Macon Mayor calls for good behavior

Macon Mayor, Robert Reichert, is calling on his city's residents to be patient and cordial on this Election Day. The mayor went on to say that no matter which political party is successful , there will be people who are "jubilant and excited" as well as those who will be "disappointed and fearful." Recently Macon law enforcement officials met to come up with a plan of action for this Election Day, but hope they will not have any significant problems.

Obama TV ads return to GA airwaves

Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama is returning ads to the Georgia airwaves. Shortly after the nomination of Republican Sarah Palin for Vice President, polls showed Obama twenty points behind John McCain. It was then Obama pulled out staffers and stopped ads in Georgia. However, recent polling has showed a tightening race between Obama and Republican Presidential nominee McCain. It’s unclear how big the latest ad buy is. Obama will also be airing ads in North Dakota and McCain’s home state of Arizona. Polls show Obama closing the gap in both of those historically Republican states.

Fate of Early Votes Explained; Security of Early Votes Debatable

Tonight on Georgia Gazette:

Almost a million early Georgia voters have turned out to select their choice for President and local offices, or about a third of the total votes cast in 2004. WGPB's John Sepulvado explains how all those votes are counted.

TUNE IN at 6PM, or LISTEN NOW in the player to the right.

Incumbents a no-show at House Congressional debates

While The Atlanta Press Club continued its series of election debates today, none of the incumbents attended. The debates were for House Congressional seats in districts 3, 6, 7, and 13.

The race for House District 7 in suburban Atlanta features Doug Heckman (D) and incumbent John Linder (R). Linder declined the Press Club’s request for a debate. Heckman, a retired army colonel, used the opportunity to paint John Linder as right wing politician on the fringe of the GOP.

Bill Jones (D) stood next to an empty podium as well in the House District 6 debate. The incumbent Tom Price (R) said he had to attend congressional hearings in Washington, D.C. Jones directed a hypothetical question to Price, who is a doctor, about why he would take contributions from tobacco companies. GPB has confirmed that the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company donated a total of $2,000 to the Price campaign. 

Incumbent Lynn Westmoreland (R) did not attend the debate, and his challenger attorney Stephen Camp (D) took the opportunity to paint him as an “incompetent congressman.” He stated that the four bills that Westmoreland introduced while in Congress were not enough for the constituents in District 3. One panelist made Camp recite the 10 Commandments. He did so with ease. It was a stab at Westmoreland who was unable to name them during an interview with Stephen Colbert this year. At one time Westmoreland had proposed posting the commandments in some public buildings.

The race for District 13 puts physician Deborah Honeycutt (R) against incumbent David Scott (D). Scott also declined the Press Club's request for a debate. Honeycutt claimed that Scott was "divorced from the community" because he used none of his political connections to stop Clayton county from losing its SACS accrediation. When a panelist asked Honeycutt if she was going to put her race or politicial affiliation first on November 4, Honeycutt said that she would vote for the person whose ideals more closely matched hers - John McCain.