Historic election at hand for Macon, Bibb County voters | Elections | Macon.com

A mere 90 years after a grand jury urged Macon and Bibb County governments to merge, voters will soon pick a consolidated government’s first leaders.

Among those planning to vote Tuesday is John Wolfenbarger, a retiree who served on a consolidation panel more than a decade ago.

“I think this first administration has their hands full,” said Wolfenbarger, who said Tuesday’s election will be critical to having the right people forge a path to a better government.

Voting will run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Every registered voter across Bibb County — there are about 93,000 of them — can vote for mayor, and current residents of Macon and unincorporated Bibb County will elect a slate of nine county commissioners.

Only residents of Payne City, which voted against joining a consolidated government, won’t cast ballots for the commissioners, but they can vote for mayor.

Exactly 8,210 people voted early in the elections. Now, only Tuesday voting remains for precincts across the county.

Candidates aren’t identified by political party, and voters of any political persuasion are free to vote for a mayor who is a member of one party and a commissioner who is a member of the other.

The new government won’t be completely new. All nine commission seats and the mayor’s race include people who have run for office before. Some of them have held office before, and more than a dozen of the candidates are serving now with the current Macon or Bibb County governments.

The first candidates elected will serve three-year terms.

via Historic election at hand for Macon, Bibb County voters | Elections | Macon.com.