The Beacon Broadcast Network will be providing the only live primary election night television broadcast in the metro area on July 20. We’ll be on the air live from 7-11 p.m. with up to date election results and live T.V. hook ups at all the major campaign headquarters. Plus we’ll have special guests and top-flight political analysis throughout the night. Our live coverage is carried exclusively on Comcast television and we’ll be available in Fulton, Dekalb and Fayette County. We’ll also be on-line at Beaconcast.com. So if you want to catch all the action live, dump the dish and subscribe to cable television.

IS D-56 STATE SENATE CAMPAIGN NOW A TWO CANDIDATE RACE?

The rise and fall of the John Albers for state senate campaign has been a classic example of why political newcomers find it very difficult to win a big race their first time out. Albers got off to a quick start, but in the last two months his campaign has effectively imploded. A tireless campaigner, Albers has been caught in a quagmire of miss-statements and half-truths that only a neophyte could make. The drumbeat of defections from his once formidable support network has been catastrophic. The latest fatality is East Roswell homeowner association honcho Frank Hasty, who is switching his allegiance from Albers to Brandon Beach on Monday.

To make matters even worse, in a televised D-56 debate sponsored by the Beacon Broadcast Network on Friday night, Albers was asked point blank if he had a college degree for the University of Louisville, which he was quoted as saying he held in an interview with Appen Newspapers, published on May 21. Problem is, we checked with UL officials, who confirmed that Albers attended for two years but did not earn a degree.

To add insult to injury, Albers answered the question by saying he was miss-quoted. Wrong again. We checked with Appen reporter Hathcer Hurd, who wrote the story. Hurd unequivocally confirmed Albers made the false claim. So the drumbeat goes on, unabated.

We believe that Albers has all but conceded this race. According to his June 30 financial disclosure, he’s only got $3,000 cash on hand in his campaign account. He started out last year by saying he’d invest up to $200,000 of his own money to win, but he’s only put in about $50,000 to date. Why throw good money after bad, right? With 10 days to go, $3,000 isn’t going to cut it, and Albers surely knows that. We believe Albers will finish a distant third on primary night. Ironically, where his plummet once boosted David Belle Isle, it’s now troublesome for the “Tea Party” candidate. Belle Isle has to keep Beach under 50 percent of the vote total to force a run-off. But if Albers dips to around 15 percent, Belle Isle needs 36 percent, a tall order for a good candidate who is under funded with little to no name recognition outside of his Alpharetta district. We still think Belle Isle will force a run-off, but it’s not a cakewalk. Beach has the momentum, the money and the support base galvanizing around him to top the 50 percent bench mark. 

The debate can be seen exclusively on Comcast channel 25, Sunday – Friday, at 10AM, 6:30 PM and 10 PM.

THE OX GETS GORED

GOP gubernatorial aspirant John Oxendine, the candidate that most of the “insiders” on both sides of the aisle love to hate, raised an astounding $870,000 in the last two months before this latest disclosure. He now has a whopping $1.8 million cash on hand for the primary and run-off elections alone.  

Yet, the he “Ox gets gored” by the drive-by media and by his opponents on almost a daily basis, but somebody is still writing him checks. What’s up?

DEAL ME IN

Former Congressman Nathan Deal, in a battle for survival to make it into the run-off, launched a controversial TV ad this week that chided President Obama.

Deal said: “I have a message for the President when I’m governor: You can sue us too, because in Georgia we believe in the rule of law.”

It’s a good, concise hard-hitting ad that will undoubtedly resonate quite well with Deal’s North Georgia, Forsyth and Cobb County base. As long as Deal can run these ads in Karen Hadel’s backyard he’ll gain ground on her. It’s not the panacea for his candidacy, but he’s a savvy politician and he’s obviously found his footing on this issue.

SHOW ME THE MONEY

Georgia’s budget misery is only expected to grow worse next year. But there has been no real talk among the leading candidates for governor on either side of the aisle of tax increases to fill what could be another $1 billion budget gap.

Instead, GOP contenders have been traveling the state talking about the taxes they would cut.

Two candidates have staked out a more extreme position than most: Oxendine and Handel want to eliminate Georgia’s individual income tax --the state’s single largest chunk of revenue. The idea is popular with tea party activists and fair tax supporters, who may be a powerful voting bloc in a GOP primary.

But tossing out individual income tax collections would rip a giant hole in the state’s tattered balance sheet. Individual income taxes brought in about $7.8 billion to Georgia coffers in fiscal year 2009 –almost 50 percent of the state’s total tax collections. But neither gave any specifics.

BAKER’S BINGO

Underdog Democrat candidate for governor, Attorney General Thurbert Baker wants to get more education money for strapped public schools by legalizing bingo in the state, and using the proceeds for local school district funding.

Is it feasible? Its not only feasible, it’s relevant, timely, smart and on cue. Other states have it. Why not put it on the ballot and let the people decide?  I think it’s a viable solution to a big problem and its got legs. And it gets Baker back in the race.

SPIN DOCTOR OF THE WEEK

This weeks Spin Doctor Award goes to Roswell Councilman Kent Igleheart.  For years Igleheart has been recognized as one of the most fiscally conservative council members on the North Side. In fact, Igleheart led the fight last year against what he coined as Roswell’s “deficit budget,” and he vigorously railed against raiding the city’s reserve fund. He based much of his 2009 razor thin re-election campaign on that major theme. So what does he do now? He bails on his promises, and votes with the Roswell council majority, in the flip-flop of the year. Igleheart explained his about face by saying that an “early retirement buyout” would solve the city’s operating budget woes in lieu of cutting unnecessary employees and permanently downsizing government.

Igleheart calls it “ER.” We call it our “Spin Doctor of the Week Award.”