AUGUSTA - Augusta Mayor Bob Young won re-election over an old foe in a runoff election Tuesday. <br>
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It was the second time Young and former Mayor Ed McIntyre had met in runoffs. Four years ago, Young won with 55 percent of the vote. <br>
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Tuesday, he garnered just under 52 percent, 22,667 to McIntyre's 21,217. <br>
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McIntyre, 70, was Augusta's mayor from 1982 to 1984. He blamed Young for inadequate leadership, and said he entered the race after receiving hundreds of phone calls from supporters. <br>
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Young, 55, described McIntyre as an out-of-touch politician with outdated ideas. <br>
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Turnout was 54 percent, compared with 60 percent of the registered voters who went to the polls in the Nov. 5 elections, officials said. <br>
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``There's a lot of interest,'' said Ralph Walker, a political science professor at Augusta State University. ``Four years ago we had higher turnout in the runoff than the general that just doesn't happen, but it did.'' <br>
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A sidelight to the mayor's race is the controversy over whether Augusta National Golf Club should accept women members. <br>
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Young said he supports the club's right to select its membership, but he doesn't want to inflame the situation. <br>
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McIntyre said he would use the mayor's office to encourage female membership at the club. <br>
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Young also wants the mayor's office to gain veto power that could be overridden by the City Council. McIntyre accuses Young of failing to do a good job as mayor, after claiming in his campaign four years ago he could lead the city without veto powers. <br>
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McIntyre was Augusta's first black mayor. He resigned after a federal jury convicted him on three counts of extortion in 1984. He served 12 months in federal prison. <br>
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Young is a former news anchorman for WJBF-TV who is serving his first term as mayor.
