Coweta County

residents head to the polls Tuesday with several key races to be decided.

Perhaps the

race that has drawn the biggest spotlight is the race between incumbent

County Commission Chairman Vernon "Mutt" Hunter and challenger

Marvin McKoy.

Hunter has

been involved in Coweta County politics for more than 40 years and is

running on his record as commissioner for the last two terms.

He points to

the new water lines and road that have been paved and adds that the commission

has cut the property tax rate for the last eight years.

Hunter also

adds that during his tenure, the commission raised the minimum lot size

from eight-tenths of an acre to 1.6 acres, which has dramatically slowed

the residential growth in the county.

But McKoy sees

things differently. The challenger runs his own engineering company and

said it's time for a change.

He cites the

often contentious relationship between the county government and municipalities

such as Senoia. The relationship between the county and Senoia caused

Senoia Mayor Joan Trammell to endorse McKoy, which sent ripples out across

the political lake.

McKoy also

believes the county does not need to function as the Airport Authority

and would seek public input on a new Airport Authority, composed of citizens.

Another hotly

contested race has been the race for state House District 106. Incumbent

Republican John Yates is seeking to win reelection against Griffin businessman

and Democrat Lee Howell.

Yates said

people should vote for him because of his honesty, integrity and experience.

"I am

a member of what Tom Brokaw called "the greatest generation,"

one that believes in liberty, equality, morality, courtesy and other virtues.

I have experienced

a growth in the House from 36 Republicans to the present 78. I believe

strongly in continuing until we reach parity with Democrats," he

said. He also believes that priority should be given to technical

school funding.

"Unfortunately

for our area, an irresponsible decision by Speaker Tom Murphy removed

funding for the governor's number one recommendation for Griffin Tech,

which is the best reason I can think of to vote Republican," he said.

Howell believes

it's time for a change and has delivered that message in numerous political

forums and mailings.

"We need,

and should demand, to have a representative who is positive, progressive

and pragmatic, one who is responsive and responsible, one who can deliver

for all of us, because results, not platitudes or promises, are what matters,"

he said.

Howell maintains

that he can work well on both sides of the aisle, compared to the partisanship

of Yates. He also wants to make sure that the growth coming to the south

side is managed.

Polls are open

from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

In addition

to local, state and national candidates, the ballot includes several constitutional

amendments and referendum questions, and with heavy voter turnout expected

Tuesday, election officials are encouraging voters to prepare ahead of

time to reduce the time it takes to vote.

Voters are

urged to mark sample ballots and take them into the voting booth to speed

the process. Coweta County's sample ballot is printed on page ** in today's

Citizen Review. Explanations of the constitutional amendments and referendum

questions, courtesy of the secretary of state's office, is on page **.

Information

also is available at the secretary of state'sweb page, www.sos.state.ga.us/ .

Information

on constitutional amendments and referendum questions also is available

at the secretary of state's information hot line, 888-265-1115.