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Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009

3 vying for mayor of Warner Robins

For the first time in nearly 16 years, Warner Robins will have a new leader.

In Tuesday’s election, City Councilman Clifford Holmes Jr., along with political newcomers Chuck Shaheen and Chuck Chalk, now aim to build on the successes of Mayor Donald Walker, who died Sept. 28.

Also up for grabs in the city are three city council seats, including the Post 5 seat Holmes vacated to run for mayor.

In Perry, two incumbents — Charles Lewis and Joe Kusar — face opposition to regain their city council seats while two new faces aim to replace outgoing councilman James Moore. Phyllis Bynum-Grace faced no opposition for her District 1, Post 1 seat, and the city’s new mayor, James E. Faircloth, won his first elected position, also with no opposition.

Centerville Mayor Harold “Bubba” Edwards faces his rival from the 2005 election, former city administrator John Harley, while councilmen Cameron Andrews and Randall Wright face no opposition.

In Fort Valley, Mayor John Stumbo faces opposition from local pastor Randy King, while only two of the four city council incumbents have challengers.

In Byron, two incumbents and a political newcomer already have been certified as victorious, as none of the three has opposition.

Get to know: Warner Robins mayoral candidates

Clifford Holmes Jr.

Councilman Clifford Holmes Jr. was at City Hall before a meeting in the summer of 2008 when he overheard some people talking about G-RAMP. It had not been mentioned on any council agendas.

“I wanted to know what was a G-RAMP,” Holmes said recently. “It was stuff that was being talked about, but that some people didn’t want the council involved in at that point.”

The council, in a closed meeting, got the feeling this G-RAMP thing was something then-Mayor Donald Walker wanted to keep close to the vest.

When he became the city’s acting mayor after Walker was pushed to take time off for medical reasons, the Georgia-Robins Aerospace Maintenance Partnership was finally brought to the table. Holmes didn’t want to deal with closed meetings on city matters, let alone on something that could possibly bring millions to the city.

It’s the same approach he plans to use if he becomes the city’s full-time mayor.

“The opportunity ... to serve as acting mayor for the city showed me there’s a lot more work to be done, but you have to be at a different level to do that work ... to carry that responsibility out,” Holmes said. “I’m willing to do that.”

As mayor, Holmes wants to work on enhancing the city’s image. Among his goals are to have the city designated as a “city of ethics” and working on diversity among its work force.

G-RAMP, he says, will become a reality.

“We’ve got to get this G-RAMP up and running,” he said. “That’s the moneymaker. That’s going to be the thing that keeps Warner Robins prosperous. ... It’s what I want to do as soon as I get into office, learn where I hang my coat.”

He also plans to bring the term limits idea to the table.

“That’s probably going to blow a lot of minds,” Holmes said of limiting a mayor’s time in office. “Two terms, three terms max.”

Chuck Shaheen

Chuck Shaheen was a teenager when he first latched onto the idea of politics as a way to give back to the city he says helped raise him.

His parents, Chuck and Barbara Shaheen, were instilling in him the importance of giving back to the community through their own giving.

Then-Mayor Ralph Johnson was telling kids his age that they were the future.

“The future is now for my generation,” Shaheen said. “And I need to pass down those ideals to the next generation and raise the next mayor for 20, 30 years down the road.”

While he’s passing along wisdom, he hopes to shape the city into a more viable product than its current form. To make that happen, he says reaching out beyond the mayor’s office for guidance is among the first things he will do.

“If you’re going to be the only one to come up with the ideas, you’re only going to take your business or your city so far,” he said. “You’ve got to collaborate with other government officials on how we can make this whole area better. The better Warner Robins gets, the better Centerville and Perry gets, and vice versa. We’ve got to collectively and collaboratively work together to make our community better.“

Shaheen sees Warner Robins as a business.

G-RAMP, he said, will bring about 4,000 jobs to the area when it is complete, which would help boost the city’s stalling economy. And just like Fortune 500 companies are taking unusual routes to boost revenues, he says the city also has untapped resources — its recreation department, for one — that can also help the city continue to thrive.

“It’s not just parks and recreation by having a basketball court over there,” he said. “We need to look out and try to bring in something to generate funds. It’s an industry.”

As mayor, Shaheen hopes his business background — compounded with his love for the city — can help move Warner Robins to greater heights.

Chuck Chalk

Chuck Chalk says walking door-to-door has helped him gain ground in name recognition, where his opponents for the city’s top job have an obvious advantage.

The rest of what it takes to lead the city, he says, was learned through years of practice leading in various capacities in the Air Force, as well as working with his church and other area groups.

“My goal ... was to be personable with people,” Chalk said. “We started this on Aug. 11 when I made that announcement to the press, relatively unknown by most political social circles that lead and move through the city.”

Chalk sees myriad problems the city needs tackled immediately by its new leader.

He said he plans to look at the public safety departments and figure out where their greatest immediate need lies. He mentioned the progress on the new facility for the Warner Robins Police Department, but said there seems to be more that needs to be acknowledged.

“I suspect there’s low manning,” he said. “I think they’re stressed. We need to pick up right there and improve their circumstances.”

The Georgia-Robins Aerospace Maintenance Partnership needs to be set in motion, he said, noting that all the lost time amounts to lost momentum to get the project going.

“If we lose that momentum,” he said, “to get it rolling back up the hill is going to be tough.”

While he’s ready to tackle issues close to the city, he says anybody looking at the new mayor’s office from the outside in should realize it’s going to take the entire term for the new leader to create momentum on pushing his agenda for the city.

And while he sees his opponents as formidable, he says he’s best equipped to lead the city.

“I get the greater satisfaction out of seeing ... the city succeed,” he said.

Warner Robins Mayor Chuck Chalk Clifford Holmes Jr. Chuck Shaheen City Council - Post 1 Linda Faye Carnes Mike Daley Art Howard Doug McDowell Jeffery Walker City Council - Post 3 Dean Cowart James “Paul” Shealy City Council - Post 5 Daron D. Lee

Centerville Mayor Harold “Bubba” Edwards* John Harley City Council - Post 1 Randall Wright* City Council - Post 2 Cameron Andrews*

Perry Mayor James E. Faircloth City Council District 1, Post 1 Phyllis Bynum-Grace* City Council District 2, Post 1 Joe Kusar* Joe Posey City Council District 2, Post 2 Peggy Davis William Jackson City Council District 3, Post 1 Charles Lewis* Randall Walker

Fort Valley Mayor Randy King John Stumbo* City Council, at-large Barbara Williams* City Council, East Ward Florine Statham* City Council, West Ward** Melba Hester* Jarrett Reagan City Council, West Ward** Jimmy Barnes Teresia Dennis* Utility Commission, East Ward Billy Jones Isabell Freeman Utility Commission, at-large Marvin Crafter Jo Ann Dankel

Byron City Council seat 3 Michael Chumbley* City Council seat 4 Michael Chidester* City Council seat 5 Mark Waters

*Incumbent **While the seats have the same title, there are two separate elections