The (Slightly Delayed) Newton Co Primary Results Analysis Write-up -- Down Goes Ellis; Marcello Wins Third Term

 Howdy, Pals!

Hope it's all lovely out there. 

So Tuesday last we had ourselves a primary election here in the home county & it was very interesting and by & large things went well. 

Let's start w/ the big one (at least for me): 

GOP Primary for the 5th District of the Newton Co Board of Commissioners 

Line of the night: 

"LeAnne beat Keith like he stole something!" 

Lol. 

But, true. 

The final count was an absolute beatdown. A 72% to 28% trouncing of the poorly regarded former Commission Chair. 

As one person asked on social media - "who put Keith up to this when he should have known he had NO chance of winning?" 

Well...the usual suspects, and we'll just leave it at that (IYKYK). 

Glad to have supported & publicly endorsed the presumptive new Commissioner of BOC 5 - Mrs. LeAnne Long (but remember - she still has a challenger in the general). 

On the Dem Side 

Marcello Banes, for the win. 

Come January he will embark on his third term as the Chair of the County Commission. Congrats to him. 

And that means that Tommy Craig disciple Marcus Jordan will soon no longer hold elected office in the home county. 

Tax Commish 

The only Democrat I endorsed in this cycle - Brent Bennett - was the top vote-getter & is in the runoff facing Avis Williams. 

BOC 3 

This one also heading to a runoff between Stephanie Lindsey & incumbent Alana Sanders. 

Sanders has allegedly cultivated a reputation for being "aloof", ill-informed & mean,  which, obviously if true, is NOT a good combination. Many are thinking that Stephanie will emerge victorious on this one & I'm thinking maybe so; however, based on prior events & happenings (again, IYKYK), I cannot in good conscience make an endorsement in this race. 

Clerk of Court 

I had a couple folks reach out to me to tell me that winner Stephanie Finnie was NOT a part of Team Craig & was by far the most qualified for this all-too-important constitutional office (the most important of the county constitutional offices, in my opinion); regardless, it's a consensus view that she by far ran the best campaign.

I congratulate our presumptive Clerk of Superior Court. Big shoes to fill there as Ms Linda Hays has served in that capacity for over 40 years. 

There were a couple of other races that weren't really on my radar. 

Until next time. 

Best, 

- MBM 

Newton County BOC 5: The Choice Is Clear - LeAnne Long

 Howdy, Folks, and welcome back. 

As we find ourselves at the end of early voting - and in preparation of Voting Day, Tuesday May 21st - TPC, and its Editor MB McCart, would like to relay the following: 

While this publication has previously written about why "William" Keith Ellis is NOT the one to lead the 5th district of the Newton County Board of Commissioners into 2025 & beyond, we did want to state why LeAnne Long is the right person for this all-too-important position. 

But first. The key reason why her opponent needs not be elected: 

William Thomas "Tommy" Craig, Esq. 

And yes, while I know that Keith has publicly stated more than once that he will not attempt to bring Tommy back as the home county's attorney, one should be sure to carefully analyze his words. Maybe not Tommy, per se, but what about his firm? What of his son? 

Those are the questions, in my opinion, that need to be asked. 

And, while it may seem to stretch any reasonable imagination or possibility, there does seem to be a belief by some that somehow the Bear Creek Reservoir could possibly be resurrected if Keith were to win. 

Look at the usual suspects. E.g. those that signed off on Keith's mailer last week. 

* * * * * 

LeAnne Long - The Right Candidate at The Right Time

I've known LeAnne for right at 25 years. 

I've always appreciated her for who she is & have always admired her willingness to always tell it how it is, as well as her tenacity, grit & work ethic. 

She's legit. 

She's experienced; she's previously served in elected office back in the late 90s. 

And she's an advocate. As many know, she has been on the front lines of the battle against irresponsible development time & time again over the years. 

Again, my friends, in my sincere estimation, she is the Clear Choice for BOC 5. 

This election is so very important. Truly hope things will turn out as they should & I believe they will. 

For the home county, 

- MBM 

Newton County REAL Politick: Democratic Primary - A Battle of Coalitions? #OneNewton vs The Tommy Craig Camp?

 (Covington, GA | Tuesday 5/7/24)

Welcome back, Dear Readers, and hope all is well out there. 

So we're exactly two weeks from voting day & now on our 9th day of early voting (we had both Saturday & Sunday early voting this past weekend; we will also have this upcoming Saturday for a total of 18 days of early voting including two Saturdays & a Sunday. Such a shame that Georgia has enacted such egregious voter suppression laws, ammaright?) 

As many have commented, there definitely seems to be two camps on the Team Blue side this election cycle. You can really tell by sign locations. Typically you'll see the same signs of the same candidates together, then you'll see the names of the other side together at another location. This is occurring all over the home county. 

Let's look at the dynamics of these races & try to break it down. 

For the purposes of this analysis, we'll go w/ the following names for the two camps/coalitions/sides: 

#OneNewton (Marcello Banes/Stephanie Lindsey crew) vs The Craig Camp (Tommy Craig/JC Machine/Reservoir People/Old Guard)

Now, for some of these races, we don't  have direct evidence for all candidates that their allegiance is necessarily to one side or the other. On some, we definitely do. For others, it is inferred based on conversations w/ sources & other political watchers & - again - based on those sign placements. 

At the top of ticket we'll draw our attention to the BOC Chair race between incumbent Marcello Banes & current Tax Commish - Marcus Jordan, and this one is very clear. We know Jordan has been utilizing Craig for legal counsel, so we know he's on that side.

And, I know for a fact, that Banes is diametrically opposed to both Craig as well as BOC 4 Rep JC Henderson. 

The next two are county constitutional offices & again this is simply my opinion & analysis based on the aforementioned criteria. 


Clerk of Superior Court 

John Bryant: either #OneNewton (Marcello/Stephanie) or unaffiliated w/ either faction. Definitely NOT Team Craig. 

Stephanie Finnie: possibly Team Tommy, per word on the street. 


Tax Commissioner 

Brent Bennett: either #OneNewton (Marcello/Stephanie) or unaffiliated w/ either faction. Definitely NOT Team Craig. 

Avis Williams: I know a good number of folks who are friendly w/ & like Avis. I believe she is Jordan's pick & based on what I'm hearing she would continue utilizing Tommy Craig for legal counsel for that office if she won. 

By the way, I believe this is the one Democratic primary that I will give an endorsement for. By all accounts, Brent Bennett is very impressive. Definitely qualified. And just seems like a really great guy. If you're pulling a blue ballot (which is what is being recommended for anyone regardless of political affiliation residing in BOC districts 1,2,3 & 4, I'd recommend giving this guy a look. 


BOC 3 

Similar to Chair, we 100% know about this one. Obviously Stephanie Lindsey is a part of her own coalition. Further, we also know that incumbent Alana Sanders is in league w/ JC & a part of the other side. 

|||||||

We're not covering Sheriff since Ezell is running uncontested in the primary. We've recently discussed Ezell's knack for paying Tommy Craig lots of money & we'll definitely be covering his general election race vs Justin Hipps moving forward. 


Conversations about BOC 1 & Coroner will also come later after we get into the general.

And I recently wrote about one of the candidates for BOC 5 & will cover that one again before May 21st. 

Okay for now, 

- MBM