With June 30 reports due soon, I can't help but think about Shirley Franklin and our governor's race.

With June 30 reports on campaign contributions due out soon, all eyes will be on the receipts of Cathy Cox. Can she or can she not raise the big money. An early indication that she could came with the announcement that she has Anne Cox Chambers in her corner. This was big, real big.

Such talk leads me to wonder what is on the minds of a lot of other folks who have nothing better to do than sit around wondering such. What will Shirley Franklin do and when will she do it. She is going to be a big player in the Democratic race for governor.

And thinking about Mayor Franklin made me think that maybe repeating part of any earlier post might be helpful so we can keep all of the actors straight. The earlier post was a 12-09-05 post entitled "Earlier we read about the firm 'Carter, Kahn & Cooter.' Today we highlight "Taylor, Kahn & DiSantis" that helps one figure out various relationships.

The part of such earlier post follows:

While new as a State Committee Member, I am not new to the state Party organization and its players. For those who are, just as I got a kick out of reading about the law firm Zell named "Carter, Kahn & Cooter" (O.K., really Zell called it "a Board of Deacons for Democratic Disaster if ever I've seen one"), I enjoyed reading in ajc's PI today what I think could have been titled:

"Everything you always wanted to know about the intricacies of the relationships in the firm Taylor, Kahn & DiSantis, but were afraid to ask."

Thanks Baxter & Galloway, we needed that.

The PI article:

Now you know what people at political conventions do: They marry each other

Bear with us here. World-wide conspiracies are always a bit complicated.

Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor on Wednesday announced the hiring of a new chief of staff to replace the departing Chris Carpenter.

Taylor's new No. 2 is Natalie DiSantis, a local attorney and campaign veteran. Her husband is Jeff DiSantis, the executive director of the state Democratic party. His mother is Linda DiSantis, top legal advisor to Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.

Ah, you say. Through a single family, the Big Guy has successfully tied together all the Democratic elements he needs to secure the '06 nomination for governor.

But wait. The DiSantis tentacles are much broader than any mere gubernatorial race. Linda DiSantis' sister is married to the older brother of Chris Riggall, spokesman and strategist for Secretary of State Cathy Cox — Taylor's chief rival for the nomination. Another family member with DiSantis connections runs Cox's branch office in Tifton.

Suddenly, the Da Vinci Code looks like small potatoes.