Fate of Al Tillman’s Candidacy in Judge’s Hands

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The fate of Al Tillman’s candidacy in the race for a Macon-Bibb commission seat is in a judge’s hands. This comes after Macon City councilman Henry Gibson claimed Tillman was running in a district where he didn’t even live.

It all comes down to an address–did Tillman legally live in district nine when he qualified for office? The Macon-Bibb County Board of Elections unanimously said yes, but Gibson is fighting its decision all the way to Bibb County Superior Court.

“I demand that we exhaust every means to prove that Mr. Tillman is not what he says he is,” Gibson said. “He is a manipulator, he is manipulating the law.”

During Friday’s hearing, Gibson’s lawyer asked the judge to either re-open the case so the elections board could listen to more evidence, such as the home Tillman and his wife own in district eight, or strip Tillman of his candidacy.

“I think the evidence falls short of showing he actually established a residency in district nine,” Gibson’s attorney Charlie Cox said.

“Mr. Tillman is a pathological liar. I’m not saying that to be mean, I’ve known Mr. Tillman for years, he’s a joke,” Gibson said.

But attorneys for Tillman and the board of elections say evidence presented, like Tillman’s utility bills and changing the address on his car and voter’s registrations, proves otherwise.

“He didn’t just go down and get an apartment, move a couple of things in, and take some photographs, he was living there,” Tillman’s attorney Randall Harrison said.

They added election board members followed the law on the day they came to their decision.

“Did he do it with the purpose of moving to district nine to run? It appears that he did from the record, but there’s nothing in the law that would allow the board to rule him unqualifiable,” Macon-Bibb Board of Elections’ attorney William Noland said.

Tillman calls this whole ordeal a waste of taxpayer’s time and money.

“I think the court saw that and will see very early next week that we are a candidate,” Tillman said. “They’re trying to confuse this community on something they clearly know we’ve done legally and that we have a right to do.”

The judge gave lawyers until Monday to provide written statements as to why or why not Tillman should be disqualified. The judge added Gibson, Tillman, and the people of Bibb County are entitled to a decision “quickly.”

To be clear, Gibson is not running for district nine commissioner. The only other candidate in that race is current Macon City Council president James Timely.