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POLITICAL INSIDER: A race with some juice in it, judging from all the money
Jan. 16, 2006 -
Atlanta Journal-Constitution - The candidates for governor and lieutenant governor got the press when campaign fund-raising reports were released last week for the first time in six months. But the batch that has touched off the most buzz in political circles comes from the candidates for secretary of state.
You'd figure Sen. Bill Stephens (R-Canton), who has been running since he stepped down as majority leader last year, would have raised the most money, and he has. But he's also got a lot of cellphone bills and consultants on his expenditure list.
As the campaign year begins, Stephens is left with less cash on hand than his GOP rival, Fulton County Commission Chairwoman Karen Handel.
But here's where conventional wisdom really gets a knock. Not one, but two Democrats, neither of whom has held office, have more money than either Republican.
The candidate with the most cash --- more than $290,000 --- is Shyam Reddy, who bills himself as "a new brand of Southern Democrat." Carrollton-born, Dublin-raised, he's the 31-year-old son of immigrants from southern India and a business lawyer on leave from Kilpatrick Stockton.
Reddy, who's embarking on his first race, may not be the best-known candidate in the field, but he's already traveled widely across the state and built an impressive donor base around law school and business contacts and the Indian community.
Angela Moore, a Decatur Democrat who owns a medical staffing service, has $245,000 in the bank, slightly more than Handel. Moore has made two unsuccessful bids for the DeKalb County Commission.
Former Roy Barnes news secretary Gary Horlacher, a lawyer at Alston & Bird, also has expressed an interest in the race --- though the ante price on the Democratic side is getting a little high.
When you think about it, this race makes a good forum for several of the year's hot-button issues --- government ethics, voter integrity and economic development among them.
And last week's filings show, if nothing else, that it's wide open.
Cox with a K gets the bucks rolling
Last August, we noted that eyebrows were raised by the latest campaign finance report filed by Kathy Cox, the Republican state school superintendent. At the time, she had raised only $483, inviting all sorts of speculation about Democratic opposition next November.
With a little help, Cox has recovered somewhat. She's raised $120,000 in the past six months, and now has $76,954 in the bank. Donations include several large checks from the state House leadership and 15 school superintendents. And she got $250 from Sam Williams, leader of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
Another Republican who's been busy on the phone is House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram), who begins the year with $457,115. Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson (R-Savannah), by comparison, has $316,299. One thing that a fat war chest does is to tamp down any temptation to challenge the speaker as he heads into his second legislative session.
Martin poll shows margin over Reed
A recent AJC poll showed Ralph Reed trailing a generic Democrat in the lieutenant governor's race. Now the race is on to see which Democrat is more generic than the other.
Jim Martin has released a poll by the Democratic firm Cooper & Secrest that has the former Atlanta legislator and state social services director leading Reed in a theoretical matchup, 36-31 percent.
According to the poll memo we saw, that's more than the margin by which former state Sen. Greg Hecht (D-Jonesboro) leads the Republican Reed, but there's no mention of Hecht's numbers.
Mercer president ends rocky career
Kirby Godsey has decided to end his 26-year reign as president of Baptist-founded Mercer University. He's been an important figure in Georgia's educational circles, probably best known for his prickly relationship with fundamentalists.
A moderate within the nation's largest Protestant denomination, Godsey angered many conservative churchgoers back in 1996 when he wrote a book that challenged the precept of biblical literalism.
State Sen. Cecil Staton (R-Macon) thought it fitting to honor Godsey's career and "unimpeachable reputation for integrity, intelligence, fairness and kindness."
So with two Democratic colleagues, Staton introduced a resolution in the Senate saying just that.
Such measures are unthinkingly assigned a numerical identity in order of submission. The Godsey resolution is SR 666.
Tom Baxter
Jim Galloway
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