Opinion

Qualifying has closed for the Royston City election scheduled for November 8. The following candidates qualified:

For Mayor: Bill Stewart and Lee Strickland

For City Council (three vacancies): Dave Nelson, Jason Phillips, Angie Pressley, and Kenneth Roach (incumbent)

Clear lines are already beginning to emerge in both races. Alliances have already been forged that appear to include the council races. The Stewart people, including some council members, have expressed a strong fear concerning Lee Strickland as Mayor. In private conversations, and sometimes not so private, they are vocal in their opposition.

Included in the Stewart camp are a number of influential business people who share the suspicions concerning Strickland.

In the Strickland camp are many old-line supporters of Strickland's father, Mid, who was mayor for a number of years. The elder Strickland left a bad taste in the mouths of some folks, and they have never gotten over it. This is a burden that the younger Strickland, right or wrong, must bear; however, there is a strong contingent that remains loyal to him.

Many Stewart supporters, and some others, view Strickland as a redneck boob. In manner and in dress, he does not attempt to dispel the image. In our opinion, he is not a boob. A redneck? Maybe. But not a boob. Strickland is a very successful businessman with a lot of knowledge about the city. (Folks.... especially Stewart people, this is not an endorsement, but merely an observation and opinion.) The question of Strickland's residency always comes up, but so far no one has challenged it.

The question essentially is one of trust. Who do you trust? Neither side trusts the other, and that is unfortunate. Lack of trust is becoming more and more prevalent at all levels of government, witness the finger pointing in the wake of the recent.hurricane. This lack of trust spills over into the electorate, creating an atmosphere that impedes straightforward campaigning. But that is politics today (probably always has been), and when you get on the dance floor, that is the music, and while you may be out of step, you have to dance with who brung you.

In the council races, there probably will be some choosing up of sides for Mayor. We will not do that, although we will vote. We talked to Strickland the other day and word got around. (Small town life is marvelous.) There is a lot of gossiping and "assuming", especially at election time. We also talked to Kenneth Roach, who is supposedly one of our "opponents." We may even vote for him. (Neither is that an endorsement.)

Hopefully, we will talk to Bill Stewart later, when he is available.

We have made no bones about the fact that we are not "on fire" for either candidate, so we would not expect either of them to be "on fire" for us. That, too, is how politics is played.

We will just run our own campaign and see what happens.

Roach, as an incumbent, should probably have no problem getting re-elected. Choices seem to have already been made in the two camps for one or the other of the non-incumbent council seats. Some Stewart supporters are supporting Phillips, and there are hints that Pressley will get support from the Strickland camp.

In this crazy election format for council, the top three candidates are elected. This means there is often a tendency to vote for your main choice, and maybe number two, but not all three. Otherwise, depending on how the votes fall, you could be voting against your first choice.

As a non-aligned candidate and a newcomer, it would be presumptuous of us to advise anyone on how to play the game; however, we will ask you to do two things. First, VOTE. Second, no matter whether you vote for one, two or three candidates, we hope that one vote will be for DAVE NELSON.

MY MOTTO: I WILL KISS YOUR BABY, BUT NOT YOUR BUTT.

Registration Deadline: October 11 Election: November 8

Keep up to date on the campaign through:

www.neganews.com

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