ALPHARETTA: BATTLE OF THE TITANS

This is why I love politics: one race ends, and another starts the very next day. Nary a fortnight after Councilman-elect Jim Paine made salad mincemeat out of Johnny Monson, by crushing him 65 percent to 35 percent, the 2011 Alpharetta mayor's race is "unofficially" underway. And it's shaping up to be the battle of the Titans. The three candidates who have told me they are definitely running for Alpharetta mayor -- to replace the retiring Arthur "The Old Ball Coach" Letchas -- are Paine, former Alpharetta Councilman David Belle Isle and Alpharetta Councilman Doug DeRito.

On paper, Paine looks like a formidable contender. He's coming off a huge victory -- he clobbered Monson by the largest percentage vote ever recorded in Alpharetta council election history-- and he already has the backing of Letchas. The "Old Ball Coach" (Letchas is the offensive coordinator for the Johns Creek Gladiators) is quite crafty, immensely popular, and very well respected by many Alpharetta citizens. Plus, he called a wide right pitchout off a two-back "I" set for a touchdown on fourth a five at the Chattahoochee 10 yard-line in September. That was the best call I've seen made in five years in covering North Fulton High School football. We caught it on tape and we replay it at every meeting to guard against being too predictable. It was a brilliant call executed to perfection. Letchas hasn't run that play in 47-years – the last time he did his team wore leather helmets and he had former President Gerald Ford as his tailback. So Paine has the momentum at his back at the coach at his side. Not a bad combination to start with.

Belle Isle is playing this one for all the marbles. He's coming out of three back-to- back-to-back political losses in just three months. First, he finished third in his state senate run. Loss one. Then he endorsed Beach in the D-56 run-off that John Albers ultimately won. Loss two. And finally he rolled the dice on his political ally Monson, who got skewered on November 2 in the Alpharetta City Council contest. So Belle Isle is now boxed in a corner: he has to win the mayor's race, lest he become the Harold Stassen of North Fulton politics. But this makes for a very dangerous candidate. Plus he has a support base of loyalists that will work for him. So he's in the hunt, and can't be counted out. The guy is dogged.

Then there is DeRito. He's undoubtedly the gorilla in the race. Savvy, seasoned, highly intelligent, and tough as nails, DeRito plays to win. He's one of those politicians that locks in like a laser beam on an initiative -- when we wants to. Well heeled financially and having the most energy of the three, he's the one to beat. DeRtio has a solid contingent of backers and he'll out raise his opponents by a combined two to one if he has to. DeRito has been winning elections since he was 18 years old in Edgewater, New Jersey. He goes in the heavy favorite. Also, he's locked in to Alpharetta High School, a vote rich bastion of teachers, parents, administrators and students who can vote at 18 years old. If DeRito recruits area youth to volunteer for him – remember he first got elected to office as a teen-ager -- it's lights out. He'll put an army of young energetic kids to work for him and he has the oratory skills to fire them up.

It's early, but Alpharetta's 2011 race for mayor should be a humdinger.

ENDANGERED SPECIES

The two most endangered incumbent species in 2011 are Becky Wynn and Rich Dippolito, both running for re-election for a second term on Roswell's dysfunctional do-nothing but squander the taxpayers' money city council.

The Beacon sanctioned a poll last week from Guided Precision Services and the Hicks Evaluation Group, a Tallahassee based consulting firm. The results are below:

 Rich Dippolito- 

Becky Wynn- 

The results are clear: after three years of service, nearly 70 percent of Roswell voters have no opinion on these two incumbents. That makes them highly vulnerable to any worthy challenge. Worse, their favorable ratings are less than 22 percent.

We expect Dippolito and Wynn to be challenged this cycle and both will have a very tough time winning re-election. The records are basically blank, and in a political environment where voters are now demanding accountability and results, they are quite vulnerable -- barring some milestone accomplishment. Roswell's City Council, save Betty Price, has become a circus sideshow of the most laughable kind. Their City Administrator, Kay Love is in over her head, her sole goal in life is seemingly to protect city jobs from furlough. Their cops have run amok, their municipal judicial system has lurched into a Kangaroo Court and they can't cut a budget with a butcher knife through hot butter.

BTW, what ever happened to Dippolito's Blue Ribbon Committee? I'm still waiting for that report -- due out two years ago. Has anyone seen it? And presumably, Rich Dippolito voted for Roy Barnes, right? Nathan Deal's financial problems look just like Roswell Councilman Kent Igleheart's. Remember when Dippolito said he couldn't endorse Igleheart for re-election last year because he was in too far in debt? He may have forgotten that, but we have long memories here at the Beacon.

We'd chronicle one of Becky Wynn's statements, but for the life of us, we can't actually remember anything she's said for the last three years…

SEEING RED IN DIXIE’S LEGISLATURES

What do Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi have in common? None have even one Democrat elected to a statewide constitutional office.

