Two Fayette countians will

be hard at work this Fourth of July shaking hands and kissing babies.

Scott Gilbert and Peter Pfeifer

will take advantage of the crowds of celebrants at two local holiday celebrations

in a last-minute push for votes in Tuesday's special election runoff for

County Commission Post 3.

The post was vacated by Commissioner

Harold Bost, who resigned citing personal concerns.

"It's going to be a very,

very busy campaign day," said Gilbert. "I'll be trying to hit

the last few voters I didn't get a chance to talk to before," said

Pfeifer.

The candidates will appear

in Peachtree City's Independence Day parade before heading to the Kiwanis

Fairgrounds for that group's Fourth of July family picnic. Then it's back

to Peachtree City for fireworks.

"I hope they see that

I'm the most qualified candidate in terms of experience and independence,"

said Pfeifer. "I'm always cautiously optimistic," said Gilbert.

"Either way it goes, I'm going to be very competitive.

Both candidates agree strongly

on one issue: they would like to see better voter turnout than the 6 percent

that showed up for the June 19 election.

Election officials said many

registered voters may not know that they can vote in the runoff even if

they didn't vote in the special election. A general rule of thumb for

runoffs is that about half as many people cast ballots as in the election,

which would mean only 3 percent of the voters would decide this election.

Both candidates said they're

hoping for better than that.

Gilbert, 37, is vice president

of Southside Wrecker Service and a newcomer to politics.

Gilbert's family was in Henry

County for eight generations, he said, but he brought his wife and two

children to Fayette partly because Henry is growing too fast without what

he considers proper controls.

"Growth and development

and how we manage it is the number one issue as far as I'm concerned,"

he said. In Henry County, he said, "I've seen what happens when people

do not have a far-reaching plan."

He called for "slow and

managed growth," adding that although he agrees with much of what

the County Commission has done in the past with regard to growth, "There's

always room for improvement."

"I came here for quality

of life and I want to maintain that as much as possible," said Gilbert.

And although commercial and

industrial growth should also be slow and managed, Gilbert said, he favors

some nonresidential growth to help keep taxes down.

Tax issues are a concern, he

said. A relative with a 440-acre farm in Florida paid less taxes last

year than Gilbert did on his 1.1 acres and a house in Tyrone, he said.

"It is a balancing act ... there is some room for business in the

community," he said.

"I definitely don't want

to be overwhelmed with uncontrolled growth of business," he said,

"but I think the homeowners would appreciate some tax relief."

Governmental cooperation also

is a concern, he said. The ongoing dispute between Fayette and its cities

over tax equity can be solved, he said.

"I have sat down with

both sides of the issue, and I can't say as of today which side is right,"

he said. "If any taxpayer is being taxed for duplication of services,

we ought to eliminate it," he added.

"But I don't think we

have any problems that can't be resolved," he said, adding he believes

those involved should talk to each other rather than "fighting in

the newspaper.

The fact that he is a newcomer

to politics and has no political alliances is "the number one thing

I can offer to the voters of Fayette County," said Gilbert. "I'm

an open slate. I can sit down and work with others without any baggage

over my head," he said.

Pfeifer, 53, is manager of

Contract Product Group in Peachtree City. He ran unsuccessfully for Peachtree

City Council several years ago and has lived in Fayette since 1987.

"Proven leadership"

is the theme of Pfeifer's campaign, he said.

"I've been involved in

leadership in the community for a dozen years," he said. "I

have a track record so you can see how I've handled myself."

He is a former chairman of

the local as well as the 3rd congressional District Republican Party,

and a former member of the county, district and state party executive

committees. He also has worked in leadership positions in Fayette Adopt-A-Mile,

Beautiful Fayette and the Peachtree City Optimist Club, and is a graduate

of Leadership Fayette.

Local control of land use planning,

slow growth, better county/city relations, the need for traffic improvements

and the need to study a freeze on property valuations for tax purposes

are among the issues Pfeifer is pushing.

"It seems to me there

is some justification on the county side" of the tax equity dispute,

he said, but added, "I think all sides would like to sit down and

reexamine all of those issues. I see a lot of willingness to start over."

The Atlanta Regional Commission,

Georgia Regional Transportation Authority and the new water superagency

pose a threat "to local control and our ability to determine what

the county is going to look like," Pfeifer said, adding he believes

Fayette's insistence on local control "may come to a showdown."

The county should maintain

local control but cooperate to be sure resources are managed wisely on

a regional basis, he said.

He called for a study of the

decision of some counties to freeze property values at the original purchase

price for tax purposes, changing them only when property changes hands.

"I will investigate these programs and answer my question: does this

make sense for Fayette County," he said.

He would also work for a traffic

plan to improve current conditions, he said.

Polls are open Tuesday 7 a.m.

to 7 p.m.

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