Who is Lester Miller? What you need to know about Macon’s incoming mayor.
Lester Miller is the mayor-elect for Macon-Bibb County, and over the past six months, he has laid out his policy platform and goals in front of the Macon community.
Although the election is not certified because there are provisional ballots left to be counted, there are not enough votes to change the results with Miller’s 20-point lead.
“I feel like a big weight has been lifted off of my shoulders, but I also realize I have big shoes to fill,” Miller said, after hearing the election results. “That county commission, that mayor, despite what people may say, they’ve done a pretty good job over the past seven years. I think we can build on some of the things they’ve done. I can’t do it alone, this is a community effort.”
Miller will take office Jan. 1, 2021 after an inauguration ceremony that will most likely be scheduled for late December, and he presumably will start trying to implement his policies on crime, blight and other issues concerning the Macon community.
Here is some information to know about Miller and his plans for Macon.
Who is Lester Miller?
Miller, 51, has lived in Macon all of his life, went to seven different elementary schools in the Bibb County school system and graduated from Southwest High School, Mercer University and Mercer’s School of Law, according to a form Miller filled out for the Center for Collaborative Journalism.
He works as an attorney and a small business owner; he and his wife, Toby, have two children, Tyler and Landon, who also grew up in the Bibb County school system before being admitted to Mercer.
As a member of the Bibb County School Board, Miller was voted board president three times. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce and NewTown Macon and on the Council of the Middle Georgia Community Food Bank.
How will Miller approach crime?
“Violent crime is one of the number one issues that we have here in Macon-Bibb County, and back when I decided to run in 2018, I identified crime as the most important issue,” Miller said in an interview with the CCJ, The Telegraph and 13WMAZ. “Violent crime, in particular, are those that prevent businesses from coming here, people from feeling safe in their homes.”
Miller said the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office is short 150 officers, and he plans to address that first.
After receiving the results from Tuesday’s election, Miller said he is looking forward to addressing the issue of violent crime and the number of homicides Macon has seen in 2020 when he takes office.
“I look forward to having some real solutions with community groups, with police officers, with our faith community to do what’s right for Macon-Bibb County,” he said.
Here are some of Miller’s ideas to tackle crime and the officer shortage in Macon.
Justice Works is a program that would allow nonviolent offenders to work while they are incarcerated, which would allow them to pay for some of the costs to house them as prisoners, pay child support and be better situated to reenter society. This would reduce the amount of officers needed to guard the jail.
Miller also wants to offer retired officers part-time positions to hold jobs at the courthouse or the government center. They would not receive benefits because the work would be part time, and the officers currently holding those positions could get back on the streets, Miller said.
Miller plans to create a youth council so students will have a voice in the community.
Miller would also like to bring back the Police Athletic League Program, which had law enforcement officers serves as coaches for kids in sports.
How will Miller tackle blight?
“Blight is one of those things where I see it in my business as an attorney, and also I see it every day with our school systems,” Miller said. “One thing I proposed earlier to the county is to have our school system work more closely with the county as a taxing entity.”
The main plan Miller proposed throughout his campaign to tackle blight involved a partnership with the Bibb County school system.
His plan involves the school system using Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds to tear down and rebuild dilapidated houses in neighborhoods that are severely impacted by blight, such as the neighborhoods surrounding Central High School.
Students would help rebuild old houses under the supervision of local contractors as interns or employees, and they could learn valuable skills to prepare them to enter the workforce, Miller said.
“They’ll get a little money in their pocket, but the whole goal is to teach them a trade to help them get a job, and also to restore that neighborhood the way it should be restored,” he said.
How will Miller manage taxpayers’ dollars?
Miller said throughout his campaign that he believed he could achieve his policy goals without raising taxes for Macon-Bibb County residents.
To improve roads, such as the Jeffersonville Road project and the potholes in Lizella, Miller said Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax would need to be considered, and he believes he can secure the trust of the county to pass a T-SPLOST, he said.
To improve pedestrian safety, Miller said he plans to update Macon-Bibb County’s infrastructure by improving lighting, sidewalk maintenance and better striping by using SPLOST funds.
Miller said the gateway project in Columbus is a program Macon can model to help improve the city.
He said he would prioritize the budget, including prioritizing mental health treatment, public safety and spending in smart ways to reduce crime.
How will Miller improve race relations in Macon-Bibb County?
“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.”
Miller participated in one of the recent protests in Macon and was happy to see a diverse group of people surrounding him, he said.
When considering the lawsuit to stop the Confederate statues from being moved in downtown Macon, 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.
The campaign trail
Although Cliffard Whitby, Miller’s opponent in the race for mayor, threw many punches at Miller during the campaign about Miller’s response to questions about racial issues, he spoke of healing the Macon community after the results were announced.
“We have a city that needs a lot of healing, and that’s one of the things that I thought we could do was to heal this community. We got a lot of issues to address, but the democratic process is over. Lester Miller is the mayor-elect, and he will be leading the administration, and I have nothing but sincere prayers for our community, for my community, for his success,” Whitby said.
Miller was on the campaign trail for mayor for two years and celebrated his victory at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
“This has been a long grueling process. All candidates fought hard, but in the end, we can only have one person that declares victory, and we’re excited to do that tonight, not for me, not just for my supporters, but for all of their supporters because this is about unity,” Miller said.
Miller received the most campaign contributions with $84,004 donations in the reporting period from June 30 to Aug. 7 and more than $550,000 total contributions for his campaign, according to disclosure reports.
Miller also led the race in expenditures spending $101,593.23 in the June 30 reporting period and more than $520,000 for his entire campaign.
“I’m looking forward to the other challenges about reducing taxes, about having a cleaner and safer environment in Macon-Bibb County and about lifting people up out of poverty, providing good quality jobs and education for our young people so they don’t have to go to other places to live, and they can live right here in Macon,” Miller said. “Those are things that we all want. Those are things that we can all accomplish if we work together.”
Jason Vorhees contributed to this article.
This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 8:00 AM.