Five candidates will be asking

for your vote June 19 in a special election to replace Post 3 Fayette

County Commissioner Harold Bost, who resigned recently.

Running for the post will be

Scott Gilbert, of McBride Road, Fayetteville; Brian Scott Bischoff, of

Massengale Road, Brooks; Charlie Mask, McBride Road, Fayetteville; Stephen

D. Ott, of Jericho Lane, Fayetteville, and Peter Pfeifer, of Copperplate

Lane, Peachtree City.

The nonpartisan election will

be conducted 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 19, with a runoff, if necessary, slated

for July 10. In order to vote in this election, voters must be registered

Bischoff, 26, practices law

in Fayetteville and also is entering his first campaign for elected office.

Controlled growth in accord

with the county land use plan will be a key issue in his campaign, said

Bischoff.

"Also, we're approaching

100,000 people, and we need to make sure the county and the commission

look at tomorrow instead of just looking at today. We're building a new

courthouse and a new jail because 15 years ago we didn't have the foresight

to see this was going to happen," he said.

Gilbert, 37, is a newcomer

to Fayette County politics, and styles his candidacy as a campaign for

"all the right reasons."

"I believe in the philosophy

that less government is the best government," he said. "I believe

also that personal responsibility, as it applies to individuals, can replace

some government functions. My policy will always include listening to

concerned citizens and using my knowledge and consensus-building skills

to achieve positive results."

Gilbert is vice president of

Southside Wrecker Service.

Mask, 70, is no newcomer to

political life in Fayette. A native of the county, he served on the County

Commission in the late '80s.

"We started a lot of programs

that I'd like to continue to work with," said Mask, adding a priority

would be to get water service to more areas of the county.

"I want to help the homeless

and needy people and work with the animal shelter," he added.

Mask is a semiretired barber.

Ott, 33, is a Fayetteville

lawyer trying for political office for the first time.

Controlled, planned growth

is an important issue to Ott, he said, adding that as the county grows,

it's also important to make sure the Sheriff's Department is well funded.

"We need to make sure the sheriff has what he needs to make sure

the county is a safe place," he said.

Ott also called for more cooperation

between Fayette and local cities. "A lot of resources are being used

fighting each other that we could use instead to work together and find

ways to serve the citizens," he said.

He also called for more attention

to recreation, and a system of evaluating county employees.

Pfeifer, 53, said he wants

to fight efforts by state and regional agencies to usurp local counties'

power. "We need people in office who will fight against the effort

to destroy or weaken local government," said Pfeifer, who is manager

of Contract Product Group in Peachtree City.

The Georgia Regional Transportation

Authority and the new regional water board are two examples, he said.

"Our Board of Commissioners unanimously stated that they would never

give up their constitutional duty of local control of land use planning

and zoning to either the ARC or the Transportation Authority. People can

elect me with full assurance that I support this principle and that support

for this stand will remain unanimous," he said.

Pfeiffer ran unsuccessfully

for County Commission several years ago. He also has worked in numerous

campaigns and has served in numerous Republican Party offices.

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