By Maggie Lee / Staff

Next year may bring a radically different Fulton County Commission as a decidedly different slate of candidates appears on the county's just-closed election registry.

Two candidates are vying to replace Democrat incumbent John Eaves, Commission Chair since 2006. He's elected at-large. The first contender is former Atlanta City Councilwoman and incredibly close 2009 mayoral runner-up Mary Norwood.  She's starting a signature drive to get on the ballot as an Independent. The second is Steve Broadbent, a Johns Creek Republican and retired Naval Commander and former Bush Treasury Department official who has never held elected office.

Another Northside Republican, former Roswell City Councilwoman Lori Henry, who also lost a close race mayor last year, plans to oust Robb Pitts, an at-large Democrat commissioner since 2002.

And retiring Commissioner Nancy Boxill from east and central Atlanta, who's served since 1987, will be replaced by one of four Democrats qualified to fight for her seat. 

That means only three incumbents, all unopposed, will definitely return to their seats:  Buckhead's Tom Lowe (R), the Westside's Emma Darnell (D), and Bill Edwards (D) from OTP south.  There are seven Commission seats.

HAUSMANN GETS A FREE RIDE

In fact, Johns Creek Councilwoman Liz Hausmann can go ahead and pick out her parking spot at the Fulton County Government Center or buy a Breeze Card. No one's fighting her for the Northside Republican-dominated Commission seat vacated by Lynne Riley in the GOP primary, and no general election opponent is expected. So by virtue of paying a $1,200 filing fee, Hausmann is guaranteed the county commission job for the next four years, starting in January.

STATE HOUSE/SENATE

Hausmann's commission predecessor Riley nearly made her own slip into Mark Burkhalter's old D-50 state House seat for Johns Creek without a pause.

That's until the very last day for qualifying, when structural engineer Brad Raffensperger joined the race.  He's never held elective office and describes himself as a constitutional conservative.

That Johns Creek House race is only one of two state legislative fights north of the Perimeter.  The other is the three-way fight for Dan Moody's old place among businessman John Albers, Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce CEO Brandon Beach and Alpharetta Councilman David Belle Isle.

There is, by the way, another contested race:  Democrat Paul Kennedy wants to drive out House Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones from her Milton seat. But it's likely that race will be a blowout, as Jones is wildly popular in her Milton-Roswell house district and normally garners over 70 percent of the general election vote.

THE PING-PONG CANDIDATE

Finally there's Buckhead lawyer and Republican Beth Beskin, who momentarily hedged her bets and appeared on the qualifying lists for both a District 2 Commission seat and a State Senate desk.  She eventually settled on the latter.  But her quest to beat State Sen. Horacena Tate (D) or Tate's Democratic rival will likely be settled the same day as the north Fulton races, and not in the lawyer's favor.

STATEWIDE RACES

The lists for Governor remain long, even with the departure of state Rep. Austin Scott (R-Tifton), who's decided to run for a middle Georgia Congressional seat, abandoning his year-long quest for the governor's mansion.

On the top tier of Republican candidates are: former Secretary of State Karen Handel, former state Representative from Savannah Eric Johnson, Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine and perhaps former U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, though he was found by a U.S. House ethics panel to have improperly used his office to secure lucrative state contracts.

The Democrats' frontrunners are former Governor Roy Barnes, former House Minority Leader DuBose Porter (D-Dublin), Attorney General Thurbert Baker or attorney and former state Adjutant General David Poythress. 

Former State Senator Jeff Chapman (R-Brunswick) remains in the race, but has consistently polled in the single digits.  A surprise qualification came from former State Rep. Randall Mangham (D-Decatur), but his chances seem slim.

Gubernatorial candidates must give up a chance at returning to their incumbent seats in the legislature or executive department because they can't run for two offices at once. However, some see a long-shot run for big office as a way to retire from lower office with a bit of bravado. 

MCBERRY FACING BIGGER PROBLEMS THAN POLL NUMBERS

States' Rights GOP candidate Ray McBerry officially qualified for the race, but after allegations published this week that the marginal candidate had an affair with a teenager in 2002, he looks to be pushed into oblivion. So much for the "strict constitutionalist" and "states rights" advocate.

RAY GUN

The Republican's $2 million dollar man, land developer Ray Boyd, who made a splash in early April by sinking his own wad into an upstart gubernatorial campaign, abandoned his quest for the GOP nomination.  It came after he got into a fight with Republican Party officials over signing their standard Party loyalty pledge, required by all candidates attempting to qualify for a Republican nomination. This year, over 150 Republicans seeking office signed the ostensibly standard and innocuous pledge. But Boyd chafed, refused to follow the rules, and now he is running as an Independent instead. He will need to present 51,000 valid Georgia voter signatures on a petition by July 13.

POWER COUPLE?

The Lieutenant Governor race will be fought between Republican incumbent Casey Cagle and Democratic newcomer Carol Porter, wife of DuBose Porter. The Porters hope to become the state's most powerful political couple.