Wednesday, October 25, 2000

By DAVE HAMRICK
dhamrick@TheCitizenNews.com

The race for state Senate from the 34th District is heating up in Fayette County, as candidates traded charges this week.

Republican candidate Bryan Hilton opened the exchange by accusing Democratic incumbent Greg Hecht of deceptive campaigning through a "sham" organization called "Republicans for Hecht."

Hecht Monday labeled the charge "pure fiction" and leveled a series of his own charges at Hilton, with both candidates pinning each other with the "big government" label.

"Republicans for Hecht," said Hilton, "is part of a strategy by the Democratic Party to mislead some voters into thinking that my opponent is the Republican candidate. We have seen several Democratic candidates in the district use this deceptive tactic in order to offset the negative effects of their party affiliation."

"There is no such organization or tactic," Hecht said. "It's [the charge that he used a sham organization] a generic piece put out statewide by the Republican Party," he said, adding that he has seen similar charges leveled in campaigns in other parts of the state.

"I am conservative, and I appreciate a lot of Republican support which I receive every year," he said, but added that there is no group affiliated with his campaign that goes by the name "Republicans for Hecht." He challenged Hilton to "come up with a name and a time."

Hilton supporter Jean Studdard told The Citizen Tuesday that a Hecht supporter canvassing her Huntington Court neighborhood did identify himself as a Republican after she had identified herself as one, but said she didn't remember him using the term "Republicans for Hecht."

Hilton said Studdard was one of several supporters who have told him about the tactic.

In a press release, Hilton also accused Hecht of votes "to weaken local control and our quality of life, to increase his own pension, while rejecting property tax cuts."

Hecht pointed to his votes for a seven-year, $660 million property tax cut through a gradual increase in the homestead exemption to $50,000, and a $205 million state income tax cut, plus the fact that he was co-author of a bill to increase the tax exemption for seniors by $1,300 as evidence that he is fiscally conservative.

Hecht also voted for a moratorium on unemployment taxes that is expected to save businesses $1 billion, and a $128 million cut in the grocery sales taxes.

And the vote to increase legisltors' pensions did not apply to current, sitting legislators, he said.

Hilton complained that the tax cuts Hecht has supported are spread over several years, with very little relief in the current year. "A tax cut deferred is a tax cut denied," he said.

On the other hand, Hecht charged his opponent with proposing a property tax for the city of Lithia Springs for the first time in the city's history when he served as its mayor in 1999 and early 2000.

"He is a taxer. His opinion as to how to solve problems is to raise taxes," said Hecht, adding that Hilton instigated the Lithia Springs tax in order to build a new city hall and give himself a raise.

Untrue, said Hilton. He opposed the creation of property taxes and the budget that would have made them necessary, refusing to sign the budget into law, he said.

The reason the city treasurer submitted a proposal for a property tax, he said, is because of unfunded mandates from the state, mandates he blamed Hecht for.

"That's one of the reasons I'm running for office in the first place," said Hilton. He became frustrated with trying to run a small town government with so much interference from the state, he said, adding that's why he quit his job as mayor after a year and a half to run for Senate.

"These are things my opponent voted for," he said. "They passed laws setting a certain level of [city] services that met state standards, whereas the contract services that we were providing were acceptable to the people in that area.

"The people of Lithia Springs liked things just the way they were," he said, calling for greater local control.

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