Now who am I supposed to vote for?

The Georgia political landscape is now in focus. Qualifying has ended and we Georgia voters know the name of our next governor. He (or she) is one of the 13 men and one woman who officially tossed their hats into the ring last week.

The candidate I once championed, reform-minded Republican Austin Scott of Tifton, is not one of them. Scott spent the past year talking about putting Georgia first and bringing true ethics reform to the Gold Dome. Unfortunately, after the lengthy legislative session closed an exhausted Scott capitulated to party bosses. He agreed to drop out of the gubernatorial race and run for Jim Marshall's middle-Georgia U.S. Congressional seat instead. As a voter planning to cast a ballot in this summer's Republican primary, I am deeply disappointed with Scott's last minute switcheroo.

Here's what he's left us with on the Republican primary ballot for the state's most important job...

The worst of the lot: Former Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine and Former U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal.

These two candidates have a lot in common. They're generally considered two of the 'front-runners' because they are the standard-bearers of the status quo. Unfortunately for Republicans in the Peach State, the status quo means party-switching former-Democrat career politicians who reliably place self-interest and personal gain ahead of what's best for Georgians.

Oxendine and Deal both have large campaign war chests, lots of handlers, comical nicknames advertised on their campaign literature ("The Ox" and "Deal. Real.") and serious ethics problems.

The Ox is under investigation for taking over a $120,000 in illegal campaign gifts from Dee Yancey, an insurance mogul. Again, Oxendine was Georgia Insurance Commissioner for most of the past two decades. I'm fairly confident that Yancey isn't bankrolling The Ox because of the candidate's 'allegiance to protecting the consumer.'

Deal, infamously named one of the 15 most corrupt members of Congress by the Citizens for Responsibility in Ethics in Government, resigned from the U.S. House this year. Deal stepped down just after the Office of Congressional Ethics released a report stating that he improperly used his staff to pressure Georgia officials to continue a state vehicle inspection program that generated hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for his family's auto salvage business.

'The tOXic' and 'Sweetheart.Deal.' are due for retirement. If either one of them get the nomination, I will be voting for a Democrat in the general election come November.

The maybes: Former State Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson and Former Secretary of State Karen Handel. If anyone is going to beat 'The Ox' or Deal, the odds-makers give these two the best chances.

Handel is seen by many as Gov. Perdue's hand-picked successor. Her critics point to the lack of higher education on her resume, but a diploma is not a requirement to hold major political office in Georgia -- just ask our past two U.S. Congressmen.

Some of my politically active friends in and around Fayette support Handel. I'll definitely give her a look.

Johnson is an architect from Savannah who staked his political career on the shortsighted concept of school vouchers. He also chaired Joint Legislative Committee on Ethics that let disgraced former House speaker Glenn Richardson off of the hook. But, Johnson is not Deal or Oxendine, which is why his name appears here.

The fringe: Ray McBerry, Jeff Chapman and Otis Putnam.

McBerry is the most far right of the group and he's spent the past few weeks dodging some pretty outlandish allegations from his past. McBerry counters that the attacks are a smear campaign, but he's still too far behind in the polls to make a difference.

Chapman is an earnest conservative from Brunswick with a reform-minded message, but his campaign has struggled to gain traction. And Putnam is a political unknown from south Georgia who listed "Wal-Mart" as his current job on the qualification application.

I criticize Austin Scott for switching races, but I sure do miss him.


Alverson, a graduate of Fayette County High School and the U.S. Naval Academy, is the editor of the Fayette County News. This column appeared in print on May 6, 2010.