DeFore in runoff with Roberts in District 6 | Elections | Macon.com

In a gray suit and navy tie, 81-year-old Ed DeFore ambled into Bibb County election headquarters on what he hoped would be the last night of his life as a candidate.

He found a chair and plunked down in it, strategically so, with his back to the projection-screen vote tallies that everyone seemed glued to.

DeFore said he doesn’t sweat votes and their slow crawl to tabulation. Never has. In office since he was elected to Macon City Council in 1971, he has outlasted all comers for half his life.

But Tuesday night’s race was a different political creature, one that incorporated a region comprised of the city’s and the county’s western reaches. For the first time, Macon and Bibb were marrying their governments. In the County Commission District 6 race, DeFore was pitted against three other contenders.

When the night was done, after a last-minute flurry of returns, DeFore would be faced with one more challenger.

Adah Roberts, the city’s former finance officer, forced DeFore into a runoff.

DeFore’s 2,017 votes led the four-way race. Roberts received 1,063, Robert Abbott scored 1,000 and Chhor Chav drew 242.

“One more mile to go,” DeFore said when a reporter called him at home with the results, which were still unofficial at the time. “I’ll have to work harder. With the consolidated government we have coming, we’re gonna need my experience. … I’ll keep plugging hard.”

via DeFore in runoff with Roberts in District 6 | Elections | Macon.com.