Congressional race becoming referendum on former mayor

Posted 5:21PM on Friday 1st November 2002 ( 22 years ago )

MACON - Midway through a tour of black-owned businesses in a predominantly Democratic neighborhood, Republican Calder Clay stopped somewhere he knew he'd be welcomed: a fire station. He told the workers munching on sandwiches he was running for Congress against former Macon mayor Jim Marshall, and that's all they needed to hear. ``We've already had a taste of him,'' said firefighter Wade Eavenson. ``You've got nothing to worry about.'' Some in this town adore Marshall as an innovative leader. Others despise him as an arrogant micro-manager. But just about everyone seems to have an opinion. Clay, a former county commissioner who served on the City Council during the Marshall administration, is hoping his opponent's detractors will help him carry a chunk of the vote in the 3rd District's largest city. The outlying areas favor a Republican, he figures. Firefighters are still miffed at Marshall for backing a study that proposed boosting police salaries at a higher rate that theirs in an effort to fill law enforcement vacancies. Traditionally, the two departments have enjoyed parity, and the council with Clay's vote overwhelmingly opposed the change. ``It was just a mess for me,'' Marshall concedes. ``If you don't make decisions, you're going to get in hot water for that, and if you make decisions, you get in hot water for the decisions. You cannot be a mayor without having some folks upset with you.'' Marshall first sought the congressional post two years ago against Republican Saxby Chambliss, but Chambliss won easily with far superior name recognition. With the congressman off running for Senate and the district redrawn to favor Democrats, Marshall appears a slight favorite, but Clay has campaigned aggressively in one of the state's biggest battlegrounds. The mayor, a Mercer University law professor, says he has learned a lot about campaigning since 2000. For example, he now regrets his strategy of running basically a one-issue campaign against Chambliss, focusing almost exclusively on prescription drugs. Although that has remained a key national issue this year, Marshall says he and Clay have largely the same views, so he hasn't focused on it. Instead, he has attacked Clay for supporting a Social Security reform recommendation that could allow recipients to invest a small amount of their earnings in the stock market. That would bankrupt the trust fund, Marshall says, because virtually all younger recipients would invest their money, leaving little behind for the people who need the funds now. ``It's like opening a couple of gates,'' Marshall said. ``One gate goes to some muddy hole, the other to a beautiful fresh water pond, and letting the cows decide where to go.'' Clay insists it's a distortion designed to scare elderly voters. ``I want him to either prove his allegation or apologize to seniors,'' he said. ``The seniors I talk with want to wash his mouth out with soap.'' Although the redrawn middle-Georgia district might be narrowly Democratic, it is also predominantly conservative. Clay has tried to paint Marshall as a liberal, or at least someone who would vote for liberal leadership in Washington. Marshall insists he's a pro-gun, tax-cutting conservative and compares himself ideologically to Sam Nunn and Zell Miller. ``I left my weapons with my parents when I went to law school because I refused to register them as required by Massachusetts law,'' Marshall said. ``Calder's running against me. He can go ahead and call names all he wishes, but what he needs to do is get down to what he stands for, what I stand for.'' Marshall, a wounded and decorated Vietnam War veteran, has picked up the endorsement of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which often sides with Republicans. Conversely, Clay earned the endorsement of the local union at Brown & Williamson tobacco company, a rarity for a GOP candidate. Indeed, this race for a district that could swing the balance of power in Georgia's delegation, perhaps even the House, will likely involve many voters crossing over to support a party they normally would not. That's why Clay has been spending time in the black community, trying to convince residents Marshall and the Democrats are taking their votes for granted. ``Marshall is more of a politician than a person,'' said Cornelia Walker, who accompanied Clay on his tour of black businesses. ``Really, in order for you to become the politician, you've got to be the person. You've got to know the people you're providing a service for.'' But Marshall's supporters insist that's exactly what he did as mayor. Jim Lee, a 24-year council member, recalls Marshall holding monthly meet-the-mayor nights that were well-attended and explaining the city budget in public, line by line. ``Marshall is a very confident individual, and he is a very intelligent guy,'' Lee said. ``This was a case of a law professor becoming a student. He had to learn that, and he'll have to learn when he gets to Washington. Any other new member going up there would.''

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/11/188203