Sunday, November 19, 2000 |
Westmoreland says
he'll lead
By JOHN THOMPSON Residents in south metro Atlanta now have one of their own as House minority leader in the Georgia General Assembly. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Sharpsburg, won election on the second ballot to lead this year's session as House Minority Leader. "It's just been a whirlwind this week," he said. Westmoreland was picked for his strong conservative values. "Well, sometimes the makeup of the team changes. Our team has changed to more of a conservative team," he said. Today, Westmoreland is meeting with the 74 House Republicans to set strategy for the upcoming session and said the group needs to focus on truly working as a team. "Although it takes 91 votes, we believe that we can get some things accomplished as long as we act like a team," he said. Westmoreland said residents can expect a strong focus on lower taxes, less government and strong family values coming from his leadership this term. The leadership switched to Westmoreland after some House Republicans grumbled about election results that did not see the Republicans gain control of the House. "I hope to lead us forward to become the majority party," he said. Westmoreland was elected as a representative from Tyrone, but moved to Sharpsburg last year. After he meets with the Republicans Friday, he said he will have a better idea on which issues the group will work toward passing this year.
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