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Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009

Candidates, supporters make final push in Warner Robins election

WARNER ROBINS — Candidates, their wives and supporters lined the streets holding signs, waving arms and chanting loudly as residents flowed through polling places Tuesday morning.

One man, holding a sign for Chuck Chalk, had been on Watson Boulevard across from City Hall at 5 a.m.

Just before noon, voters could spot the wives of Clifford Holmes Jr. and Chuck Chalk waving signs supporting their husbands. Holmes and Chalk eventually joined their spouses on either side on Watson Boulevard. Chuck Shaheen and his wife were also standing outside across from the Warner Robins Recreation Center. City Council candidate Mike Daley’s campaign had the largest presence near City Hall. Four men took places on either side of Watson Boulevard waving signs, and a large sign for Daley’s campaign was being dragged up and down Watson in the bed of an oversized red pickup truck.

Randall Dodd, a Houston County resident, was holding a Shaheen for Mayor campaign sign. Though he can’t vote for his friend in the election, he said he knew how important the Warner Robins mayor’s race was to folks living in the county.

“The new mayor will have an impact on the county, too,” he said. “We need a person who was ... raised here and knows the people. Who can represent the city outside the city, in Atlanta and Washington D.C.”

OVER SOON

Some supporters can’t wait until the race is over. For Rosa Holmes, is means being able to answer the phone at home without worrying too much about what she says.

Holmes, the wife of mayoral candidate Clifford Holmes Jr., said their phone has been ringing off the hook with calls from supporters, elected officials, members of the media and other candidates for office. Sometimes, she said, she just ignores it.

“They might ask me a question,” she said. “And I don’t want to give them the wrong answer.”

A FAMILY DIVIDED

A truck driving down Watson Boulevard with a Chuck Chalk sign included, among its occupants, Tommy Walker, the late Mayor Donald Walker’s brother. And Tommy isn’t the only Walker supporting Chalk.

At the bottom of a digital billboard promoting Chalk’s campaign, it’s noted that the sign was paid for by “Miss Patricia Walker.”

Walker, who could not be reached for comment, contributed $2,400 to Chalk’s campaign last week, as did her daughter, Stephanie. Chalk has said that Patricia Walker has publicly endorsed him for mayor.

“I’m just grateful and thankful for her support,” said Chalk, a program manager at Robins Air Force Base. “When anyone says ‘I want to vote for you,’ I’m so humbled because someone thinks I’m worthwhile to vote for.”

While Tommy, Patricia and Stephanie Walker donated a reported $5,800 combined to Chalk’s campaign, Shaheen said another of Donald Walker’s brothers, Jay Walker, contributed to his campaign.

Shaheen said Jay Walker and his wife both gave to his campaign. While they donated, it was less than the $101 individually that would require the donations to be reported. Jay Walker could not be reached for comment.

To contact writer Marlon A. Walker, call 256-9685.