I am starting this column off by highlighting one of the smartest political plays I have seen all year, which is Commissioner John Clarke nominating former Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle for chairman of the elections board.
As I watched the meeting, I had to stand up and applaud this egregious effort to, as my grandmother would say, “get somebody out of the way.” Unfortunately, the motion failed and fortunately, Tim McFalls was reappointed.
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I predicted a while ago that Wayne Guilfoyle would be entering the race for District 10, currently held by John Clarke. In case you are still lost, John Clarke is the commissioner who does a lot of interviews and gets fussed at by other commissioners for talking to the community. He also thinks he is pretty stylish and was the lead singer for a rock n’ roll / country band that is in the Harrisburg Music Hall of Fame (inside joke).
Another side bar in case you missed it, Brian Marcus is running for mayor… (Crickets). My son, MJ, said, “who?”
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MJ is now old enough to vote, so I try to keep him in the loop politically. I am told Marcus is a local businessman who also has several rap music videos online like “Hey, Mr. Dopeman” and “Give Me What I Want.” Those sound like two good possible campaign slogans if you are tough on crime and possibly trying to follow the lead of a soon-to-be-relieved commissioner.
I know everyone is waiting on my take on the Commissioner Sias situation. I gave you the heads up it was gonna happen and when it would happen. I have no comment on his guilt or innocence. I am sure the court system will do their job in this situation.
I will, however, make reference to his comments at his breakfast where he promised to fight… but then said he may not see everyone at the next breakfast. I will pray for him and our entire community. Situations like this absolutely hurt the people involved and give the community a black eye.
Who will fill his seat after the governor removes him? There are many names floating around. One of which is Jovon Jones, who ran against Wayne Frazier for his school board seat. Frazier’s name is also being tossed around, so they could finally get him off the school board. Nesia Wright is a young, retired Army Officer; a local businesswoman and all around great person. She is not interested in running, so people feel she is perfect.
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Betty Reese ran against Sammie Sias and lost by a very thin margin. She is the only person Sammie doesn’t want taking his place. Last but not least, Alvin Mason. He is the odds-on favorite not only for the appointment but also to win the upcoming election. He knows the commission and he knows the City.
In other news, it’s official that Charlie Hannah has entered the mayoral race. This should not come as a surprise to anyone, as I have been saying this for the past three months. What was surprising, at least to me, was the number of people who attended his campaign announcement and the endorsements that came with it. I am not saying I didn’t expect Charlie to have support, I just didn’t expect it from certain people.
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He had school board members there — Jimmy, Venus and others — and he had local professional boxer and world champ Jip DeLoach and others in attendance to show their support. Some even gave remarks.
I will never say anything bad about Charlie Hannah… mainly because he is a sixth degree black belt. He also looked casket clean in his two button plum colored suit for his campaign announcement. Now let’s discuss the people running for these school board seats that are already being held by sitting board members, and also why Dennis Williams is potentially getting out of the mayoral race… oops. Getting a little ahead of myself.
Michael Meyers is a Columnist for The Augusta Press. Reach him at Michael.meyers@theaugustapress.com.
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