Carl

Davis and A.G. VanLandingham are back on the

campaign trail this week after emerging from a

field of four in the General Primary last week.

Runoff

balloting will take place Tuesday, Aug. 8 for the

Republican nomination for Post 1 on the Fayette

County Board of Commissioners.

Democrat

Elizabeth Barnes waits in the wings to take on

the winner in the General Election in November.

Turnout

was low in the General Primary - less than

20 percent of the registered voters in Fayette

cast ballots - and even fewer voters usually

show up for runoffs. The challenge for

VanLandingham and Davis will be to get their

supporters to the polls.

"We're

going to have a little more intense campaign than

we had before," said VanLandingham following

the primary last week. "We're going to see

if we can encourage more turnout than is normal

for this type of election."

"I'm

just calling on people I know supported me before

and reaching out and trying to talk to some

additional people so they can see where I stand

and see if they can support me too," said

Davis.

Davis

said he is working to convince people that he has

he skills to get the job done. "I'm good at

strategic planning, I'm able to reach out to

people and have good communication skills,"

he said.

He

doesn't come equipped with the solutions to all

the county's problems, Davis added, but said he

can work with other commissioners, the public and

other government agencies to find those

solutions.

"I'm

very independent and can listen to all sides and

make a decision," he said.

VanLandingham

said he will emphasize his commitment.

"We're going to try to show that we really

are concerned and really want to work with the

people of Fayette County," he said.

Among

issues VanLandingham said he will discuss are

planning for future water needs, federal air

quality mandates, transportation planning and

tough enforcement of tree protection laws.

"If

we don't have water and clean air, we're going to

die," said VanLandingham. "If we don't

preserve them, we're going to be in

trouble."

He

said he would work for regulations that encourage

gray water retention systems to allow the reuse

of bath and laundry water.

Clean

air mandates, he said, "are going to have to

be dealt with. The county's going to have to have

a position. The future of Fayette County is going

to be decided by outsiders if we don't do our

homework."

He

called for emissions inspections on trucks as one

solution.

Trees

are vital to quality of life and quality of air,

VanLandingham said, adding he is "not a tree

hugger," but would work to prevent

clear-cutting.

On

transportation, VanLandingham questions the

County Commission's current emphasis on a bypass

around Fayetteville. "We're opening up a

whole new commercial corridor in our

county," he said. "We've got to sit

down and figure out if that's what we want."

Davis

agrees with VanLandingham that the bypass needs

more thought. "We need to be linking up with

the public and working with other agencies,"

he said. "I've talked to people who said

they just found out that the bypass would be

going through their front yard, and they say, `No

one talks to us about it.'"

Managed

growth tops the list of issues important to

Davis, he said. "We have to make sure that

[development] happens where it's supposed to

happen. We must not deviate from the plan,"

he said.

The

county's current land use plan is a good one, he

said, but more people need to be involved in

revising and updating it from time to time.

"Any solution needs to have more than one

person involved," he said.

The

county also is moving in the right direction on

strategic planning, and he would help keep that

process going, said Davis. "We also need a

strategic capital plan," he said, "so

we know what expenditures are coming and what

year to expect them in."

For

more information on Davis, see his web site at www.carldavis.org .

VanLandingham can be reached at 770-461-5681.

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