With the election less than a week away, Macon mayoral candidates face off in forums

The two candidates for Macon-Bibb County mayor will face each other at the polls Tuesday in a runoff election to replace current mayor Robert Reichert.

Lester Miller and Cliffard Whitby discussed the challenges Macon is facing during two public forums hosted by WGXA and 13WMAZ.

For the first question of WGXA’s debate on Aug. 3 about public safety employees, Whitby challenged Miller’s leadership ability. During the rest of the debate, each candidate spent time attacking the other and defending themselves, and Miller spent three minutes, the allotted time to answer, defending himself from Whitby for at least one of the questions.

At 13WMAZ’s debate on Aug. 4, the candidates spent more of their time answering the questions presented to them including crime, blight and voter concerns.

Whitby’s past and response

Whitby was acquitted in October 2018 in a federal money laundering and bribery trial with ex-superintendent of Bibb County’s public schools, Romain Dallemand, as the government’s key witness. The case involved the Macon Promise Center and the Central Georgia Partnership for Individual and Community Development along with other organizations.

In May, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation opened an investigation into three companies with ties to Whitby for allegedly accepting payments from the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority for work that was never completed. That investigation is ongoing.

Whitby blamed misinformation that was perpetuated by the “media” for the continued discussion of these investigations.

“I’ve been exonerated,” he said. “If I had any wrongdoing that was substantiated against Cliffard Whitby, I wouldn’t be sitting here offering myself to run for the top elected office. I’m here to serve this community.”

Liz Fabian, the moderator of the forum, asked Miller why he released documents to the public that were obtained through an open records request in 2018 that related to reported Whitby ethical violations at the Industrial Authority.

Miller said he filed the request because he was told there were misdeeds at the authority, and he released the documents because he believed the public should know.

Crime issue

To address violent crime in Macon-Bibb County, Whitby said his 6 Point Crime Prevention plan, which includes engaging youth in extracurricular activities, will reduce crime and gun violence in Macon.

Miller said he would create a youth council so students could have a voice in the community as well as getting more police officers. He also plans to bring back the Police Athletic League Program.

Both candidates agreed that the Bibb County Sheriff’s Department needs to be properly funded and first responders need to receive the pay they deserve.

Although Miller said he believes Macon-Bibb County can increase public safety and fund the sheriff’s department properly without a tax increase, Whitby said he will do everything in his power to make sure the sheriff’s department will be funded properly.

The county’s COVID-19 response

When considering the Macon-Bibb County government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, Miller said he did not want to criticize the current administration, but he believes Macon has had an absent administration throughout the pandemic.

He said he would have open communication in his administration, and people should look at Bibb County Schools to see how he would lead the county as a whole because he is the former head of the Bibb County Schools Board of Education. The school system went to virtual learning before they were required to by Gov. Brian Kemp.

Whitby agreed that there has been a failure in leadership from the President of the United States to the county level.

He said he would give daily briefings and have teams embedded within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and different levels of government and organizations to give updates, but most importantly, he said he would keep Macon’s citizen’s safe.

Blight

Whitby said he has a plan to make Macon the cleanest city in the South by 2025 and eradicate blight by 2030.

He claimed to have done work to revitalize commercial properties in Macon before, including the revitalization of two schools which he did not name, and he can do it again, he said.

Miller presented his plan to tackle blight, which involves partnering with Bibb County Schools and contractors to have students help rebuild old houses under the supervision of local contractors. This would allow students to learn valuable skills to join the workforce, he said.

Miller criticized the county’s plan to give $1 million to each district to eradicate blight because Miller said it wasn’t equitable. Bibb has certain areas that need to be prioritized, he said.

Race relations

When asked about race relations in Macon, Miller said he participated in one of the recent protests in Macon and was happy to see a diverse group of people surrounding him. He claims the members of his campaign are also very diverse.

“I think everyone realizes that race is the elephant in the room,” Miller said. “We have to have open and honest conversations. We have to realize that we bring a different perspective to the table. I realize as a white male that I come to this world with certain privileges myself, and I realize that in order to acknowledge that I first have to accept my limitations.”

Whitby’s response included talking about Macon’s mayoral history with only one black mayor, and he said he was the first head of the industrial authority to hire minority vendors. He said he believes he is the person to heal the community.

“Race relations in Macon is an age-old issue. It’s at the very core and the foundation of our society,” Whitby said. “We have to have honest, frank dialogue amongst everybody. Everybody should have a seat at the table.”

Whitby said he would definitely fight to move the Confederate monuments in downtown Macon. Although he said he doesn’t have a problem remembering history, he said he does have a problem glorifying some parts of history.

Miller said he wanted to make sure everyone’s wishes are taken into consideration, but as mayor, he would be required to fight the current lawsuit against moving the monuments.

Miller said he doesn’t want to see the monuments vandalized or torn down, and he thought the county reached a compromise to move the monuments to Whittle Park so people could still visit them and honor those men and women.

Road conditions, trash pickup and budget issues

Road conditions, trash pickup and potholes were a large concern for participants in 13WMAZ’s Listening Lab, Fabian said during the debate.

Whitby reiterated his plan to make Macon the cleanest city in the South by 2025 and eradicate blight by 2030.

“We will have a community that we all can be proud of,” Whitby said.

In order to address housekeeping issues, Miller said Macon needs to work together to change the culture and make it a priority to keep the streets clean.

Miller said the gateway project in Columbus is a program Macon can model to help improve the city.

When asked about wasteful spending in the Macon-Bibb County government, Whitby said he would look at the budget and make cuts where it is necessary, but he said he would put the citizens of Macon-Bibb County first.

He would also want to make sure public employees were getting the pay they deserve, he said.

As the person who has handled the largest budget in Bibb County with the school system, Miller said he would take a hard look at needs versus wants when it comes to budget cuts. He said the school board has been able to rollback taxes in order for people to have more money to spend.

He said he would prioritize the budget, including prioritizing mental health treatment, public safety and spending in smart ways to reduce crime.

Both candidates agreed the wealth in Bibb County needs to be spread to more areas other than north Macon.

The campaigns so far

Miller mentioned his endorsements from police organizations while talking about crime related issues during the 13WMAZ debate.

Miller has received several endorsements, including from former presidents and chairs of the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce, Bibb County School Superintendent Curtis Jones and former mayoral candidates Marc Whitfield and Blake Sullivan, according to news releases.

Whitby has received several endorsements from pastors and an endorsement from Georgia State Senator David Lucas.

Miller remains in the lead for campaign contributions with $100,234 donations in the last reporting period from April 30 to June 30 and nearly $500,000 total contributions for his campaign, according to disclosure reports.

Whitby has raised nearly $200,000 for his campaign and $28,303 in the last reporting period.

Miller also spent more money than Whitby, spending more in the last reporting period than Whitby has spent for his entire campaign.

Miller has spent $153,000 in the last reporting period and more than $400,000 for his entire campaign compared to Whitby spending $62,000 in the last reporting period and $150,000 for his campaign.

Whitby had a total of $41,144 on hand at the deadline of the last reporting period June 30, and Miller had $63,704 on hand. Candidates will have to submit another disclosure report on Aug. 7.

Liz Fabian, the civic reporting senior fellow at Mercer University’s Center for Collaborative Journalism, moderated the forum on 13WMAZ along with 13WMAZ Anchor Frank Malloy, and the candidates focused more on answering the questions rather than attacking each other.

Early voting ends on Aug. 7, and the last day to cast a ballot in the runoff election for Macon-Bibb County mayor is Aug. 11.

This story was originally published August 7, 2020 at 5:00 AM.