On November 2, the GOP gained an unprecedented 153 seats in Southern state legislatures: 36 state senators and 117 state representatives. There are now 1,181 Republican state legislators to 877 Democrats in the South, a major shift in power that will likely keep these states solidly in the GOP fold for the next generation. 

Worse for Democrats, "Blue Dog" party switchers could grow the GOP’s majority in several states. Already in Georgia, state Rep. Alan Powell (D) bagged his Democratic Caucus after the election and joined the Republicans. Powell represents a rural white district in northeast Georgia. He says he has nothing in common anymore with his former party.

The implications of this broad shift are significant. The burgeoned pluralities will give Republicans more juice on both congressional and state legislative redistricting. Plus their super majorities will help ensure their states’ electoral votes go Republican in the 2012 presidential election. 

The results also made history in a number of states. 

In Alabama, the GOP won control of both chambers of the legislature for the first time since Reconstruction.  

In Tennessee, it is the first time since Reconstruction that Republicans have held both houses of the legislature and the governorship.  

In North Carolina, this is the first GOP control of both legislative chambers since 1898.  

In Oklahoma, Republicans won six new state senate seats, giving them control of the upper chamber; the GOP gained eight new seats in the lower house, which the party already controlled.  

In Texas, the GOP won 22 new state house seats, cementing their existing hold on the lower chamber. In this largest of the Southern states, the governor, state Senate and state House are all firmly in Republican hands, which is sure to help the GOP during the upcoming redistricting battles.  

And in Arkansas, where both houses remain in Democratic hands, Republicans gained five state senators and 17 state house members, giving the GOP a major legislative presence for the first time in the modern era.

STATE SEN. CALLS FOR KELLY LEE TO ABANDON JUDICIAL RACE

State Sen. Donzella James (D-College Park) said Fulton County Superior Court candidate Kelly A. Lee should “get out of the race” because her history includes two drunk-driving convictions. James, who lost a son to a drunk driver in 1994, said Lee’s two DUIs -- one in 1990, the other in 2002 -- raised concerns that she would be lenient if a DUI suspect came before her.

James said she was "shocked and dismayed" to learn that Lee, whom she characterized as a "habitual violator," had the DUIs in her history.

At a morning press conference before the Fulton County Courthouse, James was flanked by fellow state Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta), who is advising the campaign of Lee’s opponent, Shelitha Robertson. Fort said Lee’s previous statements on the matter gave the impression that "she thinks it’s a public relations problem, and we think it’s a character problem."

Lee first revealed the DUIs in 2008, in disclosures to the Judicial Qualifications Committee, which subsequently placed her name on short lists for openings on the Superior and State courts.

"These were very long time ago," said Lee, "and I don’t take them lightly. They were learning experiences, and because of them I quit drinking more than five years ago."

Lee said there was no danger of her showing leniency for drunk drivers who might appear before her as judge.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," she said. "I’ve seen the value of people being punished for drunk driving in my personal experience. I will not be overly sympathetic to persons who might come before me charged with DUI."

Robertson, reached for comment, said she was unaware of the senators’ press conference and has not made Lee’s arrests an issue in her campaign.

"I have not encouraged them to raise this issue," she said. "I didn’t know about it, and I’m surprised to hear that Sen. Fort was involved in that." –Greg Land/Daily Report

Here is the fundamental problem with Lee's candidacy, and why James is right: Lee can't be expected to hand out fair rulings no matter what she does.  Being too harsh or too lenient is not good judicial even handedness. Lee needs to stop spinning her convictions and just promise to recuse herself from any DUI rulings, period.

THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING GA. DEMOCRAT PARTY

Just when the fleeting and shrinking members of the Ga. Democrat Party thought it was safe to go outside, it got a little worse. They lost two more State House seats to Republican control, courtesy of a couple of new Democrat defectors. Former Democrat State Reps. Ellis Black (Brooks) and Amy Carter (Lowndes) jumped ship on Monday, announcing they are joining the House Republican Caucus and resigning from the House Democratic Caucus.

"This is where I belong," Black. "When I was first elected, we had conservative Democrats in the leadership of the Democratic Party; today, there are none.  I have a ten-year record of voting the thinking of my constituents, and I believe I can best serve my constituents as a Republican."

"I am excited about this transition," chimed in Carter. "Many changes were brought about by our last election, and I feel that I can best represent my district as a member of the Republican Party. My record shows that I have always maintained an independent mindset, and I will continue to reach across party lines for solutions that will benefit my constituents."

With the new fence jumpers, the Ga. House now consists of 113 Republicans, 66 Democrats, and one independent.

"I am very pleased to welcome both Rep. Ellis Black and Rep. Amy Carter to the House Republican Caucus," said House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge).  "These are outstanding Georgia leaders who have chosen to put the interests of their districts ahead of party. They have rightly decided that the interests of rural Georgia can best be served by joining the Republican Party. I look forward to working with them closely as we prepare for the challenges of the next legislative session."