MACON, Ga. — Macon-Bibb's newest mayor candidate says he's got the vision and the business solutions to help the county flourish.
Marc Whitfield was the fifth candidate to qualify last week for the 2020 mayor's race, after Lester Miller, Larry Schlesinger, Blake Sullivan and Cliffard Whitby.
All five paid the $3,000 qualifying fee to make the May 19 ballot.
Whitfield says he has spent 35 years in finance, banking and business consulting, working for GEICO, BB&T, SunTrust and Wachovia/Wells Fargo banks.
By email, he told 13WMAZ that he wrote Macon's initial Workforce Development Program and helped create the initial Police Activity League Program (PAL) for the City of Macon with his father, Wilbur Whitfield.
Whitfield writes he's served on numerous public-service boards, including the First Choice Primary Care Board, the Workforce Development Board and the Police Activity League program.
He says he attended St. Peter Claver Catholic School, Mount de Sales Academy and Southwest High School. He went to Howard University and earned a degree in finance from Mercer University.
"I have decided to run for mayor, because I have a deep understanding of and appreciation for Macon's rich and complex history and its unlimited potential. Both my educational and professional backgrounds have prepared me for the responsibility of [mayor] and has provided me with both the vision and business solutions to rebuild Macon-Bibb to flourish," he said in the email.
While he's never served in an elected post, Whitfield was campaign manager for Daron Lee's campaign for Warner Robins council in 2013 and was chairman of Jack Ellis' campaign for mayor in 2011.
Early voting on the mayor's race starts April 27. If there's a runoff, it would happen July 21.
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