Few things are clear in these baffling, dark days since Donald Walker’s death, but the one obvious exception is that in the days since the mayoral field was reduced to three, neither has actually distinguished himself. With the three-man race to run the city now less than a month away, no one has stepped out of the shadows of the others.

They have lost their focus, if ever they had one beyond the person of Donald Walker. Since they can no longer run against Walker’s health, and they can’t get away with vaguely arguing that they would have been more “gentlemanly” in their efforts to annex unincorporated county land into the city, they seem at a loss for words and ideas.

Problem is, Warner Robins is not the kind of place that can sit around waiting for those who would lead to find their tongues. And its people clearly deserve better. We haven’t come as far as we have in a short 60-something years to have policymakers decided by luck of the draw. We need leaders with enough on the ball to want the job and are willing to fight for it.

With 24 days remaining before the election, the conventional wisdom is that the real contest will be among two: Clifford Holmes and Chuck Shaheen. The sure thing about conventional wisdom, though, is that it almost always goes haywire when left unchallenged.

That is why we’re starting to hear chatter, even from ardent Holmes and Shaheen supporters, of a “Chalk Factor,” named for Chuck Chalk, the third remaining candidate for the office of mayor. Chalk is the unknown quantity in this race. His name carries neither the familiarity of a Shaheen nor the political recognition of a Holmes, but a freshness that gives a growing number of people---voters---a sense of ease, especially when matched with his eloquence and knowledge on a range of issues important to the city.

Which is not to say that Chuck Chalk will win the election. Short of the other two making jackasses of themselves over the next several days, that is not likely to happen. But this is precisely where the “Chalk Factor” comes into play.

Without opponents willing to argue their merits and defend their positions, Chuck Chalk will be seen as an acceptable, even desirable, alternative by a growing number of voters. And when that happens, the conventional wisdom flies out the window and the numbers stop adding up and the possibility of a runoff election enter the picture, something you can bet your bottom dollar the two favorites in this campaign want no part of. A runoff is too risky for either. Their individual constituencies are strong, and neither Shaheen nor Holmes wants this election to turn on a toe-to-toe, vote-to-vote slugfest between their two camps.

It will be interesting to learn if the frontrunners are more interested in flipping coins or talking turkey.