Wednesday, May 5, 2004

Three Fayette Democrats to run for House seats Three Fayette County Democrats have announced their intentions to run in the campaign to represent portions of Fayette County in the Georgia House of Representatives. In House District 66, an incumbent Fayette representative will face Democratic opposition from a Fulton County resident in the July primary. In House District 74, two Fayette Democrats will face off with two Clayton County Democrats in the primary. Ê In House District 66, state Rep. Virgil Fludd, 46, will be seeking re-election to the Georgia House of Representatives. Rep. Fludd currently is serving in House District 48 (current map). He serves on the Administrative Services, Natural Resources and Environment, Banks and Banking, and Education Committees of the state House of Representatives. He is currently President/CEO of the Carvir Group, Inc., a Fayette County-based consulting firm that provides management search and executive recruiting services to clients across the country. Previously, he worked for Bank of America as a vice president and sales manager.ÊHe currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Clayton State University Foundation, the Board of Directors of the Jordan Foundation, the Board of Advisors for Christian City, the Board of Advisors for The Community Foundation for Fayette County, and a founding member of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators Financial Literary Task Force. Fludd is a past president of the North Fayette Community Association and has formerly served as board chairman of the Dr. Ronald E. McNair Foundation and was a member of the National Association of Urban Bankers, the Atlanta Human Resources Association, the Atlanta and Fayette County Chambers of Commerce and the Old National Merchants Association. He is a graduate of Leadership Fayette and a mentor with the Georgia 100 MentorExchange Program. Fludd also volunteers as basketball coach with the Southwest Atlanta Community Development Corporation and coaches football and track with the Fayette County Recreation Department. He has served on several committees in support of the Fayette County school system including, SPLOST, the Middle School Curriculum Committee, Concerned Citizens for Excellence in Education, and the Fayette Community School. Fludd earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Davidson College in Davidson, N.C. He and his wife, Carolyn, are the proud parents of two teenage children, Christine and Brendan. Fludd faces opposition in the July primary from a Fulton County Democrat. In House District 74, Fayette pilot John E. Jones, 49, has qualified to be on the July primary ballot. Jones has a long involvement in community affairs beginning in his youth when he marched in local civil rights demonstrations. After graduating from high school in 1972, he served a four-year Air Force enlistment as an aircraft mechanic at Moody AFB near Valdosta. While in college at Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University), Jones served as an Air Force Reserve C-7 Flight Mechanic based at Dobbins AFB near Marietta. He holds a B.B.A. degree with a concentration in computer science.ÊAfter graduation, Jones completed Air Force Officer Training School and Undergraduate Pilot Training. He served as a military pilot until his retirement in 1995. He began his career as a commercial pilot in 1986. Currently, he is a Washington, D.C.-based United Airlines captain. Jones is active in the Fayette NAACP, the North Fayette Community Association, and Christians for Change Baptist Church. He has established a culturally oriented promotional business and has written several literary works. Jones and his wife Alice are the proud parents of three adult sons, Curtis, Johnnie III, and Marion. Johnny Felan Castaneda, 61, has also qualified to run in House District 74. Castaneda lives in Fayette County but runs a thriving a legal practice in Jonesboro. He and his wife live in Fayetteville.