Robert Reichert (born August 11, 1948) is an American Democratic politician and former mayor of Macon, Georgia, the fourth largest city in the state.

[2] He went on to win the election uncontested, as his challenger, local pastor and attorney Lonzy Edwards, suspended his campaign due to health concerns on April 19, 2016, and died 10 days later.

“In fact, this ordinance takes away the business owners’ freedom to practice religion, and instead coerces many Christian and Jewish faith-based people in our county to accept the LGBTQ lifestyle as one of their moral beliefs,” said former mayoral candidate Blake Sullivan.

[6] Reichert stated the apprehension of the commissioners to amend the bill to address religious freedom concerns also attributed to his decision.

[7] Supporters of the bill, including many local attorneys urged him to sign it, claiming that Reichert had not referenced any specific legal concerns.