TSPLOST
Well, there's no doubt about it--TSPLOST is toast, at least in most of
Georgia. For our purposes, it lost badly. The Northeast Region currently
has the nays at 65% while the ATL region is at 63%. As of right now,
9 of the 12 regions will definitely vote no and I think it will be 10
when it's all said and done. I think this really sends a huge message. And that message is...ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! You have enough of our tax money. We don't need a regressive tax that won't really accomplish anything, anyhow. You have enough money--quit wasting it, dammit!
4th Congressional District
I supported Greg Pallen in this race and it looks like he will come up short. He ran a great race, and he had a core group of very loyal and dedicated supporters who helped him achieve a very strong number. He's a good man, and I hope he runs again. As of this posting, J. Chris Vaughn is winning with around 54% of the vote.
10th Congressional District
I attended an event where the challenger, Stephen Simpson, spoke. By the end of it, I thought the crowd was about to run his ass out on the street. A very weak candidate who had a very weak showing. At this time, Dr Paul Broun is leading 69% to 31% with most precincts reporting.
Local Races
Newton Co. will lose a great voice of honesty and intelligence with the eminent departure of Commission Chair, Kathy Morgan. She lost by 8 points.
The biggest surprise, to me, was the BOC 5 Dem race where a very good man, Phil Johnson, got thrashed.
In terms of the Dem primary, it was pure demographics--the black voters, for the most part, solely voted for the black candidates, and they were the majority of those voting in the Democratic primary. And there wasn't enough of a crossover vote to make a difference. Not being racist--just stating fact. However, all that likely did was to assure GOP victories for Commission Chair and BOC 5.
Speaking of the GOP, in their primary, a good and honorable man, Bill Watterson, lost his bid to be Sheriff, losing by 10 points. That's a shame...
The most interesting race on the GOP side was BOC 5 where four men were vying to be the nominee. It's looking like long time politco, Ronnie Dimsdale, will join establishment pick, Levie Maddox, in the run-off in three weeks. Chamber of Commerce pick, Jared Rutberg, just missed it by a point. Mr. Negativity, Wesley Dowdy, managed a weak showing of 12% to bring up the rear.
State House 109 saw the incumbent, Steve Davis, get his ass handed to him by Dale Rutledge. And in State House 113, incumbent Pam Dickerson finds herself in a run-off against Covingtonian Sharon Sawyer.
That's all I got for this round. Until next time...
