Challenger takes on Macon-Bibb commissioner for second time

Two candidates seeking to represent a section of downtown Macon and other neighborhoods in the city’s urban core will face off this month for a second time.

The Macon-Bibb County Commission District 2 race pits Commissioner Larry Schlesinger against Stanley Phillip Brown Jr. in the May 24 election. While Schlesinger says improvements are underway in the district, Brown questions the level of accountability in government.

In 2011, Schlesinger defeated Brown to win his second term on the Macon City Council. Later that year, Brown was among those who accused Schlesinger of violating the state’s open meeting laws, although the Attorney General’s Office ruling found no violation.

Brown, a healthcare IT consultant, said he has witnessed firsthand how some agencies designed to uplift groups end up being “influenced by the old (political) establishment.” Economic development that should be occurring in many areas of Macon has remained stagnant, he said.

“What is the administration doing to create economic stability for everyone?” Brown said.

Schlesinger, who was a Macon councilman from 2007 until the consolidation of Macon and Bibb in 2014, said he has noticed a difference in how the government has operated over the past several years. A priority for county officials remains addressing the condition of Macon’s neighborhoods, he said.

“I think that consolidation has been a blessing for the county,” Schlesinger said. “We’re moving forward in ways we haven’t done since I was elected to Macon City Council.”

As commissioner, Schlesinger said he’s excited about several ongoing and future projects in the district. They include a possible educational playground in south Macon and Habitat for Humanity’s effort to build new homes in Lynmore Estates. Also, money from the special purpose local option sales tax is to be used for improvements in places like the Rosa Jackson Community Center and Central City Park.

“I think the passage of the SPLOST was really huge for the entire county,” Schlesinger said.

For Brown, being on the County Commission would provide a better opportunity to hold government entities accountable for how they spend money. “Whatever money you take out of the community, you need to put $2 back in,” Brown said.

Brown said he’s worried about the lack of job preparedness many people deal with in Macon. While officials tout the impact of several hundred jobs coming to Macon with the opening of the Kumho Tire plant, Brown said he wonders whether Bibb County residents are qualified for many of the positions.

“If they are not hiring us, they are not providing an outlet to change dynamics,” he said. “I feel that we are really doing a disservice to children, and they will be facing the same problems because they don’t have that specialized skill set.”

This story was originally published May 4, 2016 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Challenger takes on Macon-Bibb commissioner for second time."