Max For austinmayor.com?

Last week the Will Wynn campaign announced it wouldn't participate in any online forums, chats, or other activities hosted by the new Web site Austinmayor.com. The site's operator, Paul Terry Walhus, had briefly worked as webmaster for candidate Max Nofziger's campaign; as recently as Jan. 8, Walhus remarked on Maxformayor.com that Nofziger is "the only really viable candidate."

"This guy kept his ties to Nofziger totally hidden -- and even tried to erase evidence of them -- until a few days ago, when I pointed them out, and now he can't say enough about it," said Wynn campaign manager Mark Nathan. "Today his site is 'an unbiased force for truth in this campaign?' Puh-leeze."

Walhus stands by the Austinmayor.com site -- which he says is now attracting around 600 unique users a day -- and insists that despite his past ties to Nofziger, he hopes to present information as impartially as possible. "Just because an attack-dog campaign manager comes after you -- they're just doing their job," he said. Since the brouhaha began, he's appeared on KVET's Sammy and Bob show twice. Meanwhile, he's been recruiting volunteers to help divide Austinmayor.com's authorship and make its content more reflective of the community.

The site already includes Web pages for Leslie Cochran and other mayoral candidates who don't have their own, and will soon expand to include an enhanced links page, digital video of candidates' public appearances, and other features, Walhus says. "I still don't know who the best candidate is," Walhus says. As for Nofziger, "I haven't seen much in the way of proposals. Wynn has the slickest campaign, the money, and the best Web site."

One mayoral candidate who doesn't care either way is restaurateur Marc Katz, who will launch his Web site, Marckatz.com, within the next few days. Austinmayor.com "is a good Web site," he says. "People are by definition biased. I have other things to worry about than who's friends with whom."