Meet the real "Dixie Chicks."

It's a slate for potentially mammoth change if you ever saw one.

One candidate ran for mayor of Atlanta, the largest city in Georgia, in 2009, taking on the entire Democrat downtown machine in one swoop. She unabashedly called for sweeping reform at the highest levels of city government. She came within 800 votes of victory against a very savvy and well-funded opponent, nearly pulling off perhaps the biggest upset in Georgia history.

Her name is Mary Norwood.

Now she's running for Fulton County Commission Chair as an Independent, trying to oust incumbent John Eaves (D), in at-large District 1. And she's calling for sweeping reform. Again.

Meanwhile, a few miles up Ga. 400, another reform-minded candidate ran for mayor of the fifth-largest city in the state, Roswell. Taking on a notorious three-term incumbent and a powerful council colleague with a massive geographical base, she was outgunned, outspent and politically out-maneuvered at every turn. Nevertheless, she fearlessly took on the entire city bureaucracy, the city administrator and the chief of police in her quest to reform a municipal government she charged was bloated, out of touch, inefficient and dysfunctional. She came within 220 votes of making the mayoral run-off.

Her name is Lori Henry.

Now she's running as a Republican for the District 2 Fulton County Commission at-large seat held by entrenched incumbent Robb Pitts (D). And she's calling for sweeping reform. Again.

Mary, Meet Lori. Lori, Meet Mary.

You're both southern, tough as nails, dogged, poised, hard-nosed, hard workers. Ain't neither of you but five feet-five inches tall. You don't care what the elite punditry class says. You're bodacious, bold and fearless. And you're both reformers. As Roswell Mayor Jere Wood is fond of saying, "It's all good."

And know it or not, you'll most likely be running together this November on a de-facto reform slate in a county-shaking campaign to topple the two Democrats who hold the cards in Fulton County's governing majority.

If you ever dreamed of completely reforming a broken and inept government that's fast approaching financial insolvency and knocking at the door of economic oblivion, Fulton County's where you want to be. This county makes places like Cleveland and Detroit appear like models from municipal heaven. The county government is beyond broke. It's an aberration, a wasteland of public incompetence beyond the pale of reason.

Democrats have a lock on three seats and the Republicans hold a firm grip on two seats of the seven-member commission. That leaves the two at-large seats, which under normal voting patterns fall in the Democrat column. But if the "Dixie Chick Dream Reform Team" wins, the GOP and Dems will control three seats each, and Norwood, as chairman, the Independent, becomes the swing vote. Norwood may have an "I" by her name in lieu of an "R", but reform means change -- and lots of it. So then the "reformers" -- like the "Avengers" television show of the '60s -- take control.

Best news yet: It's not only feasible, it's entirely possible. 

HENRY UP TO CHALLENGE, GETS IMMEDIATE ENDORSEMENTS

Henry's at large commission candidacy picked up immediate GOP heavyweight endorsements. North Fulton Commissioner Lynne Riley, leaving her seat to run for the Georgia General Assembly, called Henry a "very dedicated and passionate candidate," who would prove "formidable" in her race to oust Pitts.

Former House Speaker Mark Burkhalter, retiring from the state legislature in May, says Henry proved to be a tough candidate and a tireless campaigner in her mayoral race. "Lori is unique in her ability to combine the passion and fire of her reform agenda with intelligence, poise, and grace," Burkhalter said. "She'll be a great addition to the Republican County ticket in 2010."

Mary and Lori. Lori and Mary. They could prove to be the Fulton County good ol' boys' Waterloo.

SCOTT THUMBS NOSE AT NORTH FULTON MAYOR'S MILTON COUNTY AGENDA

Say what you want about Austin Scott's (R-Tifton) long shot campaign for Georgia governor, you've got to give him this much: he's no political panderer. The upstart candidate came to the Northside mayoral candidates' forum in Roswell last week and said this about their "re-create Milton County" crusade: Your plan stinks, so get over it.

Scott told the mayoral Milton crowd their numbers didn't work, and when pressed, said he would have cast an emphatic "No" vote if it had come to the House floor on Crossover day.

Now, Scott might not get a single GOP vote north of I-285 in North Fulton County. But at least he stood his ground, and was not intimidated by the mayors.

The good news for Scott: he now has a shot at Rep. "Buckhead Ed" Lindsay's vote, albeit ITP. Lets see, one vote up and 50,000 down. I don’t think that math works either. So maybe Scott's arithmetic is suspect, too. My take is the Handel camp laughed all the way back to the vote bank.

CAN MOODY TURN THE TIDE FOR ALBERS?

Retiring D-56 State Senator Dan Moody (R-Alpharetta) is apparently set to endorse upstart Republican candidate John Albers at a GOP breakfast gathering in Roswell on May 8.

Moody's now probable -- yet not officially confirmed -- endorsement of Albers for his soon-to-be vacated seat has the potential of putting the underdog candidate back in the race. Albers' campaign has lagged of late, losing momentum. He only managed to raise $700 from two donors in the past three months. But Albers says he's prepared to finance his own nomination to the tune of $200,000 from his personal wealth. So far he's put about $100,000 of his own money into his campaign war chest.

Albers, dubbed "The Energizer Bunny" by this newspaper for his infatigable work ethic, has worked diligently on his campaign for a better than a year, showing up at many political events. At a Republican gathering last Sunday, the self-proclaimed community activist, who says he has 500 active volunteers, claimed he's knocked on 7,000 doors, made 10,000 phone calls and goes to seven events per day. However, some guests immediately disputed the legitimacy of Albers' boasts, while others speculated he may have "peaked too early" and complained about "Albers fatigue."

But the nod from Moody could be a game-changer for him.

Albers, a political novice, is vying with North Fulton stalwarts Brandon Beach and David Belle Isle for the GOP nomination for D-56, set to be decided in a July 20 Republican primary.

Absent the Moody shot in the arm, Albers may have been staring down the barrel of a third place finish.

BEACH AND BELLE ISLE GEAR UP FOR HOME STRETCH

GDOT board member Brandon Beach, a former Alpharetta councilman, is widely considered the early front-runner by GOP insiders, having raised over $133,000 in campaign donations through March 31.

Beach has already secured the endorsement of Mark Burkhalter and Alpharetta Rep. Chuck Martin. The Beach camp had a major campaign rally at Jere Wood's downtown law office on Tuesday, drawing a crowd of about 200.

Current Alpharetta Councilman David Belle Isle, who has branded himself the "true conservative" in the race, has managed to tap into the main vein of the Tea Party movement, giving him much-needed campaign traction going into the final three months. First considered a long shot, Belle Isle is now a major threat to Albers in the potential battle for second place and a spot in the August run-off, assuming Beach's lead holds through the summer, and he's held to under 50 percent of the total vote on election day.

DEBATE TUESDAY

The Beacon's D-56 GOP state senate candidate's debate is Tuesday, April 27, at the Metropolitan Club in Alpharetta at 6:00 p.m. It's going to be a humdinger, as the three participants will be asking each other their own questions, with ample time for point-counter point responses. There are a few tickets remaining; to reserve your seat register on-line at www.beaconcast.com or call us at 770-640-3230. Either way, this is one debate you don't want to miss.