Coweta voters

head to the polls Tuesday and will decide whether to continue a one-cent

sales tax for construction of new schools.

Additionally,

voters will select a new clerk of Superior Court in what has been an unusually

low-key campaign.

The most discussion

in this year's campaign has revolved around the special purpose local

option sales tax. School officials have said the $90 million raised by

the five-year sales tax would enable the school to build a new elementary

and middle school and pay off the school system's indebtedness.

Opponents of

the tax have complained that the school system has not properly identified

all the projects in the tax proposal. The most vocal opponents of the

tax have been the county's senior citizens, who have asked the school

system to exempt them from paying school taxes.

But school

system officials have not been able to obtain exact figures on how much

seniors pay in property taxes, so the measure could not be brought before

local legislators to call for a referendum.

In the clerk

race, three candidates are vying for the seat.

Cindy Brown

is currently serving as interim clerk and is emphasizing her 11 years

of experience in the clerk's office.

Brown has worked

for three clerks: Virginia Hollberg, Debbie Glover and Joan Griffies.

During those years, she has learned that the most important aspect of

the job is being a public servant, she said.

"My door

will always be open," she said.

Wally Metzger

is running for office in Coweta County for the first time and said he

has lived in the county for five years. If elected, Metzger said he would

like to see trust put back in the office.

"We've

had problems in the past. I'd like to restore the integrity to that office,"

he said.

Former Clerk

Joan Griffies also is running for the office. Griffies was defeated last

July by former clerk worker Mary Jane Thompson. Thompson resigned earlier

this year after pleading guilty to taking funds from the clerk's office.

Griffies emphasized

her experience in the job for the last four years as one of the main reasons

voters should cast their ballots for her.

"These

last four years have been the most satisfying thing that I've done in

my life," she said.

Griffies said

that she had modernized the office with new computer equipment and said

she is a skilled manager. Complete election results will be in next week's

Coweta Citizen Review.