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Ramsey vs Brown: You compareIt's obviously no surprise to see Blogger Nuk write a blog slinging mud at Steve Brown. Look people, it's all the Ramsey camp has left. The worst thing about Matt Ramsey is the his list of troubling supporters. Do we really want a legislator fully funded by political action committees, Bob Lenox, Fred Brown, developers and Logsdon people? See for yourself and compare these campaign letters submitted the same week to the Citizen. Brown is about serving on priciple and tackling the issues and Ramsey is about running an election. Brown: Will hold to principles over politics, seek water, traffic solutions I believe in the sanctity of human life as Rep. Lakly did and openly support foster parenting and adoption programs as well. Our state constitution is an instrument of delegated powers; thus, I believe our state government should not stray from the powers granted to it and rigidly constrained by the constitution. I value holding to principle over politics. Yes, there some things are worth fighting for. Our state cannot afford to muddle through year after year without daring to deal with the immense challenges in front of us. Below are some of the issues I have followed for years. Water — A water crisis has been looming for at least 15 years. Do we agree that it is time to act? We need 2008 to be the session on water solutions under the Gold Dome. We are currently relying upon an economy dependent on population growth as our engine of success. Population growth drives the need for more water and our supply is finite. In addition, the General Assembly needs to fully fund the Georgia Environment Protection Division research needed to assess our current system and develop ways to make smart water decisions across the state. We need to create the state’s first ever Comprehensive Statewide Water Plan. The state also needs to vigorously pursue an end to the 17-year water war lawsuit with Alabama and Florida. We have been shackled to this lawsuit and it is seriously impacting our ability to predict future capacity and create accurate plans. We are looking at around $30 billion worth of improvements to our broad water system in the next 20 years if we want to be able to sustain ourselves in the future. If our population continues to grow and we do not fund the research, planning and implementation, the state legislature will have failed its citizens. Transportation – In short, we have a mess. There is no coordinated strategy linking new development in metro Atlanta to transportation improvements with the result being traffic congestion that is ranked number two in the nation. We must develop predictable growth models which are linked to development plans in the region which are rewarded with transportation improvements. If your area develops like a bat out of hell beyond the parameters of the agreed-upon model and plan, then you pay the consequences. Local governments need to be held accountable in this area. Build it now and figure it all out later is a horrible idea. The DOT had to drop 250 road projects this year because they lacked the funding. We need to reconfigure the system and DOT in an intelligent manner which rewards sound development and transportation principles and saves tax dollars. Tax reform and budgeting – Speaker Richardson’s alternative tax plan does not relieve us of paying taxes as you would be expected to simply pay in another format, sales taxes on everything. However, what the Speaker’s plan does accomplish is centralized government as cities, counties and school districts would be stripped of their power to levy most taxes. I was deeply concerned last year when the Sen. Chip Rogers’ (R-Woodstock) proposal on a flexible cap on state spending was rejected by the Republican majority. The conservative principles of government is best handled at the local level, the elimination of pork projects (it is in FY 2008) and reining in spending are being abandoned so far by the Republican leadership. Jobs and growth — We need to be extremely careful. U.S. Census Bureau data and Georgia State economic forecaster Rajeev Dhawan in his paper entitled “Circumspect Growth” make it clear that as we are gaining population, we are also losing jobs, especially high-paying premium jobs. In the last six years, Georgia lost 39,800 premium jobs. In that same period, the 28-county Atlanta MSA gained only 8,500 premium jobs. We need people who can create a new vision that works and the will to make that vision come to fruition. We need people who support change. Ethics – I am in favor of enacting the remainder of Gov. Perdue’s ethics package that the legislature omitted. I support barring lawmakers and government employees from accepting gifts, meals or trips from lobbyists or private entities. We also need to look into “bundled” contribution reports from lobbyists and PACs. Grady Hospital – I support moving forward with a non-profit authority to govern the hospital. When it comes to burn cases, trauma, poison control and infectious disease, there are no substitutes for Grady Memorial Hospital. Education – We are about to see a major tug-of-war over control of education. I am very opposed to the state collecting taxes levied for education and doling them out to individual school districts as they please. Such a system would be ripe for political favoritism. Fayette County has a great thing going in education; let us not ruin it. Steve Brown Ramsey: Promises to be hardest worker on behalf of a positive agenda We all value our outstanding schools, our low crime rate, and our tradition of strong local leadership. Having reaped the benefits of living in this special place, I now want to do my part to ensure that our community is as good to my two young children, and to all of our children, as it has been to me. For this reason, I am running for the Georgia House of Representatives. I have lived in Fayette County almost my entire life and I know what its values are. I share them. Faith, family, and love of community and country. We don’t believe in government trying to run our lives, but we do insist that government perform its core functions efficiently and properly. We need government that improves our woeful transportation system. We need government that wastes less and taxes less. And we need government that respects our private property rights. Georgia’s 72nd district has become accustomed to energetic leadership that reflects the conservative principles of its populace. Our citizens want their representative to work as hard as they do, and here is a promise: if elected, I will be the hardest working member of the Legislature. Here’s another promise: I will run as a conservative, and I will serve as a conservative. I served for six years on the staff of our outstanding former U.S. Congressman, Mac Collins. I learned some valuable lessons about statesmanship and character during that time, but I also came to realize that some government bureaucrats spend your money as if it they earned it. My candidacy is based on reform: reform of the budget process in the General Assembly, and reform of state agencies that often fail to respect the principle of local control. This is especially true with respect to education. I vow to defend the prerogatives of the parents, teachers, and administrators that have made our schools the best in the state. In these uncertain times, we cannot afford to be anything less than certain about where our elected representatives stand. I stand for conservative government, family values, and hard work. I plan to run as I would serve: with a positive vision for Fayette County. The public is sick of political mudslinging that elevates dirty tricks above honest debate. In recognition of this, I invite the other candidates in the race to join me in a spirited and fair discussion of the issues before the General Assembly that are most important to our community. Matthew L. Ramsey It was probably a Freudian-slip, but Ramsey put the name of his law firm under his name (Warner, Hooper and Ramsey). Ramsey's boss, Doug Warner is his biggest campaign contributor and is also responsible for the development authority tennis center debacle that is costing us millions of dollars. johenry's blog | login to post comments
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