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Seabough,
Key, Smith prevail in runoff
By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com
Terri Smith and Marion Key were the victors in the Republican runoff
Tuesday night for seats on the Fayette County Board of Education.
A.G. VanLandingham defeated Carl Davis in a much closer race for
a county commission seat, while Mitch Seabaugh defeated state senate
incumbent Rick Price for the 28th District seat thanks to help from
Coweta voters who strongly favored the East Coweta accountant.
Only 5,321 registered voters took part in the runoff, representing
an 11.2-percent turnout.
Smith garnered 60 percent of the vote over opponent Kim Gatlin in
the Post 2 race. Key got 59 percent of the vote over incumbent board
member Connie Hale in the Post 3 race.
VanLandingham beat Davis by 288 votes for the Post 1 spot on the
county commission.
Seabaugh was favored 2,491 to 1,675 over Price in Coweta County.
But Seabaugh also won Fayette County with 1,700 votes compared to
Price’s 1,522. Price won Spalding County 127-112.
Seabaugh said his legislative plans largely hinge on what committee
assignments he gets. Education will be one of his main priorities,
however.
Seabaugh wants to get input from educators and others over the next
three months on how best to improve education. One of the issues
he wants to tackle is providing incentives for teachers to work
in at-risk schools.
“One of the problems with the education bill last year was
that they didn’t talk to educators about the changes,”
Seabaugh said. “I’ve set up meetings with educators where
I will sit and listen. That’s what I’ll be working on
for the next three months: getting input.”
Seabaugh said he was looking forward to the opportunity “to
make a difference.” He also hoped to help with budgetary matters
given his background as a certified public accountant.
In a statement after the election, Price wished Seabaugh well.
“The voters of this district deserve and need good representation
in the state senate,” Price said. “I hope he is able to
give it to them.”
Price said he ran a positive campaign and he is proud of his record.
“I think I just failed to get that message to enough people,”
he said.
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