The voters of the 28th Senate District deserve an honest campaign based on issues. The issues I raised in my letter of May 24 are real, and are having a direct effect on the quality of life in our community.

The rebuttal letter from the incumbent's camp would have voters believe that the original letter was “false, misleading, or personal.” I am committed to running a campaign based on issues, and issues alone. At no point will personal attacks become part of my platform. The voters are tired of this kind of politics, and deserve better.

With regards to the Rick Price campaign's claims that he did not support Fayette County's move into the ARC, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA), or Gov. Barnes' education reform package, I would like to reaffirm my earlier position, and clarify several points.

First, with regards to the ARC, their response would have the voters believe that then-Commissioner Price “questioned the wisdom of” a move into the ARC and therefore abstained from the final vote. This flip-flop strategy established a pattern that Senator Price still uses today on controversial bills.

Sen. Price's biography on the Senate web site notes that he served “as a member of the Atlanta Regional Commission, the ARC Executive Committee, the ARC Transportation Committee, and the ARC Natural Gas Committee. Price is a graduate of the Atlanta Regional Commission Regional Leadership Institute.” It appears that the senator has spent quite a bit of time with an organization he now wants us to believe it was unwise to join.

Secondly, there is no denial that Sen. Price voted for GRTA and Gov. Barnes' education reform bill on their first votes in the Senate. For those unfamiliar with legislative operations, a bill must be passed by both the House and the Senate, and is then sent to a conference committee to finalize any difference between the two versions of the bill. The final bill is then presented to the House and Senate for final approval with no possibility of amendment. The conference committees are always controlled by the Democratic leadership.

Thus, the power held by a member of the minority party to influence a bill is either in committee or on the first floor vote. As stated earlier, Sen. Price serves on the transportation committee which wrote the authorizing legislation for GRTA. He supported the bill both in committee and on the first vote.

Likewise, the senator would have the voters believe that he did not support Gov. Barnes' education reform bill. Similar to his pattern, he voted for the bill on the first Senate vote.

If the voters have any question as to whether the senator actively supported this bill, they should ask any teacher who attempted to discuss this bill with the senator, or they should ask anyone who attended the March 3 Fayette County Republican Party Breakfast.

Much of this meeting was spent with the senator attempting to defend his vote before obviously disappointed party members. For the senator now to claim that he did not help to pass the bill because he switched his final vote is disingenuous. For the senator to dispatch a surrogate to attack someone who makes an honest reflection upon his record is shameful.

The voters of the 28th District deserve a senator who will stand up for conservative values on each vote, from committee to conference.

Charlie Harper

Fayette County

28th District Senate Candidate

Back to Opinion Home Page | Back to the top of the page