TOLLESON GETS HIS RECOUNT

The Fulton County elections department completed a recount of the votes cast in last week’s Roswell mayoral runoff.

David Tolleson, who finished second to incumbent Jere Wood in the runoff, had the right to demand a recount because he lost by only 77 votes, which is less than the 1 percent threshold. Tolleson did just that on Tuesday, saying that his supporters wanted him to go through with the exercise.

The Department of Registration & Elections completed recounts in the election for mayor of Roswell on Thursday. They reported no change in the vote totals. The final outcome is 4,524 votes for candidate David Tolleson, and 4,603 for candidate Jere Wood.

Wood said Tolleson informed him on Monday night that he was requesting a recount. “I told him, ‘Thank you -- now I get to win twice,’ “ Wood said. 

CANDIDATES AND MORNING LINE ODDS FOR HOUSE GOP LEADERSHIP

In honor of Rep. Harry Geisinger's (R-Roswell) bill to allow pari-mutual horse racing in Georgia, I have handicapped the races for the GOP House leadership positions, and posted the morning-line odds, which is customary.  I will wait on Majority Leader until Monday, when we find out how "lame" Jerry Keen is, and whether or not he will indeed be "scratched" from the race, which now appears likely. Consistent with pari-mutual early lines in horse racing, these odds can change every day, depending on where the money goes--so check back daily at 5 p.m. for an update.

SPEAKER
Larry O'Neal (Warner Robbins)                         9:5
David Ralston (Blue Ridge)                               4:1            
Bill Hembree (Douglass)                                   9:1
Tommie Smith (Nichols)                            10,000:1
SPEAKER PRO-TEM                    
Jan Jones (Milton)                                            2:1
Fran Millar (Dunwoody)                                    5:1
Rich Gollick (Cobb)                                          7:1
Len Walker (Loganville)                                   40:1
MAJORITY LEADER
Jerry Keen (St. Simons) Incumbent – Scratched, Lame
New Entries to be accepted on Dec. 16th
MAJORITY WHIP
Edward Lindsey (Buckhead)                             7:5
John Lunsford (McDonough)                            6:1
Greg Morris (Vidalia)                                        30:1
 

OTHER RAMIFICATIONS OF BURKHALTER'S SUDDEN EXIT
There are other political reverberations that now stem from Burkhalter's sudden departure from House leadership team, announced on Monday.
GOP Governor: Handel and Scott are big gainers. Handel is now positioned to dominate North Fulton County, her base, in the Republican primary election on July 20. Burkhalter's support of one of her gubernatorial rivals, U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Gainesville), was problematic.
Scott was the first elected official to publicly call for Richardson to resign, and Handel soon followed. This helps Scott gain statewide exposure when he needs it most.
Deal, who had the support of both Burkhalter and Richardson, is further damaged, beyond his own ethical woes in D.C., due to a company he owned that had a cozy "no-bid" relationship with the state of Georgia. Deal has since abandoned the state contract.
State Senate D-56: Burkhalter's departure from the leadership stage is an unmitigated disaster for Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce CEO and DOT board member Brandon Beach. Burkhalter was his number one high profile backer. As speaker, he carried enormous influence in both fundraising and delivering votes for Beach.
The big gainers are the other three candidates in race: Willard, upstart political novice John Albers, from Roswell, and Alpharetta Councilman David Belle Isle. Both Albers and Belle Isle have called for an end to Burkhalter's "iron grip" on North Fulton, and neither are allies of the North Fulton delegation. Willard is now the clear favorite with his powerful support base in both Sandy Springs and East Roswell.
"It's a strange new world," Willard concluded.
 
Email: jfredericks@beaconcast.com