-in" had nothing to do with high school students at Hollywood
Connection.
The obvious issue in the Sheriff debate was the killing of Kenneth Walker by a deputy last December. Ralph Johnson tried to defuse it by saying he couldn't talk about the case, because it's still in the hands of investigators. Well, maybe it is - or maybe they're all keeping their hands off it....
On the other hand, Robert Taylor declared Ralph Johnson "failed to unite the community" after Kenneth Walker was killed. Well, why didn't Mr. Taylor take action to do it himself? Anyone could have organized a "Kum Bah Yah" sing.
Sheriff Ralph Johnson actually admitted during the debate he could have handled part of the Kenneth Walker aftermath better. This may explain why he's running as an independent. Republicans like President Bush never admit making mistakes.
Ralph Johnson says he regrets not "reaching out" more to Kenneth Walker's family after last December's shooting. That's now been left to family lawyers - who are reaching out to take $100 million in damages.
But Sheriff Ralph Johnson says he was right to call in the Georgia and Federal Bureaus of Investigation after Kenneth Walker was killed. That was right because both agencies are too bogged down with other cases, so the blame can be passed on to them.
(Just between you and me - do you think the F.B.I. would announce conclusions in this case if Kenneth Walker had been killed in Ohio? Or Pennsylvania? Or some other battleground state?)
How would Robert Taylor have handled the Kenneth Walker case? He says he would have called in Columbus Police, to do an initial investigation, then called the G.B.I. We couldn't help noticing Taylor never said he would have fired David Glisson on the spot -- so he would have upset civil rights leaders, too.
Robert Taylor also said he would have gone to the Medical Center, to meet with Kenneth Walker's family. That would have been a show of compassion - and also a great opportunity to get a legal settlement signed on the spot.
Another interesting divide between the Sheriff candidates came on the issue of accreditation. Robert Taylor wants the department to seek national accreditation. Ralph Johnson says he'd rather seek state certification. But far-right conservatives were disappointed neither man spoke against United Nations authorization.
When the Sheriff debate was over, a man sitting near me said his mind was made up. "I'm not voting for either one of them." This man left me with the feeling he wants a 19th-Century Sheriff - who will challenge criminals to duels, and shoot them before asking questions.
Now other items of interest from another warm Wednesday:
+ Advance voting in Columbus became so popular, some people waited more than two hours at the Government Center to mark a ballot. Some of us plan to wait for a less crowded time to vote - like November 2.
+ The evening news was live in Americus, reporting on four arrests in the brutal beating of a convenience store worker - but I kept getting distracted. That Flash Foods store has unleaded for $1.87?! That beats most of Columbus by at least four cents.
+ "Fox-54 Idol" David Rainer revealed he was NOT invited to Hollywood, when he auditioned for "American Idol" in San Francisco. But apparently he wasn't insulted by Simon Cowell - which means he can't follow in William Hung's footsteps, either.
+ The Boston Red Sox shut out St. Louis to win the World Series - and I recalled Atlanta Hawks sportscaster Steve Holman, who said on WGST radio in 1986 he had champagne ready to open, until Bill Buckner's error changed everything. With the Red Sox finally winning, I fear Holman will go back to whining about N.B.A. referees again.
(I've never been to Boston, so why am I so giddy about the Red Sox? For their remarkable comeback against the Yankees, the end of all the complaining by Boston fans -- and the fact that the Kansas City Royals still have a more recent World Series title than the St. Louis Cardinals.)
COMING FRIDAY: A follow-up call, concerning the Marshal's race....
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