Wukela's Road to Mayor Gets Very 'Rocky'...

Wukela Won the Battle, But May Lose the War to Pearce.....

Remember back in June, when Stephen Wukela beat Florence Mayor and former Gubernatorial candidate Frank Willis? Due to the fact that the Florence GOP was brilliant enough to talk a qualified candidate out of running, it sure seemed like Wukela has the job all sewn up, right? Even Wukela was addressing city council like the job was his. Well, think again !!

Like we had posted earlier, former Mayor Rocky Pearce entered the race afterwards - and he is putting up a pretty strong campaign. If Wukela didn't think he had his work cut out before, he better now. Why is Wukela having such a hard time now? Because Florence is a funny place to run for office....

We have this old school thing that goes on here still. The Republican Party isn't as organized as it really ought to be, and most candidates still run as Democrats , or in Pearce's case, as an Independent. But, truth be known, they are Republicans - they just dont say it. This isn't a shocker, but Willis was a Republican, which is why he lost to Tommy Moore in 2006. Even a Democrat can smell bullshit...

Another truth is that Wukela is scaring the poop out of some of those in city government. He does have some pretty liberal views - his two kids are of or near school age, so increasing the school budget is a major priority to him. But, he has no experience at all, and those Old School folks don't like unknowns, so they are going Back to the Future with Pearce. With the full support of the local GOP, who actually were rooting for Willis in the beginnning... Such is life in Flotown...

Is Pearce a better choice than Wukela? I have no idea. I never even heard of the man before he ran, and I known very little of him, so I am left blind. Channel 15 will be having a debate between the two later this month, so my advice is to watch and decide for yourself. But, I can say Pearce is putting up a pretty strong campaign so far - much better than Willis did. He has an easy to read circular sign, and they are in yards everywhere, next to Kenney Boone and other GOP candidate signs. That reminds me - has anyone seen a McCain-Palin sign available here yet, or so we still have to make our own?

So, I'll give a snippet of advice to Stephen (Skippy) Wukela, who I do know, and whom I think is a nice guy.... You have a real fight on your hands here, my friend.. Don't think the hard part is over. You got past your own party, now you have to fight them AND the GOP. The hard part has just begun..

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